Tuesday, April 21, 2009

For Love or Money

When you decide to invest in wine collecting, the first decision you have to make is whether you are investing for the love of certain wines, to make money, or a combination of both.

Stock market volatility brought on by the current economic climate means that many investors’ confidence in the financial markets is at an all time low. As a result, investors are looking at smarter ways to invest – perhaps through commodity based investments such as fine wine – either as a direct investor or within the boundaries of a fund. Fine wines are now a proven, tax efficient asset class (wine is typically treated as a wasting asset and is therefore exempt from capital gains tax) that has outperformed the FTSE in the last 25 years and dramatically in the past 10 months.

Fine Wine is an established form of alternative investment that can offer impressive returns. The wine market is based upon simple supply and demand economics. Bordeaux has the most stable financial market of all wine producing regions, while in each decade only 3-4 vintages out of every 10 have wines of a high enough quality for investment purposes. A chateau can only produce a unique and finite amount of wine each year. As this is happening the wine is maturing and becoming more desirable, which leads to an increase in demand.

With decreasing availability, comes increasing rarity. In a nutshell, the trouble in the major investment markets makes it an opportune time for investors seeking to diversify their portfolios, to invest in this highly specialist, tried and tested alternative format. The product of wine has extra appeal as an asset class, as wine is classed as a wasting asset and is therefore not liable for capital gains tax. Krunch is already managing a number of funds, while talking to others about the fund he anticipate launching in the new year.

Investing in wine can be a risky proposition, but if you weigh all the costs associated and are prepared to drink what you don't sell, it can be a fun and savvy investment vehicle. Plus, if you fail to pick a winner, you can always toast your loss.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Daily Wine Storage

"Cellaring" wine - keeping it for long-term storage - is not a widespread practice among the current American wine-drinking public. Following a couple of simple rules is the key to keeping wine longer than a week or two.

Understand that wine has three enemies: light, heat and lack of humidity.

Keep bottles out of direct sunlight (in a box or closet, for example) if storing for more than a week or two. Prolonged exposure to light can alter the chemical structure of a wine. Wine bottles, especially for red wine are made from dark glass for this reason. Yet dark glass alone is not enough to keep a wine in its original condition for very long.

Realize that heat is probably worse for wine than light. Wine can easily start to taste cooked after just a few weeks at higher temperatures. Store wine in the coolest spot in your home. If you live in an area where summer temperatures exceed 80 degrees, you should keep your air conditioning set to a minimum temperature of 73 degrees. An alternative to high utility bills during the hot months is to buy a wine cooler that can handle the amount of wine you keep around the house about 36 bottles or if you have more think about keeping your wine at a storage facility. This might seem like a strange idea, but you might be pleasantly surprised to find out how inexpensive these facilities can be. Storing wine directly over or alongside a refrigerator (as a lot of people do) is actually the worst place to store wine.


Consider lack of humidity. If you let a wine bottle stand vertically too long, the cork will shrink enough to allow air into the bottle, oxidizing the wine. As long as the wine is in contact with its cork (by leaning the bottle at a minimum 45-degree angle or up side-down) it is safe. However, realize that exposure to extreme levels of humidity can cause a cork to mold.

The longest-lived wines are kept in subterranean caves that have fairly high humidity and a constant temperature of roughly 50 degrees.

A wine must have the right characteristics to enable it to improve with bottle age. The three most important characteristics, in no particular order, are tannin, sugar and acid. Both red and white wines can have one or more of these characteristics, but red wines generally improve more from aging.

You may have noticed that a lot of sauvignon blanc bottles are made of clear glass. This is because few, if any, sauvignon blancs are made to be aged.

So drink to your health and enjoy the company that wine will bring to you.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Master Sommelier or “Wine GEEKS”?

Do you have a taste for rich food and enjoy playing culinary roulette? In these troubled times, a position has arisen in the royal house to be the majesty's official food taster or better known as a Sommelier. You never know when some wretched rascal is going to have a pop at the king or queen and slip something nasty into a dainty dish, so your job is to taste everything before it crosses the royal lips.
A sip of soup here, a smidgen of pie there, taste some of the best wine in the world, there's no end to the delights that await your taste buds. Of course, you won't actually get to eat any complete dishes, and there's always the chance that you'll crash to the floor clutching you throat as, with your last gasps, you slip off this mortal coil. But the money is fantastic and better than that – you'll be protecting the queen!
Now, the job of a sommelier was not only to taste to assure it was safe to eat and drink, but also to make sure it was to the taste satisfaction of the royal family. As time evolved the job description has changed and sommeliers were requested in the hospitality industries to pair the chef’s food with the wine of the cellar.
Sommeliers were required to have a great vast knowledge of wine, spirits, cheese, spices, and etiquettes.

Some of the older secret wine society of Europe still carry these values, But in 1977 a marketing group that wanted to tap in to the Restaurant and Hotel industry, formed a group called “Court of Master Sommelier”. This “Court” is for anyone to join and take the “test” for a fee. They pay to play in the hospitality industry to manage a “Profitable” beverage list for their employer.

The CMS, does have a rigorous test in the “book” knowledge of wine, as in any profession you can go to college and learn thru the books. Or you can get hands on training. The CMS ask that you have at least 3 years in the “wine services”. Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I want a wine pairing advice from a wine stocker of a wine store, or from a wine salesman from a distributor, (they may know their portfolio very well, but I want a larger option, and I want to pair them with food).
The TRUE art of a sommelier is lost with the CMS and their marketing propaganda. They are the most recognized group in the Sommelier profession due to the large advertising, but so is NIKE in the sneaker business, but does that make them the best shoes?

A ligament Sommelier is picked to join because he or she posses a higher than normal taste palette and can distinguish the flavors and spices that comes with pairing wine with food. A Sommelier will match the best wine to compliment your food, not the profit of the restaurant. There are some wines at $15 that pair better than a $45, but don’t tell that to a “MS”.
A true sommelier works for the client, to make sure they get the best taste experience offered, profit is the last thing on a true sommelier mind.

These MS get on restaurant groups that have 5 or more restaurants under their umbrella and they have the same wine list at each restaurant. The food may be different but the wine is the same. They do this to get the “case” discount to maximize the bottom line and you get stuck drinking the same old, same old. This is what they have learned from working in the shipping department of the wine stores before paying the fee to enter the CMS program.

So the next time you go to a restaurant and ask for the advise of the sommelier whom is a member of the Court of Master Sommelier, ask your self, did this person ever have the dish I order with the wine he just recommended? Or did he just recommend a wine that will help him meet his end of month bottom line?