Carri-Ann Taylor and Mark King. Sunday 24 April T he one consolation of investing in a vineyard and losing your money is at least you can drink the wine — or so the old adage goes. But with meagre returns from savings, and stock market investors chastened by the crash of , more people are looking for creative investments.

According to property firm Knight Frank, interest in vineyards has gathered pace over the past five years despite the price of European vineyards falling in William Corby of broker French Vineyards, says there is money to be made if buyers are willing to work hard.

To make a profit owners need to minimise expenditure, which means doing some of the work themselves. Corby describes the current market as "stagnant at best".

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It takes a good 10 years to establish a vineyard and put your own stamp on it. The shortest investment is three years — that is how long it takes a bottle of red to mature. To make a profit vineyards need to produce between 40, and 50, bottles per year.

The appellation, or geographical region, makes a big difference to the value of its wine. A vineyard in a less prestigious area might be cheaper to buy, but the wine will sell for less.

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Corby says investors should visit a vineyard with an expert. Whatever your budget, don't spend it all on the vineyard — keep some money in reserve. The increasing number of managed shared-ownership schemes by international developers offer cheaper access to vineyards.

The Villa Dolce Vita estate in the Mendoza, Tupungato and Tunuyan Argentinian triangle give wannabe vintners the opportunity to get involved in all aspects of wine making.

These remain riskier investments. Another option is to invest in property in wine regions. Some developments in the Garrigae chain of resorts in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France, between Provence and the Pyrenees, include vineyards.

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Garrigae has quietly been converting historic Languedoc buildings into luxury hotels where investors can purchase a room or apartment and lease it back to the company on a nine-year term, with different rental returns dependent on how many weeks' usage they wish to retain.

Adrian Lowcock of BestInvest said schemes such as Garrigae restrict how much time owners can spend in their purchase.

Daniel Martin, real-estate adviser at Garrigae, urges people to visit the area, even spend time getting to know the locals.

Wine-lovers and retirees love the fact that the vineyards are on their doorstep — our investment is eligible to be placed with an self-invested personal pension. You need to love the region if you are going to invest in it — the villages, the people and, of course, the wine.

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