Top drops a haven in tough times: expert

AAP - Financial markets may be in meltdown but Penfolds Grange wine remains a steady bet for investors, auctioneers say.

Describing Grange as an Australian icon, the owner of Langtons wine auction house,
Stewart Langton, swears by its stamina in tough times.
Just six weeks ago, a bottle of 1951 Grange - the maiden year of the trademark wine
- sold for $51,000.
Mr Langton said wines at an auction on Monday night had also sold well.
"Grange, in particular, held up really well," he said at a biennial Penfolds
re-corking clinic in Brisbane on Tuesday.
"The concern in this environment is that the top end, or luxury items, will fold
because the people who buy these items are from the corporate world, finance
markets, and one would assume they won't be getting the bonuses they normally do.
"But we haven't seen that so far, which is great.
"You could argue that top-end wine is one of those places to retreat to as an
investment in more difficult times as history has shown us that it (Grange) has held
up very well."
Mr Langton said that while other wine products were volatile, Grange had performed
on a steady trajectory over the past 25 years, while plateauing during tougher
times.
But he warned the financial crisis was in its early days and he couldn't guarantee
the market would be the same in six months' time.
"What will probably happen over the next 18 months is we'll see cellars being
liquidated for cash flow," he said.
"We haven't seen it yet, but it's still early days."
Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago said people wanting to invest in wine would not
go wrong if they bought from the cellar door, but auction houses were great for
buying a bottle from a specific year.
"The ideal way is to buy wine on release and cellar it yourself," he said.
A safe bet for those wanting to buy a bottle of Grange at auction is to get one that
has passed through a re-corking clinic and has been certified by Penfolds
winemakers.