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华尔街日报》──据法国葡萄酒商的说法，今年法国波尔多 (Bordeaux) 产区的葡萄在变化多端的气候中开花结果，因此可能不会在同一时间成熟。这样会给收割工作带来一些麻烦，而且十有八九会造成2010年葡萄产量减少。此外，今年的暴雨也比较多，导致气候过于潮湿，葡萄藤容易烂根──不过，人们认为今年的葡萄质量还是好的。
iStockphoto/Abi Hardwick
在波尔多地区吉伦河口(Gironde estuary) 一带的砂砾山丘，分布着最著名的一些酒庄。在它们的酒窖里，2009年份的葡萄酒正在大橡木桶里成熟。该年份的葡萄酒无疑是有史以来最受关注的，甚至遮盖了名闻遐迩的1961、1982和2005年份葡萄酒的光辉。酒还没有装瓶，其价格就已经飙升，同时人们对葡萄酒投资的兴趣也在与日俱增。
大致来说，那些通过期酒(en primeur)销售系统买到2009年份葡萄酒期货的人早已赚到了纸面利润。葡萄酒经纪公司Fine + Rare的统计数据显示，2009年份拉菲(Chateau Lafite Rothschild)葡萄酒的价格已经从2010年6月上市时的每箱10,000英镑上涨到目前的每箱13,657英镑，涨幅高达36%。同在波亚克地区(Pauillac)生产的类似级别的2009年份拉图(Chateau Latour)葡萄酒今年6月上市时每箱为10,000英镑，现在是12,000英镑，涨幅20%。
从2004年12月Fine + Rare公司首次收集葡萄酒投资数据起计算，2000年份拉菲的价格上涨了611%。2004年时每箱价格为2,560英镑，现在是18,400英镑。
2000年份柏图斯(Chateau Petrus)葡萄酒的价格从2004年12月的12,000英镑每箱上涨到现在的36,627英镑，涨幅高达255%，买家每箱就可以赚到24,627英镑。因此我们不难理解，为什么在银行里有10万英镑以上富余资金的人会对投资全世界最好的葡萄酒越来越感兴趣。
伦敦国际酒类交易所(London International Vintners Exchange)佳酿100指数(Fine Wine 100 Index)跟踪全球最受追捧的100种葡萄酒的价格变动，自2001年发布以来，该指数已上涨200%以上。在经济形势如此不稳定的时期，这是非常强劲而抗跌的表现。
葡萄酒经纪商对此的解释是，上好葡萄酒是一种人们渴望拥有的奢侈品，而且至关重要的是，上好葡萄酒的供应量是有限的：拉菲酒庄每年只有48万瓶左右的产量，拉图酒庄只有约35万瓶的产量。而且与其它奢侈品不同，葡萄酒产量无法增加，因为葡萄园的种植面积基本上是固定不变的。随着市场需求的增长，葡萄酒供应会越来越紧张，因为许多人不但想投资最好的葡萄酒，而且也喜欢享用葡萄酒。
Fine + Rare葡萄酒经纪公司创始人及首席执行长贝迪尼(Mark Bedini)说，葡萄酒投资的优势在于，随着时间的推移，酒变得越来越珍稀，因为人们会喝掉很多。从长期来看，葡萄酒的年份越久，数量越少，需求越大，价格就很可能涨得越离谱。
Reuters
罗伯特•帕克的100分评分系统对市场影响很大。
Berry Brothers & Rudd香港公司直销渠道经理比尔贝(Adam Bilbey)表示，葡萄酒行业才刚刚开始满足亚洲市场的一些浅层需求。
比尔贝说，亚洲人对葡萄酒的兴趣大为增加，首先从香港开始，现在已经扩展到中国大陆市场。这要归功于亚洲亿万富豪对奢侈品牌的追逐。据比尔贝讲，很多人购买葡萄酒是为了自己喝或者送人。既然葡萄酒的投资回报这么高，那我们该如何构建一个葡萄酒投资组合呢？首先有一点很重要，要小心选择葡萄酒品牌，只有很少数的葡萄酒具备投资潜力。
专家表示，法国波尔多产区麦道克(Medoc)地区评级为“顶级一等”(First Growth)酒庄的葡萄酒投资回报率最高：即拉菲、拉图、玛歌(Margaux)、木桐(Mouton Rothschild)和奥比昂(Haut Brion)的葡萄酒，但奥比昂的表现没有其它几种那么好。产自波尔多产区河对岸的几款酒也可以加入这一行列，最有名的是柏图斯(Chateau Petrus)、白舒伐尔(Cheval Blanc)和欧松(Ausone)酒庄的葡萄酒。
在波尔多产区之外，勃艮第(Burgundy)产区也有几款上佳的葡萄酒，如罗曼尼•康帝(Domaine de la Romanee-Conti)和拉茹•贝茨•勒鲁瓦(Lalou Bize Leroy)等，投资回报都很高。此外，还有几款罗讷河谷(Rhone)和香槟区(Champagne)的葡萄酒也很不错。
比尔贝说，如果单从投资角度来看，那我的建议永远只有一个，那就是，特别关注2009、2005、2000和1996年份的波尔多葡萄酒。
他说，波尔多葡萄酒的一大好处在于其市场流动性非常好，很容易就能卖掉。我推荐四种葡萄酒：玛歌、木桐、拉菲和拉图。柏图斯的价格更高，但变现没那么容易。目前，个人投资者购买波尔多葡萄酒的最佳渠道是通过每年夏季的期酒发售会，人们品尝木桶中的原酒后，在装瓶和发货的一年前预定葡萄酒。这样做的好处是可以确保买到自己想要的酒，而且享受到优惠的开卖价格；缺点是如果葡萄酒的品质没达到人们的预期，价格就会下跌。
葡萄酒的价格在很大程度上取决于葡萄酒的质量。在这方面，美国酒评家罗伯特•帕克(Robert Parker)的观点十分关键，他给所有的葡萄酒打分，满分为100分，评分公布在他自己的网站erobertparker.com上。《葡萄酒观察家》(The Wine Spectator)杂志也以百分制给葡萄酒打分，另外，英国酒评家简西斯•罗宾逊(Jancis Robinson)的观点也值得参考。有不少经纪商和酒商出售期酒并提供收费的保税储存服务，这样买家就不用支付关税或消费税了。
另一种投资途径是购买葡萄酒投资基金。这类基金一般收取5%的申购费，每年收取1.5%或2.5%的管理费，并收取平均20%左右的赎回费。顶级葡萄酒基金(The Vintage Wine Fund)、葡萄酒资产管理公司(Wine Asset Managers)和葡萄酒投资基金(The Wine Investment Fund)都已获得英国金融服务局(U.K. Financial Services Authority)的认证。
