Choose your tipple

What to look for when buying spirits, champagne and port

The big money will always be on blue-chip clarets, meaning top Left Bank-classified growths such as Latour, Lafite, Margaux and Haut Brion and on the Right Bank hallowed names such as Cheval Blanc, Petrus, Le Pin and Ausone. These are all red wines. 2001 remains an undervalued vintage, overshadowed by 2000 and then 2005, both of which are thought by some to be overvalued.

The category of white wine most readily looked at for investment is the sweet, white dessert wine called sauterne, Château d'Yquem being the most collected chateau, although 2001 Climens and Rieussec are also very fashionable at the moment.

The market for port has taken off over the past 18 months, according to Anthony Barne MW of Bonhams, London. This reflects global money-chasing prize assets such as Taylor 1992 and Fonseca from the same year. "The years to buy are definitely 1970, 1994 and 2000, with 1970 a very safe bet and already wonderful to drink."

In the spirits world, rarities sell and Barne does not adhere to the customary view that spirits cease to evolve once bottled. "I think they may mellow over time," he adds. "The difficulty is that spirits hammer the corks, so ullage is a problem over time." Intricate collections often come to market where whisky is concerned, but cognac is more often the result of a house clearance or inheritance, and something of an English eccentricity but "not really an investment market."

Cognac is like chartreuse, collected by a fringe of French eccentrics. However, watch out for the 110 bottles of Hine originally laid down in 1981, a fine vintage, for the purpose of celebrating Lady Di and Prince Charles' 25th wedding anniversary last year. They are expected to come to auction next year, the proceeds going to Prince Charles' charity trust.

Like cognac, champagne is typically bought and drunk as a non-vintage blend rather than laid down and collected. However, as with cognac there are some houses that specialise in vintages: Krug, Dom Perignon and Roderer Kristal. The special large- format 1990 Methusaleh of Kristal that Roderer launched in 2000 has suddenly shot up in value from €2,000 to €12,000. A safer bet though is Krug's 1996 vintage, realised in August this year and still readily available, likely to look like a huge bargain a decade from now.

Barne says that the more money you put into drink investments, the more you'll make – like a classic spread bet, it's no good chancing on one or two products and hoping for the best. Secondly: "People should be very careful who they buy from, since the market place is flooded with frauds and sharp dealers." If in doubt, you can check Jim Budd's website dedicated to tracking the fraudsters, www.investdrinks.org.