text:
The Milwaukee Brewers are not looking for a big money closer!!
Now that the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is over, let's get back to business.
Contrary to what many "experts" believe, the Milwaukee Brewers are not looking to sign a big money closer this offseason.
Future Met.
Future Redbird.
I base this assessment not on weak self-opinion, but on some comments Doug Melvin made a few weeks back.
Melvin mentioned hard-throwing right-hander Seth McClung as an
internal option to try as closer. He said he didn't plan to bid on
high-priced free agent closers such as Francisco Rodriguez and Brian
SETH McCLUNG
Good internal option and a helluva nice guy off the field. On the field, he's mean as hell. Has the right mentality for a closer.
not going to spend a big chunk of money on a closer," said Melvin.
"We've found closers in the past. You usually don't find that out until
later (in the off-season).
"It's way too early at this point."
If anyone knows Doug Melvin around here in Milwaukee, it's that he's usually honest when asked about certain rumors/musings.
I don't want to hear about how Melvin has thrown big money in the past at closers. Over a larger sampling of his track record, this is simply not true.
Good GM.
Melvin did make a multi-million dollar offer to Francisco Cordero
after the '07 season. That's because Cordero was lights out for him and he
wanted to make an effort to retain one of his own.
He signed for a tad more to join the Reds.
Melvin did sign Eric Gagne to a 10 Million dollar deal. That was only for 1-year. Low risk with a potential for a large reward.
didn't work out.
Don't expect Doug Melvin to put big money into his closer entering '09.
Just one diehard's opinion.
7 Comments
Yes, Julia. The Red Sox did make the Gagne mistake! It happens. And the Yankees, btw, have had some good free agent signings along with the not-so-good ones. (Whew, got that off my chest.) About closers, Happy, it's funny about your photo of K-Rod. He really does look like a Met. Who knows what'll happen but I'm guessing he'll go there.
Whoa. Now you're having the switcheroo thing going on in your comments section, Happy. (Mine pops up before Julia's and it should be the other way around.) It's been happening on my blog and I see you have the problem too. Hmm.
Spending big money doesn't always get you the team that you want – just ask the Yankees! Good farm systems can be very successful and looking around for the player who's the right fit for the team is really more important, I think, then just signing a big name. And don't worry about the Gagne "mistake" – the Red Sox made that one also!
Hey, do you think the Brewers would be interested in a Hall of Famer free agent Trevor Hoffman? He certainly won't be that cheap, but he's just looking for a couple more years. But maybe you guys want a long-time solution. I guess it's all speculation. I can't wait til things truly heat up in the Hot Stove!!
I couldnt agree more. Just go after Hoffman… give him the 6-8 million it would take and be happy with the 35/40 he'll shut the door on.
Happy late Thanksgiving, Nick!
Oh Eric Gagne… he was painful to watch for the Red Sox and from what I've heard, he was painful for you guys to watch as well (sorry 'bout that). Nice to see they're giving McClung a try, hopefully it will work out!
I'm not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens.
– Air Jordan


text:
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#208899 - 01/10/13 01:46 PM Adverbities of Eros
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 06/23/08
Posts: 8541
Loc: Land of the Flat Water
Adverbities of Eros
Yesterday too little nevertheless
Thereupon notwithstanding everywhere
At that point next together the way that
Such as at length thus at the time as much as
Formerly less thither of yore
Here always in enough already near
Quite so sometimes almost a lot all right
Evermore such still within hard never
When hither wrongly once again
Forthwith gladly late in the day henceforth
Maybe drop by drop indeed all the way
Why face to face fast to be sure quasi
Immediately unhesitatingly
Thoughtlessly frontwards backwards squattingly
Non-stop post-haste suddenly from now on
In succession torrentially finally
Incessantly tomorrow emulously
Whereas along in turn now over there
Elsewhere today of course so there pell-mell
Outside there all of a sudden round about
No way in brief no better than so-so
Worse rather than better out worse and worse.
-- Noël Arnaud_________________________
----please, draw me a sheep----
#208900 - 01/10/13 01:49 PM Re: Adverbities of Eros [Re: LukeJavan8]
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 06/24/02
Posts: 7210
Loc: Vermont
Some fodder for the Tom-Swifty thread, there!
:¬ )_________________________
formerly known as etaoin...
#208901 - 01/10/13 02:12 PM Re: Adverbities of Eros [Re: Buffalo Shrdlu]
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 06/23/08
Posts: 8541
Loc: Land of the Flat Water
Have at it, Buff!_________________________
----please, draw me a sheep----
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This week, members of ISBE staff and I completed a very successful series of six regional conferences with superintendents. It is continually gratifying and energizing to meet with so many of you and hear what is on your minds. I hope those of you who have been able to attend have left with more information and a better understanding of the agency's NCLB activities and updates.
Also, I'd like to bring your attention to several important items covered at the recent Board meeting and thank the representatives from three school districts for accepting our invitation to attend and provide district financial status and background for our Board. Please visit our Board webpage for documents related to the recent board meeting http://isbe.net/board/Default.htm
This week's message contains:
· Update on Federal Relations/NCLB
· Update on General State Aid and Hold Harmless
· Impact of the 2004 Budget and Budget Implementation (Education) Act on Gifted Education
· Driver Education Cost Claim Due
· Changes to Driver Education Blue Slips
· RFP for Mathematics and Science Partnerships
· Annual Financial Report Calculation of Profile Score and Designation
· Announcing 'Wild About School Meals' Workshop
· Newsclips
Update on NCLB/Assessment
As requested by USDE, ISBE staff and I met recently with
a team of individuals regarding Teacher Quality issues. The team was composed of 3 USDE staff
and 2 external persons from the field of education. They were interested in understanding
the Board's policy of
The Assessment and Accountability Task Force met on September 16th. Members heard status reports on various issues (e.g., RFSP for revised assessments; IAA and IMAGE exams; status of schools for 2003-04). They discussed several of these in detail, particularly alternate assessment. A subcommittee was established to discuss school and district rewards, which will report back to the full task force.
The Appeals Advisory Committee, created by Public Act 93-470 (SB 878 of 2003) to give districts an opportunity to appeal their placement on state academic warning lists, held its organizational meeting on September 16th. Several of its appointed members serve on the Assessment and Accountability Task Force so these meetings were held back-to-back. There are 2 teachers – Ava Evbuoma, Flossmoor and Trudy Grishom, Waukegan; 2 superintendents – Charlie Kent, Jr., Country Club Hills and Robert Nielsen, Bloomington; 1 principal – Becky McCabe, Urbana; 1 parent – Gretchen McDowell, Chicago; 1 business representative – Norman Jones, Bloomington; 1 Chicago representative – Phil Hansen and 1 member of the general public (a school board member) – Ron Gray. All have been appointed by the Superintendent to serve. They drew straws for terms of office (4 for 3 year terms and 5 for 2 year terms) and selected a chairperson. Three appeals have been received to date, and will be heard at the upcoming meeting of the Committee on October 9th.
Update On General State Aid and Hold Harmless
The State Board has not yet received
final certified EAV data from the Illinois Department of Revenue for Cook and
Once final certified data is received, the State Board will also calculate the GSA amount due each school district. In the mean time, payments are being made at 100% of the statutory $4,810 foundation level pursuant to the formula even though the FY04 GSA appropriation appears to be insufficient to pay this amount. Public Act 93-21 provides that any GSA shortfall is to be reduced first from the poverty component.
The Impact of the FY2004 Budget and Budget Implementation (Education) Act on Gifted Education
There have been dramatic changes in the
financial and statutory provisions for gifted education in
Financial Provisions
The State Board of Education supported funding for the Gifted Education Reimbursement Program in its FY04 funding proposal. The funding proposal was approved by the Board in 2002-03 and then shared with the General Assembly and Governor Blagojevich.
In Governor Blagojevich's Budget Address of April 2003, he proposed to roll some categorical grant funds, including gifted education funds, into the overall line item to increase General State Aid funding to schools. As a result, there was no funding proposed for the Gifted Education Reimbursement Program in the initial legislative appropriation bill for 2003-04.
Prior to the finalization of the budget, no legislative amendments were made to reinstate gifted education funds into the program. Hence, no funds for the Gifted Education Reimbursement Program were included in the final budget for 2003-04. Other changes were made in the final budget amendments that affected the gifted education program provisions in law at the state level.
Statutory Provisions
Since the mid 1990's, Chicago has received funds in a general education block grant and an educational services block grant, in lieu of receiving separate State funding for each program. The Gifted Education Program was included in the statutory description of the programs to be addressed with block grant funds. In the FY2004 Budget Implementation (Education) Act, an amendment to Senate Bill 744 of 2003, the reference to "gifted education" was removed from the block grant description.
