Depending on the vintage, the resale market can be limited and price movements highly volatile. There is a limited supply of great wines, says Pegna, and while supply declines with each bottle drunk, the product generally improves over time and gains value. The rise of Internet auction sites also is making it easier to find buyers, freeing investors from dependence on the traditional sales at auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's. Although fine-wine regions around the world are starting to offer wine futures, including California, it's in Bordeaux that the en primeur system was established. The system has been open to general consumers since the 1960s.
Wine futures pass through various channels before reaching an investor.
Chateaus offer their wine futures in various tranches, or portions of their supply, which are released to courtiers who are all Bordelais. The courtiers in turn sell to negociants, who then sell to importers, distributors and merchants around the world. By the time it reaches the consumer, a bottle of wine may have changed hands four or five times. Many wine merchants warn that investors looking to purchase futures on the 1999 vintage, which are now being released, should be particularly careful. Wine experts are very cautious about the 1999 vintage because unfavourable climatic conditions affected the quality of grapes.