Philippe Masset

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Professor (Associate) at EHL Hospitality Business School

Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a diversification by grape varieties may help wine producers reduce uncertainty in quantity and quality variations due to increasingly erratic climate conditions. Design/methodology/approach This study hand-collects granular quantity and quality data from wine harvest reports for vintages 20...

By analyzing more than 1,400 expert tasting notes, we assess the so-called gender profile of Bordeaux wines. We identify 329 gender-related wine descriptors, with a good balance between masculine and feminine descriptors. Some wines and vintages are described as more feminine than others, but no clear trend over time emerges. Our regression analysi...

This short report investigates the stock market behavior of Swiss companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results suggest that family firms performed better during the outbreak and post-lockdown periods than widely-held firms. Family firms also displayed a larger abnormal trading volume drop than widely-held companies. In size-sorted subsamples, th...

Is it possible to exploit cognitive biases so that a non-professional taster prefers one wine to several other absolutely identical wines? To address this question, three complementary experiments were carried out. Each time, five wines were tasted blind in a tasting laboratory by 24 to 34 tasters. Converging evidence from the experiments shows tha...

This paper uses data from the 2021 Swiss edition of the Gault&Millau food guide to analyze the probability with which restaurant owners decide to share their wine list with the public. This is an important question relating to the amount of information circulating in markets characterized by information asymmetry in the context of experience and cr...

This paper proposes an approach to determine efficient release prices on the Bordeaux en primeur (primary) market. The model exploits information from the secondary market to estimate efficient release prices. We apply the model to a representative sample of wines from the 2021 vintage. The results show that most chateaux released their wines at pr...

This study proposes cross-dimensional measures of the degree of implementation of the lodging industry’s asset-light & fee-oriented (ALFO) strategy. We apply a common factor analysis to measure the degree of implemented ALFO strategy on a sample of 14 lodging companies over the period 2001–2021. The analysis confirms that there is no one-size-fits-...

Purpose This study aims to identify the price determinants of fine wines in a small and competitive market. These characteristics are found in many lesser-known wine-producing countries and are often difficult to analyse because of lack of data. Design/methodology/approach This study hand-collects and transcribes wine-related data for 149 Swiss wi...

We summarize in this press article a study on the determination of the "fair price" of wine. Our model is based on the release prices of Bordeaux en primeur wines. The logic of the model is based on taking into account the dynamics of the secondary market applied to the primeur (primary) market. This study will soon be published in an academic jour...

This article documents how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the drinking behavior of Latin European wine consumers. Using a large online survey conducted during the first lockdown in France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain (n = 7,324 individuals), we reconstruct the purchasing and consumption patterns of the respondents. The number of people who maintai...

This article documents how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the drinking behavior of Latin European wine consumers. Using a large online survey conducted during the first lockdown in France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain (n = 7,324 individuals), we reconstruct the purchasing and consumption patterns of the respondents. The number of people who maintai...

We use a unique and very deep database to examine the performance of wine investments over the period 2003–2014. Our results reveal that the returns stemming from those investments are important but can largely be explained by their exposure to common risk factors. It appears essential to properly account for the lack of liquidity on the wine marke...

This paper models optimal release prices of an experience good recurrently issued on markets. Using a sample of Bordeaux wines, we find that using a minimal number of intrinsic and extrinsic attributes is sufficient to explain a large proportion of release prices. We further observe a significant relationship between primary market prices and secon...

Investors increasingly use tangible assets and especially wine to reduce the volatility of their portfolios through improved diversification. However, these assets are long-horizon investments, and therefore, short-term fluctuations (volatility) are of little relevance. Instead, assessing if these assets reduce the risk of facing severe losses (dow...

We examine the existence of wine in New York City restaurant menus over the period 1865 to 1920 for a sample of 850,000 restaurant menu items and 51,000 wines. Wine was already commonly present on menus in 1865, and its offering increased up until 1914 before dropping with the outbreak of First World War (WWI). Casual restaurants offered a narrower...

This article explores the price determinants of fine wines in a competitive and opaque market. These characteristics are found in many emerging wine-producing countries and are often difficult to analyse due to a lack of data. We use the case of Switzerland, whose wines remain little exported. Intense competition notably from famous neighbouring re...

We examine the existence of wines in New York City restaurant menus over the period 1865-1920 for a sample of 850,000 restaurant menu items and 51,000 wines. Wine was already commonly present on menus in 1865, and its presence increased up until 1914 before dropping with the outbreak of WWI. Casual restaurants offered a narrower wine selection. Spe...

This paper models optimal release prices of an experience good recurrently issued on markets. Using a large sample of Bordeaux wines, we find that not only intrinsic but also extrinsic attributes affect release prices. We observe a significant relationship between primary market release prices and secondary market prices and general economic condit...

COVID-19 has officially been declared a pandemic since March 11, 2020. Its effect during the second quarter of 2020 and its forecasted impact on the economy are dramatic. For some industries, the crisis is likely to become the most severe since the Great Depression. In this article, we investigate the economic impact of COVID-19 on the fine wine ma...

The dispersion of prices on the fine wines market raises the issue of the wine price index construction and valuation of wine funds. In this paper, we first propose an extended hedonic function to better control good heterogeneity (which is a major source of price dispersion) by encoding auction experts' comments about the state of preservation of...

The dispersion of prices on the fine wines market raises the issue of the wine price index construction and valuation of wine funds. In this paper, we first propose an extended hedonic function to better control good heterogeneity (which is a major source of price dispersion) by encoding auction experts’ comments about the state of preservation of...