The School Code also required the State Board of Education to analyze the current and anticipated problems and deficiencies in education, and design and prepare a Comprehensive Educational Plan to improve the situation. A list of areas to be considered while formulating this Comprehensive Educational Plan for elementary and secondary education was presented. "Gifted" was removed from this list of programs to be considered.
The FY2004 Budget Implementation (Education) Act also affected the way that schools could use funds from summer school grants from the State Board of Education. References in the School Code to "gifted and talented children" were removed from Summer School Grants (Sec. 2-3.61) and from services provided by Regional Service Centers (Sec. 2-3.62). These services had included experimental projects for students and gifted education institutes for teachers.
Article 14A of the Illinois School Code set parameters for the gifted student program. It provided the authority for the State Board to administer the gifted program, to establish standards for personnel in gifted programs, and to "provide that, to the extent possible, with the resources available, all gifted and talented children have an opportunity to receive services and participate in appropriate programs." Article 14A also provided for the creation of the Gifted Advisory Council and enumerated the responsibilities of the council. The FY2004 Budget Implementation (Education) Act terminated the gifted mandated activities in the School Code by repealing Article 14A.
Now that Article 14A of the Illinois School Code has been repealed, school districts are no longer mandated to provide certain gifted student activities as they once were. However, in the era of attending to the needs of all students and "leaving no child behind," it is imperative that school districts address the needs of their gifted student population.
Assistance from the gifted community and its supporters for school districts in meeting the needs of their gifted students is more crucial now than ever before.
If you have further questions, feel free to contact Dr. Wendell Meeks, Curriculum and Instruction Division, at 217/557-7323. Comments or concerns about the statutory or financial status of gifted education may be directed to your state representative or senator.
Driver Education Cost Claim Due October 1
Claims for costs associated with Driver Education courses offered by school districts are statutorily due on October 1. Paper claims will not be sent this year as claims will be required to be filed electronically through ISBE Web Application Security System (IWAS) at https://isbe.net/iwas located on the ISBE homepage. The Driver Education claim (ISBE 54-30) will only be available for transmission until October 1. No claims will be honored after that date. Questions regarding completion of the Driver Education claim can be directed to Janet Ovall, Division of Funding and Disbursement Services at 217-782-5256 or via email at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Changes to Driver Education Blue Slip Procedure Begin Monday
The Illinois State
Board of Education (ISBE) in cooperation with the Illinois Secretary of State
(ISOS) has developed a new electronic process that will eliminate the need for
printing 127,000 yearly Driver Education Blue Slips for students who have
completed classroom and behind-the-wheel training. Beginning
In addition, school districts will be able to submit driver education instructors for approval via the Driver Education – Driver Instructor Eligibility system which can also be accessed via IWAS. Districts can submit driver education instructor information which will be cross-checked with ISOS for serious driver violations such as a suspension, revocation or a restricted driving permit. This system was developed to be in compliance with 23 Illinois Administrative Code Part 252 Driver Education Section 252.40 "Driver Education Teacher Requirements." The full text of the Driver Education rules can be accessed at http://www.isbe.net/rules/archive/pdfs/252ark.pdf. ISBE staff will notify the appropriate district superintendent via email if there is a suspension, revocation or restricted driving permit as indicated from ISOS. ISBE staff may disapprove an instructor for submitting classroom or behind-the-wheel data to ISBE if notified by ISOS of such violations.
Questions about these new procedures can be directed to Janet Ovall, Division of Funding and Disbursement Services at 217-782-5256 or via email at email@example.com.
Electronic applications are now available on the State Board website for proposals to deliver "X-type" CPDUs and Induction and Mentoring programs that will help beginning teachers establish eligibility for the Standard Certificate. The electronic applications for self-assessment and NBPTS-related coursework are likely to be available by October 6.
The proposals will be evaluated on their completeness and their consistency with the requirements, most of which are built into the electronic applications. However, we urge you to review the rules and the information on the State Board website prior to developing your proposals.
In the near future, we will provide examples of each type of proposal, using actual submissions from districts, ROEs, higher education institutions, unions and others. Our initial goal will be to illustrate the kinds of programs and activities that have been submitted and approved. However, we also hope that these examples might become replicable models.
We are very much aware that, at this time, there are very limited ways for beginning teachers to meet the requirements for the Standard Certificate. We also recognize that between budget cuts and ever-increasing demands on your time, this is not a good time for thoughtful development of new initiatives. We are working on these problems on two fronts:
We do have ideas for both challenges and we will get back to you within a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, please inform your beginning teachers that this effort is in progress and ask for their patience.
Professional Development Provider Status
The Professional Development Provider system which you have been using for teacher certificate renewal proposals has been modified to accommodate the new programs and activities for moving from Initial to Standard certification. Our transition to the new system has had the following results: viewer access to previously approved certificate renewal programs is temporarily unavailable and we have a small backlog of notices waiting for response. If you have a concern that relates to these problems, please let us know via email -- firstname.lastname@example.com.
The new system includes a renewal option for provider
approval. This is aligned to the
year of expiration of the previous approval and will be displayed only to
the providers whose approvals are due for renewal. If your approval expires in 2003 (all
providers whose approval expired in June 2003 were previously granted an
extension until October 1), you must affirmatively indicate your desire to
continue to serve in this role. If
you have not already done so, please immediately go to the PDP system and click
on "Renew/Update Approved Provider Status" link (after you log in). The critical date for this cycle is
RFP for Mathematics and Science Partnerships
ISBE is proud to announce the release of a
new request for proposals (RFP) for professional development opportunities for
K-12 mathematics and science teachers.
The Illinois Mathematics and Science Partnerships program is authorized
through NCLB, Title II, Part B and approximately $3,200,000 will be awarded to
A comprehensive needs assessment is required by the legislation. ISBE is organizing an on-line needs assessment for K-12 teachers (http://www.isbe.net/teachers.htm). Please encourage staff and colleagues to participate in this valuable process between September 26 and October 31. It is estimated that the survey can be completed within ten minutes. Anonymity is assured; participants will only need to identify teaching assignment and county. Prospective partnerships need to be able to access this vital information in order to respond more effectively to the professional development needs of our K-12 teachers of mathematics and science. Please contact Gwen Pollock, email@example.com or 217/557-7323 for further information.
Annual Financial Report Calculation of Profile Score and Designation
The purpose of this notice is to alert you to a couple of errors found in the "Estimated Financial Profile Sheet" (FPDPG2a) of the FY03 Annual Financial Report (AFR). These errors do not affect your AFR data. This sheet was included as a tool for districts to calculate a preliminary FY04 Financial Profile Score. The errors have to do with how some of the calculations round the data and the assignment of the "Warning" and "Watch" designations. A new sheet should be available on our website within the week at http://www.isbe.net/sfms/afr03/afr.htm. We apologize for any problems this may have caused.
We are in the process of reviewing the Financial Profile System to determine if any adjustments are needed for system improvement. It is possible that the calculation of the final FY04 score (and FY03 score) could change based upon the system review. A message will be sent through the Superintendent's Bulletin to alert you of the final decisions regarding changes to the calculation of the Financial Profile Score. If you have further questions regarding your AFR, please contact Debbie Hemberger at 217/785-8779 or if you have questions regarding the Profile, contact Sally Cray also at 217/782-8779.
ISBE staff presented at the Executive Board meeting and
quarterly conference for the Illinois Alliance for Administrators in Special
Education (IAASE) in
ISBE staff including Chris Koch, James Gunnell, Gail Lieberman, Tim Imler and Peter Leonis met with representatives of IAASE to discuss and strategize approaches to special education funding reimbursement following the amendatory veto. Pros and cons of various strategies were discussed. The amendatory veto will result in HB 1180 sunsetting in one year's time essentially making the bill's implementation more trouble than it is worth. The bill was designed to simplify the reimbursement process and was alleged to significantly reduce paperwork.
Chris Koch led the Illinois Team to the National
Leadership Summit on Improving Results for Youth in
Participants prioritized transition objectives of the
Interagency Coordinating Council and
Announcing 'Wild About School Meals' Workshops
We invite you to explore the world of school meals with speakers from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), Nutrition Programs and Support Services; Illinois Nutrition Education and Training Program; the Illinois Department of Public Health; the St. Louis District Dairy Council and the Midwest Dairy Council this October at the Wild About School Lunch workshops.
The purpose of the workshops is to provide an update to participants on the changes for the new school year and review the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program regulations. These workshops are geared for business managers, food service directors, managers, or persons responsible for the administration of the food and nutrition services in schools.
Workshops will be held at the following 6 locations across the state:
Pre-registration is required. Please register no later than five days prior to workshop date. A brochure with more information is available at ../pdf/wild_brochure.pdf
Robert Schiller
State Superintendent
of Education


text:
Would any of you posters on this forum, take the time to go on the above site and vote for these youngsters.It would be appreciated.
You can read all about it on that site .Saves me explaining.
You are allowed to vote daily.
Edited by frank, 12 November 2012 - 01:12 AM.


