SUPPORT & QUESTIONS
(512) 501-1536
team@estatewinebrokers.com
OUR HOURS
Our office hours are 9am-5pm CST Monday through Friday. Our office will be closed for the following holidays in 2022:
- New Year's Day - 01/01/2022
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day - 01/17/2022
- Memorial Day - 05/30/22
- Independence Day - 07/04/2022
- Labor Day - 09/05/22
- Thanksgiving Day - 11/24/22
- Christmas Eve - 12/24/2022
- New Year's Eve - 12/31/2022
WHAT WE DO AT ESTATE WINE BROKERS
The secondary market for fine wine is similar to the market for fine art. At Estate Wine Brokers, our mission is to help our clients navigate that market by providing the best possible strategy for collecting, selling, and trading the world's finest and rarest wines.
With over 30 years of combined industry experience and unparalleled access to market data, we connect a network of sellers to buyers with full transparency. We specialize in procuring investment-grade wines from privately owned collections, and we travel around the world to inspect the condition and assure the provenance of every bottle we sell. Unlike traditional retailers, we provide a full range of services including logistics, appraisals, investment advisory services, and sell-side assistance.
OUR STORY
Estate Wine Brokers was founded by Alex Andrawes, an entrepreneur who spent his formative years in North Africa observing archeological digs alongside his father. These excavations unearthed numerous Ancient Greek and Roman amphorae and other wine vessels, sparking Andrawes’s lifelong interest in wine as a commodity with the power to move people across oceans. Later Andrawes attended the University of Texas at Austin where he created a business plan for Personal Wine, a gifting service that allows customers to create their own custom-labeled and engraved bottles of wine. Originally founded in 1999 while Andrawes was still in college, Personal Wine has grown to become the #1 online source for customized wine bottles and accessories, and in 2016 the company was honored as one of INC's 500 Fastest Growing Companies in America. Based on the continued success of Personal Wine, Andrawes expanded his portfolio by founding the beloved but now-shuttered Red Room Lounge, a wine bar, retailer, and wine storage facility in downtown Austin. In 2013, Andrawes formed Estate Wine Brokers, turning his personal hobby of sourcing and trading rare and investment-grade wines into a lucrative business. Additionally, in 2017 Andrawes released his first published book, Investing In Fine Wine: How to Buy, Sell, and Profit from the World's Most Delicious Asset. Today Andrawes is an active member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and is also a founder and innovator in the cannabis industry. Andrawes lives in Austin with his family and enjoys playing the guitar and traveling in his free time.
Since 2015, the day-to-day operations of Estate Wine Brokers have been overseen by our General Manager Darren Scott, a seasoned wine professional with more than a decade of experience in the worlds of Michelin-rated fine dining and high-end retail. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Austin, Scott received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Arts in the Humanities from the University of Chicago. In Chicago Scott had his first “a ha” moment with wine, tasting a Hermitage from the 1978 vintage that was far more inspiring than anything he drank in college. From there Scott began studying and tasting wine at a voracious pace, and in 2010 he moved to New York City to immerse himself in formal wine training. There Scott became fascinated by the local culture and specialty boutiques, leading to his first job in the industry as a Sales Associate at Sip Fine Wine in Brooklyn. Scott quickly climbed the ladder to become a Wine Consultant at Morrell & Company in Rockefeller Center, and was soon promoted to the position of Sommelier at the adjoining Morrell Wine Bar & Cafe. From 2012 to 2014, Scott proudly served as the Sommelier and Bar Manager at the three-star New York Times and one-star Michelin rated Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca from famed Italian restaurateur Joe Bastianich. Following that Scott returned to Austin to serve as the Opening Beverage Manager and Lead Sommelier for the French-inspired laV Restaurant & Wine Bar. In 2015 Scott began working with Andrawes, initially as Sommelier at the Red Room Lounge but soon transitioned full-time to Estate Wine Brokers where he was integral in growing the company to what it is today. Currently Scott manages the e-commerce storefront, private client network, and consignor inventories, and also co-authored Investing in Fine Wine with Andrawes. Scott lives in Austin with his wife and enjoys travel and the arts in his free time.
For general inquiries, please use the contact form below. PS. Don't forget to visit our sister site personalwine.com for all of your gifting needs.