Christie’s is planning to open a boutique wine shop at its headquarters in Rockefeller Center, thanks in part to assistance from New York state legislators who passed a law allowing the auction house to get around a regulation dating back more than a century.
As reported by the New York Post, the development comes “after New York legislators passed a law last month that allowed Christie’s to sidestep Prohibition-era rules that prevent wine stores from also being wine makers. The issue is that Christie’s is owned by French billionaire Francois Pinault who also owns nine vineyards including Chateau Latour in Bordeaux.”
Angela Montefinise, a spokesperson for the auction house, said in a statement, “Christie’s took part in a significant legal process specifically to ensure that consumers are protected and everything is proper and in the spirit of the law.”
According to the Post, “insiders say the new shop could help Christie’s grow its wine auction business—which decades ago had been the world’s largest but which now, with $89 million in global revenues, trails Acker, Sotheby’s and Zachy’s.” The paper quoted Daniel Posner, the owner of Grapes The Wine Store in suburban White Plains, saying, “They’re not Sotheby’s right now, but they’re not standing still either. Planting a flag in Rockefeller Center, surrounded by bankers and lawyers with money to spend? That’s a savvy move for a house that needs a win.”
Montefinise told ARTnews that Christie’s Wine and Spirits will open sometime later this year, with a plan to “showcase the wines our specialists love most, with a focus on connecting people to the world of fine wine, collecting, and Christie’s.” She added: “By proactively investing in wine, we are looking to expand our presence in the critical U.S. market, always remaining focused on our longstanding values of accessibility and excellence. We strive to deliver a comprehensive suite of collecting services to Christie’s clients worldwide and welcoming both new and seasoned collectors as we curate the rarest, highest-quality wines available in today’s global market.”
Last June, Christie’s $28.8 million sale of William I. Koch’s collection set the record for the highest price paid for a single-owner wine collection in North America. A more recent sale, on June 8, brought in $3.2 million, with a 100-percent sell-through rate on bottles from the “exceptional cellar of a Silicon Valley pioneer.”