text:
jizz............ thats going to be exciting
Way to go with the GT Dwonsson! We're going to have our hands full tonight with Love. He's averaging 25 points and 13 rebounds per game this season. If TC can keep his shooting % low and not let him get any offensive boards then I see us winning this. But that is a tough task to ask for!
Jeffries is about to shut down Love...I see love getting under 20 points
Ricky Rubio is nice, i apologized to him already. Hes fun to watch but hes no Jeremy Lin
Knicks get the Lin by 10 or more
Key to tonights game is to shut out Love and double team him, we were double teaming Kobe yesterday and it was pretty effective , but he was still making crazy shots just because hes Kobe but Love is no where near Kobe
I think Shumpert should guard Rubio also to really pressure him and mess him up, Shumpert was doing a great job on Kobe last night
I can't wait for the first NBA'er to lose their cool vs Lin, and make some Asian-based insult at him. I imagine it to be Kevin Garnett.
Only for Jeremy to own his ass on a drive and ask him how is 'house special fried ass' tastes, while mic'd up.
Yes, I believe this will happen. Yes, I will make sure I ask someone how my fried ass tastes the next time I'm in a position to do so.
About another hour to go fellas, time to start marinating my extremities with a mixture of tingling and warming gels
this is brutal. i feel like a little kid about to go trick or treating. not as bad as last night tho, i made dinner from like 6-645 thinking right after i sit down to eat it'd be gametime. NOPE. at least today im prepared for that extra hour of waiting.
Tough turn around on this one, fun win but no time to celebrate flying right out to Minny, but yeah I'm excited and while I too would expect a tough game, I think we can definitely do this. I'll be joining you all posting during the game tonight as with no nat'l broadcast I'm back to watching on my computer tonight...
"Tough times don't last forever, tough people do"
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing," coach Mike D'Antoni said (referring to Linsanity). "I don't know what to tell you. I've never seen it."
NY Basketball is on top of the world right now. Jeremy Lin put LeBron to shame and 'Cuse wopped Uconns behind..T-woles watch out. You're about to get linsane


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2014 Conservation Stewardship Program Signup Ended
The 2014-1 ranking period cut-off date for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) ended February 7, 2014. Applications received after Februrary 7, 2014 will be considered for the next ranking period.
The Conservation Stewardship Program pays participants for conservation performance. The program encourages agricultural and forestry producers to address resource concerns by improving and maintaining existing conservation activities and undertaking additional conservation activities.
CSP is available to all producers regardless of operation size or crop produced. Eligible lands include cropland, hayland, pastureland, rangeland, nonindustrial private forest lands, and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe. Participation in the program is voluntary.
CSP applications are accepted on a continuous basis with announced cut-off dates for ranking and funding.
Use the self-screening checklist to see if CSP is the right program for you.
RCCR for 2014 (PDF; 352 KB)
NRCS will use the CMT to evaluate CSP applications through a point-based system to estimate environmental benefits. The CMT evaluates existing and proposed new activities to calculate conservation performance points which will be used for ranking and payment purposes.
The documents below are copies of the resource inventory questions, grouped by land use. You can download and review the questions, and begin drafting responses to start resource inventory process before you complete the CMT in your local NRCS office:
The documents below are copies of the Operation Baseline Data questions, grouped by land use. You can download and review the questions, and begin drafting responses to start the process before you meet with NRCS staff:
The 2008 Farm Bill recognized the growing interest and support of organic agriculture across the country and required the development of a transparent means by which producers may initiate organic certification while participating in a CSP contract. "The Conservation Stewardship Program's Contribution to Organic Transitioning - The Organic Crosswalk", provides an explanation of how CSP enhancements can be used to assist producers in meeting individual National Organic Program (NOP) rules while going through the transitioning period.
To see the geographic area map: Conservation Stewardship Program Geographic Areas (JPG; 221 KB)
National NRCS CSP 2014
2013 Conservation Stewardship Program
2012 Conservation Stewardship Program
2011 Conservation Stewardship Program
2010 Conservation Stewardship Program
2009 Conservation Stewardship Program
Rob Fredericksen, CSP Program Leader
Phone: (208) 685-6993
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
This page will be updated as soon as information becomes available. Please check back often.
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On these pages you will find everything you need to know about investing in wine: the top ten investment brands, top ten traded wines, the best Bordeaux vintages to invest in, the best Lafite vintages, other investment wines, which merchants to contact and much more...
For wine investors, the last eighteen months have seen a strong and sustained market recovery from the last quarter of 2008 when the Liv-ex 100 Index dropped by 25% – its largest ever fall since its inception in 2001. Some wines, particularly the 2005s plummeted even further in the financial turmoil which took place after the collapse of Lehman Bros.
Now though, at the time of writing (July 2010), the market has bounced back with a vengeance and is moving full steam ahead, particularly since the beginning of this year.
The recovery began tentatively at the beginning of 2009 with small but incremental growth as the market bottomed out and canny, cash rich investors went back into the market to pick up blue chip wines at very advantageous prices. But given the uncertainty of the wider economy, the recovery still took several months to really gain traction and momentum, beginning in earnest towards the end of 2009.
Moreover, much of the gains by the Liv-ex 100 Index last year were largely underpinned by Chateau Lafite which completed an astonishing year of asset price growth. According to Liv-ex's Claret Chip Index, it ended the year up a staggering 40%.
More recently though, the rest of the First Growths have followed Lafite's lead and the market has moved ahead in leaps and bounds since the start of the year. Since January, the Index is up a quarter and is up over 40% on this time last year. In May, it moved up 4.4% sailing past its previous market peak back in June 2008 and now stands at a shade under 305.
So why has the market performed so well compared to equities' much patchier record? One answer is the massive and growing Asian market which has played a pivotal role in providing strong demand for the world's finest wines over the last few years, particularly Chateau Lafite.
One leading fine wine fund manager reported that 'demand from China has more than substituted fro demand from Europe and the US which temporarily receded at the end of 2008.
Thanks to the abolition of all taxes on wine in 2008 by the Hong Kong government, there has been a mass exodus of wine to the former UK colony which has become a conduit for fine wine in the region. Thanks to its powerhouse economies, particularly China, and its growing number of billionaires with a thirst for the world's finest and rarest wines, demand here seems set to continue and increase for the foreseeable future.
Fuelling this astonishing growth in sales are several UK merchants who have set up shop in Hong Kong in order to service the region. Almost all have recorded burgeoning sales, including Bordeaux Index where half its sales have gone through its Hong Kong office.
Last year, Sotheby's reported that nearly 60% of all wine sold by value in its New York, London and Hong Kong salerooms ultimately found its way to Asian buyers. Moreover, Hong Kong has also seen some astonishing auction totals. In May, the New York merchants/auctioneers Acker Merrall & Condit hammered down the contents of the US collector Eric Greenburg's cellar for $19.5m making it the largest sale ever held in Asia and the second largest total of all time. Now many believe that Hong Kong has overtaken New York as the epicentre of the auction business.
So, to a large extent, Asia effectively underwrote the fine wine market for much of 2009. But since the beginning of 2010, the recovery has been more widespread as the traditional markets of Europe and the US have also come back into play. As global demand has hotted up, so too have prices.
There have been other factors which have contributed to the recent spurt in prices. One is a shortage of stock, especially in Europe. Another has been the weakness of the pound against the dollar for most of the last eighteen months. So, given that most Asian currencies are pegged to the dollar, buying wine in the UK has been extremely attractive to Far Eastern collectors and investors.
Most recently, in June, the Chinese decided to end the two year peg of the remnimbi to the US dollar, which has led to a strengthening of its currency. For Chinese wine buyers, this makes buying wine in the UK even more attractive.
In addition, many of the newer buyers are buying to drink rather than purely invest, which is also having profound impact on supply, demand and ultimately pricing. 'What is happening in Asia is almost all about consumption,' says Will Beck, a fund manager with Wine Asset Managers. So the compound annual effect may well be far reaching and gives credence to the view that new markets are changing the demand profile of the industry for good.'
Allied to this is the re-emergence of several wine funds. After a difficult period in 2008-2009 when they were dealing with severe outflows caused by major redemptions, the funds have now clearly turned a corner and are firmly back in the market buying wine on behalf of their investors. This too has added yet more pressure on prices.
'We are seeing a lot of demand from both private and corporate investors,' says Willaim Grey of the Wine Investment Fund. 'It's certainly much greater than this time last year with a lot of interest coming from UK investors large and small who are looking for 'real assets' to spread risk. But what is most encouraging is that demand is increasingly global and has been for some time.'
However, arguably the biggest impact on the latest round of price increases has been the summer's extraordinary en primeur campaign. Once it became clear that the Bordelais had produced an exceptional vintage in 2009, the rumour mill went into full swing that prices would reach record levels.
