The Vineyards-Bordeaux story

The Vineyards-Bordeaux Story

Vineyards-Bordeaux: Turning expectations into reality

Vineyards-Bordeaux are specialist investment advisors focused on vineyard transactions with headquarters near St. Emilion at the heart of the Entre-deux-Mers wine area. The company came into being in 2008 to address a market where, all too often, deals fall through while negotiating the multiple obstacles in a long, complex process. The team’s mission was, and still is, to work with both sellers and would-be buyers to build a consensus that would achieve a smooth change of ownership. A challenge; but central to our role.

The Vineyards-Bordeaux method

In the winery and vineyard investment field problems arise when a client has an expectation that is significantly different from the reality of the vineyard they purchase. Equally, where expectations and reality are very close or the same, there will be no problem. This is the objective that the team at Vineyards Bordeaux invests its efforts to achieve.

The most successful vineyard transactions start with a conversation about strategy with a Vineyards-Bordeaux team member able to provide credible expertise and intimacy with the market that they represent. At the same time, they will explain the myriad steps that need to be navigated to a successful investment purchase.

Each year, Vineyards-Bordeaux helps hundreds of investors learn the ins and outs of vineyard transactions. Almost without fail our first question relates to the investor’s strategy. Years of experience has shown us that it is common for buying clients to have a love – or even a passion – for wine. The qualified vineyard transaction manager will reveal the wider aspects of the wine industry ensuring that their clients have a command of the strategic choices leading to the best decision for the scale, location, market position, legal structures, financial accounting, agricultural practices, cultural sensitivities and valuation.

So, why are we your best choice?

Project management

While a real estate agent will act primarily as a broker between two interested parties seeking a purchase and sale of property, Vineyards-Bordeaux, however, are project managers of an entire transaction process, which in some cases will take many months. Like project managers from other industries, Vineyards-Bordeaux have a depth of knowledge necessary for understanding the transaction process and guiding the various experts needed by their investor clients. This enables the buyer to investigate sufficiently to make an offer and have the confidence to start investing their money in a due diligence process.

For example, Vineyards-Bordeaux will not perform an audit of the accounts, a risk review of employment contracts, soils analysis, a regulatory audit or winery air test. However, as part of the transaction management process they will recommend the appropriate experts to complete these tasks at correct level of detail and at the most appropriate moment of the process. Every aspect needs to be understood and negotiated to ensure that clients make well informed decisions. For larger mergers and acquisition transactions we may represent either the buyer or seller side.

However, for transactions under 10 million Euros it is common for Vineyards-Bordeaux to act for both the vendor and the buyer. In the first instance, collecting all the necessary information together to produce a file which can be presented to a potential buyer, with the utmost discretion, as well as guiding and reassuring the vendor through the process as for many vendors this will be the single most important sale of their lives. Then, for the buyer side of the transaction, providing all the information and explaining all the intricacies of the process, the necessary controls and documentation and advising them on all aspects of their project, solving any problems along the way with creative ideas.

The company’s goal is not to sell you a vineyard and winery, but rather to share the depths of our knowledge such that you are able to choose the best project that fits your strategy as precisely as possible. The gap between your expectations and the reality will then be closed to a minimum and we will have done our main job.

Following through

Some vineyard deals involve members of the previous owner’s management team running the vine cultivation and wine production side of the business on behalf of a new owner. If there is no such expertise in place, Vineyards-Bordeaux is able to provide a unique follow-through service for owners who need support with the technicalities. This takes the form of English speaking management teams of specialists which we can provide to ensure a seamless continuity of operation.

View our portfolio

Our focus is to ensure that you have confidence in the expertise which has led us to be the market leaders for the number of vineyard transactions completed in Bordeaux each year. Although we cannot reveal all of our historic transactions due to confidentiality, we do invite you to look us up, and find out what we have done and the depth of our commitment to the industry.

To start with, please view our selection of Bordeaux vineyards for sale, ranging from a remarkable hobby vineyard to much larger commercial enterprises, mostly under 5 million Euros. For our discreet listing please contact us directly with your criteria.

Successful vineyard transactions are not just about sourcing the right estate, they are about selecting the appropriate team who will interpret the nuances, recognise the opportunities and generate investment value. In a small market like Bordeaux, reputation is paramount. We open the right doors and select the right team leading the transaction from start to finish.

Karin MaxwellCo-founder & Executive Partner

Compassion International is Vineyards-Bordeaux’s preferred charity. Learn more here.