Keen interest in CWG auction

The auction, open to the public as well as trade, offers 41 wines made by some of South Africa's most respected winemakers. Whist the variety remains consistent with previous years; the volumes are down by 10% on last year. All the wines are made exclusively for the auction by members of the Guild and are selected to represent the best in South African winemaking. This year's auction wines include 27 red wines, 9 white wines, 2 dessert wines, a Méthode Cap Classique, a potstill brandy and a port.

The early registration of auction buyers includes 17 new local wine enthusiasts and a new private collector from the United Kingdom. Some of the country's leading hotels and restaurants as well as a new top London restaurant also feature amongst the early registrations. In addition, most of the regular overseas buyers from Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Canada and the UK have indicated that they will be back again this year, despite the economic downturn.

Auctioneer Henré Hablutzel of Hofmeyr Mills Auctioneers who has been involved with the auction since 1998, believes the growing interest from private collectors who recognise the value of investing in Guild wines is significant.

“When we started 12 years ago the trend was more trade and overseas oriented with larger quantities of each wine being purchased. Today, with the strengthening of the rand, we see less of an influence of the overseas market and more interest from the private purchaser who wishes to buy small quantities of a variety of the wines on auction. These buyers appear to be far more knowledgeable than a decade ago, and interact more with the winemakers at the informal tastings than before,” said Hablutzel.

This year's auction offers a unique 12-litre bottle of wine to commemorate South Africa's 350 years of winemaking that will go under the hammer as a charity item in aid of the Nedbank CWG Development Trust.

Prospective buyers unable to attend the auction can register in advance with CWG, use telephonic, and proxy bidding facilities.

For further details, visit www.capewinemakersguild.com or tel +27 (0) 21 852 0408 or email .