Health of the Wine Market
“Very rare wines keep going up in value,” says Wayne Kompare, founder of Kompare Appraisals, “The financial crisis hit the wine auction market causing prices to drop 20 to 30%.”
A demand shift from the U.S. to Asia, however, kept sales strong, according to Kompare. Last year, a case of Romanee-Conti 1990 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Burgundy sold for $297,400 in Hong Kong through Acker, Merrall & Condit.
Downey of Chai Consulting notes that in Asia, collectors are primarily buying to build their cellars. “They are not a consumption society,” she added. This is unlike the U.S. where collectors are consistently replenishing their inventories