In the last few weeks, we have seen Fine Wine Prices coming down rather rapidly. Reuters have just published an interesting article on this, "Global credit crisis puts damper on wine prices". Auction houses see their sell-through rates dropping and prices as compared to only 6 weeks ago are significantly down. When looking at the Livex 100, the widely quoted Fine Wine Price Index, we see a drop of 16% from the high in August.
Well well, it’s been quite a week. We’ve seen a meltdown in the financial markets that has unsettled even the most experienced players. In fact, it took on such proportions that there was a very real, systemic risk of the whole financial system breaking down. Not surprisingly, this has triggered a global response from governments. After the US took the initiative in announcing measures, it now seems that the UK has initiated the right response in buying stakes in the troubled banks, forcing them to own up to a much larger figure of cash needed than they previously communicated.
Today was another day of mayhem on the stock exchanges. The CAC- 40, the French stock market index, lost 9% of it's value which is the largest one-day-drop ever. Both the FTSE and the DAX are down 7% and Asia closed this morning showing losses of between 4% and 6%. As I write this, the DOW trades 780 points or 7.6% lower. On such a day, or rather a series of days with extreme uncertainty ranging to panic, it won't come as a surprise that fine wine prices are coming down as well.
Many thanks for taking some time to read this. I intend to use this page to keep you updated on events and developments in the Fine Wine & Champagne market. This website being principally a trading site, the entries will be focussing on events that bear a direct relationship to wine and their prices. We will not spend time on tasting notes – there are many other websites and blogs that cover these extensively – other than when they have an impact on Fine Wine prices.
