Wine 'outperforming oil and gold'

According to the Bordeaux Index, a monthly report on the state of the fine wine market, bottles of white and red outperformed gold and oil. Wine prices jumped 5 per cent, year-on-year, bettering rises in the price of oil, which was up three per cent, and gold – up to two per cent. The rise has been attributed to an increased interest in China for fine wines over the past 12 months.

In the past year record auction prices have been set for bottles of wine. Last month £147,020 was paid for a bottle of 1869 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild at a sale in Hong Kong. Performing well has been Lafite and Mouton Rothschild 2008 which saw an increase after it was confirmed that Chinese artwork would feature on labels. Gary Boom, the founder and Managing Director of Bordeaux Index, said: “Once more, the key dynamic has been continued demand from the Asian market.

“Chinese buyers in particular have developed a taste for fine wine – and with alternative investment classes such as gold and shares limping through to the end of the year, it’s hard not to give any forecast other than for growth to continue into the New Year.”