William Lyons
（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）
The flowering of the vines in Bordeaux took place in unsettled conditions this year. The chances are that the region's grapes will not all ripen at the same time, according to French wine merchants. This in turn will make for a tricky harvest and -- in all probability -- a small, weather-affected crop for the 2010 vintage. There have also been storms, which can lead to high humidity and the possibility of rot -- but the quality is thought to be good.
Traditionally Bordeaux's early vintage forecasts were only of interest to a handful of oenologists and wine merchants. But given the returns being made on wine investment, far more people are now interested in the weather before harvest time in the world's largest fine wine region.
In the cellars of the most famous Chateaux that line the gravel mounds of the Gironde estuary in Bordeaux, the 2009 vintage has been maturing in barrel. This is undoubtedly the most hyped vintage since records began -- eclipsing the famed vintages of 1961, 1982 and 2005. Even before the wine has been bottled, its value has already soared. Interest in wine investments is keeping pace.
Those that bought the 2009 vintage early, through the futures based en primeur system are, in certain cases, already sitting on a paper profit. Figures from Fine + Rare wine brokers show that Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2009 has already risen 36% from GBP 10,000 a case when it was released on the market in June to GBP 13,657 today. Similarly Chateau Latour 2009, also produced in the commune of Pauillac, has risen 20% from GBP 10,000 a case when it was released in June to GBP 12,000 today.
Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2000 has climbed 611% since December 2004 -- when Fine + Rare first started compiling figures on wine investments. A case that would have cost GBP 2,560 in 2004 is now worth GBP 18,400.
Chateau Petrus 2000 has climbed 255% from GBP 12,000 in December 2004 to GBP 36,627 today giving the buyer a return of GBP 24,627 a case. It is not difficult to see why those with a spare GBP 100,000 in the bank are increasingly being tempted to take a punt on some of the world's finest wines.
Live-ex's Fine Wine 100 Index, the London International Vintners Exchange, which tracks the price movement of the world's 100 most sought after wines, has climbed by more than 200% since it was launched in 2001. That's a remarkably resilient performance during a period of such economic uncertainty.
