12 Famous Wine Collectors And The Largest Wine Collections

Who has the most expensive wine collection in the world?

Wine collectors are generally considered to be wealthy, famous, and flamboyant. But, there are also a few of them who keep a low profile.

Let’s discover who the most famous wine collectors are, and how they’ve turned their love for wine into a fantastic investment opportunity - so you, as a wine enthusiast, can draw inspiration from it. 

We’ll also explore the world’s largest wine cellar locations and the most expensive wine bottles ever sold. We’ll also share a few tips on starting your fine wine collection and how Vinovest can help you collect wine, easily. 

12 Famous Wine Collectors

Let’s take a look at the world’s finest wine collectors and what makes them stand out:

1. Hardy Rodenstock
2. Bill Koch
3. Thomas Jefferson
4. Gene Mulvihill
5. Andrew Lloyd Webber
6. Alex Ferguson
7. Michel Jack Chasseuil
8. Leslie Rudd
9. Yul Brynner
10. Doris Duke
11. Charlie Trotter
12. Rudy Kurniawan

1. Hardy Rodenstock

Hardy Rodenstock (1941-2018) was a German wine connoisseur, trader, and collector of old and rare wines. He grew popular for two reasons: he had a knack for tracking down rare wines, and he threw extravagant wine tasting parties in the 1980s. 

In 1985, he discovered over a dozen 18th-century wine bottles (known as the Jefferson bottles.) One of them was a 1787 Château Lafite Rothschild engraved with “Th:J,” believed to have belonged to Thomas Jefferson. He sold this to Bill Koch for $156,000 at an auction. 

However, there’s an ongoing debate as to the bottle’s authenticity. Author Benjamin Wallace even turned it into a bestselling book, The Billionaire’s Vinegar, also slated to become a movie.

2. Bill Koch

Bill Koch is a US billionaire businessman, wine collector, and sailor. He was involved in many counterfeit wine lawsuits, one of which was against Hardy Rodenstock over the sale of the alleged Jefferson bottle. 

Bill Koch has also had lawsuits against Rudy Kurniawan and Acker, Merrall & Condit auction house who set up the sale. He claimed that he bought over 200 fake wine bottles in 2005-2006 from the auction house and has claimed damages of $4,200,000!

At a 2016 Sotheby’s auction in New York, he sold a selection of expensive wines for $22,000,000. Among these were 10 bottles of 1945 Château Mouton-Rothschild that fetched $343,000. 

3. Thomas Jefferson

The founding father and third president of the United States of America was a massive wine enthusiast. He is considered to be America’s first wine connoisseur. 

His passion and education for wine likely came about when he studied law and lived with statesman and lawyer George Wythe (who was a huge fan of European fine wine.) 

Jefferson eventually created his own wine cellar and spent about five years living in Paris, immersing himself in the French wine world, exploring wine estates in Burgundy, Bordeaux, Languedoc, and Provence.

Before he became president, Jefferson was George Washington’s wine advisor and buyer and stocked Washington's cellars with Champagne and Bordeaux wine bottles. 

4. Gene Mulvihill

Gene Mulvihill is the owner of Restaurant Latour, New Jersey (Wine Spectator Grand Award winner) and has one of the world’s largest collections of wine — an incredible 135,000 bottles!

Mulvihill’s handpicked bottles include:

• 100 vintages (1863-2009) of Chateau Latour
• Vertical selections of Château Lafite Rothschild, Ausone, Haut Brion, Cheval Blanc, Margaux, and Petrus. 

He displays his impressive wine collection at his fine-dining restaurant in New Jersey, and there are a couple of ways you can explore it:

• Dine at Restaurant Latour: You can pour over two wine list binders (White Wine & Champagne and Red Wine & Port) from the private cellar collection when you dine there. 

Best part? A master sommelier is always on hand for assistance! 

• Tour the nine-room cellar: The vast wine cellar space is open for any wine lover to tour. 

5. Andrew Lloyd Webber

Celebrated English composer and impresario of musical theatre, Andrew Lloyd Webber is a big wine collector. 

Webber developed his passion for wine after being influenced by his aunt’s and uncle’s passion for Italian wine. When he was about 10-years-old, he tasted Barolo wine, and by the time he was 15-years-old, he considered himself a wine collector. When Webber was 16, he tasted a 1961 Chateau Palmer wine for the first time.

In 2011, Webber sold 8,837 French wine bottles at an auction in China, earning about $5,600,000. He keeps his portfolio of fine, rare wines in state-of-the-art cellars at his home in Hampshire. 

6. Alex Ferguson

The former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, is also a famous wine collector.

In 2014, he sold about 5,000 fine wine bottles from his extensive collection at three charity auctions organized by Christie’s. 

Two of the auctions, one in Hong Kong and the other in London, fetched $3,799,365 and $1,496,200, respectively. 

