The Nederburg charity sale is an integral part of the Nederburg Auction and forms part of the official catalogue. While the commercial part of the auction is only open to registered licensees, all guests will be encouraged to register for the charity auction by means of a credit card imprint. A bidding paddle will then be issued at Information.

It is the charity auction, held after the sale of rare wines is completed, that often breaks records at the Nederburg Auction, while at the same time raising impressive and much needed sums for deserving causes.  On offer are specially donated wines, usually extremely rare and old, that are sold in aid of a nominated charity.   In 1982 it was the South African National Council of the Aged that benefited from a stunning bid of R 16 000 paid by Transvaal wine merchant, Mr Benney Goldberg, for a bottle of 1811 Cognac.  Three years later the Community Chests were the fortunate recipients of the R20 000  that he paid for a bottle of 1940 vintage Chateau Libertas.  When he equalled this record in 1987 with a successful bid for a half bottle of that most exquisite of all Cape Wines – Constantia made in 1790, the year before the Nederburg Auction came into existence – it was to the advantage of the National Cancer Association of South Africa.  In 1992 donated wines included a magnum of Californian Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1979 from the cellars of the guest speaker, Robert Mondavi. For this, a world record price of R230 000 was paid by the late Mr Graham Beck after a fierce battle with Hans Schreiber, himself a successful bidder and a staunch supporter of previous auctions at Nederburg.

The famed auction at the Hospice de Beaune in Burgundy may be regarded as an entirely charity event since the hospice supports itself by auctioning the wine produced from its own vineyards.  The auction at Kloster Eberbach, on the other hand, is wholly commercial, while all the money raised at the two held at Napa Valley and Sonoma in California is donated to deserving causes.  It is only at Nederburg that a commercial event of this magnitude is combined with a charity function.
Last year’s charity auction raised much-needed funds for three community-orientated organisations; the Goedegedacht Trust, the Pebbles Project Trust and World Vision SA in Mbekweni. This year’s charity auction proceeds will once again be split equally amongst these same three organisations.