Euronext, the pan-European bourse created by the merger of the Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris stock exchanges, has announced plans to launch the world's first wine futures.
The contracts will be introduced in first quarter of 2001 on premium Bordeaux red wines. The new contracts will give professionals a means of hedging price risk in a worldwide market where price volatility is around 25% and producers, merchants and buyers — backed by financial groups — require high profitability.
Wine professionals, including vineyard owners, merchants and traders joined with financial experts to conduct feasibility studies prior to creation of the new future. These groups will be its main users, alongside large-scale buyers including major distributors in France and other countries, airline companies, etc.
Futures contracts on fine Bordeaux red wines will be launched in the derivatives compartment of Euronext. Euronext plans to extend this range to include wines from other French regions, California, southern Europe, Australia and South America.
The contract will be traded electronically through a single central order book with prices disseminated to data vendors.