Author: Grace Geldard
Arbitrage – The Opportunity You Could Be Missing
Liv-ex members can see the regional value of wines, helping them to identify opportunities to drive the highest margins.
Arbitrage—the practice of buying in one market and selling in another at a higher price—is a well-established strategy in the world of finance. For fine wine traders, it’s a powerful way to increase margins and diversify income at a time when margins feel increasingly squeezed and threatened by geopolitical factors. But identifying arbitrage opportunities in wine can be time-consuming and complex.
Different regions often place different values on the same wine, or have varying levels of demand, which in turn influences pricing. For example, a case of Bordeaux might drive a different price in Asia versus Italy. At first glance, the opportunity is clear – buy wine where it’s cheaper, sell where it’s more valuable. In practice, it’s not that simple.
Until now, uncovering these opportunities has meant hours of manual work: checking regional marketplaces, calculating exchange rates, and estimating tariffs, duties, and shipping costs. It takes time that most wine businesses don’t have to spare.
Introducing Regional Benchmarks on Liv-ex
We recently expanded our Regional Benchmark offering. Previously, members could view the best listed price for a wine in key markets including the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, and among négociants in La Place de Bordeaux. Now, the data is broader — with the UK and EU added — and even more actionable than before.
For the first time, there is a single trusted reference point for each region— saving merchants valuable time that was previously spent cross-checking multiple, fragmented sources.
Not only can Regional Benchmarks now be viewed side by side in a ‘world map’ view on every individual wine page, but they are also integrated into Liv-ex’s List Studio. Here, members can upload a stock list — or a client list — and instantly receive a regional benchmark for each wine.
Members can use this valuable data to identify the wines most of value in their region. They can compare prices at scale, including against other Liv-ex proprietary data points such as Bid and Offer, and sort by percentage difference.
Where’s the opportunity in arbitrage?
For professional traders, arbitrage offers:
- Quick-turn profits—no need to wait for prices to rise organically.
- Stock rotation—move wines faster by tapping into markets with higher demand.
Within seconds, Liv-ex members can identify:
- The value of their stock list or a clients’ lists in each region
- Where they are most and least competitive
- Opportunities to sell stock in regions where prices are higher
- Where to source wines more affordably in the future
It’s complex, but Liv-ex makes it easier
Unlike high-frequency trading in finance, wine arbitrage isn’t instant. But with Liv-ex, you can gain a competitive advantage. Our pricing data, logistics services, and trading platform help you move confidently, minimise risk, and execute faster than ever before.
Author: Grace Geldard
The Industry Standard for Pricing Fine Wine
At Liv-ex we’ve dramatically reduced the time it takes for wine businesses to value wine, by bringing a wealth of data points into one place.
Do you remember the days when buying and selling wine was done over the phone? And the market lacked transparency without readily available data on the value and price of wine. Our founders, James Miles and Justin Gibbs, certainly do, because that’s exactly why they started Liv-ex back in 2000. With a mission to make the fine wine industry more transparent, efficient and safe.
The internet brought with it the ability to buy and sell wine with businesses further afield, opening new opportunities and expanding the possibility of growth. But the internet age also brought an added burden, with information more available than ever, pricing wine became more complex than ever. With numerous sources across the web, diligent wine businesses could spend hours searching, scrolling, and documenting price points in a spreadsheet, ready for analysis.
At Liv-ex we’ve dramatically reduced the time it takes for wine businesses to value wine, by bringing a wealth of data points into one place, and creating tools to support rapid price matching for even the longest lists of wine. We’ve brought transparency to the market by showing a wealth of data points, enabling businesses to make informed and therefore accurate decisions.
Liv-ex Transactional Data
Many online merchants showcase advertised or ‘desired’ prices. This is the price a seller hopes to get for the wine, but it isn’t possible to see the price the wine actually sold for. Liv-ex is different.
