Investors who follow the fine wine market are well aware that it has experienced significant turbulence in recent years, with returns declining by as much as 27% from its 2022 peak, according to the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 Index.
However, in the past few months, there have been some positive signs of a market rebound. Therefore, I reached out to experts at RareWine Invest to learn more about future opportunities.
“We acknowledge that fine wine has been one of the worst-performing commodities in the last two years compared to stock and financial markets, but our trading activity has increased by nearly 20% year-over-year, despite lower prices, suggesting a potential positive uptrend,” stated Mads Lund Jensen, CEO of RareWine Invest, in a Zoom interview.
“We see several bright spots in the market, and are actually opening a new office in Dubai and considering a second one in London,” added Lars Granat Jensen, CMO of RareWine Invest.
Established in 2016, RareWine Invest also has offices in Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, and Switzerland. In addition to assisting investors in creating a fine wine portfolio, they offer authentication, bonded warehouse storage, wine tastings and trading services as part of their parent company, the RareWine Group.
Major competitors include Cult Wine and Vinovest. Both firms have also documented positive movement in the fine wine market, with Cult Wine announcing their trading volumes are up 6.3% year to date and Vinovest reporting an 11.9% increase in fine wine trading volume in their Q2 2025 report.
However, prices are still down across all regions, which suggests a good time to enter the market.
“If you know of some fine wines you want to drink in ten years, you should start investing now. Prices are better, and the availability of top vintages will go down over time, creating scarcity and potentially more positive returns in the future,” stated Mads.
“Plus, we believe that wine should be considered as a long-term investment. We call it ‘investment/collecting,’ because if you don’t sell it, you can still enjoy fine wine by drinking it with friends or family,” added Lars.
Bullish on Burgundy and Italian Fine Wine
What are some good investment opportunities available now? Mads and Lars are both very bullish on Burgundy and Italy.
“We see Burgundy as a strong investment category, especially white Burgundy, even at the village and Premier Cru levels,” stated Lars. “Whereas general wine prices have declined in the past two years, the cost to acquire new vintages of Burgundy from wineries has increased, suggesting a significant return for those who invested earlier.”
Because of this, they recommend to all new investors that Burgundy should comprise at least 40% of their portfolio.
But Italian wines are also seeing a surge in interest. “Wines from Piedmont and Tuscany, especially Barolos and Brunellos, maintain strong demand, and have maintained the most stable pricing throughout the recent crisis,” Lars continued.
Older vintages of Champagne are another encouraging category, because they “offer better value compared to newer releases, which are priced at a level where better value can be found in releases from a few years ago,” explained Mads. He cited the 2002 Salon as a good example.
Fine wines from Bordeaux and Napa are also common investment wines, but both markets are currently struggling, according to Lars. “They both produce very high-quality wines, but the pricing and distribution systems, particularly the en primeur system, need to change to attract younger collectors and ensure consumption,” he said.
The good news for new investors is that the former minimum investment threshold for RareWine Invest clients has fallen from €10,000 to as low as €1,000. This more flexible price strategy must be working, because, despite the volatile market situation, Rarewine Invest currently has approximately €200 million in assets under management, an increase since 2022.
Fine Wine Market Growth in the Middle East and Asia
I asked the two executives why they were opening a new office in Dubai, and they explained that “the Middle East, particularly Dubai, is a growing fine wine market due to significant tourism investment and an anticipated liberalization of alcohol policies.” They added that there has been an increase in the number of high-net-worth individuals who have relocated to Dubai due to tax benefits.
Asia is still a hot spot when it comes to fine wine investing, despite the decrease in Chinese wine consumption when government austerity measures were employed several years ago. “We still see significant wine trading in Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and Taiwan, especially for Champagne, and about 30% of our clients are located there,” concluded Lars.