7. Michel Jack Chasseuil

Frenchman Michel Jack Chasseuil is one of the most prominent wine collectors in the world. He has amassed about 50,000 French wine bottles. 

He has spent over 50 years building this incredible collection he calls the "Louvre of wine." His wine adventures are described in his book, 100 Vintage Treasures: From The World’s Finest Wine Cellar.

His wine collection is so sought-after that in 2014, he made news when intruders entered his home, held him at gunpoint, and demanded access to his wine cellar. 

Chasseuil’s underground cellar is protected by armored doors, so the intruders couldn’t break into it. However, they did make away with 15 cases of second-rate wine. 

Chasseuil is expected to open up his 3,700-square foot wine cellar for tours for $600 a visit. His cellar includes a lobby, cafe, and tasting room.

8. Leslie Rudd

Leslie Rudd (1941-2018) was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and vintner. He founded The Rudd Group, a portfolio of luxury businesses in the food and wine industries, one of which is PRESS Restaurant in Napa Valley. 

He displayed over 10,000 rare and older wines entirely from Napa Valley wineries at PRESS. The restaurant is considered to house the most extensive collection of Napa wines in the world. 

9. Yul Brynner

Yul Brynner (1920-1985) was a famed Russian, French, Swiss, and American singer, actor, and director. He was also an avid wine collector. 

He meticulously managed his wine collection at his French estate — Le Manoir de Cricquebeuf in Normandy. Many of his fine wine bottles were vintages from 1959 to 1979. 

Fun fact: Brynner enjoyed a glass of his fine wines after every theatre performance. He got it decanted during the second act, so it was ready to drink after the curtain dropped. 

10. Doris Duke

Doris Duke (1912-1993) was a billionaire tobacco heiress, art collector, horticulturist, philanthropist, and wine collector.

She had two cellars (at two of her homes) in Hawaii and New Jersey. Her cellar in Hawaii held fine wine for entertaining, while her New Jersey cellar held her most prized wine bottles.

Christie’s auction house sold her collection in 2004 for an incredible $3,755,700. 

11. Charlie Trotter 

Charlie Trotter (1959-2013) was an American chef, restaurant owner, and fine wine collector. 

He kept his rare wine collection at his two-Michelin-starred Chicago restaurant called Charlie Trotter’s (open from 1987 to 2012.) 

His philosophy was that wine and food shouldn’t only complement but inspire each other. He would modify the dishes to suit the wine styles his guests ordered.

12. Rudy Kurniawan

Rudy Kurniawan is perhaps the most infamous wine collector and connoisseur globally. In 2014, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of wine fraud. 

He conned many wealthy wine collectors for millions of dollars by selling counterfeit wine that he whipped up in his kitchen!

One of his customers was vineyard owner Laurent Ponsot who decided to do his own digging when something felt amiss. He unearthed Rudy’s mystery supply chain and helped bring the scam to a halt. 

Rudy Kurniawan and his wine fraud inspired the 2016 documentary movie Sour Grapes. 

Now, let’s explore a few of the largest wine cellar collections in the world.

5 Of The World’s Largest Wine Cellar Collections

Some of the world’s largest wine collections are stored and displayed in iconic locations. Let’s take a look:

1. Milestii Mici
2. Bern’s Steakhouse
3. The Graycliff Hotel
4. Cellars of Cricova
5. Bodega 1860 

1. Milestii Mici

Milestii Mici is a wine producer founded in 1969 in Moldova. The winery has a tremendous wine collection at a staggering 2,000,000 bottles! 

In 2005, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized this collection as the world’s most extensive cellar by the number of bottles. 

The cellar spans 34 miles and is open for wine lovers to check out via car.

2. Bern’s Steakhouse

Bern’s Steakhouse is a Wine Enthusiast’s Restaurant Hall of Fame member. It was founded in 1956 in Tampa and houses about 750,000 wine bottles, mainly from France and California. 

If you’re dining there, you can choose a glass of wine from over 200 options to pair with the delicious food. 

3. The Graycliff Hotel

The 18th century Graycliff Hotel in the Bahamas holds over 275,000 bottles of wine from 500 producers and 18 countries amassed by Italian hotelier Enrico Garzaroli. The collection is estimated to be about $25,000,000. 

It’s home to the oldest drinkable wine in the world, the priceless 1727 Bremer Ratskeller Rudesheimer Apostelwein. 

The cellar was originally a jail during the American Civil War, and you can still see the prison bars today. 

The wine list at the Graycliff’s restaurant is 120 pages long and includes bottle sizes going up to 20 liters. For a $1,000 fee, wine lovers can enjoy their dinner in the cellars. 

4. Cellars of Cricova 

The wine cellars in the Cricova winery in Moldova hold an incredible 1,300,000 rare wines. The cellars span 120 km in tunnels dug during the 15th century.

