Best Wine Investment Apps

Read our Advertiser Disclosure.
Contributor, Benzinga
May 28, 2024

Check out Vinovest as the best whiskey and wine investment app for modern portfolios.

A diverse portfolio can help mitigate risk and set investors up for the highest chance of success. It’s often recommended to diversify away from traditional markets and include some alternative asset classes in your overall investing strategy. Wine is an alternative investment that skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. Wine often produces strong returns and can hedge against inflation in a portfolio.

However, investing in wine can be intimidating for investors new to the marketplace. Wine investment apps can help guide investors by providing curated offerings and managed accounts to help create diverse collections. They’re also great for experienced investors looking to increase their network of buyers and sellers.

Quick Look: Best Wine Investment App

Best Wine Investment App

Here are some of the best wine investment apps to start building your portfolio today.

1. Best for Low Minimum Investment: Vinovest

Vinovest is a tiered wine investment platform, and it strives to democratize wine investing. Its platform makes it easy for investors to view and buy fine wines from around the world, and the investor has full ownership over the wine in their portfolio. The tiers are:

  • Starter Tier: $1,000 to $9,999
  • Plus Tier: $10,000 to $49,999
  • Premium Tier: $50,000 to $249,999
  • Grand Cru Tier: $250,000+

With each tier, investors receive access to new offerings and lower investment fees. However, the lowest tier still makes wine investing accessible to many investors.

Pros

  • Accessible to a wide range of investors
  • 100% ownership
  • Provides fully-managed portfolios
  • Wine and whiskey is insured, authenticated, stored and more

Cons

  • 1.5% early liquidation fee
  • Not SEC regulated
  • Can only ship full cases of wine

2. Best for Managed Accounts: Vint

Vint makes fine wine investing easy with diverse, actively managed offerings. It typically offers one to a few products at a time, which focus on different areas of alcohol investing, such as casks, futures, rare whiskeys, fine wines and more. Accredited investors invest in these products and gain instant diversification from a robust portfolio investing wines, whiskeys and other spirits.

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Doesn’t require investors to actively buy and sell bottles
  • Actively managed by professionals
  • No annual fees

Cons

  • Accredited investors only
  • Not very liquid 

3. Best for Wine Culture: Cult Wine Investment

Cult Wine Investment doesn’t just help its customers build a well-balanced wine portfolio, it also provides exclusive access to many wine events, such as tastings, vineyard tours and access to rare wines. This makes it a great platform for investors who want to meet other wine collectors and participate in wine culture.

Cult Wine Investment requires a $35,000 minimum investment to create an account and build a portfolio. It has a tier system, and the most basic tier does not come with access to vineyard tours and other events. The service fees also decrease with how much money you have in your portfolio.

Pros

  • Potential access to exclusive partner events and vineyard tours
  • Managed account

Cons

  • High investment minimum
  • Requires $150,000 to receive access to most investments

4. Best for Live Markets: Vindome

Vindome aims to simplify wine trading by offering investors a global, live marketplace. On the platform, wine collectors can browse wines, list their bottles and build a portfolio. There are no investment minimums or requirements, making it easy for all investors to participate.

Vindome has three core offerings: live market, Vindome collections and wine futures. The live market is where you can browse, buy and list bottles. However, if you’re new to wine investing and don’t want to select specific bottles, you can purchase one of Vindome’s curated collections. Or, you can purchase wine futures, which is wine still in the barrel before it’s bottled.

Pros

  • Offerings for beginner and advanced investors
  • No investment minimums

Cons

  • No portfolio manager
  • High fees

5. Best for BlockChain Wine Trading: ALTI Wine Exchange

Alti Wine Exchange connects investors and wine producers on a blockchain-based trading platform. Like Vindome, Alti Wine Exchange offers investors live markets where they can browse, purchase and sell wines as easily as buying stocks from the market. All transactions are recorded on the blockchain for added security. There are no minimum investment requirements, and it is free to make an account.

This platform provides a great marketplace but does not offer managed account products. Investors are on their own when purchasing and selling. However, they can easily sell at any time, which is great for liquidity.

