Starting your own collection

What wines should I start a collection with?

This will depend on you, your personal tastes, and what you hope to get out of collecting. Often, we recommend starting with classic regions like Bordeaux and Burgundy; we have longstanding relationships with many fantastic producers in these regions, and can offer you advice on their wines with full confidence. Many of these wines will also improve significantly with age: the aim of any collection. We’ll help you expand to other regions and styles as your knowledge and interest grows, through expert articles, podcasts, and keeping in touch.

 

How do I get started with building a cellar?

Work out what you want to get out of collecting. Are you looking to store wines to enjoy in the future, or to invest – or a combination of both? No matter what, we can help guide you to build the best collection for your aims and budget.

 

How much should I spend on a wine collection?

That’s entirely up to you and your personal budget. Wine can be a long-term investment, so we’d recommend that you start with a budget you’re comfortable with. To be able to buy wine by the case with us, we would recommend starting with a minimum of £250 per month. You can view options for starting a cellar on our Cellar Plan here.

Cellar Plan

Why start a cellar plan?

A carefully built cellar, over many years, can be a truly wonderful thing to enjoy. Your collection should be a reflection of you and your tastes and the best way to build one is with Cellar Plan. Essentially, if you invest a bit of time and money now, you'll end up drinking better wines and spirits in the future. Cellar Plan is all about buying wine while it's young for drinking at its peak. You can see some example cellars here.

 

What is the minimum amount a Cellar Plan member can pay each month?

The minimum amount is £250 per month. If you spend under £500 (i.e. £499 per month), you will have access to our expert Cellar Plan Team. If you spend £500 per month or over, you will get a dedicated Account Manager.

 

Can I join Cellar Plan and not pay monthly?

I’m afraid not, Cellar Plan requires a monthly payment, either by Direct Debit or, if you do not have a UK Bank Account, by giving us your debit or credit card and permission for us to charge it. However, if you would like to discuss having a dedicated Account Manager, there are other ways you can pay. Get in touch here.

 

Explain the difference between the Cellar Plan Team and the Account Managers.

Cellar Plan members who spend under £500 per month will get access to the Cellar Plan Team. The team is made up of 5 very experienced Account Managers. The team are on hand to help you build your cellar, guide you so you get more confident in understanding your tastes and manage your collection. So when you want to sell wines or arrange delivery to enjoy them, they’re there to help. Having a dedicated Account Manager allows you to create a bespoke strategy for your cellar, and as your relationship builds with them, they will be able to guide you through the wonderful world of collecting. You will have first access to parcels of wine and spirits, you can meet with your Account Manager to ensure you’re happy with the direction of your cellar and you will unlock the full offering of Berry Bros. & Rudd. In short, having an Account Manager is about forging a long-term relationship. The benefits of Cellar Plan remain the same whether you are looked after by an Account Manager or the Cellar Plan Team.

 

How do I manage my cellar?

The moment you buy your first case of wine In Bond you should download our app, Cellar Manager. Built for our collectors it is the best way to manage your collection. Find out more here.

 

What are the storage charges for my Cellar Plan wines?

Cellar Plan members receive preferential storage rates. For up-to-date storage costs, please visit our storage page.

Wine expertise

How can you help me learn about wine?

We have a host of free podcasts, articles and other content such as webinars, regional guides and interviews with producers, available for you to read through or listen to in your own time. We also send out regular emails recommending products for your cellar. If you’d like a more in-depth introduction to a certain region, it’s worth browsing through our upcoming events; our expert team regularly host masterclasses and dinners that can be a fantastic way to try new wines for yourself.

 

How can I understand wine classification systems, and what they mean?

Wine classification can be complex, and ultimately your own preferences are more important. However, they can be a good guide to quality levels. You can find out more about classification terms and what they mean here.

 

Fine wine and En Primeur campaigns

What fine wine regions do you specialise in?

Our fine wine world works around a calendar of offers that we put together every year. This focuses on regions in which we have longstanding relationships with excellent producers. You can view the full calendar here.

 

What does En Primeur mean?

Buying En Primeur means you are buying a wine before it has been bottled, while it is still maturing in barrel. When buying an En Primeur wine, it will be a few years before it arrives in your cellar. It’s a system that started in Bordeaux, and has now become important in Burgundy and the Rhône too.

 

How is En Primeur different from your other fine wine offers?

Some of our offers, such as our Italy campaigns, will still feature wines that will take time to arrive in your cellar. This is because when you order, they are still at the winery – we refer to them as “WLA” (wine lying abroad). They will arrive in our warehouses once ordered, and be stored In Bond.

