A Guide to the Best of Southern California : WINES : Investment Procedures and a National Registry for Your Cellar

IF YOU FIND PORK BELLIES unglamorous and Fannie Maes rather jejune, you’ll be happy to know that investing in fine-wine futures can bring not only a 20.68% appreciation per year on your money but a portfolio you can sit down and enjoy with friends. Roger Livdahl, the only man in the United States designated a certified Senior Appraiser by the American Society of Appraisers, is in Los Angeles and ready to instruct clients as to how to invest in fine wines.

For no more than $2,000 a year, you can create a wine cellar that is likely to result in both profit and pleasure for years. Livdahl, whose own data base numbers 55,000 different wines (a custom-made computer program to track wine values is in the works), says that whether one invests for simply the pleasure of imbibing, money or both, fine wine appreciates faster than any personal asset--and is a lot more fun to own than municipal bonds.

And once you’ve made a purchase, you needn’t worry about proof of ownership. Livdahl’s National Rare Wine Registry places an indelible, invisible mark on each bottle that, while establishing ownership, in no way diminishes the value of the wine or its label. So the next time you’re sitting around discussing the market, with a little help from Livdahl, you can really put your money where your mouth is.

Roger Livdahl, Certified Appraiser/National Rare Wine Registry, (213) 460-6999.