I have been thinking a lot about the economics of wine -- everything ranging from pricing strategies for premium wines, to changes in immigrant policies on the price of wine, to the effects of the current market uncertainty on wine auctions. I'm going to focus on the last issue for this post.
Wine auctions are one of the few places one can buy older vintages of first growths and other "exceptional wines." Lots frequently sell for thousands of dollars and, should one of those lots include a case of older Romanee-Conti, the prices can get astronomically high. Needless to say, these auctions are at the height wine consumerism.
But, if the market is getting tighter, or there is a slow down, shouldn't that be reflected at wine auctions? Numbers from the first-half of 2007 appear strong -- but that would be expected, as those auctions were held before the subprime market crunch. So, as a potential sign of the economy's health and a sign on the current the wine market itself, I'm curious to see how the following questions play out:
(1) By percentages, how many lots are sold in Fall '07 compared to Spring '07?
(2) How many lots have their reserve option exercised, preventing the sale?
(3) For comparable wines, what are the prices sold in Fall '07 compared to Spring '07?
(4) By percentages, how many lots are sold to foreign investors in Fall '07 compared to Spring '07?
A downturn in 1-3 and an uptake in 4 could be a harbinger of things to come....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment