Bordeaux futures are, quite simply, the best way to buy exclusive wines at a fraction
of their shelf price. However, there are very few people who know how Bordeaux futures work and how they save you money and let you profit from your wine purchases.

How Bordeaux Futures Work

Each year during the months of June and July, French Châteaux introduce their latest
vintages of Bordeaux wines to the world and make their first offer to a very select group of wine merchants. These wines are produced from the harvest of the previous year. The first offering made to wine merchants is at a very low price – the lowest it will ever be available at. Retail stocks don’t appear in liquor stores until 3 years after harvest, for example a 2010 Bordeaux is sold on futures to select buyers in early summer 2011 - and does not arrive until 2013.

Naturally, buying on the Bordeaux futures market is the best time to purchase wine, especially in the highest quality vintages. With premium vintages, there is substantial demand and prices begin to skyrocket immediately after their first release, just like the stock market. The most popular vintages, in fact, will be sold entirely on futures and rarely be available to the general public. If they do, they will be at very high prices.

How To Start Buying Bordeaux Futures

It's easy! Click here to reserve your Bordeaux futures

Only prominent wine buyers have access to buy Bordeaux futures because of the limited amount offered at these reduced prices. So, to get on program, you need a relationship with a wine merchant who has access to some of your favorite wines. You MUST act quickly when these offers come up and place your order immediately.

In recent years, access to wine futures stocks have become even more difficult than ever to obtain, especially for North Americans. With exploding demand for premium wine in China, the destination for a large amount of today’s Bordeaux futures are high-end restaurants and hotels in China.

ZYN.ca, Alberta’s leading online retailer of fine wine is now offering Bordeaux futures to our customers. Every day through June and July we will publish futures that become available on our website, to our email subscribers and through our Twitter posts. By July 31^st each year, the action is over.

Things You Need To Know About Bordeaux Futures

The marketplace isn’t complex, but there are a few things that all Bordeaux futures buyers should be aware of before they decide to invest in wine:

• When you buy a “future”, it means that it hasn’t been released to the public, hence the cost savings.
• If you are shopping around for a Bordeaux futures supplier, make sure you obtain proof of insurance. Most buyers don’t insure their purchases and you can lose your investment entirely if there is a problem with delivery. Imagine…what if the boat from France sinks???
• Most Bordeauxs are sold the year after harvest as futures and don’t arrive in stores until 3 years after harvest. This means a 2010 vintage is sold as a future in 2011 and does not arrive until 2013.
• Also, when you buy a Bordeaux future, it does not get shipped until two years later. Wines that you purchase in 2011 will not be sent to you until 2013. This allows the vintage to age and protects the marketplace.
• The best Bordeaux futures to buy are those that come from the most revered vintages. These vintages show the most increase in value over time. The finest vintages of the past decade are 2005, 2009 and now, 2010 – this year’s futures!
• Bordeaux futures are never sold in single quantities. The minimum buy-in is a half case (6 bottles).
• 2009 was a banner year for Bordeaux futures and we are fortunate to have excellent quality again in 2010. However, there has been smaller production of Bordeaux in 2010, meaning, we suspect 2010 vintages will appreciate greater than 2009, simply due to supply and demand.

Your Benefit To Buying Bordeaux Futures

• You get premium wine at it's lowest price possible
• Your purchase is an investment. Because Bordeaux appreciates quickly, you can later generate profit by selling your Bordeaux in wine marketplaces or to collectors.
• You have access to fine wine that very few people have access to. Many of the Bordeaux wines sold as futures are never available to the general public!

Pricing and Payment

How do we determine pricing for Bordeaux futures? There are 3 components:

1. Release Price – the asking cost from the Chateaux
2. Merchant markup – typically 10-20%
3. Additional costs – taxes, shipping, allocation warehousing, etc

Using this model, we can analyze the effect on a $60 Bordeaux (release price):

• Merchant pays $60/bottle to the Chateaux
• Merchant marks up cost 10-20% - we will estimate 10% making the bottle worth $66.
• Additional costs are added on top. A typical bottle of wine coming into Canada cost $11 in additional costs, increasing the final cost for a $60 Bordeaux to $77.
• The expected retail value of that $60 bottle when it arrives in 2013 will be about $150, over a 100% increase over what was paid.

Terms of the Program

ZYN.ca and The Wine Cottage are very experienced Bordeaux futures buyers – this is our 18^th campaign in a row. We practice the general rules of Bordeaux futures:

• ZYN.ca and The Wine Cottage cannot accept returns on these products.
• There are 3 simple steps to placing an order:
  1. You submit a request to order product from our Bordeaux futures listings
  2. We will contact you directly to confirm your order
  3. Upon confirmation, your order is placed, and the agreement to purchase is final
• In the case of a required refund due to unforeseen events (eg: breakage, lost items in shipping), our wines ARE insured and will be refunded at the invoiced value NOT the replacement cost.

Any Bordeaux futures orders placed between June 1, 2011 and July 31, 2011 must be paid in full by the end date of the program – July 31, 2011 or they will be cancelled. There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this policy.