William Sokolin is the granddaddy of wine investment. He has written two books on the topic which are essential reading. He created a phrase ‘Investment Grade Wine’ or IGW to describe wines which will make you money over time. We will use this acronym all over the website. The key reason for this is to differentiate investment wines from wines that we would like to collect. Whereas there are many wines that are collectible, wines that create passion in people, there are very few wines that consistently go up in value and provide the Winevestor with a high rate of return.
WineInvestor.com’s definition of an IGW is the following. They
- are long lived – with a maturity plateau of 20 years or more
· are sought after wine by the wine consumer
· have a Robert Parker Score of 94 and above
· are from a great vintage.
Jancis Robinson has written about the maturation of wine, most notably in her book ‘Wine Vintage’ published in 1989. On her website she bemoans the fact that there is not more education about how wines age and when they should be drunk. Most wines are drunk either too young due to impatience or lack of storage. Knowledge of how a particular wine will age is key to the collector.
The aging knowledge essential for a Winevestor is a little different. When will a particular wine go up in value, when will it plateau and when will it decline? The basics are the same as for the collector. You should only live long lived wines for investment purposes. This counts out 95% of all wines which are designed to be drunk over the first few years. It also the reason that the majority of IGW is Bordeaux, known for its long life
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