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- Juice on the Block: A social, wine-buying experiment.
For about a year now I've been tinkering with the idea of starting up a website that revolves around wine on the auction block. I bought a domain, have put some ideas together to test regarding what the site would look like, several key features, etc.
One of the ideas I thought might actually fly, and so in this case have decided to toss out to you, my Snooth Bretheran, is called: "Lots of Interest". It would be a profiling of lots available at auction that are worth checking out. Could be a rare wine, could be a case of perfect "situational bidding", could be anything that's interesting.
So, here's a beta profile of a lot that I think deserves a look:
House: Hart-Davis-Hart
Auction: 1/31/09
Online bidding: Yes
REAL-TIME Online bidding: Yes (through representative)
Link to core website: http://www.hdhwine.com/content.cfm/auctions
Lot # 895
Brunello di Montalcino 2001
Tenuta Valdicava (V. Abbruzzese) (12 Bottles)
Snooth Database: http://www.snooth.com/wine/valdicava-brunello-di-montalcino-2001-7/
Link to Lot: http://www.hdhwine.com/content.cfm?ContentAlias=lotdetails&lot_no=895
QUANTITY IN LOT:
12 Bottles (2 oc, 6 & 6)
ESTIMATE:
$600 - $900
(per lot)
"The math":
Low estimate = $600
Premium (HDH; 20% premium) = $720
/ 12 bottles = $60 per bottle, before tax
Comparison to average retail price of (about): $196, per bottle (source: Vinfolio)
(Sokolin has it for $140 (also before tax: http://www.snooth.com/merchant-redirect/287352526/275084/15492/0 )
In conclusion:
Even if this lot went up to $800 for the 12 bottles of the 2001 Valdicava, that would put the per-bottle price at $80 with premium, before tax and shipping- a little more than half of the wine’s retail price.
Outcome: Max bid $700 for the lot ($840 commitment with premium and before tax)- and you (and your buds) could walk away with a case of the 2001 Valdicava, in sound shape, for less than half the retail price. If you fall short of the winning price- you win by not paying too much for this fantastic wine, anyway.
~ Lots of Interest ~
Course that's just one example. As Snoothers, always looking for the best of wines at what I think is a great time to buy them- would you have any interest in this as (perhaps a quarterly) update/newsletter/feature?
Tanks :)
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1 - Reply by SWL, Jan 14.
Absolutely. And would be helpful of you could have a way to express interest in X bottles to get a group together to but, say, a lot of 3 3L's when each person wants / can only afford 1. Or each wants a 6 btl euro case out of a 12 btl, 2 euro case auction. Please keep me informed!
Cheers!
Sean
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1738 - Reply by Gregory Dal Piaz, Jan 14.
This is a pretty well thought out idea. My only concern is that you are going to be telling people to bid on lots a hard working wine guy like myself thought we had all to ourselves!
Seriously, this is the kind of work I do with auction catalogs. Having someone else do it for me would be an interesting project. I like the idea of lot sharing expressed by SWL. I do this on my own with friends and it not only helps allocate larger lots but also prevent us from bidding against each other.
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- Reply by ChipDWood, Jan 14.
SWL: Thanks for the feedback- and that's a perfect example of why I think something like this has a significant upside- lot sharing. It creates opportunities out of sheer mist. Thing is though, and I've seen this before; conditions of the bottles play a big part in the outcome of a purchase.
Two outta three ain't bad- if three different wallets aren't involved. Know what I'm sayin'?
I'm going to have to work that bit out & thanks for the thoughts.
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- Reply by ChipDWood, Jan 14.
GDP said:
"This is a pretty well thought out idea. My only concern is that you are going to be telling people to bid on lots a hard working wine guy like myself thought we had all to ourselves!"
TO WHICH, I SAY: Ehh, sorry bout that, Mr. Massive Cellar Renovator guy ;).
I threw in the lot of the Valdicava cause I thought it may spark your interest, though Tuscany be a tad bit south of your usual Italian haunts.
GDP also sayeth:
"Seriously, this is the kind of work I do with auction catalogs. Having someone else do it for me would be an interesting project. I like the idea of lot sharing expressed by SWL. I do this on my own with friends and it not only helps allocate larger lots but also prevent us from bidding against each other."
Yea that's another positive to the aspect of sharing lots; limiting the problem of cross-over bidding.
Anytime a group of people pool resources towards a common goal there are a boatload of snags waiting to trip those people up, and I'm going to have to be very mindful of that kind of thing- especially with a commodity that relies so heavily upon "conditions".
I think, with a partnership with something like Snooth here though, this kind of service/tool would pique a lot of interest from folks who may have never bought at auction before. There are most certainly a wealth of deals to be had.
An "Open Brokership" of sorts, that caters to the individual buyer who doesn't want to pay the ridiculous mark-ups of the restaurants or even retail shops around the corner- but still wants to experience the good stuff.
Hell, we could even share cellar space in NY (see: Queens) to take advantage of the locale and the local auction houses (Christie's, Sotheby's, Acker, Morrell, Zachy's, Magnum) then store, distribute, re-assess, or ship from there. While getting a bulk rate.
I dunno. Just thoughts. For now.
