This article offers all spirits and wine drinkers some terrific advice for protecting their wines and wine collection. Virtually all insurance companies will require a wine appraisal prior to issuing a wine insurance policy for your valuable wine collection. God forbid you should wait until your wine collection has possibly been compromised, or worse destroyed, by heat, freeze, flood, fire, tornado, earthquake, home repair, and or other wine damage.
When searching for a qualified wine appraiser or wine appraisal expert for your wine collection you will want to ask the following questions from your potential wine appraiser.
(1) Are you a designated appraiser?
A. What organization awarded your appraisal designation?
B. How long was the appraisal methodology training program (most programs
minimum 18 mos.)?
(2) Do you hold the most current Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice
(USPAP - a federal law established in 1986) accreditation?
A. requires re-certification every two years.
(3) Does your wine appraiser have any formal education in wine?
A. A diploma or degree as a sommelier, viticulture, oenology, wine making, etcetera.
B. Professional wine association affiliations
(4) Does your wine appraisal expert have any experience in the wine industry itself?
A. Wineries, retailers, wholesalers, distilleries, breweries.
(5) Wine companies, auction houses, and storage facilities posing as wine appraisers.
A. USPAP mandates that an appraiser has "no direct interest in the assets to be
appraised".
1. The wine appraiser must be involved in an "arm's length transaction".
B. These businesses usually are NOT trained appraisers, and they are solely motivated to buy your wine collection - a USPAP violation.
(6) Be aware of wine appraiser frauds, hoaxes, and charlatans!
A. REFER TO THE POINTS NOTED ABOVE.
B. Their qualifications and references should be readily available and posted on their web site (http://dinardoandlordauctioneers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Qualifications-of-Master-Wine-Appraiser.pdf).
(7) How do wine appraisal experts and wine appraisers charge for their services?
A. Wine appraisers either charge an hourly rate or a flat fee.
B. Commissions and percentage pricing is prohibited by USPAP.
C. Wine appraisers are allowed to charge for accrued "travel and living expenses".
Additionally when wine appraisers work directly with insurance companies, law firms, banks as well as indivduals. Wine appraisal experts may also provide the following services: cause and origin investigations; scope of damage evaluations; professional wine evaluations; wine consultant services; and expert witness services.
Sincerely,
Tom DiNardo - sommelier, wine appraiser, and CEO Winery & Wine Appraisals
V.P. Outreach - National Association of Professional Appraisers
(855) 946-3825
LinkedIn profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-dinardo-appraiser-sommelier-and-auctioneer-ba2a035)
