Fine wine auctions rebounded in early 2026 after Acker posted a record $125 million first half

The fine wine auction market showed clear signs of recovery in the first half of 2026, even as broader consumer wine demand remained weak, according to a report published Sunday by Wine-Intelligence that pointed to record results at Acker and Sotheby’s and a modest rebound in Liv-ex market indexes.

Wine-Intelligence said Acker Wines recorded the strongest January-to-June period in its history. The U.S. auction house posted $125 million in auction volume in the first six months of the year and captured 42% of global market share. Sotheby’s Wine & Spirits, the wine arm of the London-based auction house, also reported a record first half, selling 13,000 lots across 29 auctions for a combined $49.2 million.

Sotheby’s also posted a 94% hammer rate, a measure of how many lots sold once they reached the auction block. That figure suggests demand was broad and steady rather than driven by only a few headline bottles. Together, the results point to renewed activity at the top end of the secondary market after a prolonged period of softer sentiment in wine.

The improvement comes as the wider wine industry continues to deal with slower consumer purchasing in many markets. Wine-Intelligence said the contrast is becoming clearer between everyday wine sales, which are still under pressure, and the fine wine collecting segment, where wealthy buyers have begun returning. The report linked that shift in part to recent movement in Liv-ex indexes, which it said have shown a slight recovery in recent months.

Italy has been one of the strongest signals in that rebound. Wine-Intelligence said Italian wines have led the recent improvement among producing countries tracked by Liv-ex. That trend was also visible in upcoming auction offerings, where Italian labels were prominent even in catalogs still dominated by French names.

Sotheby’s is expected to test the market again later this month with its “Nightcap” series in New York, scheduled for Sept. 16 through Sept. 19. The event will include five auctions and a broader program designed for collectors, producers, and wine enthusiasts. According to Wine-Intelligence, Sotheby’s has assembled a catalog with more than $10 million in wines and spirits.

Among the highest-profile lots are six magnums of Henri Jayer’s 1993 Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux, estimated at $190,000 to $260,000, and a six-liter mathusalem of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s 2002 Romanée-Conti, estimated at $150,000 to $200,000. Another marquee lot centers on Château Haut-Brion and includes winery tours and eight historic vintages from 1935 to 2009, presented in a console created by Linley to mark the 75th anniversary of the Dillon family’s purchase of the estate. That lot is estimated at $130,000 to $260,000.

Although the catalog leans heavily toward Burgundy and Bordeaux, Italian wines are expected to draw strong interest. Wine-Intelligence highlighted a 12-bottle lot of Soldera Case Basse 1991 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva with an estimate of $8,000 to $11,000. A six-bottle lot of Bruno Giacosa 1990 Barbaresco Riserva is estimated at $5,000 to $7,500, while a 12-bottle lot of 2005 Sassicaia carries an estimate of $3,000 to $3,700.

The report said the depth of the Italian offering matters as much as the top lots. Names such as Bartolo Mascarello, Giacomo Conterno, Tignanello, Solaia, Masseto, and Ornellaia appear throughout the catalog, showing how firmly Italian fine wine has established itself in the global collecting market. In recent years, Italian producers have moved from being niche auction entries to regular features in major international sales, competing more directly with established French benchmarks for collector attention and capital.

That shift has broader implications beyond the auction room. A stronger secondary market can improve liquidity for collectible bottles and help set reference prices used by investors, merchants, and collectors. In turn, firmer auction results can influence expectations for the value of cellars, wineries, and prestige labels across the beverage sector, even if those effects vary by producer and are not guaranteed to last.

The latest numbers do not mean the entire wine market has recovered. The source data points only to a rebound in the fine wine segment, where rarity, provenance, and brand prestige matter more than the pressures affecting supermarket and restaurant sales. Even so, record first-half totals at two of the best-known auction houses suggest that high-end buyers are again willing to spend heavily on trophy bottles and carefully curated collections.

For Sotheby’s, the New York sales will offer an early test of whether that momentum can continue into the second half of the year. For the wider drinks business, especially premium wine and spirits producers, the results will be watched closely because auction demand often serves as a signal of confidence among top collectors and can shape pricing sentiment well beyond a single sale. In this cycle, much of that attention is likely to fall not only on the traditional French stars, but also on the growing role of Italian wine in the global market for collectible bottles.