My first few weeks working in the fine wine world have been a taste of really great things to come!
I was lucky to have travelled to some great wine-making regions whilst playing rugby for England. During that time, I was fortunate enough to enjoy visits to vineyards where I met some of the great people who work in wine. There’s no doubt it’s a special ‘industry’ – if you can call it that. Beautiful landscapes and masses of heritage, with some estates with histories that go back centuries. As I’m finding, fine wine is a ‘product’ you can absolutely savour and enjoy with friends and family, and that doesn’t just mean from a consumption perspective 😉!
A chance to find out more about wine performance - a no brainer!
That was the element that intrigued me and when Peter and Jamie Shakeshaft invited me to join Vin-X, it was a no-brainer. I wasn’t new to the idea of investing in wine, in fact I acquired a case of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2009 as an investment whilst still playing professional rugby. I wanted to understand the market and how fine wine performs as an asset, whilst also enjoying the experience of getting much more involved.
There’s been no shortage of that! In my first few weeks it’s become very evident that tasting wine at every opportunity is an essential part of the learning process! On top of the necessary bottle-openings with the team, there have been some important trade tastings in London in November.
Attending the trade 2020 vintage tastings
One of the highlights for me so far has been the wine trade event hosted by the Union de Grand Crus de Bordeaux, to taste the 2020 vintage wines. With a key characteristic of fine wine being it’s created to age over decades, the vintage is still at the embryonic stage. Despite this there were some fantastic wines on show. Winemakers and representatives from over 100 Bordeaux chateaux had their 2020 wines to sample – the spittoon was essential, and my palate put to work! The Chateaux that caught my attention were Beychevelle, Clinet, Lynch-Bages, Leoville-Poyferré and Sauternes’ Sigalas Rabaud.
Along with experiencing some superb wines at this early stage, it has also been interesting getting to understand more about how you look after your fine wine to help manage its future quality and value.
£200million of fine wine safely stored
In my first few days with the team, we visited London City Bond’s storage facility, Vinotheque, in Burton upon Trent. We took this insightful trip with a number of our valued clients for them to see the premises and their wine.
LCB store over £200million of wine in a secure, specialist warehouse where they ensure that the temperature and humidity conditions are perfect for managing the ongoing quality of the wine held there. Our clients were shown their wine, had their photos taken with it and I was delighted to share their experience. They were also able to get first hand commentary on their investment performance, provided by Jamie and other members of our team.
Wine tastings at Vin-X Wine Bars
Afterwards, we went on to Vin-X’s first wine bar, in Burton-under-Needwood, close to Vinotheque, where were hosted by Warren Rumsey and his team.
Warren selected some great wines from around the world for us all to enjoy.
Sport & Wine
Being involved in sport is one of the reasons I’m here and it’s evident that the Vin-X team love their sport. We enjoyed a great lunch with Damon Hill recently and we are taking clients to enjoy lunch with New Zealand Rugby legend, Dan Carter on the 17th. Definitely an event to look forward to ahead of the England v All Blacks game at the weekend.
The weeks ahead are looking even more action-packed, and I am excited to be heading to Bordeaux with Jamie on the 21st November to visit some of the most iconic vineyards in the world! Stay up to date by following me, Jamie and Vin-X on social.
Find out more about my new role with Vin-X here and contact the team on 0203 384 2262.