'Going with your gut is one of the most important skills you can have in the wine world,' believes a great colleague of mine who's been doing this since before I was born. Today I'm applying that skill to my wine blogging. No doubt there are other wine news and events ideas circulating the world wide web that may be valid contenders for my Friday post. Usually there are several. But today, today, I'm going with my gut before I get side tracked with all the possibilities. Decanter's article this week about Skinner Auction House was just too intriguing to sort, sift, hem and haw over other topics you might enjoy reading about.
The economy is officially in the crapper, I think we all agree by now, and yet Skinner just put up record numbers for bottles of Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Screaming Eagle and Harlan Estate. The first went for over $20K. That was triple the estimate. The Screaming Eagle went for $2,430 and the Harlan Estate broke Sotheby's April record (of $655) going for $810/bottle.
Did I say "just"? There is something to be said for the fact that the Skinner auction happened 3 weeks ago. Three weeks is like a lifetime given how much things have shifted even in the last few days.
My question - everyone's question - is which investments are most "sound" given the state of affairs we're facing. And what you can afford to invest in, if at all, is another great question. (Hell, most bloggers, shop owners, distributors and importers are talking about the extent that people's day to day wine buying habits (read: consumption) may or may not change in the coming months. Forget the idea of people making significant investments in wine!)
And then you read an article about serious cash being dropped on a bottle of wine, something that many believe is meant to be drank. Or is it...? Perspective is everything, no? If you follow Steve Bachmann at Vinfolio, a year and a half ago he was all in favor of drinking the stuff, or investing to reinvest in your wine consumption. Today? His position may be somewhat less firm.
In these economic times, is wine an investment opportunity you might consider?