[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/burgundy-wine-chateau.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s Note:<\/strong>\u00a0This story originally appeared in\u00a0On Balance,\u00a0<\/em>the ARTnews\u00a0newsletter about the art market and beyond.\u00a0Sign up here<\/em>\u00a0to receive it every Wednesday.<\/em>\u00a0This story is also part of a new series on the convergence of art and\u00a0luxury. See all of\u00a0our reporting on the topic here.<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tThe wine market is in flux. After years of rising prices, fueled by low interest rates, global demand, and a pandemic-era rush into collectible assets, previously coveted bottles can now be bought at auction for a snip compared with just a few years ago. The speculative boom has faded, estimates have become more realistic, and collectors who once competed aggressively for rare Burgundy and Bordeaux wines are taking their time. It\u2019s a buyers\u2019 market. Sound familiar?<\/p>\n \n\tAmid the post-pandemic mania for luxury collectibles, Sotheby\u2019s wine and spirits department achieved a record $132 million in sales in 2021. Christie\u2019s similarly posted its best results ever for wine and spirits sales. (Phillips doesn\u2019t sell wine.) The current demand for wine, though, is behaving a lot like today\u2019s appetite for art. Buyers are still chasing exceptional lots\u2014like the fresh-to-market masterpieces from the S.I. Newhouse Collection that carried the May marquee sales\u2014but they are far less interested in everything else. Sotheby\u2019s sale of Joe Lewis\u2019s collection in London last month showed the power of a great story and impeccable ownership history. Fine wine is seeing the same divide, as trophy bottles and standout cellars continue to attract competition, while the broader market resets.<\/p>\n \n\tOther trends, like buyers being less willing to wait for wine to age before drinking it, are also shaping the market. Collecting is fast becoming \u201cdrinking,\u201d and younger buyers are increasingly seeking \u201cexperiences,\u201d like meeting winemakers and touring vineyards.<\/p>\n \n\tAt the end of June, I saw this dynamic play out in Burgundy, where I joined Sotheby\u2019s head of wine auctions in France, C\u00e9lian Ravel d\u2019Estienne, for a VIP dinner and charity auction. Part of the 18th Musique & Vin au Clos Vougeot festival, the event was, naturally, accompanied by top-notch wine. Proceeds from the sale will be used to buy musical instruments and give financial scholarships to help talented young musicians launch their careers. Patronage in these parts runs deep: the historical vineyards of the local Hospices de Beaune estate were built through centuries of donations, and the proceeds from its annual auction in November have long funded the local hospital.<\/p>\n \n\tThe five-course dinner was at the 12th-century Ch\u00e2teau du Clos de Vougeot. We were driven there through the vineyard in a sleek convoy of black cars after watching a performance of Johannes Brahms\u2019s Symphony No. 2 in D Major in the idyllic town of Beaune. The air-conditioned cabs were like heaven after the heatwave had turned the massive concert hall into a sauna.<\/p>\n \n\tJust as oil money transformed and modernized the Gulf into city-states of gleaming skyscrapers, centuries of wine money have polished this rural corner of Burgundy into an agri-luxury oasis. I was surprised both by how many American and Chineseoenophiles had flown in, and by how young they were. Tech and finance bros rubbed shoulders with old-money, blue-blooded Burgundians. There was also a cohort of local vignerons, whose understated practicality was a welcome juxtaposition to the occasionally conspicuous wealth of the international collector crowd. The roughly 400 guests were rowdy, and several were asking for photos alongside the vignerons, who were treated like rock stars.<\/p>\n \n\tThe auctioneer for the evening charity sale, George Lacey\u2014Sotheby\u2019s head of luxury business in Asia\u2014did well to make himself heard over the din. He hammered down almost \u20ac300,000 from just 14 lots, and there were probably only 20 people bidding in the hall. The coinciding online sale of 51 lots raised a little under \u20ac200,000 (before fees). Among the top bottles was a magnum of Domaine Leflaive, B\u00e2tard-Montrachet 2013 (including a wine tasting for four people) for \u20ac46,000.<\/p>\n \n\tGiven that the sale was for a charity and guests were well lubricated, bidders were likely more generous than they might be in a conventional sale. (Sotheby\u2019s also slashed its fees for the night to benefit the cause.) The partnership with Musique & Vin au Clos Vougeot puts Sotheby\u2019s at the heart of the ultra-high-net-worth community of wine collectors\u2014many of whom buy art and other luxury assets. The house also gets to strengthen ties with the wine producers who are a vital cog in that industry\u2019s growing experiential economy.<\/p>\n \n\tAs we knocked back Grand Cru after Grand Cru served relentlessly by an ultra-attentive fleet of servers, Ravel d\u2019Estienne told me that buyers at this level are looking for \u201cquality\u201d and the \u201cstory behind the wine.\u201d And while the market has cooled, that doesn\u2019t mean people aren\u2019t still buying.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe frenzy has gone, but the passion is still there,\u201d d\u2019Estienne said. \u201cCollectors are not leaving the market, they are just looking for the right bottles, at the right price \u2026 You need to give them a reason to raise their paddle.