The winery uses half of the underground area for storing wines, called the National Oenotheque. The other half contains the winery’s tasting rooms, warehouses, and other facilities.

The oldest (and rarest) bottle is an unusual bottle of red dessert wine — the 1902 Easter Jerusalem. 

Many celebrities, politicians, and wine collectors (like Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, and John Kerry) have their own special collections stored in the cellars of Cricova. 

5. Bodega 1860

The Bodega 1860 winery in Spain had a collection of 129,000 bottles that goes back to the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

You can tour the collection, but unless you’re a VIP (including a local politician or religious leader), you won’t be able to taste or buy any of the wines.

Now let’s look at some of the most expensive wine bottles ever sold.

The Most Expensive Wines Ever Sold From Wine Collections

Here are the most expensive wine bottles sold from wine collections:

• 2019 The Setting Glass Slipper Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon - Methuselah Bottle: This Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignonwine bottle sold for $1,000,000 at an auction in November 2021. The proceeds of this red wine went to a charity of American chef Emeril Lagasse.
• 1811 Chateau d'Yquem: This sweet white wine bottle received an outstanding 100 points from Robert Parker and Wine Spectator. The former even described it as one of the greatest wines in Bordeaux’s history.

The bottle was purchased for $117,000 by Christian Vanneque, restauranteur and former master sommelier of La Tour d'Argent. The bottle is currently displayed in a bulletproof and temperature-controlled showcase at his restaurant, SIP Sunset Grill in Bali.

• 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc - Imperial Bottle: Hailed as one of the greatest Bordeaux wine bottles, this incredible one-of-a-kind Imperial vintage bottle fetched a whopping $304,375 at Christie’s auction in 2010.
• 1907 Heidsieck & Co Monopole Gout Americain Brut: This Heidsieck wine bottle was part of a rescued 2000-bottle fine wine collection from a yacht that was sunken during World War I. It sold for $273,000 at a 2016 Bonhams auction.
• 1945 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti Grand Cru: The renowned Domaine de la Romanee-Conti estate produced only 600 bottles of this marvelous vintage. This bottle was sold at a 2018 Sotheby’s auction in New York to Robert Drouhin for a jaw-dropping $558,000.

Now that you’ve explored some of the most incredible wine collections in the world and seen how much an iconic fine wine vintage can fetch, let’s not stop there. 

Investing in wine is a fantastic source of diversification, so to help you get started on your own wine investment journey, we’ve compiled our best tips on collecting wine. 

6 Tips On How To Collect Wine

Starting your own wine collection can feel daunting. 

But these tips should help ease the load:

1. Build A Collection Through A Reliable Wine Investment Company
2. Invest In Wine You’re Passionate About
3. Select Wines That Will Evolve Slowly
4. Aim For A Good Mix Of Wines
5. Stay Up-To-Date With The Wine World
6. Watch The Auctions For Great Steals

1. Build A Collection Through A Reliable Wine Investment Company

Vinovest is a wine investment company that offers a hassle-free way to build a portfolio of fine and rare wines with just a few mouse clicks - even if you are a complete beginner! 

Vinovest will: 

• Curate a collection based on your budget and wine preferences, so you don’t need extensive knowledge of wine to get started. 
• Store your fine wines in temperature, humidity, and vibration-controlled bonded warehouses.
• Sell your wines to the highest-paying buyer. 
• Get your fine wine bottle cases delivered safely to you or your buyer, no matter the location. 

2. Invest In Wine You’re Passionate About

When deciding which fine wines to add to your portfolio, choose the wine styles and labels you’d love to drink yourself, even if you plan to resell them later.

3. Select Wines That Will Evolve Slowly

Great fine wine will evolve slowly, developing deeper complexities and nuances over time. So, make sure you pick age-worthy bottles from renowned producers. 

4. Aim For A Good Mix Of Wines

You don’t have to have a portfolio filled with high-end, exquisite wines. Instead, opt for a mix of good-value wines from popular wine producers and upcoming wine regions as well.

5. Stay Up-To-Date With The Wine World

Consume a lot of fine wine-related content, including information on the different wine regions, grapes, wine styles, and tasting notes. 

You can read wine investment blogs, digital articles, watch videos, and subscribe to newsletters from wine investment websites.

6. Watch The Auctions For Great Steals

Wine auctions are a great way to find fine wines for good prices. Just be mindful of the addition of the buyer’s premium (usually about 10%) when bidding or buying. 

Get Inspired By The Best Wine Collectors To Start Your Own Collection

With age, an exquisite wine bottle only gets better (in value and flavor), making it a lucrative alternative investment option. It’s why many serious wine collectors, buy wine - to sell it at a higher price later. 

Are you excited to start your own wine collection? Head over to the Vinovest website to start building a winning wine portfolio today!