People involved in the collectibles business often point out that assets such as art outperform stocks and bonds sometimes.

Apparently that’s true for wine as well.

An index of top quality wines gained more than the Russell 3000 Index for stocks between January 1996 and January 2009, according to Swiss economists Philippe Masset and Jean-Philippe Weisskopf.

“Our findings show that the inclusion of wine in a portfolio and, especially, more prestigious wines, increases the portfolio’s returns while reducing its risk, particularly during the financial crisis,” the duo wrote in their, study, “Raise Your Glass: Wine Investment and the Financial Crisis,” Bloomberg reports.

Masset is a professor at the Lausanne Hotel School, and Weisskopf a researcher at the University of Fribourg.

The wine index held its value while stocks plunged in late 2008 and early 2009. From 2005 onward, wine soared more than fivefold, while the Russell 3000 rose about 50 percent.

“My wine cellars have probably appreciated better than any other investment I have made,” Drew Nierporent, a famous New York restaurant owner, told Bloomberg.

“Great wines are scarce. You can’t get them everywhere.”

As for art, its prices are rebounding after a plunge during the financial crisis.

“Art is one of the great invest and hold assets,” Michael Moses, a retired New York University economist, told Newsmax.

“You can’t be a day trader in art, but these are great things to hold for long periods of time.”