5 Regions Wine Investors Should Look At. #2 Is Essential to a Strong P – Moncharm Fine Wine Merchants

5 Regions Wine Investors Should Look At. #2 Is Essential to a Strong P – Moncharm Fine Wine Merchants

5 Regions Wine Investors Should Look At. #2 Is Essential to a Strong Portfolio

Bordeaux Wine • Famous Wine Regions • Fine Wine Blog • Wine Investment

Less than 0.1% of the wine produced in the world is regarded as “investment grade.” In general, the most popular and sought after wines for investment are top Bordeaux and Grand Cru Burgundy – but there are several other regions on the rise that informed wine investors should keep an eye on.
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is rising in collectability, and certain fine wines from Rhone Valley and Tuscany are proven portfolio additions as well.
Like with any and all investments, information is what gives you the edge in achieving good ROI. With that in mind, we’ve put together this list of the best wine investment regions to give you a gateway into the world of wine investment.
With additional research and resulting informed decisions, wine from any of these 5 top wine regions can be turned profitable.

1. Burgundy

Some of the best and most popular wines around the world today, the best Burgundies of both red and white varietals fetch some of the highest prices at wine auctions.
Regularly dominating the Top 50 Most Expensive Wines (as seen here), Grand Cru and other Burgundy wines have high ROI to offer if purchased at opportune times.
The best Burgundies are made in the smallest quantities, and are quickly grabbed by smart investors, as they are sure to reappear on the market later at skyrocketing prices due to scarcity.

2. Bordeaux

Over 90% of all investment grade wine is produced in Bordeaux – making it a key, crucial component region to any wine investment portfolio.
Many traditional portfolios focus only on red Bordeaux from the best vintages, as they have a well-established secondary market and unsurpassable reputations for quality, consistency, and cellaring.
For example, the 2000 vintage of Bordeaux (see this Cheval Blanc, 2000) has seen some bottles quickly increase 4 and 5 fold in value, which was virtually unheard of previously in wine investment.
Bordeaux is the most traditional wine investment region, and offers the most security on future trading in wine, as there are known and consistent markets for it. Any proper portfolio will prioritize key vintages and vineyards of Bordeaux – of which you can read more about in this article on Moncharm.

3. Rhone Valley

While Burgundy and Bordeaux may generally outshine the other regions for investment wine in popularity, Rhone Valley does offer a few strong prospects that can reach the same prices.
Recommended wines from Napa that you should keep an eye on are the “La-La” wines: La Landonne, La Mouline, and La Turque. You can read more about various vintages from these Rhone wines, as well as other investment-grade wines from Rhone, in this article on Moncharm.

4. Tuscany

While Tuscan classics such as Brunellos and Vino Nobiles are sometimes included in wine portfolios, the top investment wines from the region that we recommend keeping an eye on are without a doubt the Super Tuscans.
Sassicaia, Solaia and Tignanello are some of the most popular and distinguished investment-grade wines to come out of Italy – and for good reason, given their past performance. You can read our full article and input on these Tuscan wines (as well as others from Italy), in this Moncharm article.

5. Napa Valley

While many of the New World regions offer expensive and top quality wine, very few have proven themselves as investment quality – one of which is the USA’s California.
Napa Valley is the shining star in investment wine here. While investment wines from Napa Valley are not traded as frequently in secondary markets as are French investment wines, they have still managed to prove they are a solid investment.
Two good examples of Napa investment-grade wines are this Screaming Eagle, 2011 and this Opus One, 2009. Apart from other vintages of these wines, you should also keep an eye on other top quality Cabernet Sauvignons.
You can find more about this region, as well as Champagne and Bordeaux, in this Moncharm article.

Win £500.00 Worth Of Wine From Top Investment Regions

If you’re a wine collector or investor – or, simply, if you’d like a chance to start your journey in wine collecting for free – we’d like to invite you to enter our monthly prize draw right now.
This gives you a monthly chance to win a case worth £500.00 of wine from some of the world’s top investment regions – including Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Rhone Valley, and Tuscany.
Did we mention that this is a free-to-enter giveaway? No strings attached – click here and enter now!

