Private buyers · wine and wealth
Investing in wine: what to know before you buy
A wine merchant has every interest in selling you wine, not in telling you it is a good investment. Here is the honest maths: what a cellar bought for resale earns, once storage, insurance, selling costs and tax are deducted. In most cases, the conclusion is the same: buy great wines to drink them.
The calculation
Assumptions you can change. The calculation is an order of magnitude, not a promise of return; tax rules should be confirmed by a tax adviser at the time of sale.
What loses money
- Few wines gain value. The rises people talk about concern a handful of great names in great years. A good classified growth from an average year often resells at its purchase price, minus costs.
- Reselling is expensive and slow. An auction house or a platform takes its commission; a buyer wants to know the provenance and storage conditions, bottle by bottle.
- Storage has to be paid for. A cellar stable between 12 and 14 °C, or a professional warehouse, and insurance. A badly stored bottle loses its value, even if it stays good to drink.
- Counterfeits exist among the very great names and old years: invoices, original wooden cases and provenance count as much as the label.
- En primeur isn't free: you pay two years before delivery, and some years have resold for less than their en primeur price.
What works: buying to drink
A great wine bought young and drunk at maturity costs less than the same wine bought ready, ten years later. That is wine's only sure “return”: it gets drunk. A cellar designed for that is put together on the page building a wine cellar, or for a large house on having your cellar stocked. The vintages reaching maturity this year are on vintages to drink in 2026.
Wealth advisers: the page your clients' wine explains how we work with you.
Is wine a good investment?
Rarely. It earns nothing until it is sold, resells slowly and with costs, costs money in storage and insurance, and only a small share of great wines gain value over time. It is a good buy for someone who wants to drink it or pass it on, a mediocre investment for someone looking for a return.
How is a private individual's sale of wine taxed in France?
As movable property: no tax if the sale price does not exceed €5,000. Above that, two regimes are cited: a flat tax of 6.5% of the sale price, or capital gains tax at 36.2% (19% plus 17.2% social charges), reduced by 5% per year of ownership beyond the second, until full exemption after 22 years. Not all sources agree on whether wine qualifies for the flat-rate regime: have yours confirmed by a tax adviser before selling.
Should you buy en primeur to invest?
En primeur lets you buy a great wine at its release price, delivered two years later. It is a good way to pay less for what you will drink; it is no guarantee of a gain, and some vintages have resold below their en primeur price.
Do you sell wine investments?
No. We sell wine to drink, including wines for laying down and old vintages, with their invoice and provenance. We promise no gain.