Liv-ex Transactional Data shows the price at which a wine has sold, providing the most accurate view of a wines value in the market. Historic Transactional Data can be seen for the past 25 years, allowing members to see the changes and trends in a wines value over time. We supplement Transactional Exchange Data, the sale price of wine on Liv-ex, with Transactional Auction Data, to show the sale price of wine from major auction houses as well.
Transactional Exchange Data is unique to Liv-ex and cannot be found anywhere else, and the combination of Exchange Data and Auction Data provides members with the genuine value of a wine at any given movement in time.
List Data
List data shows advertised prices of wine, although not as accurate as transactional data, list data adds a depth of insight, beyond the sales made on the Liv-ex Exchange and at Auction Houses. We obtain, clean and categorised list data at scale, showcasing perceived value across the secondary market.
Long gone are the days of website-hopping, complex spreadsheets, and countless hours spent compiling data. We save our members time by bringing a vast array of data sources into one place, and not only this, we standardise, categorise and dissect the data, and turn it into several meaningful data points for our members. These data points include the average list price, the lowest list price and the availability of stock across the market.
Relying on limited data from a small number of sources can lead to inaccurate pricing, stock not moving or selling your wines at too low of price point. At Liv-ex we analyse 200 million data points daily.
How do we gather so much information? Liv-ex has members and industry connections that provide their list data to us. They trust us because we are totally independent in the market, we do not hold stock and we do not compete with our members for business. We work with merchants that do not list their data anywhere online, and this breadth of data cannot be found anywhere else.
Product Data
Liv-ex pulls essential product data into the exchange so that you can build a view of a wines value, including critics scores, drinking windows and ABVs. Find all of this information alongside Transactional Data and List data to save you time when it comes to client consultancy, as well as import and tax documentation that may come next.
List Valuations with Liv-ex
Not only does the Liv-ex Exchange house an extensive dataset to support accurate valuations, we have tools to help you value an entire list of wines in minutes. By simply uploading a spreadsheet of wines, we can return the last Transactional price of each wine, as well as the lowest and average List prices, and details of the same wines currently for sale on the Liv-ex Exchange.
Author: Grace Geldard
Inspired Money: How to Invest in Fine Wine: A Masterclass on Auctions, Fakes & Profits
We’re excited to share that Robbie Stevens, our Head of Broking at Liv-ex, recently featured on the Inspired Money podcast – a series that explores the intersection…
We’re excited to share that Robbie Stevens, our Head of Broking at Liv-ex, recently featured on the Inspired Money podcast – a series that explores the intersection of finance, investment, and lifestyle.
He joins an expert panel to explore auction strategies and how to spot investment-grade bottles. This masterclass reveals what makes wine one of the most compelling alternative assets today.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- Wine as an Investment Asset
Discover why fine wine is increasingly viewed as a “passion asset” and how it compares to traditional investments like art or cars. - Auction Strategies and Market Access
Learn the basics of bidding, the hidden costs of auctions, and how online platforms are attracting a new generation of investors. - What Makes a Wine Investment-Grade?
Explore the three pillars of value – rarity, provenance, and maturity – and why secondary market liquidity is the most important metric. - Managing Your Collection for Maximum Value
From optimal selling windows to the importance of a complete paper trail, find out how professional cellar management can protect and grow your portfolio. - Provenance and Counterfeit Risks
Hear how authentication processes and emerging technologies like blockchain are shaping the fight against wine fraud. - Exit Strategies and Market Timing
Understand when to sell, how to read market signals, and why emotional investors need a clear plan to monetise their collections.
Watch the full episode here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx9GNRrowmE&list=PLaTmIwOdrI5o2bUmo6XRyVJti9QYN1BFE&index=99
Author: Grace Geldard
Bottled In China x Liv-ex Podcast: Wine, Wealth, and Data: Inside Liv-ex’s Asia Playbook
In a recent episode of The Bottled in China podcast, Liv-ex co-founder and CEO James Miles joins Emilie Steckenborn.
In a recent episode of The Bottled in China podcast, Liv-ex co-founder and CEO James Miles joins Emilie Steckenborn.
