The driving force behind the breakthrough
Fine wine still remained in the spotlight even after the ease of lockdown measures this year. One of the reasons pushing the price performance is the accumulated savings from the 2020 lockdown and low-to-zero interest rates encouraging investment in alternative assets.
Another major reason is the official end of US tariffs on European wine imports in June, which allowed US buyers to replenish their supplies of Bordeaux and Burgundy.
As wine collectors returned to classic labels and regions this year, increasing trades of established categories such as Burgundy, Italy and California redressed the balance of the market after last year’s surging performance from Italy, California and the Rhône.
The Rhône and US experienced record years with respective shares of 4.5% and 7.6% among the total trades. Italy stayed steady at 15.3% with a slight increase of 0.2% from last year.
On the other hand, the market continued to broaden and diversify as brand-new wines from non-mainstream regions such as Lebanon, Austria and Armenia were traded for the first time.
