Fine Wine Prices Up 10% to 17%, Influenced by Asian Wine Buying

Vinfolio's May Fine Wine Indexes point to a "Hong Kong effect" on wine auction prices.  I believe May's increases reflect the impact of higher auction prices being paid in Hong Kong  
 Of the 11 auctions held in May worldwide that we tracked, four were in Hong Kong and about 25% of the price data points were derived from these auctions. This clearly points to a 'Hong Kong effect' on the fine wine auction market.  

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) June 24, 2009 -- Vinfolio today released current performance indicators for the global wine auction market updated through May 2009. Wineprices.com Fine Wine Indexes show an increase in May alone of between 10% to 17% for the most actively traded fine wines, compared to the Dow Jones average which was up 4.1% in May. While most indexes are still down 10% to 24% from 12 months ago, all signs indicate that the upward trend which began in January/February of this year will continue, especially with the influence that Asian buyers are having on the market.

"I believe May's increases reflect the impact of higher auction prices being paid in Hong Kong," said Stephen Bachmann, CEO, Vinfolio, Inc. "Of the 11 auctions held in May worldwide that we tracked, four were in Hong Kong and about 25% of the price data points were derived from these auctions. This clearly points to a 'Hong Kong effect' on the fine wine auction market." While Vinfolio's Fine Wine Indexes for May exclude Mainland China's first ever wine auction held that month, Vinfolio's CEO plans to stay abreast of auction developments there as well.

The complete Fine Wine Indexes are available free at www.wineprices.com/finewineindexes.

May 2009 highlights:
  Fine Wine 100: +12.5% in May, +25.6% YTD, but -14.6% since May 2008
Fine Wine 250: +10.3% in May, +22.3% YTD, but -16.6% since May 2008
Bordeaux First Growth 100: +11.6% in May, +31.3% YTD, but -10.4% since May 2008
Burgundy 50: +16.9% in May, + 22.8% YTD, but -24.0% since May 2008
 
While the news was good for most of the Fine Wine Indexes, California fine wine prices have been performing poorly, with the California 100 showing a mere 1.2% increase YTD through May.

Stay current regarding trends in wine collecting and investing by reading Stephen Bachmann's blog, The Wine Collector, at www.vinfolio.com/thewinecollector.

About WinePrices.com:
WinePrices.com, powered by Vinfolio, is the most comprehensive and up-to-date free online resource for wine price information, with over 400,000 global auction prices from the last eight years and over 1 million current US wine retail prices. WinePrices.com empowers wine enthusiasts and collectors in support of wine purchasing and selling decisions. For more information, visit www.wineprices.com.

About Vinfolio
Vinfolio is the foremost fine wine and collector services company serving wine lovers, enthusiasts and collectors worldwide. Vinfolio delivers on its commitment to "fine wine, finer service" by offering thousands of wines and a full complement of services and resources to find, buy, sell, manage and enjoy fine wine. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in San Francisco, the company launched operations in Hong Kong the fall of 2008 to serve the Asian wine market and is launching the Vinfolio Marketplace, the world's largest online wine source, in early July 2009. For more information, visit www.vinfolio.com.