Buying Fine Wine at Auction

Virginia has a number of problems that work against the wine collector. Until recently, shipping into the state by wineries and retailers was strictly forbidden. Now, it is controlled and consumers can import wine, but only from licensed wineries who pay a tax to Virginia, which many wineries refuse to do. Further, it is illegal in Virginia for one consumer to sell to another consumer. This means that when a collector wants to sell all or part of his wine cellar holdings, he must get a wholesaler involved, increasing costs and effectively often times negating the effort. There are a number of on line houses available to purchase wine, but it can be trial and error whether the product is in good condition.
The safest method if you want to buy fine wine and older vintages is to get involved with sales from the high end auction houses. Sotheby’s, Bonham and Butterfield, and Hart Davis and Hart are three houses that deal only with known sellers and their cellars, providing quality goods, rare vintages and safe shipping to Virginia. All allow on line bidding, and each has many auction per year. I have purchased from all three, finding rare wines at reasonable prices, including two cases from my birth year. Don’t let the fancy names scare you away. Many lots are quite reasonably priced, many are partial cases and all are checked by the auction house for quality and condition. Even more fun is actually attending the auctions. Many time lunch is served and many attendees bring wines to drink and share. Check out the web links, and you may find something you can’t live without.