Need advice re liquidating cellar

I’m helping a recent widow dispose of her late husband’s small (<12 cases) collection of well-known aged Bordeaux and Port. Provenance not documented, but I have personal knowledge that everything was bought at retail upon release and stored properly. My initial questions are: 1) Are there any legal issues related to private sales? Cellar is in NC. 2) What’s the best way to establish market value? 3) What are my options for selling?

THANKS!

Leland Little is in NC and does wine auctions. Give them a call.

Document and take pictures of the inventory

Reach out to BPW Wines( St Helena), Flickengers and Hart Davis Hart in Chicago. They purchase cellars and pricing i would think will be 30-40% less than retail

Auction houses are probably best bet for top $ but really depends on the wines.

If the wines are of high quality (and price!) I have had very good results selling through Acker, Merrill, and Condit auctions in NYC. Their web site is http://www.ackerwines.com and you should be able to get information regarding shipment to NY as well as a pre-sale appraisal. They will arrange shipping (though I live close enough to deliver the wines myself).

You could check http://www.wine-searcher.com (or is it http://www.winesearcher.com) to see what the current retail prices are. If the wines are in demand, you might net around 50% of retail, even a bit more, after the auction house charges.

Whatever route you choose, I would wait though, until the Fall or Winter, as the market slumps during the warm weather, partly I suppose, because shipping to buyers is impractical.

Hart Davis Hart even runs a truck for pickups down to NC now and then.

In addition to a couple of the above I’ve also had a good experience selling with winebid.com.

Depending on what it is and where you are, once you’ve selected an auction house there may be a local wine shop owner / hobbyist who would pack these up for her for a bottle or two as compensation plus cost of boxes and shipping.

I second the Leland Little recommendation if you are somewhere near the Triangle. They get surprisingly high results for the better wines they auction. If it’s lower-end stuff the results can be a little more variable.

Local shops/restaurants in NC can’t legally buy direct from you. Not saying it’s possible, but it’s not like New York where private sales are possible. I had good luck selling to Chambers Street at one point - you get paid right away and the prices are fair - but I would think for Bordeaux auctions would yield the top dollar.

Become a part of this community, and sell them in the Commerce Corner section. You need 25 posts before selling though (I think, which is why I said become a part of the community).
Less then 12 cases is easily do-able on this forum.
Actually, I would be shocked if you haven’t received at least half a dozen or more private messages from people requesting a list, so they can purchase directly from you.
I would like to see the list too, if you have one.
Good luck

Yeah, Leland Little is really coming on.

He’s got quite a loyal following now.

https://www.lelandlittle.com

Also, at this time of year, jacking up the A/C in the minivan, and driving over to Leland Little, would be a heckuva lot easier than re-boxing everything in styrofoam containers & paying for overnight “10 AM” FedEx/UPS delivery to some out-of-state destination.

Otherwise you’d need to wait until about November 1st before it MIGHT be safe to ship classic wine again.

Also, it’s possible that Leland Little might send a van to you guys, and then you wouldn’t even have to worry about the drive.

Andy - I would suggest reaching out to Ian Dorin, who is an active member here. He is with Heritage Auctions and I am sure would be happy to help you.

Sherri - you beat me to it!! :slight_smile:

Lots of good suggestions. I’ll add that Benchmark Wines buys cellars (no affiliation but I’ve been a satisfied customer) for resale

Many thanks for the great suggestions. Mark Solomon from Leland Little picked up the wine today for their September auction. Very professional! And easy!

Very cool! What did you sell so we know what to bid on? (Just kidding of course)

No you are not