Selling the very rare, collectible wines of the world, Adam Bilbey, SVP, Global Head of Wine & Spirits for Christie’s, has a unique view into the state of the wine collector. Adam maps the thought processes and changes in attitude of buyers and sellers of rare wine globally, and he is seeing “green shoots” in the market by mid-2025.  

Detailed Show Notes: 

Adam’s background - started w/ Berry Bros out of high school (2000) at Heathrow Airport shop, moved to Hong Kong in 2010 w/ Berry Bros, Sotheby’s in 2015, Christie’s in 2021

Christie’s is known for fine art, and wine is part of the luxury group (jewelry, handbags, cars), which is 20% of sales, and wine is 10-20% of luxury sales

2025 wine auction market

• Christie’s up 2x YOY Aug YTD, big single-owner sales (e.g., Bill Koch)
• Challenging market mid 2022-2024, newer vintage prices dropping more, more supply available
• In a downturn, buyers’ price expectations fall faster than sellers’
• “Green shoots” in 2025, pricing bottoming out

Burgundy has taken share from Bordeaux last 5-6 years, Champagne came up and leveled off, Italy is strong in the US but not in Asia, Burgundy is strong in Asia, but leveled off

Interest in more mature vintages, particularly Bordeaux, is still valued there

Focus on provenance, people won’t bid on poor provenance anymore

• 2-tier pricing, people paying for a premium for a great collection, single-owner sales, they like the story of who owned the wines

With a more global market than ever, people buy from anywhere

• The US has a broader selection
• Everyone buys from the UK
• Asia tends to need more focus (e.g., Burgundy)

Liv-ex shows -10% pricing last year, -20% last 2 years; auction prices move gradually, often lots don’t sell

More Millennials and Gen Z customers (45% 2025 from 30% 2022)

Female customers have been consistent last 4-5 years, a slight dip in the US, and growing in Asia

Younger generations are drinking younger wines, they like the security of younger wines, have a fear of disappointment in older bottles

Online auctions require ease of use

• Christie’s does 2x online auctions vs live
• Live auctions for key moments, key collections
• Various owner sales in online auctions

Provenance is improving with more communication (e.g., purchase & storage records), people working together (merchants, auction houses), and technology (digital microscopes, UV light, carbon dating)

Provenance is critical, as people remember the bad bottles sold to them over the good ones

Believes China will make a comeback in the next 2-4 years

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