Aided and abetted by a strengthening global economy and an unprecedented set of high scores by all the major critics (Parker, Robinson. Suckling and Spurrier), many were predicting that the price of Lafite in particular could reach the level of 1000 euros by the end of the campaign.
This inevitably made the back vintages look exceptionally good value. So a number of fine wine traders and fund managers piled into the market to pull off a series of speculative relative value trades in advance of the campaign. As a result, the most fancied and under-valued vintages such as 1996 and 2000 began to move sharply upwards. In February, the 96 Latour was trading at £4,800. By the end of May it was £6,600. Even more marked was demand for Lafite 2000. Over the same period of time, it went from £14-15,000 to over £18,000 per dozen.
As expected, the 2009s have now been sold at record release prices with wines like Lafite, Latour and Le Pin trading on the secondary market at well over £1,000 a bottle. Despite (or perhaps because of that), many of these wines have been bought for investment purposes.
Ironically though, it remains to be seen whether these wines will prove to be sound investments. According to recent research by Liv-ex and the Wine Investment Fund, the returns from en primeur are mixed to say the least. One reason for this is because the chateaux have increasingly tended to release their wines at full market value over the last decade. As a result, many investment experts will continue to scour the back vintages where they see much better value for more mature wines.
What is clear from this latest and most expensive en primeur campaign is that Asia and China in particular have not dominated the campaign in the way that many people predicted. At Bordeaux Index, en primeur sales accounted for no more than 10% of the vintage. The lion's share of sales (60%) went to the UK private market with the remaining 30% going to European or UK traders and investment groups. 'So the widely anticipated rush in demand from the Far East has thus far failed to materialise,' said MD Gary Boom.
At Farr Vintners, where the company reported a total of 30,000 cases sold en primeur totalling £53m worth of wine, the picture was slightly different. Tellingly, the split in sales was 60:40 (UK:Asia) by value. In volume terms it was 85% to 15% as Far East customers bought the top trophy wines – First Growths and Super Seconds. According to Browett, there was virtually no interest from the USA in the campaign.
This suggests that the wine investment market is not about to broaden beyond the usual suspects in the immediate future. Instead, it will remain focused on a narrow core of established Bordeaux chateaux right at the apex of its quality pyramid.
Where does the market go from here? Some including Bordeaux Index's Gary Boom remain optimistic about further price rises for the next few months at least. Others think that prices may track sideways now that the en primeur campaign is done and dusted.
Of course, much depends on the global economy. But so far, concerns over a double dip recession, austerity measures in a number of European economies and volatility in the bond and equity markets have had little or no impact on fine wine prices to date.
Over the longer term, fund managers see no reason whatsoever why prices will not continue to climb relentlessly upwards, though not a quite the clip that prices have risen since the beginning of 2010. They point to the market's healthy rally post the 2008 crash and the fact wine has outperformed many other financial asset classes along the way.
Moreover, according to Will Beck of Wine Asset Managers, this ability to make up lost ground in the wake of price falls is nothing new. 'Event-driven wine price corrections have occurred four times in the last fifty years. But each one has always been followed by a decade of strong returns averaging 15-23%. I believe that it will be no different this time around.'.
Written by John Stimpfig
How to invest in wine – Advantages and disadvantages of investing
What are the advantages of investing in wine?
The underlying principles of wine investment boil down to the laws of supply and demand. On the supply side, there are relatively few (perhaps only about 75 in total) investment grade labels, whose production levels remain more or less fixed. On the demand side, there are a growing number of high net worth individuals around the world seeking to own and/or drink these wines. Ergo, the only way to ease the pressure is for prices to go up. However, when there is a surplus of sellers over buyers – as occurred at the end of 2008, prices will inevitably fall.
Investment grade wine is also an improving asset. As fine wines mature they become more desirable and therefore more valuable. At the same time, as the wine ages and comes into its drinking window, it begins to be consumed making it even more rare, which in turn adds yet more upward pressure on prices.
Fine wine has seen some astonishing returns, particularly from the end of 2005 to the summer of 2008 when the Liv-ex 100 Index rose from 120 points to a high of 264 points. This came after a period of several years in which prices generally didn't move very much.
Ultimately, it wasn't to last forever as the market finally gave way in autumn 2008 to the wider pressures caused by falling equities and the banking crisis stocks as well as the wider effects of the credit crunch impacting on the global economy and investors assets. Most recently, the Liv-ex Index has also put on a healthy spurt increasing by 40% from June 2009 to June 2010.
Wine investors will also be encouraged by the fact that their investments have performed better than most other assets and indices, including the FTSE 100 – particularly in the last six months, during which time it has fallen considerably.
This is no flash in the pan. In the last 20 years fine wine has also outperformed a number of equity and fixed income indices including the FTSE 100. For long term investors (as opposed to shorter term speculators) a well chosen and balanced wine portfolio should provide annualised returns of around 10-12% per annum. However, some investors will have outperformed those figures over the longer term.
In fact, since 2001, when Liv-ex began its 100 Index, wine has significantly outperformed the leading equity indices in western markets with an average annual return of 16%. By comparing other pieces of research it is also possible to look at fine wine returns since 1950. Again the results are extremely positive and remarkably consistent. Since, 1950, the average gross return is 15% and is 17% if you start in 1960.
Wine remains less volatile than stocks and shares, making it a less risky investment. However, with the increasing number of wine funds and more and more private investors coming into the market, it appears that the wine market is becoming more closely correlated with the stock market than was the case two years ago. In the past, the fact that it was not highly correlated with equities, made it extremely attractive to investors looking to diversify a portfolio.
Generally, wine is also regarded as a wasting asset so doesn't attract Capital Gains Tax. (However, as this area of tax law is complex it is best to take advice from a tax lawyer or tax accountant.) Moreover, if you keep the wine in bond, you also avoid paying VAT and Duty.
What are the potential disadvantages of investing in wine?
When the wine investment market isn't moving uniformly upwards as it did from 2006 to 2008 and from 2010, it becomes much more of stock picker's market, which generally requires a great deal of expertise, understanding and knowledge. In other words it's very easy to make some expensive mistakes unless you know what you are doing. For instance, at the end of 2008, virtually every Bordeaux chateau and vintage dropped significantly in value. Some 2005s dropped by more than 25% in value in the course of two months. Even by July 2010 very few 2005s have made up this lost ground.
Clearly, therefore wine prices can go down as well as up. Even as the market is generally moving up, particular wines will certainly move down. Equally, the converse is true. Therefore, when wine prices are generally moving down, cash rich investors will be eyeing the market with a view to picking up some great deals. Once the market has bottomed out, that is the optimum time go back in and buy. Timing is all.
There are no dividend payments that accrue from wine investment. Moreover, there are the costs of storage and selling which have to be factored in. Both eat into profitability.
Typically, a broker will work on a 10% margin when you come to sell your wine. If you are selling at auction, there are also consignor fees to consider. These generally begin at a maximum of 10% depending on the quantity and quality of wine on offer. So, the higher the value of the wine, the lower the fee will be.
The storage costs of keeping your wine under bond with a professional storage company or merchant also vary but usually cost around £7-10/case per annum. If you have smaller parcels of wine to sell or even mixed cases, you might want to consider selling on www.bidforwine.com which has very attractive commission rates for buyers and sellers.
Some wines may not turn out to as good as initially predicted . Once in bottle, wines are frequently re-rated. A negative re-assessment by Parker whereby a wine drops from 98 points to 94 may well result in a fall in value. Others though may experience the opposite effect in being up-rated. This invariably has a windfall effect of increasing the value quickly and, at times, dramatically.
Your merchant may go bankrupt, in which case you may end up losing your entire investment. A number of fine wine merchants, investment funds and wine investment companies have recently failed because of incompetence or fraud, taking investors cash with them. In 2006, Mayfair Cellars and Uvine went under owing millions of pounds to customers. In 2007, the Cellaret also went the same way.
You should also bear in mind that the wine investment market is largely unregulated, so there is very little protection if things do go wrong. Moreover, anyone can set up a drinks investment business in the UK without having to satisfy the financial authorities that they are running a legitimate business and that they are competent to give drinks investment advice.
Therefore only deal with reputable, long established merchants or companies offering wine investment advice or services. For extra security, you should also consider storing your wine within your own account at an independent bonded warehouse.
Beware of a growing incidence of fake wines circulating in the global market. For obvious reasons, collectors should take the utmost care when buying trophy wines for investment. Most recently collectors like Bill Koch in the US have prosecuted cases through the New York courts over allegedly fake wines. Similarly in 2008, 106 bottles of counterfeit wines were pulled from an Acker Merrall & Condit Sale in new York. Provenance is all and wines with perfect provenance can command a significant premium.
Over the last fifteen years, there have also been no shortage of 'mis-selling' scandals in which a number of dodgy wine investment companies have fleeced naïve investors of millions of pounds. Some of these investment companies have been closed down by the DTI, but others are still operating. This is another reason why you should only buy investment grade wine from reputable merchants or proven investment specialists.
