You might not feel like drinking fine wine in these straitened times but, if you have the cash, it could be worth investing in a few bottles anyhow. Fine wine is slowly returning to form as an investment class and auction houses are seeing increasing numbers of buyers who are willing to pay top dollar for the best vintages.

Although the latest figures from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine show that global wine consumption fell by 0.8 per cent last year - the first fall since 2004 - people are still keen to invest in wine. A bottle of 1928 Krug recently fetched £14,300 at auction, the most ever paid for a bottle of champagne. James Reed, a director in the wine department at Sotheby's, the auction house, said: “We have had two sales this year in February and March and both were roaring successes. It is not just a case of 98-99per cent selling, often the hammer price was towards the top or even above top estimate. Both times the sale room was very busy with active bidders, often new bidders.”

This has been triggered by several factors, he explains. Wine is still seen as an attractive alternative investment that is less volatile than other markets; sterling is weak although optimists believe it will gain against the euro soon; people want to buy at the bottom of the market and “there is a shortage of stock, so people jump on what there is”.

Fine wine has been an alternative investment success story - for example, you could have bought a case of Château Lafite Rothschild 1982 when it was first released (in 1983) for £250 and sold it last year for £20,000.

But although the credit crunch was slow to hit the wine market, it did hit, and between October and December there was a sharp fall in fine wine prices. Which might explain why buyers are returning to the market quicker than sellers. Justin Gibbs, a co-founder of Liv-ex.com, the fine wine exchange, says that the market fell 22.4per cent between June and December last year. However it has now risen 1.2per cent with prices for top vintages, from 2000 and 2005, up 5 to 10 per cent this year.

Overall, though the number of transactions has risen sharply, their value has fallen as wine merchants are buying smaller volumes to fulfil orders for private buyers rather than taking positions themselves. He says that full confidence will not be restored until merchants start buying and stocking again.

The investment market tends to focus on the top vintages (2005, 2000, 1996, 1990 and 1982) of the five first growths (premier cru) from Bordeaux: Château Latour, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion and Château Mouton Rothschild and a few Burgundies, particularly Domaine de la Romanee Conti.

Over the medium to long term, the price of these wines tends to rise as supplies are depleted and demand increases - as more people from places such as Russia, China and India develop a taste for wine. For instance, a case of 1990 Château Lynch-Bages from Bordeaux cost £120 when it was released but is valued at £1,400 today.

Simon Staples, the sales and marketing director at Berry Bros & Rudd, the wine merchant, says that investors can still make money from wine but warns that newcomers need at least £10,000 “to register on the wine merchants' radars”. As an added incentive as long as the wine stays in the warehouse it is exempt from duty and VAT; it is also exempt from capital gains tax.

But if you are tempted to start investing in these liquid assets you will find you are not alone. Mr Staples says: “Usually I would expect 20 new buyers a month to sign up to direct debt plans [cellar plans] to invest in wine but in February this figure rose to 101 and in March there were 52 new investors. The credit crunch means people don't know what else to do with their money. They are interested in alternatives and looking to diversify.”

Apart from spare cash, would-be wine investors need patience. “You need a lot of patience; for a Bordeaux you are looking at an average wait of ten to fifteen years and seven to ten on a Burgundy,” Mr Staples explains.

It's not all about the money though. Most regular investors enjoy a tipple or two. “Often people stock their cellars for both buying and drinking: say 70per cent for investment and 30per cent for drinking. Or buying five cases at a time - three for investment and two for drinking,” says Mr Staples.

“Even the most hard nosed investors end up drinking some of it.”

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