Fine Wine Investors Find Little Cheer in Third Year of Falls
The fine wine market is on track for a third consecutive year of declining prices, in part because U.S. tariffs have deterred American buyers and shifted investor interest elsewhere.
The global fine wine market is facing a third successive year of price declines, with investors finding scant reason for optimism as traditional demand falters and broader economic forces weigh on valuations.
According to the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 index, prices have fallen nearly three percent in 2025, wiping out most of the gains made during the pandemic bull market and returning the market to levels last seen at the end of 2020.
One of the central factors behind this downturn has been the behaviour of buyers in the United States, historically the most influential market for fine wine.
After the Trump administration imposed a fifteen percent tariff on many European wine imports, American demand for fine wine fell sharply, with purchases by U.S. collectors and merchants down by roughly forty-four percent this year, according to Liv-ex.
The slowdown in U.S. buying has been compounded by other market dynamics.
High prices set during recent en primeur campaigns in Bordeaux discouraged some investors, leaving merchants and wholesalers with excess inventory that often traded below release prices.
As a result, confidence in futures markets — where collectors purchase wine before bottling — has waned, contributing to broader price weakness, particularly in Bordeaux, Burgundy and vintage Champagne.
While some regions are showing early signs of stabilisation and selective demand is returning in Asian markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore, many industry participants remain cautious.
Analysts warn that fine wine’s traditional role as a reliable alternative asset is under pressure from both trade policy and shifting investor preferences, which have seen capital flow instead into technology stocks and precious metals.
According to the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 index, prices have fallen nearly three percent in 2025, wiping out most of the gains made during the pandemic bull market and returning the market to levels last seen at the end of 2020.
One of the central factors behind this downturn has been the behaviour of buyers in the United States, historically the most influential market for fine wine.
After the Trump administration imposed a fifteen percent tariff on many European wine imports, American demand for fine wine fell sharply, with purchases by U.S. collectors and merchants down by roughly forty-four percent this year, according to Liv-ex.
The slowdown in U.S. buying has been compounded by other market dynamics.
High prices set during recent en primeur campaigns in Bordeaux discouraged some investors, leaving merchants and wholesalers with excess inventory that often traded below release prices.
As a result, confidence in futures markets — where collectors purchase wine before bottling — has waned, contributing to broader price weakness, particularly in Bordeaux, Burgundy and vintage Champagne.
While some regions are showing early signs of stabilisation and selective demand is returning in Asian markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore, many industry participants remain cautious.
Analysts warn that fine wine’s traditional role as a reliable alternative asset is under pressure from both trade policy and shifting investor preferences, which have seen capital flow instead into technology stocks and precious metals.
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