Wine appraisal in divorce · For spouses, matrimonial attorneys, and mediators
For divorcing spouses, their attorneys, mediators, and collaborative-divorce teams: I value the wine collection once, as a single neutral appraiser engaged jointly by both spouses and both counsel, for use in negotiation, mediation, or a collaborative process. On site in New York and South Florida, or remotely anywhere in the United States from an inventory both spouses agree on. One signed written valuation, prepared to USPAP, released to both attorneys at the same time.
Joint, for settlement
From $2,000
Both spouses, equally
The terms of the engagement
A cellar is often the last asset anyone thinks to value and the first one that turns into an argument. Two competing appraisals cost twice as much and leave both sides arguing over which one to believe. These are the terms on which I take a divorce valuation, and each one is written into the engagement letter.
Both spouses and both counsel sign one engagement letter. I am not retained by either side, and I do not take a divorce valuation on any other basis.
Once engaged, I speak to neither side alone. Every communication goes to both sides, in writing.
The signed valuation goes to both attorneys at the same time, in the same form.
The valuation is for negotiation, mediation, or a collaborative process. I do not serve as a trial expert, and both parties agree in writing not to call, depose, or subpoena me. If the matter is headed to trial, each side should retain its own expert.
Flat, agreed in writing, split equally between the spouses, and never tied to the value reported. Prestige Vin buys no collections, sells no wine, and takes no share of any sale.
Two methods
Both methods produce the same signed report and use the same auction evidence. The difference is whether the bottles themselves were inspected, and the report says which.
I visit the wine and review it bottle by bottle: fill level, label, capsule, and cork, plus storage conditions and provenance. Condition is where value lives, and an inspected report records it lot by lot. In person across New York and South Florida; elsewhere with travel at cost and travel time at half rate.
From an inventory and photographs that both spouses agree on in writing. The report states that the bottles were not inspected and assumes sound condition. With no travel, it can serve spouses anywhere in the United States, and it suits a documented collection where neither side expects condition to be in dispute.
How the number is reached
Each wine is valued from recent auction sales of the same wine, in the same vintage and the same bottle size. The value definition and the valuation date are set by the parties and counsel in the engagement letter, not by me.
Producer, vintage, bottle size, quantity, and location, lot by lot, including anything held off site.
On site: fill, label, capsule, and cork for each lot, with photographs. Remote: a stated assumption of sound condition, and the agreed inventory it rests on.
Recent auction sales of the same wine, in the same vintage and bottle size, behind every figure, so both sides can follow the number rather than trust it.
The date the values speak to, as set in the engagement letter; use limited to settlement; both spouses and both counsel named as intended users.
Prepared to USPAP, with a statement that the fee is in no way contingent on the value reported.
The fee
Divorce wine valuation · From $2,000
Agreed in writing before any work starts and shared equally by the spouses. Half is due on signing and the balance before the report is released. USPAP prohibits an appraiser from charging a percentage of the value reported, so the fee never moves with the number.
Remote valuations run about 25% less. Travel outside New York and South Florida is billed at cost, with travel time at half rate.
Prestige Vin buys no collections, holds no inventory, consigns nothing, and accepts no referral fee or share of proceeds from any auction house, broker, or retailer. I earn exactly the same whatever the wine is worth and whoever keeps it.
Although Anthony is an attorney, in this engagement he acts only as an appraiser, not as counsel to either spouse, and no attorney-client relationship exists.
Nothing on this page is legal advice. Whether the wine is marital property, which valuation date applies, and how the figure is used in settlement are questions for each spouse's own counsel.
The timeline
For a remote valuation, the clock runs from the day both spouses agree the inventory. If a mediation or settlement conference is already on the calendar, say so in the first message.
One engagement letter, signed by both spouses and both counsel. Half the fee is due on signing.
I begin: the on-site inspection, or review of the agreed inventory and photographs.
The signed valuation, released to both attorneys at the same time once the balance is paid.
Questions spouses and counsel ask
Nothing here is legal or tax advice. I value the wine; each spouse's counsel advises on everything else.
Both spouses, equally. The fee is flat, agreed in writing in the engagement letter, and split between you: half on signing and the balance before the report is released. It is never tied to the value reported, so neither side is paying for a higher or a lower number.
The valuation date is set by the court or agreed by the parties, and the rules vary by state. Confirm it with counsel before the engagement letter is signed. The report values the wine as of whatever date the letter states.
That is a legal question for each spouse's counsel, and I do not answer it. What I can do is identify and value every lot, and record purchase dates and receipts where they exist, so counsel can sort the inventory however the law requires.
No. The engagement is for settlement only: negotiation, mediation, or a collaborative process. Both parties agree in writing not to call, depose, or subpoena me. If the matter is headed to trial, each side should retain its own expert.
On site is the most complete: I review every bottle's fill, label, capsule, and cork, and the storage and provenance behind them. Remote works from an inventory and photographs that both spouses agree on in writing; the report states that the bottles were not inspected and assumes sound condition. Remote costs about 25% less and needs no travel, so it can serve spouses anywhere in the United States.
An approximate bottle count, where the wine is kept (including any off-site storage or second home), and any existing inventory, whether a spreadsheet, a CellarTracker export, or an insurance schedule. With those I can propose the method and the fee for both sides to review.
I begin within about two weeks of the signed engagement letter. The report follows two to three weeks after the inspection, or after the inventory is agreed for a remote valuation. If a mediation date is already set, say so at the outset.
No. Although Anthony is an attorney, in this engagement he acts only as an appraiser, not as counsel to either spouse, and no attorney-client relationship exists. Each spouse should take legal advice from their own counsel.
Where we work
Prestige Vin works in person across New York City, Long Island (including the Hamptons and the North Fork), Westchester County, and Greenwich, Connecticut, and in South Florida from Palm Beach and Jupiter through Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami.
Anywhere else in the country or abroad is arranged by proposal, and advisory can be delivered remotely worldwide.
New York · South Florida · remote anywhere in the US
Send the approximate bottle count, where the wine is kept, and any inventory that already exists. Before engagement that is all I ask for: enough to propose a method and a fee to both sides. Either attorney, the mediator, or a spouse can send it; once engaged, I write to both sides together.