Unscrupulous Wine Supplies
You should also bear in mind that the wine investment market is largely unregulated, so there is very little protection if things do go wrong. Moreover, anyone can set up a drinks investment business in the UK without having to satisfy the financial authorities that they are running a legitimate business and that they are competent to give drinks investment advice.
Your merchant may go bankrupt, in which case you may end up losing your entire investment. A number of fine wine merchants, investment funds and wine investment companies have recently failed because of incompetence or fraud, taking investors cash with them. In 2006, Mayfair Cellars and Uvine went under owing millions of pounds to customers. In 2007, the Cellaret also went the same way.
Therefore only deal with reputable, long established merchants or companies offering wine investment advice or services. For extra security, you should also consider storing your wine within your own account at an independent bonded warehouse.
Beware of a growing incidence of fake wines circulating in the global market. For obvious reasons, collectors should take the utmost care when buying trophy wines for investment. Most recently collectors like Bill Koch in the US have prosecuted cases through the New York courts over allegedly fake wines. Similarly in 2008, 106 bottles of counterfeit wines were pulled from an Acker Merrall & Condit Sale in new York. Provenance is all and wines with perfect provenance can command a significant premium.
Over the last fifteen years, there have also been no shortage of 'mis-selling' scandals in which a number of unscrupulous wine investment companies have fleeced naïve investors of millions of pounds. Some of these investment companies have been closed down by the adequate authority, but others are still operating. This is another reason why you should only buy investment grade wine from reputable merchants or proven investment specialists .
Beware of a growing incidence of fake wines circulating in the global market. For obvious reasons, collectors should take the utmost care when buying trophy wines for investment. Most recently collectors like Bill Koch in the US have prosecuted cases through the New York courts over allegedly fake wines. Similarly in 2008, 106 bottles of counterfeit wines were pulled from an Acker Merrall & Condit Sale in new York. Provenance is all and wines with perfect provenance can command a significant premium.
Over the last fifteen years, there have also been no shortage of 'mis-selling' scandals in which a number of unscrupulous wine investment companies have fleeced naïve investors of millions of pounds. Some of these investment companies have been closed down by the adequate authority, but others are still operating. This is another reason why you should only buy investment grade wine from reputable merchants or proven investment specialists .
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