What is Wine Futures?
Posted: Sep 1, 2015
Once a year, wineries across the globe open their cellars for a unique sale: Wine Futures.
Top customers, journalists, and wholesale buyers alike are given the exclusive opportunity to taste and purchase wine, before it’s bottled, when it is still aging in barrel. Wine reviewers and journalists are allowed a sneak-peak of the winery’s newest vintages, so their reviews can be published to build awareness of certain wines; wholesale buyers and wine directors can plan which wines will be added to their wine portfolios and wine lists; the best customers are rewarded with the ability to claim a certain amount of their favorite wine before the wine is released to the general public.
The wines offered in the sale technically aren’t finished, as they can age in barrel anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years before they get bottled. The wines will continue to evolve, so it’s up to the buyer to determine what those wines will taste like, and how good they’ll be, once bottled.
Since people are purchasing an unfinished product, there is some risk involved. But, as with every risk, there is a reward: the wines are discounted to the lowest price they’ll ever be offered at. Once the wines are bottled and released to the public, they will be priced at their normal (higher) rate.
So, what is Wine Futures? A pre-sale that allows you to invest in wine. You purchase wine at a steep discount while the wine is still in the hands of the winemaker. Once the wine is bottled, it’s yours! If you have the opportunity to attend or purchase Futures, take advantage, as this is a unique way of buying wine that only happens once a year.