How to invest in wine – which properties, regions and vintages
Bordeaux represents 90% of the wine investment market and should take the lion's share in any portfolio. Here, the top Left Bank Classified Growths represent some of the bluest of Blue Chip wines. So look for First Growth clarets like Latour, Lafite, Margaux and Haut Brion. The Super Seconds (a select number of Second Growths) are also a good source of investment potential. So too are some (but by no means all) 3rd, 4th and 5th growth chateaux such as Lynch-Bages. On the Right Bank, the most sought after names include Cheval Blanc, Petrus, Le Pin and Ausone. Chateau d'Yquem can also provide solid returns from certain vintages.
Beyond Bordeaux, a select number of Burgundies qualify as investments. Here the names to look out for include Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Coche-Dury, Comtes Lafon and De Vogue. However, the secondary market for Burgundy is much less developed and therefore much smaller.
The same is true of the Rhone Valley, where wines like Guigal's single vineyard Cote Roties can sometimes (though not always) provide handsome returns. Generally though, the Rhone remains undervalued as a region and has yet to really establish its investment credentials.
A number of prestige cuvee Champagnes are also worth considering for investment purposes including Krug, Crystal and Dom Perignon. In recent years, Champagne has proved a very profitable investment even compared to red Bordeaux. At auction, great prestige cuvees continue to command very high prices.
Italy, Port, the New World – and the Bordeaux cults
Outside of France, investors need to be much more wary. Port is no longer regarded as a good investment bet. Some Super Tuscan wines like Sassicaia can on occasion perform well, as can a handful of Spanish wines. Some Californian and Australian wines have also appeared on investors' radars, particularly in local markets. However, these generally more modern and less well established wines are more prone to the vagaries of fashion. New and Old World 'Cult' wines from California, Australia and Bordeaux 'garagistes' are not the darlings of the market that they once were and are best avoided in the current climate.
Which vintages?
Generally, the received wisdom when it comes to wine investment is to stick to the very great 'trophy wines' from Bordeaux (ie First Growths and top Pomerols and St Emilions) from the best vintages. The best Bordeaux vintages include:
1959, 1961, 1982, 1986, 1989, 1990 1996, 2000, 2005, 2008 and 2009
However, there are always exceptions. As mentioned before, 'small cap' stocks like Chateau Lynch Bages can perform surprisingly well for investors, but only from great vintages. Similarly, great trophy wines can offer excellent value in good or under-rated vintages. Poor vintages should be given a wide berth by investors, unless the wine comes from a top First Growth.
How much do I need to invest?
You can invest as little as £500 in a case of wine. But a minimum investment of £10,000 will enable you to create a more balanced portfolio so that you can at least spread your risk across a few Chateaux and vintages. Wine should only be a small part of your total investment portfolio. Moreover, you should not invest more than you can afford to lose.
How to invest in wine – En primeur
Every year, there are numerous en primeur offers from wine merchants, most notably from Bordeaux. However, for many consumers, the en primeur merry-go-round can be a confusing spectacle. So here's a quick Q&A explaining what it is and how it works.
En primeur is a French wine trade term for wine which is sold as a 'future', i.e. before it is bottled – usually the year after the en primeur offer. The most important annual offer comes from Bordeaux.
- How does the system work?
Every spring after the vintage, the great cru classé properties of Bordeaux produce young barrel samples from the previous year's harvest. These are then tasted and assessed by members of the international wine trade in Bordeaux. The châteaux then release for sale a 'tranche' or proportion of their total production at an opening price. This is sold in strict allocation to wine brokers in Bordeaux, known as négociants. The négociants then sell the en primeur offers.
- Why does it work this way?
Mainly because it always has. Moreover, by selling to négociants, the châteaux effectively spread the risk of bad vintages, which they might otherwise be unable to sell. En primeur sales also provide the châteaux with a ready source of cash, which they would otherwise not recoup until the wine was bottled and sold.
As the system stands, the négociants are more or less obliged to buy whatever the châteaux sell. If the négociants don't buy what they are offered (in a bad year), they risk forfeiting their allocation for next year (which may be a great year). However, the system only works effectively in periods where strong world demand for the great wines of Bordeaux outstrips supply, as is currently the case.
- Is only cru classé Bordeaux sold en primeur?
No. Winemakers whose wines are not classified growths, but whose quality and price justifies a futures allocation, also offer wines in this way. In some cases this is the only way to obtain limited-production wines on release.
- Is it only Bordeaux that sells its wines as en primeur?
No, you will find en primeur offers from other wine regions around the world, including Burgundy, the Rhône Valley, Italy, California and Australia.
- When do you pay?
Consumers pay the opening price as soon as the offer is made by your merchant.
- When do you get the wine?
Usually in spring or summer two years after the offer. Then, once you have paid the additional shipping costs and duty, you can take delivery of your precious cargo. An estimate of these costs is usually given to you when you buy your wine.
- How easy is to get what you want?
It depends on what you want to buy. Because demand is so strong for the most sought-after wines, it helps if you are a long-standing customer of a wine merchant that is offering wines en primeur. If you're not you may have to go to the back of what could be a very long queue. However, you will have less of a problem with those wines which are more available and less expensive. In order to get some great wines, customers may have to take lesser wines, too, as part of their order.
- Isn't it better to buy older vintages which have proved themselves in the secondary market?
In the last 10 years windfall profits for investors buying en primeur have all but disappeared as chateaux have priced their wines at full market value – and pocketed the proceeds themselves.
What that means is that while en primeur may still be the cheapest way to buy particular, highly sought-after wines, those wines don't necessarily make the best investment. A case in point was the 2005 vintage which not only fared badly against other vintages, it is still trading at below its market high of June 2008.
As a result, wine investment professionals are increasingly looking at older wines for more profitable investment opportunities. Many regard the back vintages such as some 1986s, 1900s and 1996s as better value than more recent ones.
This is simply because the wines are relatively (and sometimes actually) cheaper than their sibling counterparts.
Moreover, with greater bottle age, they are going to be drunk earlier. This in turn will reduce supply and simultaneously fuel higher prices. Any such price anomalies as these present good investment opportunities.
How to invest in wine – Tricks of the trade
CONSIDER buying a few large format wines en primeur as these big bottles are relatively rare and often command a significant early re-sale premium over standard bottle sizes. However, you should only buy trophy wines from great vintages. If you are buying Yquem as an investment only buy halves. Do not buy large format Yquem. Half bottles of Yquem trade at a premium because they are more popular, because and are consumed more often. Conversely, large format bottles are consumed much less frequently so tend to hang around in people's cellars. Generally though, Sauternes is not regarded as a blue chip investment in comparison to the demand for top class claret.
READ around the subject as much as you can. Apart from reading decanter.com and Decanter, key critics to follow include Jancis Robinson, Steven Spurrier and, of course, Robert Parker in his Wine Advocate. For a more academic approach to wine investment buy Mahesh Kumar's book called 'Wine Investment for Portfolio Diversification', published by The Wine Appreciation Guild. More recently published in 2008 is 'Investing in Liquid Assets – uncorking profits in today's global markets' by David Sokilin and Alexandra Bruce. The book is published by Simon & Schuster and costs £17.99. For statistical information on how the wine market is moving check out Liv-ex.com's various wine investment indices and market updates.
PAY ATTENTION TO PARKER! The importance of Parker points cannot be stressed enough. According to recent research there is still a strong correlation between a highly rated Parker wine and its subsequent return on investment. In the last year, 99-100 point wines have generated twice the performance of 92-93 pointers. On average wines with less than 94 points have underperformed in comparison.
GO FOR A SMALL NUMBER OF HIGH VALUE ITEMS – rather than having lots of cases of more modest wines amounting to the same value. Not only do the top 100 point trophy wines tend to generate more profits, the storage costs of having a large number of cases will eat into your profitability.
Where to buy?
At Auction You will get very good wine advice from the leading Auction houses specialist wine departments – but they are not investment specialists. Until the end of 2008, the Auction market has been incredibly strong and something of a seller's paradise with a slew of record prices, particularly in the US and more recently Asia. Prices and estimates did drop at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009. But since then, the global auction market has also rebounded with vim and vigour, particularly for the most sought after trophy wines with perfect provenance. Remember to factor in the buyer's premium which can be as much as 15% in the UK. (Currently, the auction market is an excellent place to buy more modest good quality wines for drinking.)
From a Merchant or Broker Remember that brokers and merchants tend to know more about wine than they do about personal wealth management: they are not qualified financial advisors. Nevertheless, some do offer a range of investment services including portfolio management services, cellar plans and advice on investment. Naturally some are better at this than others. So do shop around. Generally though merchants are in business to sell wines from a list and so have a vested interest in whatever wines and advice they are supplying.
