The Changing Wine Market: Why More Collectors Are Looking to Auction
By Sinéad Gormley · 4 min read · September 2026
For generations, wine collecting had a reputation for being a bit of a closed world.
The big châteaux of Bordeaux, the vineyards of Burgundy, vintage Champagne and old Port were familiar names, but buying and selling collectible wine often felt like something that happened elsewhere — in London, Paris, Hong Kong or New York, but that seems to be changing.
Today’s secondary wine market is increasingly international, increasingly accessible and, perhaps most importantly, attracting a much broader type of buyer.
Some are building enviable cellars and some are searching for a particular vintage. Others just want to open and enjoy something that may no longer be available in retail. This is exactly where auctions come in.
What are wine collectors buying?
Bordeaux and Burgundy remain at the heart of the international fine-wine market, but buying patterns, like in our sister whiskey business, often fluctuate. Burgundy has become an enormously important part of the global auction market, while Bordeaux has shown renewed strength. Champagne, Italian fine wine, Rhône, Port and wines from Spain and beyond are also attracting collectors looking outside the traditional headline names.
The market itself is also becoming more considered.
Rather than simply chasing whatever is rising fastest in price, buyers are paying closer attention to producer, vintage, provenance, condition and value. Older vintages in particular continue to generate interest where quality bottles with good provenance become increasingly difficult to find.
That makes auction particularly useful: you never quite know what will emerge from somebody else’s cellar. We are astounded almost every week by the emails we receive , maybe from a collector wanting to releases funds to purchase an upgrade bottle or two, or a family member given the task to detail and auction a loved ones estate after they have passed on.
What is happening in Ireland?
We are seeing all of the above here at Irish Wine Auctions.
Our first wine auctions have included everything from everyday drinking wines and Champagne to mature Bordeaux, vintage Port and important cellar collections.
Among previous results, a 12-bottle case of Château Léoville Las Cases 1982 sold for €4,500, while six bottles of Léoville Las Cases 2005 reached €1,300. Cases of Château Léoville Barton 1994 and Château Duhart-Milon 1989 each sold for €1,000.
At the other end of the scale, bottles and mixed cases have changed hands for €20, €30, €50 or €100. We love that too because a great wine auction should not just be for those big hitters alone, not really destined to be opened anytime soon, a great auction contains perhaps the bottles you have been searching years for or even just that very good bottle you intend to open on a Saturday night, or gift to that legend of a friend you must thank properly and uniquely.
Why sell wine at auction?
There are plenty of reasons a collection can change.
Cellars become too large. Tastes change. Collectors decide to specialise. Bottles are inherited. Restaurants or private collectors may decide that certain wines have reached the right moment to move on.
The important thing is having an established marketplace and an audience actively looking for them.
Irish Wine Auctions grew from the platform and infrastructure behind Irish Whiskey Auctions, which has spent the past eight years connecting buyers and sellers of collectible bottles in Ireland and around the world.
That experience matters when you are dealing with fragile, valuable and sometimes irreplaceable bottles. An important point to note is that by building a relationship with Irish Wine Auctions, you can buy from us and quickly and easily have that route to market whenever you need it.
It also means buyers and sellers can access an established auction system, experienced bottle handling and international shipping without having to send their collection overseas simply to reach an international audience.
And the fees?
This is perhaps one of the simplest differences.
Our buyer’s and seller’s commission is considerably lower than other auction houses, with the relevant fees and VAT clearly set out before you buy or sell.
For collectors accustomed to considerably larger premiums in the traditional auction world, those percentages can make a meaningful difference — particularly when buying or selling a collection rather than a single bottle.
The secondary wine market is becoming a little less intimidating and that can only be a good thing.
Wine does not have to be bought purely as an investment. Nor does every old bottle have to be worth thousands.
The secondary market is simply another way for bottles to find the right next owner.
Our third Irish Wine Auction of 2026 opens at 5pm on Wednesday, 23 September and begins to close from 7pm on Sunday, 27 September.
It is always worth having a browse-You may find something worth opening!
