Feature: auctions without hammers!

A paradox. In a global wine market that has been plunging into crisis for several years, between poor sales and overproduction, bottle auctions are doing better than ever. It's even completing a "boom". "In 2014, the market was worth just 37.5 million euros. In 2024, it will reach 97 million euros*", reveals Pierre Taugourdeau, General Secretary of the Conseil des Maisons de Vente.

And Lionel Cuenca won't contradict him. The co-founder of iDealwine began offering online auctions on this site in 2005. Since then, the company has become the leader in France. "In 2024 alone, an equivalent of 260,000 bottles were auctioned on our platform. This represents one in three bottles sold at auction in France," he says proudly. Multiplication is easy: nearly 800,000 bottles are sold every year in France.

Massive digitalization

This industry giant is not the obly one to capitalise on this growth. Recognising the success of wine in their auction rooms, many auction houses have set up dedicated departments. Such is the case of Alexandre Landre, an auctioneer from Beaune and founder of the firm of the same name. "In our profession, wine has been the most buoyant sector for the last twenty years. Our sales of this product have increased by 96% between 2021 and 2024". Against this backdrop, the house has strengthened its teams, which now include "three full-time people dedicated to wine in addition to the auctioneers, and new storage warehouses."

Where does this success come from? "The digitalization of our sector has had a lot to do with it," admits Pierre Taugourdeau, "and everyone, including historic houses, is getting in on the act, because wine lends itself particularly well to it. You don't need to see the bottle to bid on a Romanée-Conti. Today, more than three-quarters of sales are digital. In 2019, it was less than 40%."