Best way to sell off 6000 bottles of red wine

SkMed on 17/12/2018 - 09:47
Last edited 17/12/2018 - 10:17

Hi All,

Long story short, my father recently passed away and part of the estate left to myself and my 3 siblings is my dad's supply of wine from his small hobby vineyard in central Victoria he set up in about the year 2000 which we now need to sell.

It is a mix of 2007, 2008, 2009 Shiraz, Cab sav and Merlot, none of us really drink wine, however everyone who's tried it tells us its great stuff! haha.

Before my dad passed away he was selling it casually for $120 per case to friends, contacts and some local restaurants etc. (so $10 per bottle essentially).
The wine is apparently at its peak/best age currently so we need to unload it soon before it goes bad.

The only ideas we have had so far is auctioning it off on Greys online. Any other ideas?

Financial

Comments

  • MercSal on 17/12/2018 - 10:03
    +2

    Prob easiest to use Langtons or similar specialist wine auctioneer.

    • SkMed on 17/12/2018 - 10:18

      Thanks for the tip. I'll take a look at Langtons.
      Honestly none of us know much about Wine at all so we're a bit stumped on what to do with it all.

  • Slippery Otter on 17/12/2018 - 10:03

    What are the brands?

    Also Grays online only sell their own brands on there. May not be suitable to auction it.

    • SkMed on 17/12/2018 - 10:16

      Ah I see. I thought anyone could sell on Greys. Hmm.

      Sorry, should have clarified, The brand is our own. I grew up on a small Vineyard my dad build in the early 2000's. The bottles are currently unlabled though so wondering if we might be able to sell them off unbranded to another vineyard even?

      Thanks,

      • MercSal on 17/12/2018 - 10:38
        +5

        Own brand makes it tough. Hit up all the restaurants he sold to, offer them cases at half price or less for bigger orders.
        I'd offer to buy a few cases, but you are a bit far away.
        Good luck!

        • HighAndDry on 17/12/2018 - 10:47
          +1

          Pretty much this - since they're unbranded OP, you're going to really only be able to sell to existing buyers who know its quality. No one else is likely to touch it for more than bargain basement prices, if that.

          • SkMed on 17/12/2018 - 11:09

            @HighAndDry: Yeah we definitely aren't expecting to sell them for $120 per case. We will probably try the places he sold to first, but im sure even if they buy some we'll still have a lot left to unload.

    • trilby on 17/12/2018 - 10:42

      Grays sell loads of different brands, not just their own stuff.
      I wouldn't try and sell it through Grays, though - especially if it's not a known brand and has no label - can imagine you'd only get the minimum $9 per case until people realised how good it was.
      Another vineyard might be the go - depends on his reputation.

      • SkMed on 17/12/2018 - 11:06

        We have labels we can put on them, but I figured selling unlabelled could be better as other sellers/vineyards could sell as their own potentially.

        He/the wine doesn't have a bad reputation as far as i'm aware haha. I know we used to sell the grapes directly to another local vineyard for several years until Dad decided to make his own. Might be worth contacting them to see if they're interested.

  • [Deactivated] on 17/12/2018 - 10:42

    Gumtree ad. $6 a bottle. Bring your trailer. One day only sale. I assume you're in Heathcote area with reds so plenty of people/restaurants will trek from Melbourne and Bendigo.

    • SkMed on 17/12/2018 - 11:07

      Yeah, actually closer to Melb than Heathcote. Its right on the Hume, just an hour out of Melb between Seymour and Broadford.

  • punter1 on 17/12/2018 - 11:01
    +3

    You need liquor licence to sell

    • SkMed on 17/12/2018 - 11:03

      Ah true. Hadn't even considered this! :/
      Would I need a license if I were to sell it to someone who then sells it to the public? Say a wine reseller or something.

      Any idea on the cost/difficulty of getting a license?

  • oscargamer on 17/12/2018 - 11:24

    Maybe contact vinomofo ?

  • Ace Ventura on 17/12/2018 - 11:28
    +1

    I was going to mention the liquor licence aspect, but seems your now aware.

    If the vineyard itself is being sold, why not try bundle it into the property sale as an asset for the new owner, if the new owner plans on producing wine themselves, I'm sure having some of the previous years stock would get their sales moving quicker. I doubt you would get the $10 per bottle price but you might get a few thousand more on the sale price.

    • SkMed on 17/12/2018 - 12:06

      Yeah had a look into the license this morning and Looks like a producers license is only about $500 so all good on that front. We'll sort it out in the near future.

      Hmm, that is actually a great idea, we didn't think of that. The only issue might be the lifespan of the wine. It will be a good year or two before we have everything in order to be able to sell the property. We may get an analysis on the wine first, and if its still good for a number of years this might actually be the best option. Ill add it to the list! Thanks.

  • altomic on 17/12/2018 - 11:50
    +1

    I'm sorry for your loss.

    there is https://www.getwinesdirect.com/

  • MercSal on 17/12/2018 - 12:57
    +1

    Actually, i could be worth talking to Naked wines as well if you could label them. They specialise in small producers.

  • mskeggs on 17/12/2018 - 18:35
    +1

    Not to disappoint you in a difficult time, but from previously talking to friends in the wine retail business, the wholesale value of an unknown wine is below $3 a bottle.
    I would absolutely try and contact everyone who has ever bought previously, tell them this is the last ever available and sell whatever you can to them ("can I put you down for 4 cases?") as they will get you the best return.

    • SkMed on 20/12/2018 - 11:43

      Yeah we are well aware that my Dad jumped into the wine business right at the same time as everyone else resulting in over-saturation.

      We aren't expecting to get the $10 per bottle he was selling for if we try unload them all soon, but were think half that might be do-able hopefully. at $3 a bottle we would probably just hold onto them and sell slowly over time (if expiry date allows of course).

  • [Deactivated] on 18/12/2018 - 07:56

    Perhaps devide into a large lots and sell at any popular nearby auction house, with a reserve price.

    Do Cash Converters sell wine? Once tasted they might take the lot.

    Just some easy, quick solutions you might try.

  • simhanada on 19/12/2018 - 09:53
    +1

    Any plans to travel closer into melbs anytime soon? I'd take a punt on some :)

    • SkMed on 20/12/2018 - 11:45
      +1

      haha well I actually live in Melbourne, my brothers and sisters live back on the vineyard at the moment. I'll be bringing a lot back to Melb with me to sell to some friends and co-workers already

      • [Deactivated] on 21/12/2018 - 03:49
        +1

        Ozbargain blackmarket sales.

  • Justwines1 on 12/02/2019 - 17:33
    +1

    If you still have these wines, Pls contact us on [email protected], We'll see if we can help you out.

    Thanks

    Team Just Wines

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