Vint vs. Vinovest: Which Wine Investment Platform Is Better?

Wine investment can be a surprisingly stable alternative financial strategy. The long-term value of wine is generally independent of other investment markets like stocks and bonds. Investors may opt for wine as a hedge against less secure commodities or to diversify their portfolios.

Two websites have emerged as the leading platforms for investing in wine: Vint and Vinovest. Which platform is best suited to your investment strategy?

Vint vs. Vinovest: Overview

Here are brief histories and profiles of each company. 

What is Vint?

Vint launched in 2021. The Virginia-based firm claims to have perfected the asset class of fine wine, listing 4,000 of the world’s top wines and spirits, according to WineBusiness.com. Vint offers a wide range of structured, fractional wine investments under Regulation D, an SEC provision that allows companies easier access to investment dollars.

Boasting more than 14,000 assets under management and $10 million in all-time investments, Vint claims net annualized returns of 28.7%. 

What is Vinovest?

Vinovest was founded in 2018. Its founders champion an algorithmic approach, collaborating with top sommeliers to build winning portfolios with the goal of democratizing wine investing. Vinovest offers investors the option of directly owning wine cases and bottles.

Vinovest claims over 150,000 registered users and over $100 million worth of assets under management. 

Vint vs. Vinovest: Products and Features

Vint and Vinovest take slightly different approaches to the dynamic field of wine investing.

What Vint Offers

Vint offers private placement of structured, actively managed investment funds, similar to mutual and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Their investment products are framed as collections overseen by master sommeliers. The wines Vint owns are stored in climate-controlled facilities.

Vint offers investors ownership in their curated collections for as little as $50 a share. Shareowners realize profits when Vint advisors opt to sell the assets, generally within three to seven years after the funds are initiated.

As of Jan. 1, 2024, all Vint’s future offerings will be available to accredited investors only.

What Vinovest Offers

Vinovest’s purpose is to popularize wine investments that have historically been limited to the super-wealthy. The company offers retail investors exposure to the wine investment market, along with more transparency and liquidity than its rivals.

Vinovest offers four tiers of investment, starting as low as $1,000 for its Starter plan. They offer both managed and trading funds. In managed funds, investors deposit their capital in pools where the assets are automatically selected by experts. In trading funds, investors buy physical bottles and cases of wine and profit when they’re resold on secondary markets. 

Vint vs. Vinovest: Accessibility and Ease of Use

Vint and Vinovest try to streamline the transaction process.

Vint User Experience

Vint’s platform is geared toward user-friendliness across all levels of experience. All portfolio decisions are carried out by experts and sommeliers. Vint outlines the particulars of every wine and spirit it offers, giving investors total transparency about vintage and production. Vint users are made aware of new offerings bi-weekly.

Registration at Vint is simple. After providing sign-up information, investors complete online profiles and link their bank accounts. They’re then free to browse Vint’s broad range of investment products.

Vinovest User Experience

Vinovest gives first-time users a questionnaire to assess their investment goals and risk tolerance. They tailor investment offerings to fit user profiles. Users can sign up for Vinovest’s starter tier for a minimum deposit of $1,000.

Vinovest offers personalized, managed accounts in which decisions are executed by sommeliers and algorithms. More experienced investors can opt for a trading account, in which they can buy and sell bottles of wine (as opposed to entire cases) on the secondary marketplace themselves.

The Vinovest user interface offers complete information on all the wines and spirits offered. Investors can easily track their funds’ performance on the Vinovest platform. 

Vint vs. Vinovest: Fees and Pricing Structure

The platforms have different approaches to fees and pricing. 

Vint Fees and Returns

Vint users don’t pay annual management or admin fees. They’re charged a single sourcing fee upfront for each collection of up to 35% of the portfolio value (generally between 13% and 16%). Expense fees for insurance and storage — totaling about 3.2% — are all built into the price of the securities.

In the second quarter of 2023, Vint’s collections posted net returns between 15.74% (on the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2017 Horizontal Collection) and 39.06% (on the Napa Valley 2018 collection).

As of January 2024, Vint’s minimum investment requirement has increased to $2,500 for future offerings. 

Vinovest Fees and Returns

Vinovest fees correspond to the investment tiers it offers. Users can enter their Start Plan with a minimum investment of $1,000. The most advanced Vinovest offering, the Grand Cru Plan, is available for a minimum investment of $250,000. Annual fees run between 2.25% and 2.85%. All plans offer insurance and authentication services.

Vinovest operating fees also vary according to what type of account the user chooses — managed or trading. Both types charge monthly maintenance and selling fees. 

Trading account users, usually the more hands-on types, are charged a 2.5% buying fee for three months of storage and insurance. Managed account users pay a fee if they sell their bottles in less than three years.

The average annual return on conservative Vinovest accounts is roughly 5.5% but ranges up to 12%.

Vint vs. Vinovest: Customer Support

The two platforms have slight differences in customer support offerings. 

What Vint Offers

Vint gives customer support via a live chat widget during weekly business hours. On weekends and holidays, Vint offers customer support via email, which means you’ll have to wait for a response. 

What Vinovest Offers

Vinovest customer support is a bit more accessible. You can reach them by email or phone or schedule a live, one-on-one appointment with an advisor.

Vint vs. Vinovest: Liquidity and Exit Strategies

Vint and Vinovest have different policies about early liquidation and exiting positions. 

What Vint Offers

Vint’s products are, generally speaking, less liquid. Once you purchase shares in a collection, you have to hold on to them until Vint managers sell the collection. Vint estimates the holding period is between one and three years.

Vint unloads its assets through merchant networks and its relationships with clients. Their strategy involves timing the market to maximize gains on price variations — a tactic known as arbitrage. Occasionally, Vint fund managers facilitate early exits by pricing their assets far below fair market value. 

What Vinovest Offers

Unlike Vint, Vinovest allows investors to sell their investments before they mature. Trading account holders — who can sell individual bottles on the secondary marketplace — can list their inventory for sale without transaction fees. So can those with managed accounts, but they incur extra charges.

Because of the flexibility of the sales Vinovest permits, they’re the more liquid option. Investors rely on Vinovest’s deep global network and market analysis to generate the best returns upon exiting their positions — or they can execute trades more quickly on the secondary market. 

Vint vs. Vinovest: Which Platform Is Best?

Both Vint and Vinovest offer innovative investment products. Because of its all-inclusive management and trading structure, Vint may be better for those new to the wine investment market. However, as of 2024, new investors must meet income requirements as set by the SEC.

Since Vinovest shareholders are more hands-on, the platform may be more suitable for experienced investors with greater risk tolerance. Vinovest’s ambition is to open the wine investment market to all — so it may be more accessible.

Frequently Asked Questions