What Bordeaux Index, Fine Wines & Spirits does

Bordeaux Index, Fine Wines & Spirits is a London-headquartered private merchant founded in 1997 that operates as a vertically integrated e-commerce and trading platform for fine wines and premium spirits, serving wine collectors, alternative-asset investors, and wine trade professionals. Its core product, LiveTrade, is described as the world's first online wine trading platform offering firm, transparent bid and offer prices 24 hours a day across thousands of wines; this is supplemented by a classical direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront for fine wine and spirits, an En Primeur programme for pre-release allocations (with the 2025 campaign prominently featured), and a full secondary-market services stack comprising broking, professional storage (£14.50 annually per 12-bottle case, ex. VAT), and investment advisory. Platforms are supported by APIs and a Developer Hub intended to enable programmatic and third-party trading integration.

The company's go-to-market blends self-serve online purchasing with a phone-based sales motion across three offices (London HQ, Hong Kong, and Singapore) and accepts seven currencies (GBP, CHF, EUR, HKD, JPY, SGD, USD). Revenue is generated across four streams: (1) transactional margins on retail fine-wine and spirits sales, (2) spreads and transaction fees on the LiveTrade marketplace, (3) recurring subscription-style fees from cellar management and storage, and (4) professional services revenue from brokerage and investment advisory. Customer segments are explicitly horizontal: hobbyist and serious collectors, wine-as-alternative-asset investors, and merchants/trade professionals seeking global distribution for inventory. Strategic positioning combines an extensive featured-producer catalogue (First Growth Bordeaux, Grand Cru Burgundy, vintage Champagne, Super Tuscans, plus a dedicated spirits roster including Macallan, Balvenie and Highland Park) with proprietary trading infrastructure that the company identifies as its key differentiator. Market colour from 2025 indicates a tentative stabilisation in fine-wine prices after earlier-year lows, with notable price increases at the top end (Lafite Rothschild +55%, DRC +35%, Latour +34% in the top-traded segment).

Name

Bordeaux Index, Fine Wines & Spirits

Legal name

Bordeaux Index Ltd

Website

https://bordeauxindex.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Bordeaux Index is a London-based private merchant (founded 1997) operating a fine-wine and premium-spirits e-commerce platform, the proprietary LiveTrade two-way trading marketplace, an En Primeur allocation programme, and professional storage and brokerage services for collectors, investors, and trade professionals across the UK, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Wine Retail & Trading

NAICS

Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (4453), Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (424820)

SIC

Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Fine Wine & Luxury Spirits Retail (CRANABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Premium, Rare & Collectible Alcohol Retail (Fine Wine/Spirits) (CRANAAAJ), Alcohol Subscription & Wine Clubs (Retail) (CRANABAF), Mixed Alcohol Specialty Retail (Beer/Wine/Spirits Combined) (CRANABAH)

Keywords

• Fine wine trading
• Wine e-commerce
• Wine brokerage services
• Wine storage services
• En primeur wines

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Wine and Spirits Sales: Direct sales of fine wines and spirits through their e-commerce platform. Revenue generated from the margin between buy and sell prices.
2. LiveTrade Trading Platform: Transaction fees and spreads on the LiveTrade marketplace where wines are bought and sold instantly between buyers and sellers.
3. Storage Services: Cellar management and storage services charged at £14.50 annually per 12 bottle case (excluding VAT).
4. Brokerage and Investment Services: Broking services for wine transactions and investment advisory services for collectors building portfolios.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bordeaux Index is a global fine wine and spirits merchant that sells curated inventory of rare and investment-grade wines and spirits via an e-commerce storefront, the proprietary LiveTrade two-way trading platform, and an En Primeur programme. It complements these sales channels with cellar management (My Portfolio), bonded storage, broking, and wine investment advisory services for collectors, investors, and trade professionals.

