b'THE CARNEGIE CLUBIN SEPTEMBER 1902, Andrew CarnegieLane cites the positive market and draw received King Edward VII at Skibo, and theof wine investment being down to it being monarch enjoyed afternoon tea in the castlesa much more tangible asset than other Drawing Room. Following this visit, the Kinginvestments such as cryptocurrency. reputedly gifted Carnegie with a grape vine Theres always a new, shiny, market, but that still grows today in the estates Vinery.the point with premium wine is that it No wine was ever made with the Skibo grapes,is a finite resource. It also has attractive and so the castles cellars were instead stockedbenefits in the UK, being exempt from with bottles from maisons further afield. capital gains tax upon releasing the Curating a wine collection is an art form.investment. Bordeaux in particular has While oenophiles have long channelled theirlong been a mainstay for investment, he interest into collections that they look forwardsays, fuelled by the rise of the wine critic to one day savouring, in recent years fine wineRobert Parker who began to demystifyPEOPLE GET HOOKED. has become an increasingly popular option forthese wines in the 1980s.investment. In Carnegies time, this type ofThe influx of the American marketTHEY START WITH AN activity was the preserve solely of those of hisdrove prices, explains Lane. In the 60sINVESTMENT AND THEN financial standing. But thanks to greater accessand 70s you could buy a chteau for a small to information and advice, wine collecting andfortune, and then the 1982 vintage cameTHEY WANT TO TRAVEL investment represent an excellent way toalongone of the greatest of all time.TO SEE THE VINESdiversify ones collective portfolio according toThis started a trend [in investment] that Stephen Lane, Managing Director of premiumhas continued for the next 40 years.5 5 wine wholesaler Vinicon and the recentlyYou need to view a wine portfolio like launched fine wine merchant Iconica.a share portfolio, Lane explains. Patience Lane, a PhD in biochemistry, is wellis key. You might buy 10,000 worth of wineSTEPHEN LANEplaced to advise. He cut his teeth in the wineEn Primeur, which then takes 18 monthsManaging Director of Vinicontrade while working at Oddbins and studyingto become physical. You then need to choose wine in his spare time, spent a numbera reputable in-bond storage facility, of which of years managing the Rothschild portfoliohe says he can recommend a few. For selling of wine estates here in the UK, and runsonwards, the condition of a wine and a network of private wine investors. Fine winetraceability are key.is my passion, he says. Its amazing how peopleOf the wines to watch, Stephen says, get hooked. They start with it as an investmentRioja is possibly the fine wine bargain and then they want to travel to see the vines. of the world, but that Italy has boomed Indeed, fine wine investment today isover the last five years, with Tuscan names known as the leading passion asset, withlike Tignanello and Sassicaia increasing profitable returns if you know how to playconsiderably since their inaugural releases. the market. Despite recent documentedPort and Madeira, he says, are still a stable decreases in value, Liv-ex, the Stock Exchangeplace to invest. They wont necessarily bring equivalent for fine wine, states in its FebruaryROI over a short time but will in 20 years report that 67.8% ofits respondents expectfrom now. A starter for 10 might include a modest increase in the Liv-ex 100 pricesBordeaux En Primeur, Burgundy, Champagne, in 2024, with Bordeaux and Tuscany bothTuscany and California, or names such as being ranked as top predicted regions forChteau Lafite, Cristal, Taittinger and performance. HSBC claims that 40 per centDomaine Leflaive.of its high-net-worth clients invest aroundIf the value of some wines does level 10 per cent of their portfolio into fine wine,off or drop, the upside is youll still have an with wealth managers suggesting the demandexcellent case of wine to drink. And perhaps, for it remains positive for greater returnsif your investment goes particularly well, it against other luxury goods. might just lead to sharing tea with a king. '