In December the market for fine wine (essentially French) showed further signs of a recovery in prices, according to The Wine Investment Fund.

The main indices rose by 1.3 per cent (Liv-ex 100) and 1.2 per cent (Liv-ex Investables); TWIF saw solid demand for fine wine and some falling away of supply. Since the end of the year prices have continued to climb with Liv-ex’s daily index up 1.6 per cent to date in 2013.

2012 saw the main index fall by 9 per cent, the first time since records began that there have been two consecutive years of falling prices. Continued demand from China was cancelled out by a faltering Japanese economy.

While prices fell back last year, the past few years have seen a sustained rise in the price of fine wines fetched at auction, driven by demand from increasingly affluent emerging market countries and also as a result of the desire for "real assets" amid global fears about inflation and economic volatility.

TWIF’s central prediction for 2013 is for the main index to rise by 14 per cent.

The Wine Investment Fund, which was launched in 2003, is represented in London, Bermuda, Hong Kong and Zurich.