Where do I start?

A quick search on the web can deliver more than six million websites offering wine and wine-related products. Sometimes the joy of the net’s flexibility becomes a curse, too.

The real question of where to begin depends on whether you are looking to save money; make money by investing, or simply enjoy tasting wonderful wines.

Some believe that wine is one of the world’s great items for collectors – and yes, lots of wealthy people have become more wealthy by investing well-; but if you don't fancy the stock market because of the risks involved, then you'd better avoid trading in wine because it can be just as complicated, just as expensive and you can easily get your fingers burned.

There are lots of claims about reaping the profits from wines, but the truth is that only a comparatively few top-name wines make the best investments.

Selling wine is big business and entrepreneurs like Sir Richard Branson have delved into the market. The UK market is running at around two billion litres a year being drunk and the value of the light wine and sparkling wine market is forecast to hit £13billion in 2007.

How can I buy before the price rockets?

You can speculate, of course, buying wines even before they are bottled on the recommendation that the crops have done well, the weather has been good and the vineyard has a fantastic reputation.

That way you can get wine a lot cheaper than its eventual price when it is bottled and ready to drink (which may be as many 25 years ahead). But ask yourself why you can buy it cheaper before bottling... and the answer is that there is a risk it could turn out to be a lousy vintage.

Sometimes the tasting reports (which let you know how good a vineyard thinks it product is going to be) are coloured by other factors. In 1997 vintage Bordeaux wine prices were estimated not just on the expected quality of the wine, but also on the prediction of what would happen to demand in the wine market. They got it wrong - and that meant that high investors lost 30 per cent on their money.

Look – and taste – wine from countries with emerging markets or growing reputations. Anyone who invested heavily in European wines because he or she didn't think South Africa, Australia or New Zealand would amount to much would look pretty silly today.

When things go right you will end up with a vintage that was bought for £160 ten years ago and now sells for ten times that amount. When they go wrong you’ve poured and investment down the drain and the product you have bought may not only be overpriced – but undrinkable too!

Who gives the best advice?

Serious wine buffs fawn on the words of famed US wine critic Robert Parker, (www.erobertparker.com) who produces a subscriber newsletter rating wines out of 100. His opinion is in itself enough to drive a price up.

Another option is to go to a wine auction, but again you have to have plenty of background knowledge before your start, and there will be sales fees on top. If you are really serious and want to go for investment, you can even get a broker. You can invest in vintage wines just as you can in share prices, although you'll probably have to start of with a minimum investment of something like £1,500 and you'll be advised to balance your investment in claret, say, with an investment in chardonnay in case one or the other investments went wrong. One highly regarded source for anyone wishing to invest is investdrinks.org (www.investdrinks.org).

You can also find tutorial packages on the web, where for around £100 you can buy a tasting kit (some wine) and tasting guide (CDs), but you may find it just as easy to learn a foreign language.

So what is the simplest step?

Choosing a company with a long-established reputation can be the safest route. Berry Bros. & Rudd is Britain's oldest wine and spirit merchant and has been trading from the same shop for over 300 years (www.bbr.com).

Their philosophy puts the whole business into perspective: "Above all, we appreciate that wine is meant to be enjoyed and that all the wine knowledge in the world can be distilled into one simple question: "’Is it good to drink?’"

Their website includes excellent FAQs on serving, tasting, laying wine down and more; there are guides to grapes and to regions, even a pronunciation guide so you can avoid making a social gaffe. They'll plan wine for a wedding, or devise the layout of your wine cellar!

In the end it is all a matter of personal taste. It is easy to be misled and it is easy to overpay. Find a wine you like, and then buy a case (or more) of it from a wholesaler.

To help you discover new and exciting wines, browse our list of top Wine Sites (www.uknetguide.co.uk/Shopping/Wine/) for news, reviews and useful information. We also have links to leading wine sellers in the UK (www.uknetguide.co.uk/Shopping/Wine/Wine_Sellers.html), where you can shop online, plus links to UK and foreign vineyards (www.uknetguide.co.uk/Shopping/Wine/UK_Vineyards.html, www.uknetguide.co.uk/Shopping/Wine/Foreign_Vineyards.html).