The World’s Leading Wine Collection Experts
Chai Consulting is the trusted authority in wine collection management. Whether building, organizing, valuing, trimming or liquidating a cellar, we deliver clarity, confidence, and results—anywhere in the world.
Founded by renowned wine expert Maureen Downey in 2005, Chai Consulting is the globally recognized authority in fine wine collection management. Independent, discreet, and precise — Downey is trusted by collectors, family offices, estates, institutions, and fiduciaries around the world. She is widely recognized as the global expert in counterfeit wine, wine fraud, and authentication.
She has advised, curated, organized, maintained and liquidated some of the world’s most significant wine and spirits collections. As an expert witness, Downey has played a decisive role in private cellar, winery and restaurant damage and loss claims as well as criminal and civil litigation, and appraisals for insurance, tax, and estate needs.
With offices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Chai Consulting brings global reach with local expertise. Whether you’re investing, enjoying an extensive cellar, or preparing to sell a collection, the experts at Chai Consulting make the process clear, secure, and highly rewarding.
Our Services
Bespoke Curation Services for Discerning Wine Collectors
Offering a full-spectrum, expert suite of services for major collectors, passionate enthusiasts, family offices, institutions and professionals.
Advisory & Planning
Whether planning a new collection or expanding an existing one, we tailor purchase plans to the specific needs of the individual collector.
Sourcing & Intake
Access to impossible-to-find bottles and allocation lists. We manage all steps of acquisition through physical intake to ensure accuracy of only sound purchases.
TCM™ Certified Authentication
The global leader in bottle authentication, our proprietary method verifies provenance and condition - pre-sale or post-purchase - so you buy, sell, and enjoy with certainty. Authenticated bottles are eligible for web3 certification through Chai Vault, our secure digital registry of authenticity and provenance.
Organization of Home Cellars and Professional Storage
Hands-on organization of home cellars and off-site storage, with layouts and barcoding designed around how everyone in your household uses the collection.
Onsite & Remote Inventory Management
One verified, constantly updated inventory of everything you own. We barcode every bottle by hand, in home cellars and in self-managed or facility-managed storage worldwide, assuring your records stay accurate wherever your bottles move.
Liquidation Strategy & Execution
Maximum return, minimal to no vendor fees or expenses. We use our global network to secure the strongest prices for your wine, whether trimming inventory or selling an entire collection.
Appraisals & Expert Witness
Valuations that hold up with insurers, the IRS, and the courts. Providing USPAP-compliant appraisals for insurance, estate planning, asset division, and litigation. Maureen Downey is a globally recognized expert witness in loss and damage cases involving theft, fraud, fire, natural disaster, shipping, and storage damage.
Seminars & Training
Work hands-on with real bottles alongside Maureen Downey and her team in an intensive two-day seminar, or start with an online introduction to the fundamentals. Master the discipline with full TCM™ Certified Authenticator training, and protect your purchases and your business.
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