Kumar begins his study by weighing the existing academic arguments for and against alternative investments (paintings, antiques, wine, etc.), the source material for most of the mixed messages
that appear in financial circles and the media regarding the investment potential of wine. Deciding that academic studies have not taken the question of fine wine (specifically) to its
exhaustive conclusion, he uses modern portfolio theory, as well as his special insight, to create a Fine Wine 50 Index, which shows empirically that fine wine has higher expected returns
related to its overall contribution to portfolio risk than do stocks and bonds, proving that wine is good for an investor's blood pressure in more ways than one. Mr. Kumar includes a history of
wine markets dating back to the 12th century; chapters on the different modes of marketing and distribution in Bordeaux, and the primary and secondary markets; and he critically analyses the
total alternative investment market, and the relationships between AI's price and quality. He also discusses, systematically, the key question: what constitutes a good investment portfolio?
