Okay, while in Italy, we visited several vineyards!  One of our goals for the trip was to drink great local wine from places that it is nearly impossible to get it from anywhere else.

Jill on the Dievole Winery Tour

While we were there, we visited a total of five vineyards and a couple of wine stores.  So, here are our experiences …

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Register at Malmaison to get a special voucher for a two course meal from the Homegrown and Local menu, a bottle of our sommelier’s Bin End Choice wine, and an after dinner coffee for two people for just £29!

We did this on my birthday and combined with a couple of excellent cocktails from the swanky upstairs bar … so nice that it is not even included on their website.  Jill had a balsamic and strawberry concoction which is now her favorite mixed drink, while I had a maple syrup old fashioned which was very enjoyable and I would recommend it to any bourbon fan.

In case you have not seen the Oxford Malmaison, it is a truly unique building.  Once a Victorian prison, it is now a very stylish boutique hotel with a plush upstairs bar and a cool downstairs bar/brasserie. Read more »

According to some recent news, wine has outperformed the stock market over the last decade – to the tune of an 11% average annual return.  Additionally, the market has matured greatly over the last few years and it has its own index, the Liv-Ex 100.  Unfortunately, despite the claims of the Liv-Ex, it is heavily biased towards French wine (in Jan ‘09 – Bordeaux – Red = 91.33%; Bordeaux – White = 1.04%; Burgundy = 3.49%; Champagne = 3.32%; Rhone = 0.19%; and Italy = 0.63%) and does not deal with en primeur prices.  Therefore, it only includes the most expensive and widely held wines (plus, the focus on France means that it deals mainly with established wineries that have established followings of dealers and collectors).  Finally, to access the data, you have to pay and it is not cheap … lowest level of membership for management of a cellar is £49.95 per year.

Then again, investing in liquid assets (not just wine, but also whisky) is not as easy as investing in many other forms.  It has some drawbacks: Read more »