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If you enjoy a glass of Merlot with your dinner and you like long-term steady asset appreciation, then diving into wine investing can be a way for you to diversify your portfolio and explore your love for vino at the same time.

For many years, wine investing was only for the ultra wealthy who had access to the right networks to purchase investment-worthy wines, and owned industry-grade cellars which could be trusted to preserve the quality of their bottles.

However today, wine investing is more accessible than ever before. There are now wine investment platforms for you to begin your journey, professional storage services for you to store your bottles, and much of the information you need can be found online. Here’s a short guide of how you can start to invest in wine.

1) Understand The Market

Like any other investment, the wine market demands that you have a thorough understanding of the trends and the underlying factors that drive prices upwards before you purchase your first bottle of investment wine. Not all wines are made the same and it’s important to understand which wines will appreciate in value and which bottles you should stay away from.

To become a savvy wine investor you must endeavour to know everything you can about the product. How is wine made and judged? Which vintages do you need to pay attention to? Are there any new worldwide trends in wine consumption? How can you go about preserving your bottle of wine? What are the Duty and GST for wine?

Similar to any other commodity, dedicating time to research allows you to make more accurate predictions about future price increases.

2) Choose Your Vintage Carefully

Vintage is a deceptively simple concept in the wine industry. On the surface it tells the year the grapes were picked for a particular bottle of wine. But because of the way climate influences the quality of wine, temperature and weather variations can lead to certain years being better than others.

If you’re looking to buy wine that appreciates in value over time, then it’s crucial that you pick the right vintage. Although master winemakers can still produce good wine from poor grapes, a pairing of good year-round weather conditions and a quality producer can result in a truly special bottle of wine.

Learn More: Frost, Hail Hits Burgundy Wine Region

3) Look Into Wine Auctions

If you’re wondering how to invest in your first bottle of wine, there are actually a few different ways. You could purchase wine futures and buy a bottle of wine while it’s still maturing. You can also invest directly in the wine industry by purchasing stocks in wine merchants or producers.

Alternatively, you can also opt to buy individual wine bottles on your own via wine auctions. Websites like Winebid and Sotheby’s make the process easy and painless for beginners. It also gives you a greater amount of control over your collection and you might be able to pick up a few great deals along the way.

4) Make Storage A Priority

Wine degrades if not stored properly. Extreme temperatures, exposure to light, and humidity can ruin a batch of wine bottles and destroy their value. If you are serious about investing in wine, then you should look towards professional wine storage facilities which are dedicated to preserving your wine and keep your liquid assets safe.

Usually staffed by experts, storage facilities allow you to indulge in buying wine without worry about keeping them in expensive custom-made wine cellars. Especially in Singapore where space is at a premium and humidity levels are high, a wine storage facility is well worth the money.

Wine investing can be a profitable yet exciting endeavour that is also a long-term commitment. If you’re looking to make a quick dollar, then wine investing may be the wrong activity for you. But if you’re willing to be patient and learn the tricks of the trade, you can turn your passion for wine into a diversified investment strategy that can help pad out your nest egg.

As South East Asia’s largest fine wine storage facility we know a thing or two about high-end wines. We provide wine investors with resources like secure wine storage, alcohol duty calculators in Singapore, and connect them with wine merchants from around the world. Contact us today to open a wine account with us and let us know how we can help you grow your wine collection.