How do I Insure My Wine Collection?

Ah!The joy of drawing the cork from the bottle and inhaling its sweet tannin tang. Pouring the sacred liquid into the glass and swirling it to open the nose and inspecting the legs beginning to form. A taste of the succulent drink and there’s no mistaking its fine complexity of flavours.

Wine Care and Storage

For Wine Connoisseurs and Alberta Collectors enjoying wine is just the beginning. It can take years or even lifetimes to accumulate a collection of prized wines and careful consideration must be given to storage in order to preserve the quality. Ideally, wine should be stored:

• In a dark place.
• With the bottles on their side.
• At 7 to 18 degrees Celsius.
• With humidity levels no more than 80%.

Some popular storage options include having a wine cellar in the home, using a self-contained temperature-controlled unit, or renting specialized storage space.

Insuring Your Investment

Serious wine collectors understand the need to protect their wine collections. Most Homeowner’s Policies cover wines only for very limited amounts and under certain conditions.

Fine Wine Blanket Coverage

For one or more bottles valued at less than $1000 each, “blanket” coverage might be the right protection. This protects your wine collection under one lump sum without providing details about each individual bottle. More expensive items can be listed on the policy with each bottle described and individually insured for its market value.

Comprehensive Fine Wine Coverage

Comprehensive Fine Wine Coverage can help you insure your collection for damages incurred as a result of:

• Property in transit
• Fire
• Theft
• Vandalism
• Breakage
• Loss due to breakdown of climate control units
• Loss to accessories such as racking and inventory systems
• Damage to labels

Best Fine Wine Coverage

Also in addition to the above, coverage is available for losses due to:

• Extremes in temperature
• Fluctuations in humidity
• Vibration
• Light

If your collection contains bottles of wine valued at more than $10,000 apiece an appraisal will be needed.

How do I Insure My Wine Collection?

It is easy to start insuring your wine collection. Just give us a call at Alpine Insurance. We can make sure you are properly covered for anything that might happen to your delicious Investment. We might even ask you for a taste!