Wine Basics
Wine Investing
Apr 24, 2025
The Barolo Wars
A Tale of Tradition, Rebellion, and Radical Winemaking
Imagine the French Revolution, but with wine instead of guillotines. And the wine isn’t used to execute people. And it’s in Italy.
In fact, a better analogy would be…
Imagine the French Revolution, but with wine instead of the entire sociopolitical structure of France.
Just as the French Revolutionaries sought to tear down the nobility’s exclusive rights and inherited power, the modernist Barolo winemakers were launching an assault on the most sacred traditions of Italian winemaking. Their target wasn’t an aristocratic class, but an aristocratic approach to wine – a system that had made great Barolo an exclusive privilege of the wealthy and patient.
The Traditionalists
The traditional Barolo producers – families like Giacomo Conterno and Giovanni Giacosa – were the wine world’s equivalent of the French aristocracy. Their approach to winemaking was hereditary, complex, and seemingly immutable.
1961 Conterno!
Wines were aged for decades, requiring patience and resources that placed them firmly in the realm of the elite. Where Marie Antoinette flippantly declared, “Let them eat cake,” the traditional Barolo producers were saying, “Let them drink… after 30 years of aging.”
The Modernists
Enter the modernists – the revolutionary guard of Piedmontese winemaking. Like the sans-culottes challenging the ancien régime, they didn’t just want to modify the system. They wanted to overthrow it completely.
The cast of characters could have stepped straight out of a revolutionary drama. Elio Altare – our Robespierre – didn’t just challenge tradition; he literally took a chainsaw to his family’s massive traditional oak casks. Imagine inheriting a multi-generational wine business and your response is to dramatically destroy your family’s most sacred equipment.
Elio Altare – legend.
The Conflict
Where traditional producers used massive, neutral Slavonian oak casks and practiced extended maceration that could make a wine seem more like a historical artefact.
The traditional camps viewed these changes with the same horror that French aristocrats might have viewed revolutionary manifestos. They argued that these modernists were committing vinous regicide (decided to commit to the analogy for the whole thing, sorry) – destroying the very essence of what made Barolo noble.
But the modernists were relentless. They argued that wine should be a right, not a privilege. They wanted to create wines that could speak to everyone, not just a select few with cellars, patience, and generational wealth.
They introduced French barriques – smaller, newer oak barrels that would make a traditional producer weep into his generationally-inherited Slavonian cask. Shorter maceration times that were practically revolutionary. Wines that – shock, horror – could be enjoyed within a decade of production.
Slavonian Oak Casks
The Resolution
International wine critics became the revolutionary press. Robert Parker, our Danton, spread the gospel of the modern approach with the enthusiasm of a political pamphleteer. Suddenly, Barolo wasn’t just a regional curiosity – it was a global conversation about the very nature of winemaking.
Robert Parker – our Danton
The resolution is where the analogy breaks down (“it already had”, say the readers).
Unlike the French Revolution, this didn’t end in a complete and utter overhaul. Instead, it resulted in a (kind of) synergy. Traditional producers began adopting some modern techniques. Modern producers started to appreciate the depth of traditional methods.
The Barolo Wars remind us that great wine is never just about fermented grape juice. It’s about people, passion, and the endless human capacity for reinvention.
Liberté, égalité, vinosité!
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Wine Basics
Wine Investing
10 Aug 2025
When is the Best Time to Invest in Fine Wine?
The fine wine market has always been a blend of passion and performance. For some, the allure lies in the artistry of the vineyard; for others, it’s the steady, tangible returns that make fine wine a compelling alternative asset.
But here’s the perennial question for investors: when is the right time to invest?
In our latest analysis at WineFi, we examined one of the most sought-after segments of the market—red Burgundy—to see how timing influences returns. We compared all red Burgundy wines in our investment universe to the Liv-ex Burgundy 150 index, the sector’s benchmark, and looked for patterns that could guide smarter entry and exit strategies.
The Findings at a Glance
Our data paints a clear picture of how red Burgundy performs at different stages of its lifecycle:
🚫 Don’t buy on release – On average, red Burgundy underperforms its benchmark in the first few years after release. That means paying top prices straight out of the gate often isn’t the best move for returns-focused investors.
🎯 Sweet spot: Year 6 – Performance begins to accelerate around the sixth year—coinciding with the median start of the wine’s drinking window. From here, returns tend to outpace the benchmark.
📈 Outperformance window: Years 6–25 – During this period, red Burgundy has historically delivered impressive relative gains. By year 25, the mean return in our dataset was 1.8x higher than the benchmark.
⚠️ After year 25: A trickier game – Performance tends to plateau, and volatility increases. As bottles become rarer and more valuable, prices can swing sharply in either direction. This aligns with the median end of red Burgundy’s drinking window, when investment and consumption dynamics shift.
Why This Matters for Investors
Fine wine, unlike many asset classes, is both finite and consumable. Every bottle opened reduces supply, creating scarcity—but also introducing unpredictability as remaining stock becomes fragmented across cellars worldwide.
By aligning purchases with a wine’s drinking window, investors can:
Maximise potential upside by entering when market demand is strengthening.
Reduce downside risk by avoiding the softer performance often seen in the early years.
Plan exits strategically before volatility overtakes predictable growth.
The Limits (and Power) of the Data
While this study looks at the mean performance of all red Burgundy wines in our universe, individual results will vary significantly by producer, vintage, and even format (bottle size). Legendary producers like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti may defy these trends altogether, while lesser-known estates might follow them more closely.
Still, using drinking windows as a timing tool offers a practical framework for making better-informed decisions—especially for investors building diversified portfolios across regions and styles.
Final Pour
The data tells us that patience pays in fine wine investment—particularly in Burgundy. If you can resist the urge to buy on release and instead enter around year six, history suggests you’ll be swimming with the current rather than against it.
In fine wine, as in life, timing is everything. And for Burgundy lovers, that sixth-year mark might just be the moment when the stars—and the corks—align.
Wine Basics
Wine Investing
14 Jul 2025
WineFi Q2 2025 Quarterly Report
In Q2 2025, we have seen a stabilisation in wine market prices. In this quarterly report we dive into this finding to understand how list prices compare to trade prices, along with macro-analysis and regional comparisons.
In this edition, we explore:
🏦 Macroeconomic Analysis and the Effect on Wine Markets
📈 How Wine Compares to Other Assets
⚖️ Wine Market Stabilisation?
🔀 List Prices vs Trade Prices
🌍 Regional Performance Breakdown
Wine Basics
Wine Investing
24 Apr 2025
WineFi Q1 2025 Quarterly Report
We’re pleased to share our Q1 2025 Quarterly Report, offering a concise, data-driven overview of fine wine’s performance in the first quarter of the year. As macroeconomic pressures persist and traditional markets continue to fluctuate, fine wine’s role as an alternative asset class remains in sharp focus.
In this edition, we explore:
🏦 Macroeconomic Analysis and the Effect on Wine Markets
📈 How Wine Compares to Other Assets
⚖️ Wine Market Stabilisation?
🌍 Regional Performance Breakdown
