Major futures seller in a major wine area:

http://www.bassins.com/wine/bordeaux/2004bord.html

You buy futures bu the case, or 1/2 case if offered. A future is a piece of paper that guarentees delivery by the seller of the paper delivery of the wine to the buyer. This paper is only as good as the seller of the paper.

A few years ago, a number of wine retailers bought a lot of futures from some people in Michigan. These futures were worthless paper. Many retailers did not deliver.