Specialist Wine investment Companies Be very careful when dealing with specialist wine investment organisations. There are a few reputable companies who have been operating for over a decade and have a proven track record. But many others should be treated with caution. Do not agree to paying any up front commission fee. Some companies charge as much as much as 25% and are best avoided.
Do not deal with anyone who uses cold calling or strong arm sales tactics. Do not deal with anyone who operates via a PO Box. Be wary of anyone whose prices are too low or too high. Do check that the company is not one of the dodgy investment companies named and shamed on www.investdrinks.org website. Ask around to make sure that the company you are thinking about dealing with is well-known and above board.
Wine Investment Funds There are now several extremely successful and reputable wine investment funds around the world. The advantage of these professionally managed funds is that they tend to be run by ex City investment professionals who are literate in fine wine as well as high finance. Given the complexity of wine investment, it may make sense for some people to hand over the buying and selling decisions to these professional fund managers. Investors can also take advantage of these 'unit trust' funds to spread their risk more effectively. Successful funds have also been set up in such a way that investors avoid paying CGT on any gains accrued from selling the fund's units. Finally, a number of these funds have some FSA regulation.
Of course, investors do pay a variety of fees for the privilege of having their liquid assets managed on their behalf. Do check out what these are and what is the minimum subscription. Moreover, not every wine investment fund has provided gold-plated returns for its investors. In 2005, the AWM fund, an off-shore mutual wine fund run out of Geneva went into liquidation. In the same year, an Australian fund, Heritage Fine Wines also collapsed. Most recently, following the collapes of Uvine, the Amphora Fine Wine Fund has also been closed and its stocks liquidated. In which case, do as much research as you can before putting your money into a wine investment fund.
Where to Sell?
At Auction If you have a large collection of great wines, a good auction house will negotiate down from its standard seller's fee of 10% commission. Even in the current market conditions, the saleroom is still one of the best places to sell a stellar collection of trophy wines.
To a Merchant or Broker Generally, a merchant or broker will charge a commission of 10%. Some companies also offer an 'Auction Hammer Price.'
Online Online Private Collectors and investors can also sell (and buy) wines through www.bidforwine.com or at an on-line trading platform such as Bordeaux Index's market-making LiveTrade at www.bordeauxindex.com In July 2009, Berry Bros & Rudd also created BBEX – allowing Berry's customers to buy and sell their wines stored with the St James St Merchants for a 10% broking commission.
How do I value my cellar?
You could ask your merchant to value it. If the wines are in good condition and stored under bond, you should be able to get a figure quickly over the phone. For more substantial and complicated collections cellared at home, a private valuation may be required. Another way would simply be to take the lowest prices on winesearcher.com and deduct 10% as the broker's margin to leave you with a net value. A third way would be to subscribe to an on-line subscription-based product from liv-ex.com called 'Cellar Watch'. This allows investors to value their cellar using the most up-to-date prices. Fine & Rare Wines also offer an on-line valuation service at www.frw.co.uk
How to invest in wine without buying a bottle
Since 2008, it has been possible for investors to speculate on changes in fine wine prices without having to take delivery of any wine, let alone pay storage charges or worry about provenance. ODL Markets, part of trading house ODL Securities, is offering investors the chance to place spread bets on the future value of the Liv-Ex 100 Index. Participants bet a fixed amount per point of the index that it will go up – or down – on a quarterly basis. All gains are tax-free.
More recently, Intrade Ltd have created the world's first publicly traded futures contracts written on the fine wine market. Intrade will list on its prediction market platform cash settlement futures contracts based on Liv-ex's proprietary Liv-ex 100 Index. Significantly, this move will also this give merchants, funds and investors an opportunity to hedge their exposure to the underlying market.
How to invest in wine – do's and don'ts
DO Develop a good relationship with your merchant or specialist wine investmentcompany. Not only will you get better advice, you are more likely to getpreferential treatment regarding highly sought after wines – particularly ifyou have bought good quantities of wine from them in the past. Most seriouscollectors/investors will also develop relationships with several merchants.
DO compare prices. The spread between merchants' prices for the same wine canstill vary enormously despite greater transparency because of the internet. Toquickly compare prices visit, www.winesearcher.com.Another good place for competitive, real-time prices is Bordeaux Index'sLiveTrade site at www.bordeauxindex.com.Serious investors and collectors who require more current, historical andanalytical price and market information would be well advised to subscribe toone of liv-ex.com's products at www.liv-ex.com
DO check the provenance and condition of the wine before you buy it.
DO make sure that your wine is stored in perfect conditions so that it willmature properly and predictably. For longer term maturation, wine requires thecorrect temperature and humidity together with a lack of light and vibration.
DO try to buy amounts of three to five cases per chateaux. Larger quantitiesare always more interesting to Trade Buyers.
DO keep the wine in bond with a reputable professional storage company or winemerchant. Make sure that your wine is kept separate from merchants stock and isclearly identified as your own. Make sure that your wine is insured to its fullmarket value.
If you are investing for the medium to long term, DON'T bank on quick returns.You may be lucky (or clever) in that some wines will go up rapidly in value.Generally, wine prices don't go up in a linear fashion but tend to experiencefairly short periods of upward activity. Timing is therefore everything when itcomes to buying and selling fine wine. If you are speculating in wine over theshort term, you may see some exceptional returns on your investment in thecurrent bull run. But such speculation will always be a much more risky andvolatile endeavour compared to a longer term investment strategy.
DON'T believe all the hype surrounding wine investment. Sections of the presshave had a field day describing meteoric price rises of wines like 82 Le Pinwhich rose from £350 a case to over £30,000. Such wines are not only verydifficult to acquire, they are also extremely unrepresentative of the market asa whole.
DON'T buy wine which you happen to like, hoping it will go up in value. Stickto the tried and tested investment wines. Personal taste is irrelevant and hasno place in investment decisions.
DON'T buy wine en primeur from a new merchant. If the merchant goes bankruptyou could be left high and dry with no wine to show for it.
DON'T try to sell split or opened cases. The desirability and value willplummet unless it has the full dozen in perfect condition in its originalwooden case.
How to invest in wine – Top Ten Investment Tips
1. Only buy your wines from reputable, well established merchants or suppliers. This particularly applies to en primeur purchases. A small number of merchants have gone bust, leaving consumers unable to get their money back or receive their wine.
2. If you are buying wine from a wine investment company, do not pay an up front commission fee. Some specialist investment companies have been known to charge 25%. Similarly, do not deal with anyone who uses cold calling or strong arm sales tactics. Do not deal with anyone who operates via a PO Box. Be wary of anyone whose prices are too low or too high.
3. Keep your wines in a professionally managed bonded warehouse. This can be done independently through your own account or through your merchant and will ensure that your wines are kept in good condition, which is vital for their resale value. It also means you will avoid paying VAT and Duty when you re-sell your wine. However, do compare storage facilities and prices as they can vary quite significantly.
4. If you are dealing with a wine fund or specialist wine investment company, look at their track record. How have their funds or porftolios performed historically. Also check what charges and commissions are involved.
5. If you are buying independently for a capital return, stick to investment grade, red Bordeaux from the best vintages. Bordeaux makes up over 90% of the wine investment market. Bear in mind that generally, the back vintages offer greater investment potential than more recent vintages. (See Top Ten Investment Brands below.)
6. When you are buying wine for investment (or drinking), always compare prices and shop around. A good way to do this is on www.winesearcher.com
7. Rather than buy a large number of inexpensive cases, it makes more sense to buy a small number of high value wines. Otherwise, annual storage charges will significantly reduce your profits.
8. Generally, wine does not attract capital gains tax as it is considered a wasting asset by the revenue.
9. If you are buying wine, do not invest more than you can afford to lose. Wine has proved to be a resilient asset class over the long term, but recent events have shown that wine prices do go down as well as up. Wine should only represent a small part of your overall investment portfolio.
10. Champagne has provided some very good returns to investors at certain times during the last five years. At times it has even outperformed top class claret. However, only stick to the top prestige cuvees such as Krug Vintage, Roederer's Cristal and Dom Perignon. Also bear in mind that some consider Champagne to be a more risky investment compared to red Bordeaux.