Product overview

Bordeaux Index operates a platform-plus-services model centred on three core pillars: a fine wine and spirits e-commerce store (Fine Wine and Spirits), an online trading marketplace (LiveTrade), and an En Primeur programme for early-release wines. Supporting these are portfolio management tools (My Portfolio), storage, broking, and investment advisory services. The LiveTrade platform distinguishes the offering with real-time pricing and APIs for programmatic trading, while the En Primeur programme provides early access to highly anticipated vintages. The portfolio management system offers integrated cellar valuations and value tracking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LiveTrade: Award-winning two-way online trading platform for instant fine wine trading
• LiveTrade+
• My Portfolio
• En Primeur

Products and services

• LiveTrade Two-way online trading platform providing transparent, real-time bid and offer pricing on thousands of fine wines, enabling instant buying and selling for collectors and investors.
• Fine Wine Retail Direct retail of fine and rare wines sourced from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Italy, Spain, USA, Germany, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, targeting collectors and enthusiasts.
• Fine Spirits Retail Retail of premium and rare spirits from leading distillers across multiple categories (whisky, tequila, gin, rum, cognac) for collectors and enthusiasts.
• En Primeur Wine futures programme enabling collectors and investors to purchase upcoming vintages (e.g., Bordeaux 2016, 2025) directly from châteaux at release prices, with tastings and winemaker visits.
• Storage Bonded wine storage service with world-class preservation conditions, charged annually per case, designed for collectors and investors holding purchased inventory.
• Broking Brokerage service that matches buyers and sellers of fine wine, leveraging a global collector base and trade network to facilitate transactions.
• Investment Advisory Investment advisory service guiding clients on building wine collections for consumption or as an alternative-asset investment, supported by brokerage execution.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fine wine prices stabilised on Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne after hitting lows earlier in 2025, with higher year-on-year turnover for certain producers' wines in the first three quarters
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Liv-ex: Liv-ex operates the leading global electronic trading platform for fine wine, offering live bid/ask pricing, market data, and settlement services. It is the closest functional competitor to Bordeaux Index's LiveTrade, competing head-to-head for institutional and collector trading liquidity.
• Justerini & Brooks: A long-standing UK fine wine merchant offering cellar planning, broking, and investment services to private clients and institutions. The business model, customer base, and product focus closely mirror Bordeaux Index's private client division.
• Hedonism Wines: A London-based fine wine and spirits retailer offering an expansive premium catalogue alongside storage and cellar advisory services. Competes with Bordeaux Index for the same London-based collector and gift market.
• Berry Bros. & Rudd: Britain's most historic fine wine merchant, combining e-commerce retail, broking, cellaring, and investment services in a directly comparable stack to Bordeaux Index. It is one of the most established UK rivals for fine wine collectors and investors.
• Lay & Wheeler: A UK-based fine wine merchant offering retail, broking, and storage services to collectors and investors. Comparable to Bordeaux Index in both product mix and target customer segments.
• Corney & Barrow: A long-established UK fine wine merchant offering retail, brokerage, and cellar management services to private and corporate clients. A close functional peer within the UK market.

Broad incumbents

• Sotheby's Wine: The wine division of global auction house Sotheby's, conducting live and online auctions for fine and rare wines globally. Competes with Bordeaux Index for high-value fine wine transactions, particularly in Hong Kong.
• Christie's wine auctions: Christie's operates an established fine and rare wine auction programme with global reach, providing an alternative secondary-market venue for Bordeaux Index's most valuable transactional inventory.
• Acker Merrall & Condit: A US-based leading wine auction house and merchant with both auction and retail/wholesale channels. Comparable as a competing secondary-market venue for fine wine trading and investment-grade buyers.

Emerging players

• The Whisky Exchange: A specialist fine spirits retailer with online marketplace dynamics, curated premium inventory, and an active secondary buy/sell community. Comparable to Bordeaux Index on the spirits side of its business, including whisky and other premium categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/bordeauxindex
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bordeaux-index

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bordeaux Index, Fine Wines & Spirits