Tim Atkins: Wine should be enjoyed, not a money-maker
Wine lovers are enjoying a higher quality of produce than ever before, an expert has claimed, while the knowledge of wine consumers is also improving around the world.
However, speaking at the opening of the recent Fine Wine 2010 conference in Ribera del Duero, British Master of Wine Tim Atkin called for a return to drinking Petrus for pleasure rather than seeing it as an investment.
He added that demand for high-end wines like chateaux Margaux and Mouton Rothschild is greater than ever, although this has come at a cost to the diversity of the marketplace, winebusiness.com reports.
"I think we've lost sight of what wine, especially fine wine, is all about," he told visitors to the event.
"It's something you want to pull the cork from and enjoy with friends, not something you want to make 17.4 per cent profit on over the next year."
The trend for investment, rather than consumption, has led to warnings that wine fraud may be set to spike over the coming year, particularly given the success of 2009 Bordeaux.