He unpacks the story behind Liv-ex, shares his insights on wine as an asset class, discusses Gen Z’s growing interest in wine, and explores Asia’s rising influence in the fine wine market.
Listen here:
Author: Grace Geldard
TheDrinksBusiness Podcast x Liv-ex 25 Years of Liv-ex with founders, James Miles & Justin Gibbs
In a recent episode of The Drinks Business Podcast, Liv-ex co-founders Justin Gibbs and James Miles joined host Patrick Schmitt MW
In a recent episode of The Drinks Business Podcast, Liv-ex co-founders Justin Gibbs and James Miles joined host Patrick Schmitt MW to reflect on the transformation of the fine wine market over the past 25 years.
They discussed how Liv-ex has helped bring transparency to what was once an opaque space, and how the exchange is now evolving into a more data-driven platform, aligned with the changing needs of the global wine trade.
Listen to the the full TheDrinksBusiness podcast here -> Liv-ex with James Miles and Justin Gibbs – The Drinks Business Podcast | Acast
Author: Grace Geldard
UK Wine Show x Liv-ex: Tom Burchfield: Episode 3: The State of the Fine Wine Market
In the final podcast of the three-part series, Tom and Chris talk about wines yet to be discovered by the secondary market
In the final podcast of the three-part series, Tom and Chris talk about wines yet to be discovered by the secondary market, from the likes of Spain and Australia, and Tom talks about his favourite regions for drinking wine.
Listen to the podcast to find out more:
Did you miss the second episode? The previous episode diving into Bordeaux En Primeur. Listen here.
Author: Grace Geldard
UK Wine Show x Liv-ex: Tom Burchfield: Episode 2: The State of the Fine Wine Market.
In this second of a three-part episode, Tom and Chris pick up where they left off, this time diving deeper into Bordeaux En Primeur. Tom talks about the drop in…
In this second of a three-part episode, Tom and Chris pick up where they left off, this time diving deeper into Bordeaux En Primeur. Tom talks about the drop in En Primeur buying, sharing key stats; in 2009/2010 the UK bought around £240 million En Primeur, last year it was just £60 million.
Understand why in this episode. Listen here.
Did you miss the first episode? The previous dives deeper the sophistication of the fine wine market, Bordeaux pricing and the use of data and technology for decision making in the wine industry. Listen here.
Author: Grace Geldard
UK Wine Show x Liv-ex: Robbie Stevens: Part 2: Tariffs and The Fine Wine Market
In this second of a two-part episode , Robbie and Chris pick up where they left off, discussing the impact of tariffs on the fine wine market.
In this second of a two-part episode , Robbie and Chris pick up where they left off, discussing the impact of tariffs on the fine wine market.
Robbie talks about the huge drop off, where 80% of US buyers stopped buying on Liv-ex immediately after tariff announcements.
He talks about the partial recovery since then, but warns that ongoing uncertainty is impacting confidence and preventing a true bounce back.
Did you miss the first episode? On the previous episode they discuss the impact of US tariffs on the fine wine market. Listen here.
Author: Grace Geldard
UK Wine Show x Liv-ex: Robbie Stevens: Part 1 – Tariffs and The Fine Wine Market
Robbie Stevens, Head of Broking at Liv-ex, sat down with Chris Scott on the UK Wine Show (ThirtyFifty) to discuss the impact of US tariffs…
Robbie Stevens, Head of Broking at Liv-ex, sat down with Chris Scott on the UK Wine Show (ThirtyFifty) to discuss the impact of US tariffs on the fine wine market.
In this first of a two-part episode, Robbie reflects on the impact of tariffs in late 2019, early 2020, where buyers swiftly – pivoted to sparkling and Italian wines, that were not tariffed at the time. With current tariffs impacting all European products, how have buyers reacted this time?
Following tariff announcements there was a huge drop off in buyers from the US on Liv-ex. In 2024 US buyers made up over 35% of buyers, and although there has been some bounce back, buyers are not yet back to pre-tariff activity.
The next episode discusses the impact of tariffs on the fine wine market. Listen here.