As early as18th century, futures played an important role in wine trade and became an indispensable part of wine culture. Every March, the top wineries in Bordeaux will brew wine samples from grapes harvested in the previous autumn, and invite some wine merchants or important customers and experts in the wine industry to try and identify the wine. After tasting, experts will predict the quality of wine after a year of maturity, so as to determine the future demand for wine, and according to these conditions, release the reference "ex-factory price" of future wine to brokers and agents.

Although this trading model saves the link of sales and promotion, thus making good wine wholeheartedly, it is often criticized for not being able to hedge the market risk in the brewing period and lacking openness and transparency. Then, at the turn of the century, with the rapid development of Internet technology, a new wine futures trading method, namely electronic trading of wine futures, was born. The industry leader is the London International Wine Exchange (Liv-Ex) located in Battersea business center.