How to invest in wine – Top Ten traded wines by value
Chateau Lafite-Rothschild
Chateau Mouton Rothschild
Chateau Latour
Chateau Margaux
Chateau Haut-Brion
Chateau Petrus
How to invest in wine – Bordeaux 2000 price increases
|January xxxx
|June 2010
|Chateau Ausone
|Chateau Cheval Blanc
|Chateau Haut-Brion
|Chateau Lafite-Rothschild
|Chateau Latour
|Chateau Mouton-Rothschild
|Chateau Petrus
|Chateau Margaux
How to invest in wine – 10 great Lafite investments
|January 2009
|June 2010
How to invest in wine – useful contacts
Albany Vintners: Tel: 0845 330 8858. www.albanyvintners.com
L'Assemblage: Tel: +44 (0)1243 537775. www.lassemblage.co.uk
John Armit Wines: Tel: +44 (0)207 908 0660. www.armit.co.uk
Berry Bros & Rudd: Tel +44 0800 280 2440 www.bbr.com
Bibendum: +44 (0)207 449 4120. www.bibendum-wine.co.uk
Bordeaux Index: +44 (0) 207 269 0703 www.bordeauxindex.com
Bordeaux Wine Investments: +44 (0)1732 779343. www.bordeaux-wine-investments.com
Corney & Barrow: +44 (0)207 265 2400. www.corneyandbarrow.com
Farr Vintners: +44 (0)207 821 2000. www.farrvintners.com
Fine & Rare Wines: +44 (0)208 960 1995. www.frw.co.uk
Genesis Wines: Tel: +44 (0)20 7963 9060 www.genesiswines.com
Justerini & Brooks: Tel: +44 (0)20 7484 6400 www.justerinis.com
Lay & Wheeler: Tel: +44 0845 330 1855. www.laywheeler.com
Robert Rolls: Tel: +44 (0)20 3215 0011
Seckford Wines: Tel: +44 (0)1394 44 66 22. www.seckfordwines.co.uk
Tanners Wines: Tel: +44 (0) 1743 234500. www.tanners-wines.co.uk
Wilkinson Vintners: Tel: +44 (0)20 7616 0404
Wine Investment Companies
Magnum Fine Wines: Tel: +44 (0) 207 839 5732. www.magnum.co.uk
Premier Cru Fine Wine Investment: Tel: 44 (0) 20 8905 4495 www.premiercru.com
UK Auction Houses
Bonhams London: Tel: +44 (0)207 629 6602: www.bonhams.com
Christie's London: Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060. www.christies.com
Sotheby's London: Tel: +44 (0)207 293 6423 www.sothebys.com
J Straker Chadwick: Tel +44 (0)1873 852624. www.strakerchadwick.co.uk
US merchants and auction houses
Acker Merrall & Condit + 001 (212) 787-1700 www.ackerwines.com
Sherry Lehmann + 001 (212) 838-7500 www.sherry-lehmann.com
Zachy's +001 914-723-0241 www.zachys.com
Hart Davis Hart +001 312.573.5597 www.hdhwine.com
Wine Funds
The Vintage Wine Fund: Tel +44 (0)20 7553 4314. www.vintagewinefund.com
The Fine Wine Fund: Tel +44 (0)207 937 0090. www.thefinewinefund.com
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Highest/lowest car insurance by state
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How much you pay for car insurance depends a lot on where you live.
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The End of SEARCH FOR TOMORROW - Dec 26, 1986
By Nelson Aspen
Guest Editorial
Hollywood insider Nelson Aspen has shared his thoughts and recollections with We Love Soaps on the end of SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, which aired its last episode the day after Christmas in 1986.
Twenty three years ago on this date, when I was just 23 years old myself, the TV show that shaped my life (as a viewer and as a young adult working in television) broadcast its final episode. SEARCH FOR TOMORROW wrapped up its 35 year run, a record at the time that was unprecedented. Original cast member Mary Stuart, as Jo, played a final scene with her longtime costar Larry Haines, as Stu, beneath a Christmas tree. "What is it you're searching for?" he asked. "Tomorrow," she replied with a sad smile. "And I can't wait!" The camera moved away and so did the viewers...a few to its replacement, CAPITOL, but most gave up the genre altogether. Every time a soap "dies," fans wander farther and farther away from the medium.
Let's hope the surviving shows make the most of their histories and fan favorites, not only to honor their individual legacies, but to honor their precious remaining viewers who might actually "pass down" the fun of serial storytelling the way our parents and grandparents passed it on to us. Flash in the pan storylines, stunt casting and gimmicks will only serve to alienate die-hards and put temporary band-aids on bleeding wounds.
The final episode of SFT, taped only two weeks before airing, revolved around the wedding of Jo's daughter, Patty...a character who debuted in Episode 1 and was portrayed by myriad actresses (including GL's Tina Sloan) over the decades. In the end it was Jacqueline Schultz (ex-Dee, ATWT). Only a handful of cast members had been there longer than a couple years, thanks to the desperate writing regimes who'd been butchering the show in ill-fated attempts to salvage the ratings. Besides Mary and Larry, only Marcia McCabe (Sunny) and David Forsyth (Hogan) had any significant tenure. Some of us who worked on the production staff had been there a lot longer. Many, in fact, were crew from the facility's previous occupant EDGE OF NIGHT...so they were dealing with pink slips and farewells all over again (Ironically, it was GUIDING LIGHT who would next move in to the building. Superstitious??).
Two different airport scenes were part of the plot. But budget allowed for only ONE airport set and group of extras, so Louan Gideon (Liza) was playing out her storyline amidst a group of background players that looked conspicuously like the one behind Jeff Meek (Quinn). If you look closely, you will see Larkin Malloy (ex-EON, GL, ATWT) and me emoting furiously behind the principal players. As a last-episode treat, many of us from past cast and crew were invited to join in for posterity. Jane Krakowski (T.R.) returned, too, but actually got a few lines.
When it came time for Mary and Larry to play their final scene, a reverent hush came over the scores of us who'd gathered to watch. Knowing how much the Christmas holiday had always meant to Mary (and to "Jo"...It was a SFT tradition that she'd always play her guitar and sing a carol), we knew it would be a gut-wrencher.
Stu: (choking with emotion) What is it, Jo? What are you searching for?
Jo: (tears in her eyes) Tomorrow. And...
Suddenly: CRASH!
Somebody on a catwalk or behind a flat dropped something. "Cut!" yelled the director. "From the top. Reposition," called the Stage Manager. Everyone collectively exhaled from the tension. Mary and Larry displayed no emotion and went back to their original marks.
Take two. Perfect. Although if you look at the tape, their always marvelous, simplistic acting style doesn't mask the sentimentality. I've always said that those two did what even Laurence Olivier couldn't: keep a single character constantly compelling, day in and day out, for three and a half decades. Whenever anyone criticizes/dimisses soap opera acting, I am quick to point that out.
So after that scene, it was a wrap. Funny, I don't remember a thing about the day after that. I know we all posed for one last Ensemble photograph which Procter & Gamble sent to us as a keepsake, along with our final paychecks. Mary was the only person not looking at the camera. She was turned in profile, looking at the little toddler who played her great-nephew, Jonah. She had already moved on.
Mary's annual Christmas cards meant the world to her friends and fans. Each year, they always included a new photograph her husband, Wolfgang, had taken...and a poem she'd have specially written. They were signed, "Much love and Merry Christmas."
My mentor, Mary Stuart, taught me almost everything I know about being on camera...something I've been doing practically every day for over a decade. She taught me about being professional. Heck, she even taught me how to make an omelet and mix a martini. But mostly she taught me about sharing your heart with others. So as sad as it was to lose our show at Christmastime, it is a blessing to have those happy, nostalgic memories come around at this special time of year.
"Much love and Merry Christmas,"
Nelson Aspen
- Nelson Aspen: Jo & Stu Did It First and Did It Best!
- Nelson's Soap Scrapbook #7 - SEARCH FOR TOMORROW 1986


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The UTEPCollege of Business Administration offers the only AACSB
Accredited business programs in the El Paso border region.
President Diana Natalicio and The College of Business Administration cordially invite you to attend a UTEP Centennial Lecture:
Dr. Mark Wynne
Vice President and Associate Director of Research for International Economics
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Mark A. Wynne is a Vice President at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Associate Director of Research for International Economics and the founding director of the bank's Globalization and Monetary Policy Institute. In the latter role, Wynne is responsible for developing and leading the bank's research program on globalization and understanding its implications for the conduct of U.S. monetary policy.
Since joining the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in 1989, he has had a variety of responsibilities, including briefing the bank's president on national and international economic conditions prior to meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee; providing updates on key economic issues to the bank's board of directors; and conducting research on the effects of fiscal and monetary policy, understanding business cycles, inflation measurement and the workings of monetary unions, among other topics. His research has appeared in many leading peer-reviewed academic journals and Federal Reserve publications.
Wynne has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate level at University College Dublin, the University of Rochester and Southern Methodist University. He also has served as a faculty member for the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking.
Most of his professional career has been spent at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, but he also worked on issues related to the strategy of monetary policy at the European Monetary Institute and European Central Bank (ECB) during the formative years of the European Economic and Monetary Union. He has been an occasional consultant to the ECB and International Monetary Fund.
He earned B.A. and M.A. degrees with high honors from the National University of Ireland–University College, Dublin, and holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from the University of Rochester.


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Welcome to the Forum for InventorSpot.com, the most popular invention related website in the world. Read our welcome message.
Moderators: Michelle, Scrupulous, Roger Brown, citizen
laughinghousekeith wrote:Of course I meant the inventor WITH his invention in front of the group. It would be pointless to not show invention.
