Know Your Grapes – Appraising Wine
Part Deux
As with any appraisal, when selecting a qualified appraiser look for a formal, up to date, education in appraisal theory, procedures, ethics, and law. The appraiser you hire should also be familiar with the type of property you want appraised and know how to value it correctly.
Wine is no different.
Wine, like other asset classes including art, antiques and firearms includes the areas of product knowledge, market knowledge and appraisal methodology. In an attempt to keep this simple, personal property appraisal methodology, industry accepted standards, will be assumed. (I know the problem with assumptions, no need to remind me here) Your appraiser must be well versed in all three.
In this final article I’ll list just a few aspects of Market Knowledge. This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list, just things to think about.
Does your appraiser know 
Wine Marketing – How are different wines from different countries marketed
Winery Only, Wholesale, Retail, Restaurant?
Provenance – Where did the wine come from?
Winery, Broker, Auction, Private Collector, Wholesaler, Retail
How did it arrive?
Planes, Trains & Automobiles, (sorry, that was a Steve
Martin and John Candy movie from 1987!) Trucks, Ships
When did it arrive?
What was the time of year shipped with respect to the
countries Involved? Was the Heat or AC on? (Stable climate)
How was it stored?
Stored in a Basement / Closet / Basement Closet! / Refrigerator
Primary & Secondary Markets for Sales – Wineries, Retail outlets, Live/Online Auctions
Emerald Art Services, LLC provides wine appraisals for insurance, equitable distribution and liquidation. We also provide collection inventory management and related software.
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