Classic Wines

Adjuvant Auctions

Why are we talking about auctions again?  Pretty simple.  While we went over some of the basics, I threw out the blanket statement that you will generally NOT make a profit off of any wines you buy at auction unless you can find a guy who is willing to in turn by it off of you for an additional premium.  But how can you do that when all of your potential buyers are also privy to the auction items up for bidding?

Answer:  Smaller auctions.  Specific Auctions.

I’ve recently stumbled (and I’m sure I’m not the first to figure this out) across a pretty interesting way of finding some good deals.

First off, local charity auctions of the lesser-tier if you will, aren’t hounded by the deal hunters, but usually are eighty percent people who are just as happy drinking Silver Oak versus something a bit more, shall we say, challenging.  Therefore, with those people perusing the auction lots, they aren’t looking for First Growths, killer Burgs, or other “under their radar” wines.  It was pretty amazing to see people beating each other up for Caymus Magnums while leaving Jacques Prieur, Trotanoy, and even some Egelhoff wines unscathed.  A friend of mine likened the Caymus to Windows for hackers (of which about 99.8% of all malware is written) while leaving the goodies to us, the supposed Mac users.  Well, it kinda fits, you get the idea.

Another thing I have noticed, and I’m not sure why people do this other than to 1) just be a part of anything they can or 2) donate the items for charity proceeds.  But when you go to an event that features Pinot, you will invariably find a few bottles of Napa Cab, or vintage Brunello lying around, with a pretty meager number of takers, which of course only makes sense. 

In my backyard of Texas, I can find many of these local auctions, themed auctions with an either direct or ambiguous tie to wine, with some pretty good lots of wine that are under-appreciated.  Don’t believe me?  Well I saw a magnum of Kosta Browne Koplen Vineyard, 2004, walk away for less than three hundred dollars.  Another auction that was decidedly pinot, for whatever reason had two magnums of 1998 Trotanoy, the second best of Pomerol on any given year. They quietly slipped out the door for under four hundred dollars.

Ridiculous.

But it gives me hope in auctions, renewed hope in fact.  And it should give you some added avenues of sourcing some pretty choice juice.  In fact you run a risk of dumbing into some spectacular bottles of hard to find juice, with great provenance, for a fraction of the market price.

Next week I’m going to upset Bill Harlan and let you all in on a little secret that will not only increase your chance at getting higher allocations on your mailing list, but could reduce the cost of your winery vacation by over one hundred thousand dollars.  Yeah. 

Wait till you hear about this great little racket...

As always, enjoy the hunt, but take the time to enjoy the glass.