In Burgundy, $10 Million Gets You One Acre

One acre in the Côte de Beaune’s storied mecca of chardonnay, Bâtard-Montrachet, will cost you a cool $10 million. That’s one acre and less than a half-hectare for the Euros out there. Over at Dr.Vino, Alex Gambal, who left a lucrative career in real estate to become one of the only American winemakers in Burgundy, explains that “It’s a way to preserve capital…You’re buying Treasury bonds today at 2%. What would you rather buy, US treasury bonds or a piece of a grand cru in Burgundy where you’re getting 1%–and the dividend is bottles of wine! So it’s not a bad deal!” I’m obviously not a banker, but this seems to run perpendicular to the accepted joke-mantra of wine business: “If you want to make a small fortune in the wine business, start with a large one.” In this case, it’s at least $10 million large. [Dr. Vino]