Wine brokers put this down to the fact that fine wine is a luxury product that people aspire to own. Crucially it is limited in supply: Chateau Lafite Rothschild produces around 480,000 bottles a year; Chateau Latour, only around 350,000 bottles. And unlike other luxury items, production cannot be increased because the vineyard areas are more or less fixed. As demand increases supply diminishes because as many, if not more, people want to drink the best vintages as invest in them.
Mark Bedini, chief executive and founder of wine brokerage Fine + Rare Wines Ltd, says: 'The plus side of wine investment is that as time goes by it gets scarcer as people drink it. The likelihood is that over time -- as the wines get older, rarer and in greater demand -- prices will inexorably increase.'
In recent years, these increases have been turbocharged by interest from the Far East most notably mainland China and since 2008, Hong Kong. In that year the Hong Kong authorities abolished all import duty and taxes on wine. This fuelled a huge boom in the Asian market. Wine merchants Berry Brothers & Rudd, who also run a brokerage department, are just one of a number of European merchants and auction houses that have set up offices in Hong Kong.
Adam Bilbey, direct sales manager with Berry Bros & Rudd in Hong Kong says the wine industry has only just started to scratch the surface of the potential Asian market.
He says: 'There has been a huge increase in interest, which started with Hong Kong but has now spread to mainland China. It is driven by the uber-wealthy looking for luxury brands.' Many are buying wine to drink or give as gifts, according to Mr. Bilbey. So given that there are significant returns to be made, how does one go about creating a wine portfolio? Firstly, it is important to choose your Chateaux carefully. Only a very small number of wines have investment potential.
Experts say the highest returns can be found among the very top wines in Bordeaux's Medoc region, classified as First Growths: Chateaux Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux and Mouton Rothschild and Haut Brion, although the latter hasn't performed as well as the others. A handful of wines from the other side of the river in Bordeaux -- most notably Chateau Petrus, Le Pin, Cheval Blanc and Ausone -- can be added to this list.
Outside of Bordeaux, a few of the very best wines in Burgundy such as Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and Lalou Bize Leroy can offer significant returns. There are also a handful of Rhone wines and Champagne houses.
Mr. Bedini says: 'If you are looking at it purely for investment then my recommendation would always be to look very exclusively at a small number of Bordeaux wines from 2009, 2005, 2000 and 1996 vintages.
'The great thing about Bordeaux is that they are very liquid so if anyone wants to sell their wines they are going to trade out pretty quickly. The four I would recommend are: Chateaux Margaux, Mouton, Lafite, Latour. Chateaux Petrus is more valuable but harder to sell quickly.' By far the best way for private investors to purchase Bordeaux is through the summer en primeur campaign when the wines are offered a year ahead of bottling and shipment, having been tasted from the barrel. The upside to this is that you can secure allocation and favorable opening prices. The down side is that the prices can fall if the wines fail to live up to the initial hype.
The price of a wine is largely determined by its quality. The key marker of this is the view of American wine critic, Robert Parker, who scores all wines on a 100-point scale. Mr Parker's scores are published on his website, erobertparker.com. The Wine Spectator, which also scores wines out of 100, and the opinions of British wine critic Jancis Robinson are also worth checking. There are a number of brokerages and merchants who sell wine en primeur and store it, for a fee, under bond so that you don't have to pay duty or VAT.
The other investment route is through a wine investment fund. These tend to charge a 5% subscription fee, annual management fees of 1.5% or 2.5% and an average exit fee of around 20% of the upside. The Vintage Wine Fund, Wine Asset Managers and The Wine Investment Fund have all been authorized by the U.K. Financial Services Authority.
William Lyons
Traditionally Bordeaux's early vintage forecasts were only of interest to a handful of oenologists and wine merchants. But given the returns being made on wine investment, far more people are now interested in the weather before harvest time in the world's largest fine wine region.
In the cellars of the most famous Chateaux that line the gravel mounds of the Gironde estuary in Bordeaux, the 2009 vintage has been maturing in barrel. This is undoubtedly the most hyped vintage since records began -- eclipsing the famed vintages of 1961, 1982 and 2005. Even before the wine has been bottled, its value has already soared. Interest in wine investments is keeping pace.
Those that bought the 2009 vintage early, through the futures based en primeur system are, in certain cases, already sitting on a paper profit. Figures from Fine + Rare wine brokers show that Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2009 has already risen 36% from GBP 10,000 a case when it was released on the market in June to GBP 13,657 today. Similarly Chateau Latour 2009, also produced in the commune of Pauillac, has risen 20% from GBP 10,000 a case when it was released in June to GBP 12,000 today.
Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2000 has climbed 611% since December 2004 -- when Fine + Rare first started compiling figures on wine investments. A case that would have cost GBP 2,560 in 2004 is now worth GBP 18,400.
Chateau Petrus 2000 has climbed 255% from GBP 12,000 in December 2004 to GBP 36,627 today giving the buyer a return of GBP 24,627 a case. It is not difficult to see why those with a spare GBP 100,000 in the bank are increasingly being tempted to take a punt on some of the world's finest wines.
Live-ex's Fine Wine 100 Index, the London International Vintners Exchange, which tracks the price movement of the world's 100 most sought after wines, has climbed by more than 200% since it was launched in 2001. That's a remarkably resilient performance during a period of such economic uncertainty.
Wine brokers put this down to the fact that fine wine is a luxury product that people aspire to own. Crucially it is limited in supply: Chateau Lafite Rothschild produces around 480,000 bottles a year; Chateau Latour, only around 350,000 bottles. And unlike other luxury items, production cannot be increased because the vineyard areas are more or less fixed. As demand increases supply diminishes because as many, if not more, people want to drink the best vintages as invest in them.
Mark Bedini, chief executive and founder of wine brokerage Fine + Rare Wines Ltd, says: 'The plus side of wine investment is that as time goes by it gets scarcer as people drink it. The likelihood is that over time -- as the wines get older, rarer and in greater demand -- prices will inexorably increase.'
In recent years, these increases have been turbocharged by interest from the Far East most notably mainland China and since 2008, Hong Kong. In that year the Hong Kong authorities abolished all import duty and taxes on wine. This fuelled a huge boom in the Asian market. Wine merchants Berry Brothers & Rudd, who also run a brokerage department, are just one of a number of European merchants and auction houses that have set up offices in Hong Kong.
Adam Bilbey, direct sales manager with Berry Bros & Rudd in Hong Kong says the wine industry has only just started to scratch the surface of the potential Asian market.
He says: 'There has been a huge increase in interest, which started with Hong Kong but has now spread to mainland China. It is driven by the uber-wealthy looking for luxury brands.' Many are buying wine to drink or give as gifts, according to Mr. Bilbey. So given that there are significant returns to be made, how does one go about creating a wine portfolio? Firstly, it is important to choose your Chateaux carefully. Only a very small number of wines have investment potential.
Experts say the highest returns can be found among the very top wines in Bordeaux's Medoc region, classified as First Growths: Chateaux Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux and Mouton Rothschild and Haut Brion, although the latter hasn't performed as well as the others. A handful of wines from the other side of the river in Bordeaux -- most notably Chateau Petrus, Le Pin, Cheval Blanc and Ausone -- can be added to this list.
Outside of Bordeaux, a few of the very best wines in Burgundy such as Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and Lalou Bize Leroy can offer significant returns. There are also a handful of Rhone wines and Champagne houses.
Mr. Bedini says: 'If you are looking at it purely for investment then my recommendation would always be to look very exclusively at a small number of Bordeaux wines from 2009, 2005, 2000 and 1996 vintages.
'The great thing about Bordeaux is that they are very liquid so if anyone wants to sell their wines they are going to trade out pretty quickly. The four I would recommend are: Chateaux Margaux, Mouton, Lafite, Latour. Chateaux Petrus is more valuable but harder to sell quickly.' By far the best way for private investors to purchase Bordeaux is through the summer en primeur campaign when the wines are offered a year ahead of bottling and shipment, having been tasted from the barrel. The upside to this is that you can secure allocation and favorable opening prices. The down side is that the prices can fall if the wines fail to live up to the initial hype.
The price of a wine is largely determined by its quality. The key marker of this is the view of American wine critic, Robert Parker, who scores all wines on a 100-point scale. Mr Parker's scores are published on his website, erobertparker.com. The Wine Spectator, which also scores wines out of 100, and the opinions of British wine critic Jancis Robinson are also worth checking. There are a number of brokerages and merchants who sell wine en primeur and store it, for a fee, under bond so that you don't have to pay duty or VAT.
The other investment route is through a wine investment fund. These tend to charge a 5% subscription fee, annual management fees of 1.5% or 2.5% and an average exit fee of around 20% of the upside. The Vintage Wine Fund, Wine Asset Managers and The Wine Investment Fund have all been authorized by the U.K. Financial Services Authority.
William Lyons
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