October 2020 MCLE Luncheon via Zoom — Melissa L. Smith presenting “The Valuation and Appraisal of Wine Collections”

Please calendar our next MCLE lunchtime program for Thursday, October 8, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. via Zoom meeting.

We are pleased to have Melissa L. Smith, certified sommelier and founder of Enotrias Elite Sommelier Services, as our speaker.   Ms. Smith  will present “The Valuation and Appraisal of Wine Collections,” in which she will cover a wide range of topics, including: the different kinds of wine collections and goals of wine collectors; storage, purchasing and provenance of wines; valuation/appraisal of wine collections for sale transactions and other purpose, including what adds to and takes away from the value of certain bottles;  counterfeit issues relative to wine collections;  insurance of wine collections; and division and distribution of property involving wine collections, in marriage dissolution and estate administration proceedings.

Please mark you calendars for this event, which will provide 1.0 hr MCLE general participatory credit for attendees.

 

Information about our Speaker: 

Melissa L. Smith is the founder of Enotrias Elite Sommelier Services, which manages wine collections, and assigns valuations for insurance and legal purposes including divisionand distribution  of property in cases pertaining to  Family Law, Trusts, and Estates., and sales transactions.   Ms. Smith also offers brokerage services for sales of collections.

Ms. Smith is a certified sommelier through The Court of Master sommeliers, WSET, and the Sake Education Council,  All appraisals undertaken by Ms. Smith are USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) compliant through the Appraisers Association of America. 

Ms. Smith started Enotrias in 2014 while she was Head Sommelier for K&L Wine Merchants.   She found an affinity with the painstaking process of taking inventories  and determining valuation of wine collections, and decided to  expand upon her interest and expertise in this specialized segment of the wine industry.        

Melissa’s interest has led to her being engaged by attorneys in court cases involving inventory and valuation issues, and to her teaching of continuing education courses on the Valuation of Wine Collections, including a MCLE-certified course with the California State Bar Association; too business groups at Bay Area Country Clubs;  and to private groups of attorneys throughout the California wine county region.

 

The Valuation and Appraisal of Wine Collections

Melissa L. Smith, CS — Founder of Enotrias

1. Introduction to Primer on The Valuation and Appraisal of Wine Collections

a. Melissa Smith / Enotrias introduction, background, and qualifications

2. Wine Collecting: Determining your client’s why and how for final outcomes

a. Why someone collects wine

b. Ways in which someone collects and stores wine

c. How do they purchase and track the wine collection

3. Storage and Contents

a. In home versus offsite

b. Types of wine collections: Ideal, Tasting, Instant gratification, Investment

4. Where and How a Cellar is Filled

a. Provenance

b. Reputable Retailer/Auction House/Winery Direct

c. Gift

d. Other Considerations

5. Organization

a. Inventory

b. Insurance

c. Maintenance

6. Why a Professional Wine Cellar Inventory is Necessary and Who Requires it

a. Experienced, Ethical, Respected, and Connected Certified Sommelier

b. USPAP Compliant

7. Comparisons and Examples

a. Label Nuances

b. Producer vs Negociant

c. Bottle Condition

8. How a Wine is Assigned a Value

a. Domaine

b. Vintage

c. Provenance

d. Condition

e. Extras

f. Market Value

9. Why a Wine Could Have No Value

a. Past their prime

b. No market value

c. Custom Label

d. Stored Improperly/Damaged

e. Counterfeit

10. How to Handle a Collection That Has Been Assigned A Value

a. Division of Property

b. Cash Buy Out

c. Liquidating the Collection

11. Case Studies

12. Questions

 

To download this agenda in PDF format, click here.