Wine Spectator: U.S. Surpasses Hong Kong In Wine Auction Totals for First Time Since 2010
July 18, 2012Amid Europe’s economic troubles, a sputtering 2011 Bordeaux futures campaign and a high-profile wine counterfeiting case, fine wine prices at U.S. auctions fell in the second quarter of 2012, Wine Spectator reports. The Wine Spectator Auction Index—which tracks the prices of fine wine sold in U.S. auctions—registered a decline of 4.97% in the second quarter, dropping from 332.05 points to 315.54. But this quarter also marked the first time in almost two years that global trends have turned in favor of U.S. auctions, as sales volumes from Hong Kong auctions fell significantly.
Since their inception in 2008, wine auctions in Hong Kong have seen remarkable growth, overtaking the U.S. as the largest market for wine auctions for the first time in first-quarter 2010. After a lull in the third quarter of that year, Hong Kong emerged as the largest market for wine auctions and has dominated since. But total sales in Hong Kong have been halved since last year, dropping from more than $62.7 million in the second quarter of 2011 to just under $35 million in the same period of 2012. Meanwhile, U.S. wine auction totals rose from $41.2 million in the second quarter of 2011 to $45.3 million in the same time period this year.
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