En primeur is a term that’s quite familiar for a wine connoisseur. Meaning “wine futures”, en primeur is a purchasing method where you buy wine at an early stage when it is still in a barrel. It is a way to buy wine at a lesser cost as the wine is not yet bottled. In fact, low price is the biggest advantage of en primeur as wine is not yet in the bottle with the brand name and has not been released in the market yet. The wine offered for en primeur normally comes from places like Bordeaux, Port, the Rhone Valley, Burgundy, etc.
How is en primeur done?
After the grapes are harvested and the wine is made, the experts and merchants will taste the wine that is only 6 to 8 months old. The wine would still be in the barrel during this time and the winemaker would have made a sample to taste. Merchants would decide after tasting whether to purchase the wine or not. Once a merchant decides to buy, he would pay for it immediately without waiting for the wine to complete its maturing time.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of en primeur?
En primeur benefits the producer as well as the consumer. For the winemaker, it brings some good sales and cash early helping him to invest in more production of wine. In the case of the consumer, it saves him money as the wine is not as costly as when it is bottled and marketed. Moreover, it gives the consumer a chance to get hold of some quality wine that may be otherwise sold in very limited quantities. Also, the consumer could get the wine in any amount that he wants, not the default quantity that the winemakers decide.
However, en primeur has its negative side as well. As the consumer pays the amount earlier even if the wine loses its quality as it ages, though the popular saying is quite the opposite, he or she doesn’t get the money back. Also, in case you weren’t able to buy the wine through en primeur, you might not get the wine later as other consumers would have got it through the same method.
En primeur happens once in a year normally and is an attraction for wine lovers all over. You get to hear the opinions of the members of the wine trade organisation as well the critics. If you are new to the wine industry a visit to an en primeur could get you some good ideas about the wines served to be tried.
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