Getting better with age – fine wine investment in Hertfordshire and Essex

In our Private Wealth Guide for 2021-22, we looked into some of the top luxury items the world’s wealthy are investing in to diversify their traditional investment portfolios. At the time of writing, Hermès designer handbags topped the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index (KFLII) – but a recent update to the luxury estate agent’s flagship annual Wealth Report revealed that investment grade fine wines had taken first place, delivering solid year-on-year growth of 13%. This is compared to an average performance of 3% across all luxury asset classes during the period in question.

For those investors whose confidence in the stock market has been knocked by the turbulence of the past few years, it is not surprising that diversifying into alternative asset classes has been so enticing. And putting your money into ‘passion items’ – i.e. sought-after collectables such as art, classic cars, designer fashion or fine wine – can become a treasured hobby that leads to a more satisfying return on investment than traditional stocks and bonds.

A ‘golden’ opportunity

According to a recent article published in Food and Wine, investment-grade wine saw a better return on investment than gold and even traditional stock market indices such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). Indeed, Liv-ex (the global marketplace for the wine trade and widely viewed as the most reliable indicator of fine wine performance) commented in its annual wine market review: “All previous records set in 2020 have been broken and surpassed in 2021, marking the most successful year ever for the secondary fine wine market. Fine wine trading continually broke new ground in terms of the value of wine traded and the sheer breadth of wines now active in the market.”

Invest local

Both Hertfordshire and Essex could serve as excellent starting grounds for the novice wine investor, with several wine investment experts to choose from. With an office in our very own Ware, Vintage Associates helps its clients to build a robust fine wine portfolio tailored to each investor’s individual investment goals. Using in-depth analysis of the wine market, their expert advisers will recommend wines for purchase, and store them on their clients’ behalf at their secure bonded storage facility in London. When clients are ready to sell, Vintage Associates will list the wine on Liv-ex for sale to buyers in 43 countries across the globe. And, according to figures on the company’s website, they do their job well, consistently outperforming the industry benchmark average of 12% p.a.

In Essex, Mr Wheeler in Colchester has a heritage dating back to 1883 and has remained within the Wheeler family for generations. The company has provided fine wine clubs and services for distinguished household names such as the Financial Times, Coutts and the Royal Opera House, and offers its own Fine Wine Plan to enable investors to build their very own wine cellar. For a fixed monthly investment, Mr Wheeler’s professionals can help clients decide what goes into their wine cellar or select on their behalf, storing all purchases in the company’s specialist bonded wine warehouse. Or, discerning wine collectors can purchase rare vintages from Mr Wheeler’s trading list, the most expensive of which is currently on sale for £8,000 for a case of six bottles.

Expertise matters

With a plethora of wines to choose from and an ever-expanding market, there’s no better time to start diversifying into wine. And, with reputed experts right on the doorstep, it seems that Hertfordshire and Essex are the perfect locations from which to begin your journey into the lucrative world of alternative investments.

For further information about the most up-and-coming luxury investment assets, take a look at our Private Wealth Guide for 2021-22.

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