The City of Cape Town’s new liquor legislation that came into effect on 1 April, regulates that no-one may keep more than 150 litres of wine in their home without a liquor licence. That is a mere 200 bottles.

Being passionate about wine, my collection is slightly bigger and I know that many of my wine friends also have treasured wine collections. For us the value of having a cellar at home stems from our love of wine. We collect wines from all over the world, from various styles and vintages. Some bottles may have some kind of sentimental value, but for the most part we are interested in how the wines mature. We love the idea of selecting a special bottle for a special occasion or meal during which we will tell the story of the wine, where it comes from, who made it and why it is such a special choice.

But wine can be collected for a different reason all together. Internationally wine is collected for its appreciation in value – buying wines to sell them in future at a better price.Well, if there has ever been a reason!

As a financial investment, the focus, even more than with having a collection to mature for your own drinking (and story-telling) pleasure, is on top wines from the best vintages. Only a fraction of wines would justify the risk and expense of investment and to make the correct selection is crucial.