Pros

  • Secure transactions
  • Liquid
  • Easy-to-use marketplace
  • Great for investors who want to curate their collections

Cons

  • No managed accounts or portfolio support
  • The use of blockchain may be foreign to some investors

How Does Wine Investment Work?

Wine is an alternative asset that has been growing in popularity over recent years. It allows many investors to grow and diversify their portfolios while leaning into their passion. Wine is a tangible asset that people can physically hold as it grows in value.

Wine gets better with age, making it an ideal investment for many collectors. When a wine is bottled, and then preserved for years afterward, it may taste better, and it will become rarer as other bottles are drunk or opened. After its initial release, fine and investment wines may see a sharp spike in value as the years pass.

Pros and Cons of Wine Investment

Wine is an exciting marketplace that has been attracting many investors. It has some great advantages in a portfolio, but also has some risks that investors should be aware of. 

Advantages of Investing in Wine

  • Wine helps diversify portfolios away from traditional markets
  • Wine acts as an inflation hedge
  • A finite supply and rising demand help wine increase in value
  • Wine, including bottles listed on wine investment apps, is a wasting asset, which has tax advantages
  • Potential for big returns

Disadvantages of Investing in Wine

  • Changes in trends and consumer confidence can create an unstable market
  • Wine typically requires a long investment horizon
  • Investing in wine can be daunting for new investors
  • Wine requires specific storage conditions

Working with an investment professional or a trustworthy wine investment platform can hedge against these risks. Apps such as Vinovest can create balanced portfolios that will adapt to changing markets, store the wine for you and provide guidance for new investors.

Alternative Ways of Investing in Wine

Using a wine investment app isn’t the only way to build a wine portfolio. There are other options, such as purchasing wine stocks or buying bottles on your own.

Purchase and Sell Your Own Wine

If you want to build a wine collection independent of an app, you can purchase wine straight from retailers, vineyards and auctions. You’ll have to store and hold your wine and determine the best times to sell. When you’re ready to sell your wine, you’ll also need to identify potential buyers or auctions. If you decide to go this route, you should also work with a wine expert and appraiser to ensure you’re getting a good deal.

Wine Stock and ETFs

If you want exposure to the wine market without buying individual bottles, you can invest in a wine stock or exchange-traded fund (ETF). A wine stock may be a holding in a vineyard, bottling company or other company involved in the wine industry. Some wine ETFs hold collections of fine wines curated by professionals. You won’t have ownership of these bottles, but you’ll get returns based on their rise in value.

Blend Passion and Investing

Wine investment apps make wine trading accessible to a wide variety of investors. They also offer products that allow investors to benefit from wine without needing to actively manage their portfolio. When choosing the best wine investment app, ensure they have reasonable fees and transparent investing processes and can create a portfolio that suits your needs. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q

How do I start investing in wine?

A

You can start investing in wine by using a wine investment app, purchasing your own bottles of wine or investing in a wine stock or ETF.

 

Q

Is wine investment legit?

A

Wine investments are legitimate and can offer strong choices to diversify a portfolio. Ensure that you use an application that is trustworthy and regulated and has good reviews.

 

Q

Is wine investing profitable?

A

Wine investing can be profitable and may be a great way to hedge against inflation. However, it’s important to note that no investment is guaranteed to produce returns.

 

Q

Is wine a better investment than stocks?

A

Wine can produce strong returns, but a diversified portfolio into other asset classes, such as stocks, may increase your chances of success.

Savannah Munholland

About Savannah Munholland

Savannah Munholland is an investment writer passionate about helping people learn more about accessible alternative investments. She has more than three years of writing experience, focusing on alternative and traditional investing, technology, and education. Her expertise in writing about art and wine investments is grounded in an MFA with knowledge of and immersion in a wide range of art-related topics. She uses her skills in creative writing to bring an appealing level of interest to her journalistic work, shifting even the most basic financial and investment topics from humdrum to compelling. Her work has been published on Benzinga, FreightWaves, and Study.com.