Burgundy Regional Report
Our Burgundy Report delves into the fundamentals of this fascinating region, including its investment market and key players.
There is a long-held maxim in the wine trade: no matter where a wine lover starts, they end up in Burgundy. The same increasingly applies to investors.
Burgundy’s appeal lies in its contradictions. It is the most romantic fine wine region, yet also the most expensive. Quality is consistently high, but production volumes are exceptionally low. Intuition plays a central role, yet it is one of the most researched wine regions in the world.
With just two primary grape varieties and three quality classifications, Burgundy can appear deceptively simple. In reality, its patchwork of AOCs, fragmented vineyard ownership, and thousands of individual bottlings make it one of the most complex fine wine regions to navigate – for drinkers and investors alike.
WineCap’s Burgundy Regional Report explores how this complexity has translated into extraordinary long-term performance, how the investment market has expanded in recent years, and where opportunities are emerging today.
Key findings from the Burgundy Regional Report
Burgundy is the best-performing fine wine region
Over the past two decades, Burgundy has delivered the strongest price performance of any major fine wine region. Burgundy prices have risen by over 500%, with a significant proportion of that growth occurring since 2016, driven by rising global demand and extreme supply constraints. This performance has cemented Burgundy’s reputation as a high-return – albeit high-entry – investment region.
Rarity is the primary driver of Burgundy prices
Unlike Bordeaux, where scale and brand power underpin liquidity, Burgundy’s market dynamics are driven by scarcity. Fragmented vineyard ownership and tiny production volumes mean there is very little of any single wine available globally. This structural rarity has amplified price growth, particularly for top producers, and continues to underpin long-term demand even during broader market corrections.
Burgundy’s investment market has expanded significantly
As prices for the most famous names have climbed, the Burgundy investment market has broadened. Buyers have increasingly looked beyond the very top labels, exploring a wider range of producers, appellations, and classifications in search of relative value. This expansion has increased market participation and liquidity, making Burgundy more accessible than ever, despite its reputation as the most exclusive fine wine region.
Price corrections have created entry opportunities
Following a prolonged period of rapid appreciation, Burgundy prices have fallen by over 30% from their most recent peak. Historically rare, this correction has improved availability and created opportunities for investors to access high-quality wines at more attractive levels, without undermining Burgundy’s long-term upward trajectory.
Burgundy fragmentation creates both complexity and opportunity
Burgundy’s highly fragmented structure – with dozens of producers often sharing a single vineyard – is a defining feature of the region. While this complexity presents challenges, it also creates opportunity. Differences in producer reputation, vineyard location, and relative pricing mean that careful selection can materially impact investment outcomes. Understanding this fragmentation is essential when identifying wines with the strongest risk-reward profile.
How WineCap selects Burgundy for investment
The report outlines WineCap’s disciplined approach to Burgundy selection, focusing on liquidity, historic performance, value within individual producers’ ranges, and relative pricing within vineyards. In a region where availability is limited and pricing dispersion is wide, informed selection is critical to long-term success.
Explore the full report
WineCap’s Burgundy Regional Report provides an in-depth analysis of Burgundy’s price performance, market expansion, historic foundations, structural complexity, and key producers – alongside a clear framework for identifying investment-grade opportunities.
Download the full Burgundy Regional Report to explore the data, insights, and strategies shaping one of the world’s most sought-after fine wine regions.
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Three reasons why the Brexit deal will prevent customers from paying more for their wine.
Ever since the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016, trade talks and negotiations between the two sides had been full of uncertainty, posturing and brinkmanship which at times made it feel like a deal was unobtainable. So, the news that a trade deal – now ratified by the UK Parliament - had been struck on Christmas Eve last year was met with welcome relief across all industry sectors on both sides of the Channel and especially by those looking to invest in wine.
1. The costly VI-1 import documentation for UK and EU wines is no longer going to be introduced in July as previously planned. Taking its place will be a straightforward Wine Import Certificate which asks for basic producer and product information. This means far less admin and fees for wine importers, which in turn means no extra costs will be passed on to customers.
2. Crucially, wines will not have to undergo lab assessment for the new Wine Import Certificate. Submitting wines for lab analysis would have caused backlogs of wines which would have created frustrating shipment delays.
3. While UK wine importers are going to have to get to grips with new processes and forms over the coming months, this is just part of the anticipated bedding-in period which will become second nature as time goes on and as new processes are established.
With the previous uncertainty around Brexit having disappeared with the end of the transition period and with 2021 looking to mirror previous years of healthy returns for fine wine, contact us to speak to one of our advisors about creating your portfolio to invest in wine.
