For investment purposes, wine is usually purchased by the case rather than by the bottle. Antonakeas recommends buying about twice as much wine as you think you want to be holding, so that it makes sense to buy at least two cases of any given wine. When that first jump in value occurs, selling half the wine will at least cover part of the investment. Then hang on to the rest, keep reading and, after five or six years from the vintage, start looking at how well that particular wine is doing at the wine auction houses. Current market values can be found in the auction house catalogs, which are available by subscription.
Some investors purchase a tasting case along with the wines they intend to sell.
They can then track the progress of the wine by opening a bottle and tasting it every two to three years. A reputable auction house is considered one of the safest and most efficient ways to sell wine. Many firms such as Morrell, Sotheby's and Christie's will do free appraisals. In addition, there may be what amounts to a service charge tacked on to the price that the buyer pays. Shipping or delivering the wine to the auction site is usually the responsibility of the individual seller.