Fine wine market: the only way is up?

With the end of the year approaching it seems increasingly likely that the secondary market for fine wine will end the year positively.

Last year there were hopes the market might return to growth but major hiccups in July and November meant Liv-ex’s principal index which tracks the market, the Fine Wine 100, finished the year slightly down but otherwise flat.

Disappointing as this was, stability had been returned to the market after four consecutive years of declines and has provided a springboard for recovery over the course of 2016.

As can be seen from the graph left, every month this year has seen the Fine wine 100 experience some measure of positive movement with July and October in particular experiencing gains of over 3%.

Overall, the index has gained 22.3% on the year to date when measured in sterling – and indeed the weakness of the pound post the EU vote on 23 June has done a great deal to encourage trading from dollar and euro buyers.

Barring a very strange turn of events, the Fine Wine 100 is likely to finish 2016 well in the black and if the positive gains can be maintained through the last two months of the year, it will be the first time since records began to see upward movement in every month.