Three big changes making wine investment simpler

The wine investment industry is changing in order to lower risk for investors. Here’s how….

The world of fine wine investment has until now been largely occupied by wine buffs and serious collectors due to the level of insight one needs on vintage specifics, ageing and a producer’s standing in the global marketplace, to name just a few factors.

However, according to Michael Doerr, CEO of investment advisory service Oeno Group, the landscape is changing, making it easier and less risky for beginners to dabble.

Firstly, he says, firms are hiring Masters of Wine as directors and ambassadors, meaning that potential investors no longer need to have “inside knowledge” to invest in wine. They can consult the experts and make their choices accordingly, based on sound intelligence.

“Investment companies now have product insight to rival their economic expertise,” Doerr told news hub Grit Daily. This kind of world-class advice significantly lowers the barrier to entry for anyone new to the world of wine investment.

A second important and relatively new shift comes in the form of investment companies building in secure exit strategies.

“For decades, fine wine merchants have been providing customers with portfolios and performance reports without having built-in exit strategies,” Doerr said. “Companies with liquidation paths, such as hospitality clients like hotels, restaurants and private clubs and of course high-end retail customers, provide profitable pathways at the end of the investment cycle.”

It means that in future, investors will likely gravitate towards companies which can guarantee a route to sale, mitigating the level of risk involved.

Another way in which companies are adapting to make wine investment more accessible to all is by encouraging direct communication between the wine producers and investors, whether that’s through face-to-face meetings or virtually. Oeno Group, for instance, invites producers to create video content for their wines, to be shared with anyone considering an investment.

Oeno’s rapid global expansion, spearheaded by Doerr, has seen offices open in the UK, US, Brazil, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Born out of a vision to make the fine wine market accessible to all, regardless of their exposure to the industry, it operates under the proviso that “fine wine is something that ties us all together,” said Doerr.