It would be nice if there were way to have people on this site to rate your patented product on a scale, and get honest feedback.


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Comment My favorite part (Score 1) 79
Did Guistra get the contracts?
Did Guistra get the contracts?
I'm completely shocked that when given additional opportunity, you still won't back up your claims.
The bizarre thing is that you're accusing me of "singling out one particular issue based purely on the person implementing it," when you have literally no example of me ever doing that, ever, least of all in this discussion, where if anything I was taking Gruber's side.
... you did seem to lament the courts' inaction
Not in any way, no, I did not.
You're a liar.
When talking about transparency, it's yours that is the most obvious...
I agree. I am nearly completely transparent and obvious and clear. I lack pretense or disguise.
... exactly the way your financiers want it
No. It's true that the framers and most people who understand politics want the people to be ignorant about most issues in government, because otherwise, the people would be spending too much time watching government and not enough time enjoying life and being productive. Everyone should want to be ignorant about most things, especially most things government does. Otherwise you'll be miserable.
But it's not true that they want people to be ignorant, but with a delusion of lack of ignorance. You're just making things up.
... with its present day monolithic two-face one party system. Not a single independent in the house. Smells very bad...
There's no objective reason why it's a bad thing.
Of course not, you dope!
I'm a dope because you
... you believe the charade is for real
You're a liar.
Well, yes, people who believe what they are told -- and then profess to know those things -- without investigating it, are stupid.
Gruber was mostly right, although the word "stupid" is probably not what he meant. But the fact is that whoever believed it wasn't a tax, it wouldn't raise rates, it wouldn't force you to change plans and possibly doctors, etc., was ignorant. Not stupid, necessarily, but ignorant. That said, someone who is ignorant and thinks that he actually knows these things is kinda stupid. So all the news folks, for example, who said that what Republicans said about the ACA were lies
The fact is that almost everything the GOP said about the ACA was true. Federal funding of abortions, subsidies for illegals, massive government control defined at a later date by an administrator and not Congress, death panels, increased taxes and premiums, decreased choice
I'd expect an article talking about criminally prosecuting Gruber would at least make reference to some violation of the criminal code. I see no crime. Neither the author nor his interviewee mention any crime. He makes vague references to "Deceit. Fraud. Premeditated felonious theft.," but he simply gave his opinions; he didn't implement anything. The theft was by the government, not him. The fraud was perhaps aided by him, but no court has ever found that government fraud of this type is prosecutable, so prosecuting a private citizen for aiding the government in something that can't be prosecuted makes no sense.
In a capitalist society, all services that government does today would be provided by private companies instead.
No, that is an anarchist society: no cops, no courts, no laws. If you have any of those, you have government employees. If you don't have government employees, you have none of those. Capitalism does not imply anarchy.
I won't even read the rest of your comment; an anonymous coward getting this fundamentally obvious thing so clearly wrong doesn't deserve more of a response.
Yes, my view of things is that we should rely on reason and evidence. Yours is that we should rely on fallacies and innuendo.
Based on the 138 convictions, more than any other to date...
I see. You think the number of prosecutions of the executive branch, BY the executive branch, is a reasonable measurement between administrations of which is more corrupt.
That's so cute. And it's so stupid that it physically hurts.
The rest of your comment was nothing more than lies and ad hominems. Literally, there was nothing else in that comment that didn't fall into that category. Especially your claim that speaking to my assumed "culture, ancestry, location of birth" in your argument is not an ad hominem. That's fucking textbook ad hominem.
Yes, well, your examples suck. They are just like the rest.
Since you didn't say how the examples "suck," the examples therefore still stand, and therefore your assertion that they are "just like the rest" -- which ignores the examples of how they are not -- is baseless, and ignored.
And unions and democrats, and communists and fascists are not anti-capitalists by any means.
Much moreso than Republicans, as the examples -- which remain undisputed -- demonstrate.
... by the grace of your culture, ancestry, location of birth you enjoy many advantages
Ad hominem.
It doesn't fit inside your narrative
Non sequitur.
You said that your preferred faction, the republicans, are better than the democrats in the corruption department, and I am telling you outright that you are full of shit
What's that got to do with whether "people who 'donate' to political campaigns
And you did tell me that I am "full of shit"
And we can take a good look at your idol Reagan, just for starters as a tiny sample. On official record as the most corrupt administration ever
a. He is not my idol
b. You're lying that Regan's is "[o]n official record as the most corrupt administration ever"
Didn't you used to better at this? Maybe I am misremembering.
You really think that people who "donate" to political campaigns don't expect a return on their investments?
I didn't mention donating to campaigns, unless you're referring to collective bargaining leading to politicians giving handouts to employees in exchange for donations and votes
But I don't think you're talking about that, so I don't have any idea what you think I said here, but it seems to me that I didn't say it.
Scott Walker is taking money just like all the others
Yes, he accepts donations, like all politicians do.
... and lot of it from a somewhat famous Las Vegas casino owner. What's up with that?
What's wrong with that? This isn't an argument, it's just an attempt to imply something negative, without actually saying anything that is actually negative.
So funny that you think one group of gluttons is different from another.
I gave specific examples. Do you have any counterexamples? If not, then you're not actually making an argument here, either.
Line Printer paper is strongest at the perforations.


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"I wanted to thank Catholic Answers for doing such a great job in defending the Catholic Faith. I find your tracts have helped me to more easily explain Catholicism at work and in online discussions."
"What rascal, what traitor, what madman would be so misled by the spirit of discord as to dare rend the Divine unity, the garment of the Lord, the Church of Jesus Christ?"


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"I have been enjoying your program on my local Catholic radio station for many years and can happily give a large amount of the credit for my continuing spiritual growth to your offerings. You snatched up the banner many had laid aside and are marching bravely forward!"
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~ Thomas Woodhouse, Blessed, priest and English martyr; to his examiners who had just described the majesty of Queen Elizabeth as "great"; he was then sentenced to death and disemboweled alive.


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A turning point in our historyJune 25,2014I was in Middlebury, Thursday, June 12, at Middlebury Union High School, attending what was billed as the last public hearing addressing Phase 2 of Vermont Gas Systems plans to construct a fracked-gas pipeline to run through Shoreham and Cornwall and under Lake Champlain. The Public Service Board was inviting comments from 7 to 10 p.m. The auditorium was packed. They were limiting each speaker to two minutes. It was amazing what these angry, well-informed and poetic Vermonters were able to work into their two minutes.
Once again (and it seems to happen a lot these days), I was struck by the profundity of what we face, that was so eloquently dramatized by the testimony from an elementary school girl to a retired professor in his 90s. We are truly living at a historic tipping point that will never repeat for the human race. We have a rare opportunity to change our destiny. In three hours there were only four who were in favor of the pipeline. For the rest, it was a chance to open their hearts and give voice to their fears of losing this epic battle.
Make no mistake, this is World War III, and we are in the middle of it. If Vermont cant stanch the greed and wrong thinking that can dream up the need for a fracked-gas pipeline in a state that has not only banned fracking but has begun to embrace sustainable alternatives to gas and oil, then we will simply be left with a choice of nightmares. Gov. Shumlin, are you listening? We do not want this nightmare.
Middletown SpringsMORE IN LettersMost people have now heard about fake news influencing the American voter this election cycle. Full StoryI have something to say to those liberals who are horrified about Trump being elected president. Full StoryDonald Trump railed against Hillary Clintons close relationship with Goldman Sachs, saying she... Full Story
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G4's Adam Sessler, Morgan Webb, Abbie Heppe and Patrick Klepek joined together on the show floor at E3 2010 to bring you the first of two live editions of your favorite gaming web show Feedback.
On tap for this episode are all things Big Three: Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. Big announcements, reveals, impressions, motion controls and 3D gaming, and so much more. So get watching!


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Firefighters from across the country will demonstrate their strength and skills during the Firefighter Combat Challenge this weekend. The event will begin at 10 a.m., Saturday, June 14 at the Hilton Suites (Lexington Green) parking lot. The event continues at 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 15.
The Kentucky Fire Commission is the local host of the event. The Challenge simulates the physical demands of real-life firefighting as competitors race against themselves, their opponent and the clock, wearing "full bunker gear" and their Air-Pak breathing apparatus, to tackle a linked series of five tasks including climbing a five-story tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging hoses and rescuing a life-sized, 175 lb. "victim."
"It's a fun, friendly competition where firefighters get the opportunity to showcase their talents," said Kentucky Fire Commission Executive Director Ronnie Day. "The public will get to see the physical demands of the job and walk away with a new respect for those who risk their lives every day."
More than 250 firefighters from across the country have signed up for the Challenge. The top three qualifiers advance to the World Challenge held in Las Vegas in October.
Firefighters aren't the only ones who can participate in the Challenge. Children (4-11)
can flex their muscles on the Kid's Firefighter Challenge course on Saturday and Sunday beginning at 11 a.m.