The name is Bond. In- Bond

A visit to the bonded warehouse 

For one's first trip out of lockdown, visiting a giant refrigerator filled with wooden boxes as far as the eye can see might not be the average person’s first choice.

But when these wooden boxes - over 98,000 crates in fact - are filled with the most premium and sought after wines in the world, all being refrigerated in a best-in-class wine cellar and authentication facility, I couldn't wait to walk the halls of the Vine International Warehouse. This is one of the UK warehouses that Vinovest partners with to store our clients’ wines - worth tens of millions of dollars - and so I saw excitement and value in experiencing first hand how Vinovest clients’ wines are secured in this world-class facility. 

I’m based in London. Lucky for me, the Vine International Warehouse in Tilbury Docks (Essex) was less than 1 hour’s drive away. As soon as I arrived in the Port of Tilbury, I entered the Duty & VAT free zone. The wines are held in a bonded warehouse within the Port, approved by HM Customs & Excise (UK Government) and as long as they remain stored in the bonded warehouse, the Duty and VAT is deferred. This is a huge fiscal benefit when Vinovest clients are buying large amounts of expensive fine wines.

Walking into the warehouse I was met first by the cold temperature, then by Joe, Vine’s Warehouse Manager. Temperature is critical for wine storage and Vine International keeps the temperature at a constant 12-16 degrees celsius - anything higher than 20 degrees is potentially harmful to the wine.

The warmer the storage conditions, the faster a wine is likely to age. Humidity is also tightly controlled at the warehouse - if the wine is stored too dry for several years, the corks can dry out and stop being an effective seal. Too damp and this can also damage the labels and will make wine more difficult to resell. Proper air quality, lighting & protection from vibration is also managed carefully to avoid affecting the taste of the wine. 

Having worked at the warehouse for over 13 years, Joe’s familiarity with the wines, the attention to detail taken to guarantee the storage conditions and the logistics behind receiving and delivering shipments was evident. So, I eagerly rose to the challenge when he asked me to spot the fake between these two Super Tuscan Tignanello’s:

Under my scrutinous eye, I felt the paper density of the label was a little thin on the left wine, the gold crest could be sharper and the red circle colour could be richer. 

With bated breath (and my ego at stake), Joe revealed the left was indeed the fake. But the reveal I was more taken back by was the authentication equipment used to analyse and measure each of those faulty characteristics of the wine - which truly is state of the art:

Firstly, all cases that meet Vine’s minimum purchase cost threshold are opened and every bottle in the case is individually inspected and validated. 

The team of experts’ authentication checks included: 

1. The density, aging  and coloring of the wine label paper

• UV lighting and scanners are used to identify specific markings and impressions of the wine label that is unique to every producer and often, each vintage 
• The coverage of the gold leaf used on label, such as the crest or signatures on bottles
• An ultra zoom camera (that can zoom in 400X times) to inspect the quality of the printing of the label 
• Branding of the cork 

2. Wines that cannot be authenticated are removed from the case and Vine notifies the supplier. Vine may also present bottles to be further inspected by its committee of experts and where necessary, liaise with the producers directly to confirm its authenticity.

3. High resolution photos are taken of the authenticated bottles and cases of wine so Vinovest can view the condition of each of our client’s bottles.

Only wines in perfect condition are accepted, and they receive the Vine Seal to show they are compliant with Liv-ex standards. Every case of wine held at Vine International is labelled with Vine’s unique rotation number. This is the number that also corresponds to the owner’s name and ownership certificate that Vinovest issues to our clients and so working with Vine’s systems, we can ensure end-to-end control on the ownership of the wine which is clearly understood to be that of our clients, not Vine International or Vinovest. 

I was able to shadow the warehouse team as they finished inspecting an order, gave the case the Vine Seal of approval and organised the logistics of designating the correct section of the warehouse for the case to be stored long term. 

Each warehouse is color coded by client and country and of course, I had to say hello to the wines under Vinovest’s management (in the Orange section) and make sure they’re all sleeping safe and sound…I’m pleased to report that they are!

It is clear that Vine takes great pride in ensuring the safety and authenticity of the wine under their care. This has earned them the recognition as one of the industry’s leading specialist wine storage providers. Beyond storage, insurance is also taken very seriously. Every wine that is stored in the warehouse is insured by an external insurance agency, so Vinovest clients can also rest assured that their wine is insured at full-replacement value.

Vine Warehouse’s attention to detail matches our commitment to ensuring the wines we manage on our clients’ behalf are safe and protected. Servings Vinovest clients and being a wine enthusiast myself, this visit was truly a rewarding one in allowing me to see the full cycle of fine wine cellarage in action and being able to share this experience with our Vinovest family.