Only 1% of wine purchased at a store is meant to be aged. Most wine hits the shelves when it’s ready to drink. Once it’s released from a winery, 99% of wine has about 5 years of peak drinking before it starts to degrade.
However, that 1% meant to be aged can fetch a pretty penny when it’s ready for drinking. But it is tough to know exactly when these wines are ready to sell.
The tough part is, unfortunately, there is no magic bullet or golden rule for selling vintage wine. Wine raters will approximate a wine’s peak drinking age based on how it’s drinking year-to-year. This approximation is also usually based on what kind of growing year the wine saw, and the typical lifespan of the grapes that wine contains.
That being said, most wines are at peak drinking between 7 and 15 years of age. But for regions like Bordeaux, Chablis, and the Napa Valley, 15 years might still be considered young!
The two greatest components that influence a wine’s ability to age are its acidity and tannin content. This is why the wines that are in it for the long haul use hearty grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Riesling, and Chardonnay. Wines with high acidity and tannin content can come off as harsh and astringent in their youth. But over time, these characteristics mellow out and grant the wine a prolonged lifespan.
From Hillside To Peak – ‘When Should I Sell My Wine?’
There are a couple ways to anticipate the peak of your wines.
The first is to regularly have a look at a wine rating database. Wine tasters will go through popular wines by vintage each year and keep their readers updated on the quality.
If a wine starts to show signs of early ageing, they’ll give drinkers a heads-up to pop the bottle sooner than anticipated. If a wine is holding up unexpectedly, they’ll let you know you can age it a while longer.
You might be serious about moving your wine at the right time, and don’t want to leave it in the hands of a wine reviewer. In that case, hire a consultant.
This person can visit your cellar, help you take inventory, and advise you on what to sell and when. A good consultant will be familiar with the current market trends and vintages. For a fee, you’ll be provided with actionable advice for your cellar.
If you’re familiar enough with your bottles and you have a good idea when they’ll peak, there is a quick rule of thumb on selling. Sell your bottle a year before its ideal drinking year. This will assure you a premium selling price more often than not.
‘How Do I Maximize Profit When I Sell My Wine?’
You’ve built your cellar. You’ve grown your collection. You’ve aged a number of wines to fruition, and it’s time to sell. What’s the next step?
There are a handful of pointers that can increase your profit margin when unloading your collection.
While the wine market stays fairly consistent, there are a couple peak seasons to sell. Champagne will always sell well before the holidays. Everyone loves to pop a bottle of vintage bubbly for Christmas and New Years. Rose does quite well in the summer months. And hearty reds like Bordeaux tend to peak in the cooler seasons. A good left bank is a bit of a waste in the middle of August, isn’t it?
If you have the original warehouse container for your wine, you’re bound to fetch more for it. Consider it another safety blanket for buyers. This indicates that the wine hasn’t been moved around, shifted from buyer to buyer, or been packed and unpacked. The industry will often abbreviate this ‘OWC’, for future reference.
On that note, a full 6 or 12-pack will earn you more than an incomplete pack or loose bottles. And if you pick up a 12-pack and drink one, don’t sell the other 11 as one pack. It gives the impression that the missing bottle was of inferior quality, and the seller is trying to unload the rest. Split it up and sell the bottles separately.
Last, keep your receipts! If you’ve got an original receipt for any of the wine you’ve purchased, sit on that bad boy. It’ll pay dividends when it’s time to sell. This kind of hard proof can boost the value of your collection significantly.
‘Should I Sell My Wine By Auction or Private Buyer?’
Most collectors will sell in quantity either through auction or to a private buyer. While auctions can offer some security, the superior option is to find someone to buy your collection directly. The advantages to this are numerous.
The biggest disadvantage to auctioning wine are the ever-mounting fees. Auction houses will charge you a percentage of the sale as a seller’s fee – sometimes as high as 20%. Tax is also administered to your sale. Shipping can often be negotiated within the terms of sale, but you may end up forking over a ton of cash for transport as well. And then there’s insurance.
A lot of auction houses also insist on a minimum inventory value in order to take on your collection. This number can range anywhere from $2,000 (for online houses) to as much as $20,000 for big-name houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
The bigger houses will also insist on proof of top-notch storage conditions and seller history. And if your wines don’t have a strong history of sales at auctions, they could very well be completely uninterested.
Reach Out To RareWineBuyers.com
We’re here to provide you with the best selling environment for your collection. We offer hands-on service, up-front cash, fast turnaround, and no hidden fees.
When you could be waiting months to sell your wine at an auction house for unknown prices, RareWineBuyers.com can price and purchase your collection in a heartbeat – packing and transportation included! Even better, we’ll purchase your entire inventory; no unfair cherry-picking.
Contact us for more information on our services. We can help you sell your wine collection today!