Refers to wine sold before bottling as futures. Generally this practice is limited to investment wines.
A method of purchasing wine before it has been bottled. Payment (not including duty or VAT) is made generally a year or so before bottling (the exact time depends on the region. The wines most common offered en primeur are from Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhone Valley and Port, although many other regions, including some New World wineries, are following suit. Once the wine enters the UK, it may be stored in bond or, after payment of taxes, be delivered. There is an in-depth exploration of all the aspects of this method for purchasing wine, in five instalments, here: En Primeur.
(French) Refers to wine sold before bottling. A discount is usually applied as delivery can be some time after payment, and the wine is in effect purchased ‘sight unseen'.
Wines that are sold from a winery after fermentation but before aging are called 'futures' or 'en Primeur'. It is a common practice of many of the chateaux of Bordeaux to offer their wines for sale the first spring after the vintage. These wines are not delivered for at least 18-24 months while the wines are finished and aged in the winery. The advantage to the winery is that they get their money quickly rather than waiting two years before selling their wine. For a customer (retailer, restaurant or consumer) the advantage is that the prices are much lower than the final release prices and the odds of getting rare wines are much improved. If you choose to buy wines this way, be sure you are dealing with a very well established merchant. You will need to pay some or all of the price of the wine on confirmation of the sale and will not get your wine for 1 1/2 to 2 years.
A French phrase for a mostly English practice of buying, (ex duty and shipping) part of the most recent vintage some one or two years before the wine is shipped and bottled. Originally wines were only bought this way from Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhone, but other areas are now following suit including parts of the New World.
(french): The system whereby each spring,following the vintage, the Chateaux of bordeaux reveal the opening prices of their new wines. Customers pay in advance for these wines through wine merchants and take delivery of them after bottling some 18 months later. this method ensures that customers get the wines that they want, and almost always at the most advantageous prices. Prices rarely fall after the opening offer.
French term for buying wine as "futures": paying for wine before it is released onto the market in order to secure wines that are in short supply, or at an advantageous price. Not for the faint-hearted.
(Sometimes referred to as Wine Futures). When wines are purchased after the harvest but before bottling. The en primeur campaign for Bordeaux usually begins in the Spring of the year following the harvest and wines are shipped to the UK two years later.