Jason Heller - All Comments

RE: Buying Wine at Auction

Meagan Simmons — Sun, 15 Sep 2013 01:45:09 GMT

Great piece Jason. Thanks for posting!

RE: Buying Wine at Auction

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 18:07:01 GMT

Interesting related article:

www.larvf.com/,wines-interview-counterfeiting-excess-china-kurniawan-speculation-eric-rousseau-revue-vin-rvf,2001118,4359479.asp

fun quote:

La RVF : How did he sell the fakes?

Éric Rousseau. : Most bottles were sold by American wine merchant Acker Merall & Condit. Was its chief executive officer John Kapon an accomplice? The trial may say it.

RE: Buying Wine at Auction

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 21:02:21 GMT

For small quantity purchases you can also use winecommune.com . In many cases it is individuals selling bottles so be careful to check the seller's feedback and bottle description. Look for someone who has been selling on their site for a while (20+ transactions) and has 95%+ feedback rating.

RE: Buying Wine at Auction

Anonymous — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 23:14:28 GMT

Oh I totally agree with you, and the onus of due diligence is on all of us who play in this realm. That's why I didn't say anything more specific than I did.

RE: Buying Wine at Auction

Jason Heller — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 23:09:33 GMT

John - very true. Also some houses if you do a large amount of business will shave a few points of the buyers fee too. Only so much that can be covered in a 101 type article.

William - knowing Maureen, I understand what you mean. There are a few on the list that I wouldn't touch either, but they are a player in the game and thus mentioned. We will see where the ones that have seen the light end up, but their hands are still rather sullied in my eyes at the moment.

RE: Buying Wine at Auction

Anonymous — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 22:19:28 GMT

Nice article, Jason. It is worth mentioning that if one is considering this route of acquisition, take you time, be patient, and RESEARCH. Not all auction houses are created equally, in either inventory, or business practice. There are a few on your list that I would never consider doing business with, because of some of their unrepentant business practices in the past. Others may have been taken by Rudy/Greenberg/etc, but have since "seen the light" and are more diligent than anyone else in the industry.

RE: Buying Wine at Auction

John Osborne — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 18:23:04 GMT

Nicely done, Jason. As the former Wine Director of a Grand Award-winning cellar that was largely assembled through auction purchases I would only add that it's also highly beneficial to form relationships with auction house management if you are going to be making substantial additions to your restaurant's collection through them. As the people who acquire and assess the condition of their auction lots, they have first-hand experience with the provenance of the bottles you'll be bidding on. In my experience, you can trust them to give a more frank and explicit opinion off the record than might appear in the catalogs.

RE: Buying Wine at Auction

Jimmy Hayes — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 19:26:07 GMT

Nice article, Jason.

RE: Buying Wine at Auction

Thomas Price — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 17:02:43 GMT

Master Heller, brilliant and insightful!

I am just starting to consider adding vintage depth in Bordeaux and Burg through auction, this is invaluable info...

Best

RE: Buying Wine at Auction

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 14:47:31 GMT

Great article Jason,

Thank You! I really enjoyed the fact that you mention the risk and ethics of using auction houses and the importance of doing research before jumping in feet first. Especailly for restaurant buyers, there is alot to consider and weigh, before deciding if buying from auctions are best for your establishment. Thanks again for a really informative and well writen article.