Think beyond the stock markets and real estate; the newest fad in the investors’ portfolios is wine. With more and more people slurping on to their glasses, many of them are also keeping their bottles as a safe haven for their savings and investments. But the returns can’t be that great and regular, right? Wrong. The world’s top 100 wines have been showing remarkably consistent returns over the last 25 years and as a ‘perishable’ item it is not subject to capital gains tax in most developed countries. Moreover, the wine investment market remains immune from the credit crunch, and according to Paul Bowker, former head of wine at Christie’s auctioneers believes that if you buy well, you can realistically see returns of 30% a year.

Prices of wines can be monitored on wine indices such as the London International Vintners Exchange’s Liv-ex 100 Index, which is the industry’s leading benchmark as well as the Australian Wine Index, among others. Investments in wine can be made in three ways: First, approaching a wine merchant who will sell you the wine of your choice; Second, investing in a wine fund, which would outsource all responsibility for selection to a fund manager and will spread your risk among different types of grape and vine, ultimately saving you time and freeing you from any potential biases from wine merchants and third, buying and selling yourself. Further, the wine will have to be stored in a warehouse.

Prices of wine skyrocketed between 2009 and 2011 and then fell for some time yet recovered later on and by 2013 the prices were steadying. Investments in wine can be an excellent alternative investment option. And you know what the best part is? If things go wrong and prices fall, you can simply drink your sorrows away.