Guest Post by Rachael at MoneySupermarket.Com

(Matthew): I have to be honest, when Rachael first approached us about writing this article, I knew nothing about wine insurance. I assumed that if something were to happen to my home everything in it would be covered under a standard policy. As Rachael explains, that isn’t necessarily true. Which reminded my of a day several years ago when I had thousands of dollars of equipment stolen out of my car only to have my insurance company say, “oh, your trunk isn’t included in your insurance unless you pay extra!” Well, I would hate for your wine collection not to be included and you lose out, so I’ll let Rachael take it from here….

(Rachael): There is no better feeling than kicking your shoes off at the end of the day and sitting down to a meal with a good bottle of wine. Many wine buffs not only splash out on good wines to match their dinner, but they’ll also collect vintages and fine wines that may get more valuable as time goes on. Some collections can total thousands, which is why it’s wise to make sure that your contents insurance policy covers your wine collection.

Some contents insurance policies will not cover your wine collection, especially if it is valuable. Read the fine print of your policy to see what is and what isn’t covered, and you can go from there. You may need to take out a separate policy for your wines,

First, you will need to add up the value your wine collection. This may be tricky, as wine can increase in value as time goes on, so you should probably do this annually. If you don’t feel confident enough to do this alone, hire an independent wine appraiser to value your collection for you. This will ensure an accurate valuation and you’ll have records to prove which wines you own and how much they’re worth. This will make it easy when it comes to giving a value as you’re applying for insurance.

One other thing you should do is keep the receipts of any wines you want to add to your collection, and keep them in a safe place. These could become useful should you need to make a claim.

How to store your wine collection

To make sure your wine collection stays in pristine condition and has more of a chance of gaining value, you should take time out to review the current way you store your wines. Here are some tips on how to store your wine…

• Where possible keep all wines away from sunlight. UV rays can damage the quality of the wine and can age it at a faster pace than normal. Exposure to sunlight can also damage the label, which is also an important factor in keeping its value. Keep all wine in a dark place where little light can get to it.
• Temperature can also damage wine quality, so beware of keeping wines anywhere near a heat source. Ideally, you should store you wine in between 12-16 degrees Celsius, but the important thing to be aware of is consistency. If temperature varies it can damage the quality of the wine.
• Keep your wine still. It’s tempting to take special bottles off the rack to have a quick look at them, but moving wines around can be harmful. Make sure you choose a storage option which lets you view your wines easily without moving them around too much. It’s also a good idea to keep your labels face up too, so you can clearly see each wine in the rack.
• Invest in a storage option which allows your wine to lay horizontally. This means the wine will be in contact with the cork which keeps the cork wet, meaning it won’t shrink and let any air in.
• Make sure the room which you store your wines has good ventilation. If you store them in a musty, moldy room which doesn’t get a lot of air, this can be carried through the cork through to the wine, and affect the taste.

These are just a few tips to keep your wine in optimum condition, which will hopefully ensure that you value will increase in time. Wine can be worth a lot of money, so make sure you insure your wines with a good home insurance policy to cover yourself in case the worst happens.