Vinfolio today released current performance indicators for the global wine auction market updated through May 2009. Wineprices.com Fine Wine Indexes show an increase in May alone of between 10% to 17% for the most actively traded fine wines, compared to the Dow Jones average which was up 4.1% in May. While most indexes are still down 10% to 24% from 12 months ago, all signs indicate that the upward trend which began in January/February of this year will continue, especially with the influence that Asian buyers are having on the market.

"I believe May's increases reflect the impact of higher auction prices being paid in Hong Kong," said Stephen Bachmann, CEO, Vinfolio, Inc. "Of the 11 auctions held in May worldwide that we tracked, four were in Hong Kong and about 25% of the price data points were derived from these auctions. This clearly points to a 'Hong Kong effect' on the fine wine auction market." While Vinfolio's Fine Wine Indexes for May exclude Mainland China's first ever wine auction held that month, Vinfolio's CEO plans to stay abreast of auction developments there as well.