Case Study of Client Success
We were contacted by a partner with a client who recently inherited a large wine & whisky collection. The goal was to keep a portion, distribute a portion to other heirs and sell the remainder. WineAdvise was retained to manage the process.
Inventory
Completed full inventory of 5,000 bottles of wine and whisky in two different locations.
Advisory
Created a plan for full collection to decide what to keep and what to sell based upon taste, value and drinkability.
Management
WineAdvise assisted in new cellar design, placed and organized all wine to be kept and uploaded into the Vitis platform.
Appraisal
Full appraisal of collection for both replacement value for insurance and fair market for potential sale.
Sales Strategy
Full strategy to sell based upon best channels – private placement, auction and bulk retail sales.
Risk
Assisted client with risk management plan, understanding value of kept wines and best practices to insure, store and manage.
Drinkability
Full drinkability analysis to determine which bottles are past peak, mature or should be held to make keep/sell decisions.
Logistics
Handled all logistics to pack and move wine to secondary home and to WineAdvise storage facility for sale.
Support
WineAdvise will work with client to manage kept collection by keeping values current, drinkability updates and sales as requested.
Results
WineAdvise had a goal of selling the $200,000 with a net sale to the client of $140,000. The wine was sold for – $188,500 with a net of $158,650. We sold the wine for slightly less overall, However using different strategies and channels we were able to net the client 13% more than originally expected.
| Sales | Percentage | Sales | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private Sales | 55% | $110,000 | $88,000 |
| Auction Sales | 20% | $45,000 | $40,050 |
| Broker Sales | 25% | $33,500 | $30,150 |
| Total | 100% | $188,500 | $158,650 |
Auction Sale Example
WineAdvise recently worked with a client with a small collection of 23 high value wines. We decided the best venue would be auction due to the rarity, age of the bottles and small condition issues. We received estimates of $50,000 to $69,000 for all wines. We worked with the auction house for proper placement and negotiated no seller fees for the client. WineAdvise handled all logistics, auction listings and management of the entire process.
All bottles sold for $66,000 or 32% above the low estimate. The highlight was a 1947 bottle of Mouton Rothschild with a high estimate of $1,600 that sold for $2,400 or 50% above the high estimate.
Brian Ward at ward@wineadvise.com