A RECORD number of 163 bidders registered for the 2020 Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction hosted by Bonhams of London, with 82 from South Africa and 81 from across the globe. 65% of sales went to South African buyers, the balance going to collectors and merchants in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Hong Kong, the USA, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore
IN THE WORDS of auctioneers Strauss & Co, reflecting on their September 2020 online sale of beauties produced by South African Young Guns: “Notable highlights from the fine-wine session included the handsome prices achieved by the Riebeek-Kasteel winery Porseleinberg for its Syrah vintages… Other noteworthy results include Alheit’s Magnetic North Mountain Makstok… and Walker Bay winery Crystallum’s Cuvée Cinéma…” However,
WHAT TO MAKE of Strauss & Co’s July 2020 online auction of fine South African wines?! For the auction catalogue, click here. Full results of the sale here. There were just three producers involved: ‘first growth’ Kanonkop on the slopes of the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch where they make a range of top reds from a range of varieties, Klein Constantia
YES the top price paid at the online Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auction on 1 June 2020 will be recorded as R17 588 for a single bottle of the 63-year-old red blend Chateau Libertas, but the theme of the sale was mostly about Chenin Blanc, Chenin-based blends, and Pinotage, arguably as much South Africa’s signature red as Chenin is
SHEW! Over R85 000 paid for one of the most expensive wines in the world, a single bottle of the Merlot-driven Petrus, 1989 vintage, and nearly R74K forked out for another top wine from Bordeaux, three bottles of ‘first growth’ blend Haut-Brion, also 30 years old. But arguably more impressive at the Strauss & Co / Wine Cellar auction
FOR THE MOST PART, the results of Strauss & Co’s ‘Rhône-themed’ fine wine online auction conducted in collaboration with the merchants Wine Cellar and sommelier Higgo Jacobs from 6 to 14 April 2020 were to be expected. But how impressive was the demand for that youngster from Donovan Rall, and could that old Zandvliet really still be alive and well?
THE Fijnwyn Bubbles and Food Festival scheduled to take place in Pretoria on 20 and 21 March was the first top South African wine event in 2020 to be called off in line with the SA government’s banning of gatherings involving more than 100 people as one of the measures to combat the Coronavirus – the pandemic having begun in
HAVING RAISED over R17-million from the charitably-minded who attended the 2020 edition of The Cape Wine Auction at Boschendal in Franschhoek, the event increased the total amount raised since the inaugural sale in 2014 at Delaire Graff in Stellenbosch to over R100-million. Sponsored by Nedbank Private Wealth, the glamorous celebration of Wine South Africa unites the industry with the philanthropic
KANONKOP PAUL SAUER tops the list of most ‘investment-worthy’ South African wines produced over the past 20 years and sold in 2019 at one of the various Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auctions or at the Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction (CFRW) in Stellenbosch. That’s according to Roland Peens, director of Wine Cellar, the Cape Town-based merchants associated with
AFTER a bidding period lasting just over a week, the highest prices fetched for South African beauties at the inaugural Fine Wine Online Auction conducted by Strauss & Co in collaboration with merchant Wine Cellar and sommelier Higgo Jacobs were for the following: from Paarl cellars, KWV Tawny Port 1939, Veenwouden Classic 1993 and 1997 (red blend); from Somerset
AFTER the major Joburg wine fest that is WineX, comes a new Chenin celebration at the Perdeberg cellar in Paarl and a party of note in Riebeek Kasteel. The Veritas roadshow travels to Durban before ending in PE, while the Tops at Spar Wine Show will put up the tent in East London, then Nelspruit. Those up for a road
ESTABLISHED as the Nederburg Auction, Paarl, it was ‘reinvented’ in 2019 as the Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction, held over two days in October at the Rupert Museum, Stellenbosch, with Charlie Foley of British auction house Christie’s wielding the gavel. Sponsored by Libertas Vineyards & Estates of Distell, the October sale is billed as one of the most
THE ANNUAL Robertson Wine Valley’s winter wine festival has been cancelled… Having been enjoyed by revellers for the past 17 years, the Wacky Wine Weekend will not take place again! “It is a bitter-sweet decision, but it was time,” said Robertson Wine Route manager Beatrix Galloway. Apparently the festival was giving the wines of Robertson a bad name [busloads of
WHO WOULD have thought it possible? The Mullineux couple Chris (viticulturist) and Andrea (winemaker), perhaps! But how amazing it was that the only white wine to fetch over R1000 a bottle on average at South Africa’s 2019 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction in Stellenbosch came from grapes grown in Barrydale, Klein Karoo – more than Ataraxia Chardonnay of Hemel-en-Aarde, more
THE TOPS at Spar Wine Show takes place in Menlyn Park, Pretoria, the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction at Spier in Stellenbosch. No, this Stellenbosch Wine Festival takes place at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg. The Old Vine Project Masterclass is hosted by Wine Menu in Kramerville, Johannesburg. The Institute of Cape Wine Masters will present an evening with
THE MOST in-demand South African lots at the first Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auction to be held in Cape Town, organised in collaboration with retailer Wine Cellar and sommelier Higgo Jacobs… Following the inaugural event in Johannesburg three months earlier, the Cape reds, whites and sweets to fetch over R2000 a bottle/750ml at the September sale were as follows:
FROM Cape Town to Cornwall, Pretoria to the USA, Hermanus, Franschhoek, Soweto and back… There’s plenty for wine lovers to look forward to this month, which began with a South African winefest in London, ending with another in Hermanus. There’s an auction of note, or what about a gathering of the curious and enlightened for a wine and culinary
NEW ON THE SA Wine Calendar are the Stellenbosch Fine Wine & Food Festival and the Elgin Wine Fair, but also happening in August are a number of annual events that are as popular as ever: the Free State Wine Show in Bloemfontein, Robertson Slow, the CWG Auction Showcase tastings in Cape Town and Johannesburg as well as the Mercury
THE WINE CELLAR, Wine Menu, Caroline’s, Tops at Spar and the Institute of Cape Wine Masters have lined up tastings aplenty to look forward to in Johannesburg, Stellenbosch, Cape Town and PE this month. It’s also Bastille Festival time in Franschhoek, there’s Soetes & Soup on the menu in the Breedekloof and, having established a fine reputation at The Old
MULLING OVER results of the inaugural Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auction in Johannesburg, waiting to hear feedback and comment from the organisers Wine Cellar and Sommelier Higgo Jacobs, there’s a fair bit to ponder. 78% of the 183 lots sold for R1.3m in total, the items ranging from single bottles to 12-bottle cases. “We think it’s a great start,”
