THERE are wines and then there are wines.
For wine buffs - passionate drinkers and collectors - like Mr Collis Loh, 45, these are bottles that can fetch a four-figure sum at wine auctions and in the open market.
Mr Loh, a country general manager who first got interested in wines about 20 years ago, recalled: 'Last year, I drank my most prized possession on my birthday in December.
'It was a 1961 second growth Bordeaux, made about the same time I was born.'
Mr Loh, who drank it at a restaurant with his wife and two other friends, said he got the bottle two months earlier from the winery itself in France 'for less than $1,000', but a local wine merchant here said that it fetches 'more than that' in the market.
$10,000 COLLECTION
But there's more where that came from - Mr Loh's collection at home consists of more than '100 bottles' that cost him more than $10,000 in total. The bottles are stored in two wine fridges that are 'overflowing' now.
'I need to get a third fridge soon,' Mr Loh said, with a laugh.
These premium wines are typically rare and from recognised 'branded' producers in France and increasingly, cult producers in Australia.
Classified from first growth (highest classification for French Bordeaux red wine) to fifth growth, we're talking about French winemakers like the Chateaus Lafite-Rothschild, Margaux, Latour, Haut-Brion and Mouton-Rothschild.
Rising Australian wines include those produced by Kay Brothers Amery.
Mr Charles Tan, wine director of wine investment company Premium Liquid Assets (PLA), says that 'in most cases, these wines are produced in finite quantity year on year, they are highly sought after world-wide, and they improve in quality over time'.
But whether it's for special occasions or not, there is an increasing number of serious drinkers, collectors and investors like Mr Loh who are willing to part with their hard-earned money for these prized bottles.
And an increasing number of them are young Singaporeans in their 20s.
According to Mr Thomas Chiam, the owner of Friends Food and Wine, a wine merchant and restaurant with branches at Serangoon Garden and Cold Storage Jelita, this group of drinkers has 'increased about five times' in the past two years.
Mr Chiam's outlet at Serangoon Garden has been in business for two years, while his Jelita outlet was launched earlier this year.
One of the most expensive wines he stocks is a $15,000 Petrus 82. But no one has drunk it yet.
Mr Chiam said the most expensive bottle that has been bought and opened is 'a $2,000 bottle' from France.
CALL IN ADVANCE
'And of course, when you drink such an expensive bottle, you don't just come and order it. You call in advance and we plan a suitable menu for you, get a nice table for you, and so on.'
Besides, Mr Chiam added, the precious liquid - which can sometimes be older than the drinker himself - needs to be 'at the right temperature and placed in the right position such that the sediments in the wine settle to the bottom'.
Such is the care and preparation - and expectation - that comes with drinking a premium bottle of wine.
Mr Chiam himself has a large collection both for interest and investment which he keeps at the Friends outlets, wine fridges at home, a local bonded warehouse and even in the cellars of some French winemakers.
The 38-year-old feels that the 'growing affluence of the young as well as the rising economy' are some of the reasons that many drinkers have entered the premium market.
'There are also some health benefits from drinking red wine in moderation and more people are becoming aware of this,' he said.
It has been widely acknowledged in recent years that wine has a good amount of anti-oxidants.
Still, while retailers are happy with the increasing interest in wines, they pointed out that not all wine drinkers know what they're talking about.
Said Mr Chua Peng Yam, 44, the owner of Angel's Share, a wine and restrobar at Dempsey Hill: 'For some of the younger ones who don't yet have the experience from years of drinking, it's also about face.
'Sometimes, customers will ask for the most expensive bottle without knowing what it is and without seeing it.
'Obviously, they usually have some important people at their table. We would ask the customer again very politely and discreetly and will also show him the wine list.
'So far, they have all revised their choice to one that's half the price of the most expensive bottle.'
Angel's Share stocks 800 labels that range in price from $40 to $5,000 per bottle at their on-site cellar.
Very soon, they will also offer 50 wines by the glass - the price of which will range from $15 to $200 per glass.
Wine drinker and collector Mr Ang Chek Yong, 37, whose most expensive buy is a '$9,000 bottle', believes some of the expensive price tags are worth it because 'you tend to get quite attached to your wines'.
The business director said: 'Wine drinking is a discovery. The company you're with, the ambience, even the glassware is important.
'For those in the know, it's not entirely about the price only.'Mr Chua believes that for many wine drinkers, 'it's a consuming passion'.
'I mean, of course, there are people who drink the brand, but for many, it's about the story behind the drink, it's about sharing the drink with people you love and it's about the culture and history behind the drink.'
Still, he pointed out that 'it doesn't mean that a very expensive bottle will necessarily give you a better experience'.
Added Mr Chua, who has opened four-figure bottles himself: 'Opening an expensive bottle is very stressful. There's some pressure for it to be fantastic.'
Wine investment professionals expect the rising trend of premium drinkers to continue.
TREND CONTINUES
Mr Michael Lim from Equity Investments said: 'As long as the world economy is booming, there will be new millionaires and this translates to new premium drinkers, collectors and investors.'
The Business Times reported in June that $190.7 million of wine was imported into Singapore last year, compared to $155.7 million in 2005.
So, what's the most expensive vino in the world?
Mr Tan said the title is held by a bottle of 1787 Chateau Lafite which was sold 'at £105,000 ($320,000)' to Christopher Forbes at a Christie's auction in London in 1985.
It was added to the Forbes Collection.
The bottle's price was partly affected because it was initialed by Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States.
What about the most expensive bottle in Singapore?
Mr Tan said we may never know as 'it is extremely hard to know what labels the wine collectors hold in their cellars'.
And regardless of face or not, the collectors themselves are keeping mum for now.
Source: The Electric New Paper