If any country is associated with wine, it would be France. France is famous throughout the world for producing the finest, most sophisticated wines.

French wines are the standard that all other wines are inevitably compared against. From the classy and sophisticated wines of the Bordeaux Châteaux, to the delicate and sensuous country wines of Burgundy, to the classical bubbly of Champagne, France, more than any other country, defines what we know of as wine.

Just as your first stock market investments are likely to be FTSE 100 companies, your first wine investments should be Bordeaux. This is the seat of the finest red wines and has a track record for bottling the most outstanding produce.

Red Bordeaux should make up the bulk of your portfolio because it has a history of increasing in value. Bordeaux represents the lion’s share of the wine investment market and should be the majority holding in any portfolio. Speculating on an Australian Chardonnay, however, is unlikely to earn you much money as France still dominates the fine wine league table.

A great wine can never become worthless. If the worst comes to the worst you can always drink it. You will never get drunk on a share certificate!