 

Why should I buy En Primeur?

The benefit of the En Primeur system is that in many cases, the release price will be the best one for a wine. While the price includes insurance, you won’t pay Duty or VAT until you withdraw the wine for delivery. You can find more about the system and what you’re paying for when you buy En Primeur here.

Allocations

What does an allocation of wine mean?

Each year, certain producers give us a set amount of their most sought-after wines (an allocation). Then, we have the task of deciding how to split these limited amounts of wine amongst the collectors who wish to buy them. Generally, there will be more interest in the wines than we’re able to meet, so we have to offer small amounts, also referred to as allocations, to a select few collectors. The world’s most desirable wines are usually only offered this way. These allocations can be small, particularly when demand is high, or the vintage meant lower quantities of wine were produced.

 

How do you decide what allocation I get?

We consider a few things: past purchases from particular producers, how widely across a producer’s range you buy, and how loyal customers are to the merchant. This means we’re guaranteeing wines will be allocated to those who will appreciate them most. Patience can be key when considering the most in-demand wines; routes to consider involve talking to us about what you’re hoping to buy, being prepared to purchase a selection of cases, and purchasing back-vintages from BBX.

 

What kind of allocations does Berry Bros. & Rudd get?

We have close, long-term relationships with producers; nurturing these has been the best way for us to maintain volumes in smaller production years. We specialise in working with producers early on in their journey, building a relationship which is beneficial for all parties.

 

Buying In Bond, storing and withdrawing wine

What does In Bond mean?

Buying In Bond means that you don’t pay Duty and VAT, and that the wines you buy remain stored in our bonded warehouses, rather than be delivered to you. You’ll pay Duty and VAT if or when you decide to withdraw the wines; these charges will be fixed based on the wine’s original price, even if its value has risen.

 

Why do my wines have to be stored In Bond?

Many fine wines improve with age, but need certain conditions to do so which are hard to replicate outside a specialised warehouse. Any wine you have earmarked for future sale also needs to be kept In Bond; storing with us means the provenance is traceable, and quality is more likely as our warehouse conditions are perfect for wine – making them more attractive to any buyer. Storing in-bond means you avoid paying Duty and VAT until you take delivery, so keeping wines with us prevents any unnecessary expenditure for wines you may wish to sell.

 

How much will I pay for Duty and VAT on wines I want to withdraw?

You can find the most up-to-date rates here.

 

How will I know when my wines are ready to drink?

In the “Wine at a glance” section of each product page online, you’ll be able to see a wine’s maturity code: Drink now, Drink or Keep, or Drink – at peak. A general guide to these can also be viewed on our vintage chart pages, here.

 

If I don’t want to wait for my wines to be ready, can I buy mature wines now?

BBX, our fine wine exchange, is a treasure trove of mature wines of all shapes and sizes. We can advise you when cases listed on there are especially well priced. We also regularly secure parcels of more mature wines direct from producers, available to buy immediately online.

Investing in wine

Can you help me invest in wine for financial gain?

Our primary goal is to help customers collect wine to enjoy in the future. While some fine wines can increase in value over the long term, our focus is not on helping customers achieve financial return alone. Wine investment is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority; our account managers are not financial advisors, and we cannot provide advice to this end of any kind. We’d recommend seeking independent financial and/or tax advice before committing to any investment.

 

What advice can you offer me?

We’ll advise on which wines we believe are already good quality and where we believe their quality will improve further, but we can never guarantee that a wine will increase in value. We can offer advice on when to sell or drink your wine and conduct cellar reviews at your request. That advice will be based on factors such as your motivation, the maturity of your wine, and our understanding of the market context.

 

Why has my wine not gone up in value, or why has it gone down in value?

The value of wine can be affected by many factors, such as the time it was bought, the wider market, current performance, the supply, drinking trends and much more.

 

BBX

What is BBX?

BBX is our online fine wine exchange. Here, all our collectors can buy, sell, and bid on each other’s wines. It’s a fantastic way to discover an exciting range of mature, often hard-to-find wines.

 

How does BBX help in building a fine wine collection?

BBX will help you source older vintages and hard-to-secure wines, that other collectors have decided to sell – letting you build a cellar of depth and variety. It’s also a fantastic way to sell wines that you’ve decided you no longer want in your own cellar.

 

What is the commission for buying and selling wine with BBX?

There are no commission charges on purchases; the price is you is the price you pay. You pay 10% commission on each sale, which covers the full service. There are no additional selling charges, and you receive payment for your wines within 10 working days of the sale.