For many years before its inception in 1975, the idea of holding an auction at Nederburg had been in the mind of Lothar Barth, managing director of Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery.  The concept was inspired by his visits to the winelands of Germany, where he had attended – and been impressed by – events of this kind, particularly that held at Kloster Eberbach in Eltville. At home, Lothar Barth found a ready disciple in S.F.W’s marketing director Jurgen Burmeister, who was already familiar with the wine auctions of his native Germany and naturally enthusiastic about establishing one at the Cape.  A visit to Europe at this time with the express purpose of studying the organization of wine auctions convinced him that the situation, facilities and wines of Nederburg lent themselves particularly well to such an event.  From then on, the idea of an auction began to take a definite form in the minds of both Barth and Burmeister.  They saw it as providing an opportunity to convince the world that high quality wines were being made in South Africa in general and at Nederburg in particular; it would be a showcase for various rare wines of which only small quantities were available and would make them accessible to a discriminating public, it would also test the current likes and dislikes of consumers and so reflect the changing fashions in wine.  Besides, an auction would create the avenue by which Edelkeur, the unique noble wine first produced at Nederburg in 1969, would become more widely known.    

The concept was an ambitious one and, while Lothar Barth and Jurgen Burmeister had complete faith in it, the fact remained that the directors of Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery, which was still under the control of South African Breweries, were nervous.  They were aware that the entire venture was an enormous risk for not only would it be extremely costly to mount, but failure would seriously damage Nederburg’s image.  However, despite initial misgivings, Nederburg’s plans for its first auction went ahead and the date, 8 March 1975 was selected.

Nederburg itself was an obvious venue, both because of its superb surrounding and amenities and also because it would benefit from the maximum publicity.   As a model the Kloster Eberbach auction was chosen although, naturally, changes had to be made to suite local conditions.  It was, for example, impossible to emulate Kloster Eberbach in determining a base price for new vintage wines at the auction, as in South Africa this was one of the K.W.V.’s responsibilities.  On the other hand, there was nothing to prevent the Nederburg Wine Auction from following Kloster Eberbach’s example in establishing premium prices or providing a market for scarce or special wines – aims which it certainly set out to achieve.  One of the first decisions was that participants outside Stellenbosch Farmer’s Winery and Nederburg would be invited and that any South African wines of the required high standard would be eligible for sale to licensed retailers, but not to the public.  The intention was that this would inspire Cape viticulturists to experiment with new cultivars and so stimulate the work undertaken by the Oenological and Viticultural Research Institute at Nietvoorbij in Stellenbosch.  Local retailers would be encouraged to increase their role in wine-marketing and buyers from abroad would be invited to attend, as would luminaries representing various sectors of the local and foreign communities.  Finally and most important, it was agreed that an auctioneer of world stature would be appointed to conduct the sale and that a high ranking and well-known personage would be invited to open the proceedings. 

Of course, the organisers of every facet of the event had a very great deal to learn but from the beginning the Auction was not a project confined to Nederburg alone, but a company undertaking where co-operation was the watchword.  Despite this, it was not an easy task to motivate the staff to help: there were those loyal to certain executives who opposed the whole idea while others simply had no interest in volunteering for extra (unpaid) work.  In the event, it was Jurgen Burmeister’s marketing section at S.F.W. that took on the ‘front of house’ organization while tents, tarpaulins and toilets became the responsibility of the winery manager, Dave Hughes – a  motivating spirit behind the Auction for many years. 

Jeff Wedgwood, S.F.W.’s chief wine buyer, had the task, of encouraging outside winemakers to submit their products for sale.  On that first occasion only six were represented, Nederburg and S.F.W, Delheim, Groot Constantia, Overgaauw and Simonsig.  Meanwhile some 800 people, of whom 300 were licensees, had accepted invitations. 

Nederburg’s first auction proved to be an occasion that no one – no matter how tenuously involved – will ever forget, though there was no hint at the time of the sophisticated gala occasion into which it would ultimately develop.  Early March had been chosen because at that time of year at the Cape rain is unlikely to fall and put a dampener – literally – on the proceedings.  A good enough reason, indeed, but it filled with dismay all those responsible for gathering in the harvest and pressing Nederburg’s wine.  Not only is this the hottest and most uncomfortable time of the year, but for those in the cellar it is always the most frenetic.  For weeks before the Auction they had been so busy by day and by night that they hardly slept – yet now they had to put all their technical duties aside and devote themselves to the requirements of the Auction.  Nevertheless, the event went ahead and was opened by Hendrik Schoeman, then minister of agriculture, with the actual sales of wine being conducted by Patrick Grubb, distinguished auctioneer and director of the wine department of the famous British firm of Sotheby’s.

As the Johann Graue Centre, today the pulsing heart of the Auction, was not even a dream in those days, the actual sales of wine took place in an enormous marquee erected on the front lawn, while the lunch was held al fresco wherever there was shade enough to give protection from the blistering sun.  And blistering it certainly was on that March Saturday in 1975.

Nevertheless, the Auction of 1975 broke new ground and provided – in the words of a modern cliché – ‘a learning experience’.  The total income amounted to R237 000, for which 12 400 cases of wine had been sold, but individual prices in many instances were disappointing.  Edelkeur, to the intense chagrin of Günter Brözel, who had produced it with such skill, was sold for no more than the price of Lieberstein, the local popular wine, which made nonsense of the decision that no reserve price should be placed on any Nederburg product.  The auction’s critics proved outspoken: some said that the time was not yet ripe for an auction in South Africa; others thought that the prices were too high and that the public was not hear ‘adequately wine sophisticated’, and warned that growers would not respond to the challenge.  Then, too, judging from the small number of participants, there appeared to have been some resistance from outside wine-makers.  Many people, however, were positive in their response and though the directors of S.F.W.  remained cautious and reluctant to invest in facilities specifically erected for future auctions, they nevertheless agreed to allow the Auction to continue. 

Extract taken from Chapter 11 of the book “NEDERBURG THE FIRST TWO HUNDRED YEARS”.
TEXT BY PHILLIPA BROOKE .