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSotheby\u2019s recent wine sale results reflect strong demand at the top end, alongside a softer market for newer releases. Ravel d\u2019Estienne said the primary market\u2014particularly en primeur<\/em> wines sold directly from producers before bottling\u2014has been facing greater pressure as collectors become less willing to commit capital years before they can enjoy the wine. Storing wine takes up space and can cost money if you\u2019re renting a warehouse. Not everyone owns a wine cellar.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe primary market is still very tough,\u201d he told me. \u201cPricing is high, and it\u2019s very difficult to go back down.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBut there have been some recent successes. In May, Sotheby\u2019s \u201cImmortal Vintages | 200 Years of Bordeaux\u201d sale in New York achieved $2.1 million, more than double its low estimate of $850,000. In Hong Kong, the house\u2019s first \u201cWine & Spirits Festival Week\u201d generated $13 million in sales, with lots averaging 130 percent against their low estimates.<\/p>\n \n\tChristie\u2019s is seeing a similar shift among its own clients. Like Ravel d\u2019Estienne, Adam Bilbey, the house\u2019s global head of wine, spirits, and private sales, told me that the market has become more discerning, with collectors increasingly focused on wines that offer a deeper connection to their origin and history.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThere is a new generation of buyers,\u201d Bilbey said. \u201cThey\u2019re collecting it in a different way. They don\u2019t necessarily want to age wines for 20 to 30 years. Instead, these collectors are looking for wines they can experience now. They want bottles connected to producers, places, and stories. Everybody wants to meet the winemaker. Everybody wants to go to the winery. That\u2019s just your next step. You start collecting wine, and the next thing you want to do is go to the winery, meet the producer, and understand the story.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThis thirst for access and experience has become a central focus of the current luxury market, and the houses are increasingly acting as intermediaries between collectors and the world surrounding the objects they buy.<\/p>\n \n\tSotheby\u2019s global head of wine and spirits, Nick Penga, told me on the phone that the house has been organizing off-menu, ad hoc wine tastings and vineyard tours for its VIP clients, and even connecting them with famous vignerons to help them age barrels bought at auction.<\/p>\n \n\tChristie\u2019s wine sales between 2020 and 2025 saw the number of bidders and buyers rise by 43 percent. Over the same period, hammer and premium revenue climbed from $50.2 million in 2020 to $88.8 million\u2014a 76.9 percent increase. Obviously, these numbers include the post-Covid boom years, so they should not be read as evidence that the market has returned to its pandemic-era peak. Instead, they point to the enduring depth of demand for top wines, even as collectors have become more selective about what they buy and how much they are willing to pay.<\/p>\n \n\tBut beneath the glamour of Burgundy\u2019s wine culture, winemakers are facing serious challenges. Younger generations are drinking less, and climate change is forcing producers to rethink centuries-old assumptions about how and where wine is made. During a tour of the Hospices de Beaune vineyards the day after the charity auction, Ludivine Griveau, the estate\u2019s r\u00e9gisseur<\/em> and winemaker, described the impact recent heatwaves have had on the vines. Her burden is to produce exceptional wine to finance Beaune\u2019s hospital, so the pressure is intense.<\/p>\n \n\tChristie\u2019s Bilbey, though, remains optimistic, despite the challenges, arguing that ultimately, lowering consumption may not necessarily be a threat. Instead, collectors appear to be moving toward fewer bottles, better-quality wine, and stronger connections to its makers.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cPeople are drinking less, but they\u2019re drinking better,\u201d he told me. \u201cThey might not drink Monday to Thursday, but on a Friday night they want to open that really good bottle of wine.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSotheby\u2019s latest announcement, released Wednesday, shows how the wine auction market is evolving. On October 1 in Paris, the house will sell almost 700 lots sourced directly from the cellars of Ch\u00e2teau Haut-Brion, celebrating 90 years of Dillon family ownership. Yet the draw is not just the bottles. The sale will also include bespoke experiences that give collectors access to the estate, its history, and the people behind the wine.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cCollectors are increasingly seeking wines with impeccable provenance and direct ch\u00e2teau origin, and this sale represents one of the most compelling opportunities we have ever brought to market,\u201d Penga said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-news\/market\/wine-auction-market-sothebys-christies-burgundy-2026-1234791594\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/burgundy-wine-chateau.jpg?w=1024″] Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0This story originally appeared in\u00a0On Balance,\u00a0the ARTnews\u00a0newsletter about the art market and beyond.\u00a0Sign up here\u00a0to receive it every Wednesday.\u00a0This story is also part of a new series on the convergence of art and\u00a0luxury. See all of\u00a0our reporting on the topic here. The wine market is in flux. After years of rising […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-2033715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2033715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2033715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2033715\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2033715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2033715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2033715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}