RURAL BUSINESS
An enjoyable investment
Investment in wine has a certain self-explanatory advantage over investing in stocks and shares. Alasdair Crosby met Pedro Bento, wine consultant
‘W
ine flies when you’re having fun,’ as the old joke goes. And what better investment fun can there be than to invest in wine? But, as in all investment advice: ‘Caveat emptor’ – let the buyer beware. That is the sober advice from Pedro Bento, wine consultant. ‘Ultimately it is much easier not to purchase dubious wine in the first place. Performing due diligence before purchase is one of the primary services that a competent wine adviser can offer. ‘A buyer should know both the vendor and the provenance of the wine. If there is any doubt about either, it is better to forego the purchase. Although it might seem like a lost opportunity, it is usually the case that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.’ Pedro may be better known as the recently retired general manager of the Longueville Manor Hotel. Wine has always been a lifelong interest and passion. As a child he would help local winegrowers in the vineyards near his parents’ holiday home on the west coast of Portugal. Although he trained initially as an architectural draughtsman (in Oporto, a not unknown centre of wine production), after university he quickly turned to hospitality, training at the luxury Four Seasons Hotel in Lisbon. ‘I loved it,’ he said, ‘because I love wine and I love people. A friend advised me that because I had a great interest in both English and wines, I should go to England, so I could work with wines from all over the world.
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