Wine Investment in South Africa - Cape Wine Academy

worldwide and hugely increased the prices and status of particular wines. Dan Hyde on
‘ThisisMoney.co.za April 2010 says;
‘Parker gives wines a score out of 100. Anything bearing a Parker score of 90-plus is
likely to be an investment worth considering’.
An analysis of wines scored at 100 by Parker as investment propositions over 20 years show
an accumulated return of 249%, or 12% annually, thus outperforming the Dow Jones index
over the same period.
Conversely, a poor rating by Parker has had a similarly profound effect on any wine.
Bordeaux has even withheld its release prices of wines until Parker has made judgement
upon them. This phenomenon has probably not suited many Châteaux, whose wine was
previously traded on reputation and vintage alone and is now dependent upon an American
palate.
Despite Parker’s many critics, there is no doubting his influence on the desirability and
price of the very top wines. An investor would be foolish to ignore his assessments. As
Provenance Fine Wines say;
‘It really is impossible to underplay the significance and influence of Parker on the
world of fine wine investment’ ( Provenancefinewines, 2011 ).
Emile den Dulk of De Toren’s doesn’t resent Parker’s influence and has invited his SA
contributor ( see 8.2.4 ) to taste his wines in barrel. Den Dulk believes in positively promoting
his wines on the world stage and Parker is a way to do this ( den Dulk, 2011 Appendix A ).
5.3 Corporate and On-Trade buyers
The secondary trade market has always been dominated by trade buyers, whether
merchants or importers, but in the late twentieth century others began to enter the market.
Perhaps the biggest buyers are the financial houses buying for their investment fund clients.
There are also large, often international businesses who accept the asset potential of wine
and invest capital as they would if buying stocks or shares, just as the owners of one of the
greatest art collections in existence is a Japanese Insurance company.
Now too, but not in SA, the on-trade often purchase their restaurant or hotel wines at auction
or direct from importer and eliminate the costs of going through third parties. Today, many
of the bidders at auction are there on behalf of their establishment and many have large
budgets to spend. The presence of so many corporate buyers has caused some friction with
individual buyers who feel squeezed out of the market and unless they have the wealth of
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