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PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTS
THE INTERNET
The internet has played a major role in
the growth of the wine market: websites
such as Liv-ex and Wine-Searcher
have brought a transparency in pricing
hitherto unknown, and Berry Bros. &
Rudd’s BBX (Berrys’ Broking Exchange
– an online wine trading platform
for private individuals) has replaced
cumbersome, archaic manual broking
lists, whilst social media has increased
the power of wine critics.
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Liv-ex was founded in 1999 and has
been one of the cornerstones of the
development of transparency in the
fine wine trade which has traditionally
been incredibly opaque, with only
insiders really having access to the key
information. These days, professional
traders or serious collectors who want
to know the price at which merchants
are actually trading, go to Liv-ex when,
just ten years ago, the only way to
accurately gauge market pricing was
to read through catalogues, make calls
and send out faxes. And that was for
insiders who knew who to ask and what
to ask for.
More and more information is now
being published online, further opening
up the market. This information
includes:
Tasting note databases, peer-to-peer
platforms (like Cellar Tracker) and other
online forums, making it much easier to
find an independent verdict on the pros
and cons of any wine and helping to
demystify wine knowledge.
Details of wines available for sale
as most merchants now publish their
catalogues online.
Price information as price
comparison sites, such as Wine
Searcher, allow consumers to quickly
find the wine they want at the best
price.
The confidence in the integrity of
the market that this transparency
has engendered has brought a huge
amount of new money into the industry,
helping to open up new frontiers and
opportunities, particularly in emerging
markets which are continuing to take an
interest.
Brokers and agents are increasingly
making these online resources available
to their clients by providing the tools
for investors to take part in making
their own investment choices, for
example Cult Wines website provides a
platform giving “…wine prices, general
information and most importantly
an online portfolio management tool
which… has allowed our clients to have
web access to their holdings, online
valuations using current market price
feeds, [including access to Liv-ex] and
the latest news”.
The view of Liv-ex is that, “we are still
only scratching the surface as far as the
internet’s potential is concerned. The
next ten years are likely to be even more
disruptive. But our sense is that the
main changes will take place behind the
scenes. It will be all about restructuring
– what we call “post trade” –the supply
chain and other back-office functions.
Granted this is not quite as glamorous
as selling more wine, but it is where
much of the residual inefficiency resides
in the fine wine market and could unlock
considerable future growth”
4
.
SECURITY FEATURES
One of the most recent website
launches is of the site WineFraud.com,
whose April 2015 launch was reported
by Bloomberg. “The site is intended to
be a resource for everyone wanting to
do due diligence on rare wines”, says
wine consultant Maureen Downey who
has helped the FBI bring counterfeiters,
including the multi million dollar fraud
of Rudy Kurniawan, to justice; the site
will provide tutorials on how to spot
fraud and a gallery of photographs of
the real things to compare against a
suspect bottle or label.
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The high profile Kurniawan case has
raised the stakes in terms of how
seriously the industry is taking the
counterfeiting problem and a half-
dozen security companies now offer
dozens of high-tech anti-counterfeiting
solutions, which include holograms and
electronic chips embedded in labels and
the bottle, as well as tamper-proof seals
on capsules and the Prooftag Bubble
Tag system.
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IMPROVEMENTS TO WINE
MAKING
The wine makers are not just focused
on protecting their wine, but also on
making better wine to protect – in
February 2015, Robert Parker stated
“In short, 2009 is the greatest vintage I
have tasted in Bordeaux since 1982, of
which it is a modern day version, but
greatly improved. It is more consistent
(many châteaux that were making
mediocre wine in 1982 are now making
brilliant wine) and of course, the
yields are lower, the selection process
is stricter, and there are any other
number of factors, from investments
in the wineries to impeccable, radical
viticulture, that have resulted in
extraordinary raw materials”. Such
improvements can only be good for the
sector as a whole, although it is worth
considering if they have the potential to
offset the rarity value of older vintages
which may not be so refined: current
pricing suggests not for the right
wines – and that with increasing age,
improvement in the bottle and growing
rarity, increased desire to acquire older
vintages continues to drive up values -
a bottle of a DRC, Romaneé Conti 2009
would, in theory, be a better wine than
the DRC, Romaneé Conti 1945. However,
in April 2015, the 1945 was trading at
£292,476 per case, nearly 200% higher
than the 2009 at over £100,800 a case.
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RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
The importance of research and
education is clear - just last year the
Spanish Fine Wine Institute launched,
stating its intentions to, bring, “the
leading Spanish wineries together,
The Spanish Fine Wine Institute is a
private academic association. The
Wine Institute brings together the
resources of 20 wineries and affiliate
