Bonds, Funds, Real Estate, Stocks,… all these forms of investing are well known and give you a nice return on investment if you have sufficient knowledge and can invest enough time in keeping up with them. They have their pros and cons and can make you money but also lose you money. How about investing in something different, in something were not many have gone before? Have you ever considered investing in wine?

Wine lovers will tell you that Lafite Rothschild is one of the most famous and best wines in the world. Their 1982 vintage was worth $3900 for a bottle. Today you will have to put down $38,000+ if you want to get your hands on one (and people actually do). That’s an incredible return on investment in one decade that only few other investments will give you. The 2002 vintage has risen 70% in value the last year alone.

Wine is also a safe investment. There is no secret to it. If you buy wines that are recommended by experts, you can bet that you will profit from those wines with far more certainty than any stock tip can ever offer you. The foremost critic in the field is Robert Parker Jr. What he says goes. He judges wines on a hundred point scale. Any wines he rates 90 points and up will become high in demand and then the economic laws kick in: scarce supply plus high demand equal high prices.

If want to start with collecting wines as an investment, you can already do so for little money. One investment you will need to make is for a wine cellar or wine storage space because if the wine goes bad, so does its value. The optimal storage for wine is in a cool and humid space: 55-58°F and a humidity of 55-57% are considered optimal. If you don’t have sufficient room at home or don’t want to build your own wine cellar, there are companies that professionally store wine for prices between $15 and $35 per crate per year which will usually also include insurance at replacement value.

Now you are ready to start buying wines. Find a wine merchant that you can trust, that is already established for a while and that has a decent customer base. It is very important that the wine merchant stores his wines properly so that you can be sure that what you receive is top quality.

When you deem the time right to sell your wines, you can either get in touch with your merchant who will quote you with a buy back price, you can also take advantage of specialized websites and auctions. Know that for most wines it will take a few years to get a decent return on investment.