


Bleifer, a Venice nephrologist, unloaded a few cases at a time. Two bottles of Burgundy purchased for $80 in 1983 fetched $4,700 in 2006.



For those with the money to pour in, wine can be a lucrative investment. An index measuring the value of 100 top wines has risen 130% since the end of 2005, double the total return of the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index.


The number of millionaire households in major countries around the world will top 65 million by 2020, up from 38 million in 2011, according to the Deloitte Center for Financial Services. Their wealth is expected to more than double in that period to $202 trillion from $92 trillion.





As with all markets, however, wine investing is not a sure thing. The Liv-Ex 100, which measures the monthly value of 100 fine wines, nearly doubled from 2009 to mid-2011. It has slid 27% since then.


"The market just got ahead of itself," Westgarth said. "The last decade saw a colossal price rise and it's just a market correction."


There are about 15 wine-oriented hedge funds, most having started in the last five to 10 years, according to HFR, a provider of hedge fund industry data. Though assets total less than $500 million, that's up from about $150 million in 2011.




His portfolio is similar to a mutual fund, except that Della Casa buys cases of wine rather than stocks or bonds. The wine is insured and stored in a special warehouse.

The 10-year-old fund has returned an average of 10.3% annually after fees, Della Casa said. But it doesn't come cheaply.

The minimum investment is 10,000 British pounds (about $16,000) and newcomers pay an upfront charge of 5% just to get in. There's also a 1.5% annual management fee. And the fund keeps 20% of profits.

The weakness in the wine market since mid-2011 hasn't dissuaded some newcomers.

Cliff Lee doesn't know much about wine, but nevertheless shelled out $10,000 on 21/2 cases of Bordeaux. "At first I thought it was totally crazy. I said, 'Are you kidding? Wine?'" Lee recalled. But he eventually became convinced of the long-term prospects.

"It [doesn't] seem like that big of a risk, but it could be a big reward," said Lee, 40, who co-owns a family golf business in Oakland.

Longtime oenophiles say they began to think of their hobby as an investment after seeing bottles they own soar in price. Investment research isn't much extra work given that they're already doing the basics — scouting wine stores for underpriced gems, making sojourns to vineyards. And, of course, imbibing.

"My fantasy was to be able to make enough on wines I sold to pay for the wines I drink," said Michael Stern, a retired pharmacist from Westwood. "I've more than accomplished that over the years."

Stern said he turned one of his biggest profits on a bottle of Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that he bought in 1977 for $6.50 at a wine store in Toluca Lake.

A few years ago, he sold the bottle and two other commemorative bottles for $1,500. "It blows my mind," he said. "Where else could you get that kind of return?"

The profit potential gives Stern and others reason to keep buying wine.

"I started thinking, 'Why don't I put my money in wines?'" he said. "And if it didn't go up, I thought, 'Well, I have great wines to drink.' How could I lose?"