08/01/06 Wine Futures

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and today we are answering a question from the email. Recently a listener wrote "Linda, you once did a show about wine futures, could you tell a little more about who sells futures and how it is done?" In an earlier program I defined what a wine future was and now I will explain it in a bit more detail. Wine futures are the purchases of wine after it is made but before it is bottled. The producers sample the press and all of their major wholesale buyers etc. usually in the spring after the wine is made. Then they in turn sell the wine to their customers. The wine will be delivered a few years later. This is the best time to purchase the wine, as it will hopefully never be less expensive than at that offering. The practice of selling wine futures began in France, and has spread to most of the major wine regions in the world. As a consumer, this is when it pays to have a good relationship and be a good customer of a wine merchant. The merchant will receive an allocation from the distributor or broker and will dole it out to his or her best customers. You see buying wine futures may be the only way to purchase wines produced in limited quantities. If you are collecting wine it might be advisable to let your wine merchant know in advance what wines you are interested in adding to your cellar. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.