This paper models optimal release prices of an experience good recurrently issued on markets. Using a large sample of Bordeaux wines, we find that not only intrinsic but also extrinsic attributes affect release prices. We observe a significant relationship between primary market release prices and secondary market prices and general economic condit...

We identify and examine the performance of frontier investments from 2002 to 2017. Using fine wine as a setting, we find that the trade frequency and value of frontier investments in the form of Alpine wines have increased in recent years, leading to a rise in their prices above inflation rates. We further document that this frontier investment has...

This article uses a comprehensive sample of companies from 16 Western European countries over the period 2004 and 2016 to examine the relationship between blockholder ownership, asset levels, and corporate performance in the hospitality industry. We find evidence that both family and nonfamily blockholders display a higher use of assets in the lodg...

This article examines prior evidence and proposes an empirical study of the performance of passion investments in comparison with financial and real assets over the past 20 years. Over this period, classic cars and fine wines (but not visual art) display better returns than U.S. equity, fixed income, and real estate. Volatilities are, overall, low...

This paper examines and compares wine price indices available on the wine market with those proposed in academia. We especially analyze the impact illiquidity has on the different indices and validate our findings using a simulation which allows us to define the biases induced by illiquidity on the statistical properties of the indices. We also pro...

This article uses hammer prices from five global auction houses to analyse the price premium Bordeaux fine wine yielded at Hong Kong wine auctions. We find that fine wine was on average sold at a 19% premium in Hong Kong. We further observe that the Hong Kong premium is not uniform and most pronounced for wines with perfect Parker scores and the mo...

This paper studies the price evolution and the performance of an investment in fine wine on the Swiss market over the period 2002-2012. Using a repeat-sales-regression approach we calculate different wine indices based on auction hammer prices obtained by Steinfels Weinauktionen. Our results show that different fine wines followed a similar evoluti...

This paper studies the price evolution and the performance of an investment in fine wine on the Swiss market over the period 2002–2012. Using a repeat-sales-regression approach we calculate different wine indices based on auction hammer prices obtained by Steinfels Weinauktionen. Our results show that different fine wines followed a similar evoluti...

This chapter presents a set of tools, which allow gathering information about the frequency components of a time series. In a first step, we discuss spectral analysis and filtering methods. Spectral analysis can be used to identify and to quantify the different frequency components of a data series. Filters permit to capture specific components (e....

This paper examines the ratings of 12 influential wine critics on the Bordeaux en primeur market over the vintages 2003–2012. We hypothesize that wine experts differ significantly in their rating approach and influence on prices. We find that European critics are less transparent and in general more severe in their scoring than their American count...

This article examines the performance, selectivity, and market-timing abilities of wine fund managers over the 2000–2013 period. The authors hypothesize that wine fund managers should be able to profit from market inefficiencies on the wine market and generate abnormal returns for investors. Their results show that fund managers’ overall selectivit...

Investors have never faced as many investment choices as they do today. Not only have markets become more integrated and international investments facilitated but also the number of available asset classes has grown more important during the last decade. This has also led to an increase in complex financial products. As a counterbalance, demand for...

In this paper, we analyze the evolution of fine wine prices over the period 2000-2010 on the Swiss market. We first estimate a fine wine index with several sub-indices (e.g. Bordeaux index, First growth index) using hand-collected hammer prices from Steinfels – the leading wine auction house in Switzerland. We then study the evolution of these wine...

This paper investigates a variety of features exhibited by the amplitude of stock returns. Some of these "stylized facts" have already attracted a great deal of attention from researchers, while some others have been documented only recently. - Horizontal dependence of volatility: Volatility is not constant, it is mean-reverting and it tends to clu...

One of the most noticeable stylised facts in finance is that stock index returns are negatively correlated with changes in volatility. The economic rationale for the effect is still controversial. The competing explanations have different implications for the origin of the relationship: Are volatility changes induced by index movements, or inversel...

This paper uses auction hammer prices over the period 1996-2009, with a special emphasis on periods of economic downturns, to examine risk, return and diversification benefits of fine wine. We show evidence that the wine market is heterogeneous with wine regions and price categories evolving differently. We construct wine indices for various wine r...

Using a dataset that spans the period 1996 to 2007 and contains transaction prices for all reported auctions at the Chicago Wine Company, we analyze how the prices of high-end wines have evolved during this time period. The best wines according to characteristics like vintage, rating and ranking earn higher returns and tend to have a lower variance...

This paper uses auction hammer prices over the period 1996-2009, with a special emphasis on periods of economic downturns, to examine risk, return and diversification benefits of fine wine. Our research shows evidence that the wine market is heterogeneous with wine regions and price categories evolving differently in terms of volume and turnover. W...

Using a very large dataset that spans the period 1996 to 2007 and contains transaction prices for all reported auctions at the Chicago Wine Company, we analyze how the prices of high-end wines have evolved over the last decade. We characterize the returns for different wine categories and show that characteristics like vintage, rating and ranking h...

This paper presents a set of tools, which allow gathering information about the frequency components of a time-series. We focus on the concepts rather than giving too much weight to mathematical technicalities. In a first step, we discuss spectral analysis and filtering methods. Spectral analysis can be used to identify and to quantify the differen...

This paper analyzes the behavior of the German DAX index intraday returns. We devote particular attention to three related empirical issues. First we provide an up-to-date characterization of the DAX intraday volatility patterns. They are mostly W-shaped with peaks at the opening, at 2.30pm and before the closing. We find some evidence suggesting t...

This paper uses auction hammer prices over the period 1996-2009, with a special emphasis on periods of economic downturns, to examine risk, return and diversification benefits of fine wine. We show evidence that the wine market is heterogeneous with wine regions and price categories evolving differently in terms of volume and turnover. We construct...