The global fine wine market continued its downward trend in the first half of 2025, a descent that began in late 2022, according to WineCap, drawing on data from Liv-ex indices.
The wine investment consultation firm cited several macroeconomic factors, including trade tensions between the US and the EU and subdued demand from Asian markets, which caused lower trading volumes in key regions like Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne.
Global interest rate pressure also reduced the appeal of illiquid assets such as wine, said WineCap, with some opting for safer yields in cash or bonds.
Every major region ended the first half of the year in negative territory, with Bordeaux, Burgundy and California performing the worst, each falling by 5.6% on their respective indexes.
The Rhône performed the best, down by just 2.5% on the Rhone 100 index. WineCap said this is because of the region’s world-class producers – such as Jean Louis Chave and Guigal – who generally maintain lower pricing than other regions.
Chave’s Hermitage Rouge 2021 and Guigal’s Côte Rôtie Château d’Ampuis 2018 were among the top ten performers in the first half of 2025.
Sweet wines were also a surprising bright spot in an otherwise downward trend. Both Château d’Yquem 2014 and Château Suduiraut 2016 were in WineCap’s top ten performance list, suggesting renewed collector interest in sweet wines.
US cult wines also held interest despite the California 50 index falling. High-end Napa, for example, continued to do well.
The same was true of top Champagne brands, which continued to perform despite the Champagne 50 index falling by 4.9%. Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 2015, for example, increased by 24.4%.
Turning to price, the most expensive fine wines on the market continue to largely originate from France, with seven of the ten highest-cost wineries coming from the country.
These were Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Burgundy; Liber Pater in Bordeaux; Domaine Leroy in Burgundy; Domaine Jean Louis Chave from the Rhône; Château Petrus from Bordeaux; Le Pin from Bordeaux; and Krug from Champagne.
As shown however, the most expensive wine regions are not necessarily the highest performers in terms of investor attention.
