A "wine fund broker"? After watching the episode where Aramaki and the Major go to the UK, I found myself interested in the occupation of his female friend, but couldn't find anything on it. Is it just a made up market for the purposes of the show?
"Straighten up your own act, before whining about the world." -Major Motoko Kusanagishare
The concept certainly doesn´t lack plausibility, but I wouldn't know of any places like this in reality. If he made this up all by himself, it'd be brilliant.
An argument to go against plausibility would be an article I read about using ultrasound to artificially accelerate ageing of wine within a short time. If there will be better ways to accelerate ageing in the future, it would defeat the whole purpose of having these old-fashioned cellars.
Found it:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1065867/The-miracle-machine-turns-cheap-plonk-vintage-wine--just-half-hour.html
Too bad it doesn't turn the taste of urine into beer. Oh the practical jokes we would pull.
but i feel that even if a 100 year old bottle of wine tastes identical to 1 year old bottle of wine that was accelerated with ultrasound (are you sure its not ultraviolet light or something?), it's the authenticity and the true age that would then play a factor in its worth
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The idea of ultra-premium wine brokering has been around since the middle ages. Investing in "Liquid Assets" is quite popular among many investors.
http://www.premiumliquidassets.com/
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"How appropriate. You fight like a cow." - Guybrush Threepwood
It's exactly the same principle as investing in major works of art (the assumption being that such things will slowly but steadily increase in value, which certainly isn't true of most other investments, ie the stock market). And yes, it does happen in real life, but probably not to the extent or on the level we see here. Then again, this is set in the future, so who knows, it might happen.
I bet that there are an awful lot of people right now who wish they'd bought a stockpile of quality wine rather than invest in the mortgage industry of stock market at large...
I'm sure in a world where war and conflict are more likely to upset any financial stability, investing in constants like art and wine is quite wise. After all, one cannot enjoy their post-war economy without a nice glass of Chateau Lafitte '87.
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"How appropriate. You fight like a cow." - Guybrush Threepwood