Creating A Strong Portfolio

Conventional wine investment wisdom suggests that a strong portfolio must contain a strong base of key vintages of Bordeaux, along with an optional selection of wines from the other regions that present potential – which we have discussed above.
If you have any other wine investment questions or queries, or if you’d simply like the input of a wine expert, please feel free to write us a short message here or give us a call at any time. Our team always responds promptly, and will be happy to help!
Image source: Neal

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Wine Acidity: A Guide to An Essential Wine Characteristic – Moncharm Fine Wine Merchants

Wine Acidity: A Guide to An Essential Wine Characteristic – Moncharm Fine Wine Merchants

Wine Acidity: A Guide to An Essential Wine Characteristic

• Fine Wine Blog • Wine Acidity • Wine Guide • Wine Tasting

Wine acidity is a confusing concept for many, and the taste of acidity is frequently mistaken for tannins or alcohol. But the acid in wine plays an important role.
From a functional perspective, acidity is crucial for the preservation of wine. Proper wine acidity prevents spoilage of the wine and inhibits microorganism growth – while an acidity level too low will ruin the wine quickly as it will go bad.
The acidity of your wine is also important from an enjoyment perspective, providing balance and zest. We discuss in greater detail in this quick guide to wine acidity.

What Does Acidity Taste Like In Wine?

For an easy generalization, wines with higher acidity feel lighter or “zestier,” while wines with less acidity feel heavier or “richer.” Acidity can be recognized as a tingling sensation at the sides of the tongue, or a bumpy feeling on the rough of the tongue, with a prominence of saliva in the mouth.
Wine lacking acidity tastes flat and boring, while wine with too much acidity is too tart and sour. Acidity and sweetness in an ideal wine should correctly be used to balance each other.
Proper acidity proportions can enhance a wine’s refreshing qualities, and can complement paired foods exquisitely. This is achieved incredibly well in highly regarded fine wines such as those from these wine investment regions.

Types Of Acid In Wine

Four types of acid are found most commonly in grapes and in wine. The presence of a fifth type of acid (acetic acid or vinegar) should be found only in tiny amounts in good wines, because in large amounts it indicates a wine flaw – a common occurrence in cheap table wine. Acetic acid is undesirable and volatile.
Tartaric and malic acid are the most common acids in wine, and are created in grapes as they mature on the vine, with acidity decreasing as the grapes continue to mature. In general, wines from cooler years and areas tend to have higher acidity and lower sugar.
Warm climate grapes tend to have lower acid and higher sugar. Colder climates’ acidity is preserved better as compared to warm climates (thus presenting a higher level in the wine), because warmth and sunlight cause grapes to both mature and lose acidity faster.

Measuring Wine Acidity: TA & pH

TA (or total acidity) is measured under the assumption that a wine’s acid is all tartaric, and measures the percentage of acid in the wine. Total acidity is recorded as grams per 100 mL of wine. The general range is between 0.4% and 1.3%, with a most desirable range between 0.6% and 0.7%.
Wine that tastes too tart and sour would rate near 1.0%, while wine that tastes flat and boring is near 0.4%. An average red table wine is about 0.6%, with the average white wine just slightly higher.
An exception is very sweet white dessert wines, which may have acidity above 1%. This is considered very high, but necessary to balance the high sugar.
pH, on the other hand, measures active acidity. It is a logarithmic measure of wine acidity, meaning that a pH of 4 translates in 10 times more acidity than a pH of 5. The lower the pH number, the higher the acidity. If a pH is too high, microorganisms may grow in the wine.
Most wines are between the pH levels of 3.3 and 3.7.
To learn how you can find the acidity measurements of your wine, we recommend reading our recent article on wine tech sheets.

Understanding Your Fine Wine

The enjoyability of your wine drinking experience is often times dependent on your knowledge of it. It is this knowledge that helps you choose the right wine for your palate, and keep choosing right wines in the future. This is why we bring you weekly articles and guides here on our blog!
We hope understanding wine acidity will help you better understand your wine, and we recommend checking out our online wine shop for a collection of some of the world’s best fine wines from the most popular wine making regions – all just a button away from arriving at your doorstep.
For any other fine wine related questions or queries – or if you’re interested in fine wine investment or collecting – please feel free to contact our experts at any time. We always respond promptly, and will be glad to help!
Image source: Brent Hofacker

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