En Primeur or wine futures: Purchasing wine before it is bottled.

Wine futures…no it is not a movie about purchasing wine in the space age, but instead it is a potential investment opportunity for the avid wine speculator.  En Primeur also known as “wine futures” is actually the act of purchasing wine that has been made but not yet bottled. Although this is occurring in many regions today, including California and Italy, en primeur is a specialty of Bordeaux (region in France). Each April, Bordeaux hosts tastings for investors, merchants, collectors, etc. who are interested in purchasing wines en primeur.

Like any investment there are some pros and cons with purchasing wines en primeur.

Pros:

• Consumers can secure wines that may have very limited quantities and may be difficult to obtained after they are released.
• Purchasing a wine en primeur or as wine futures will be cheaper than purchasing once it is released to the public.
• There is opportunity to gain wines from great vintages like Bordeaux 2000.
• Wines can be obtained in less common formats like halves, magnums, and so on.

Cons:

• Payment is required at least a year to 18 months prior to the official release of the vintage.
• What you taste and pay for could be totally different from what you actually received once the bottled version has been released.
• You have to wait at least two years to receive your wine.
• You could be required to carry insurance and pay storage fees if you aren’t keeping the wine on your on property.

Before you set out to invest in wine via the en primeur or wine futures route do your research. As with any investment it can be a gamble (no pun intended) and you surely want to be well versed. Choose a reputable merchant to work with. Other helpful tips regarding en primeur or wine futures can be found at decanter.com. Check them out and happy drinking!