Market segments and pricing of fine wines over their lifecycle

Abstract

Is the fine wine market segmented? The literature shows that this is the case for ordinary wines, and this has significant implications for hedonic analysis. We apply a finite mixture model to a 20-year dataset of auction prices. Our results reveal the existence of five segments in the fine wine market that differ in both their composition and the effects of scores, age, and market conditions on prices. This segmentation helps reconcile the divergent findings in existing research: some wines are highly sensitive to market conditions and have yielded significant returns (investment wines), while prices of other wines are primarily influenced by age (collectible wines) or quality (drinking wines). Our findings enhance the understanding of fine wine pricing and offer new insights into the age-price relationship, which is generally linear but varies by segment and vintage quality.