Nederburg Auction public tastings

The Nederburg Auction is pleased to once again host the popular public pre-auction wine tasting events in South Africa’s two major regions. If you have an appreciation for exclusive, rare wines, take some time out from your everyday schedule to join wine expert Bennie Howard for a preview of some of the extraordinary wines on offer at this year’s auction, now in its 36th year.

As only licensees may bid on the Auction, which takes place on September 3 and 4, the pre-tasting is the ideal opportunity for wine lovers to select the wines they would like to acquire, which can be purchased on their behalf by their local liquor outlet, wine shop owners or supermarket wine buyers.

The Cape Town tasting takes place at the recently opened Upper Eastside Hotel, Brickfield Road, Woodstock on Thursday evening, 15th July, and the Johannesburg tasting takes place on Wednesday evening 21st July at the Southern Sun Grayston Hotel, corner of Rivonia Road and Grayston Drive in Sandton. Both tastings will start at 19:00 for 19:30.

Tickets cost R120 per person and will include sparkling wine on arrival and snacks afterwards. Bookings can be made through Computicket.

Nederburg Auction welcomes former guest speaker back as first-time participant

Zelma Long, one of America’s best-known winemakers, has broken new ground by becoming the first former guest speaker at the Nederburg Auction to have a wine made available for sale on this year’s 36th auction of rare Cape wines.

The Californian co-owner and winemaker of Vilafonté – the first South African and American joint winemaking venture that makes its debut at this year’s event – is thrilled to feature on the auction. “As a producer dedicated to the production of high-end wines, we’re very pleased to be afforded the opportunity to offer twenty cases of the Vilafonté Series C 2003 vintage to both local and international buyers”, she says. “This is the first wine that Vilafonté released and it is fitting that it be showcased on such a prestigious international wine platform”. Vilafonté is the only winery from South Africa to have been nominated twice for ‘New World winery of the Year’ by prestigious Wine Enthusiast magazine.

Zelma, who was guest speaker at the 2001 auction, is amazed at the enormous growth in the South African wine industry in just under a decade. “South Africa is really beginning to be a world-class wine producing country and it’s important that an event like the Nederburg Auction highlights this for the world through creating a demand for fine wines that sell at strong prices”, she comments.

Looking ahead, Zelma sees the Cape as becoming the ‘Napa Valley’ of South Africa, with amazing diversification and growth in wineries, locations, wine types and production size, from cult and boutique to mid-size and large volume producers. “I also see slower but important changes in viticulture, with better clones, cleaner plant material, more site-specific sensitivity in planting, experimentation with other varieties, quality enhancement in Pinotage and development of Chenin Blanc. The future holds a profusion of lovely wines”, she concludes.

Other first-time participants this year are Mountain Oaks, an organic winery located in the Slanghoek Valley, which debut’s with a Chenin Blanc Reserve 2005; Seven Oaks, which showcases the maiden vintage 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz Reserve; and family-owned winery Vrede en Lust, which offers two award-winning wines – the Sauvignon Blanc from the 2007 vintage won gold at the 2007 Veritas Awards, while the 2008 Viognier was recognised as the top Viognier at the 2008 SA Terroir Wine Awards, and was also awarded silver at the Veritas Awards in the same year.

Three worthy causes benefit from Nederburg Trust Proceeds

Nederburg in Paarl recently hosted a lunch for the beneficiaries of the 35th annual Nederburg Charity Auction. The proceeds from the event, which raised close to R210 000 for the Nederburg Charity Trust, was shared equally amongst the Hospice Palliative Care Association of South Africa, the Organ Donor Foundation and an AIDS-HIV-support NGO, Mothers2Mothers.

Philippa Douglas, upon accepting the proceeds on behalf of the Organ Donor Foundation, aptly reflected the sentiments of all the beneficiary representatives; “As a long-term beneficiary of the Nederburg Charity Auction we are so appreciative of the ongoing support and commitment shown to our cause. Through your support we trust that our endeavours will in turn enrich the lives of those who need the services that we offer”.

This year’s Charity Auction will take place after the close of the main Nederburg Auction at Nederburg in Paarl on September 3rd and 4th.

For further information contact the Nederburg Auction Office on tel: 021 809 7000.

Photo Caption:

Back from left to right: Andre Wagenaar (HSPCA), Rudolph du Toit (Nederburg), Lesley Gikas (Nederburg Auction)

Middle from left to right: Moira de Koker (Nederburg Auction), Vernon de Vries (Distell), Demari Kellerman (Nederburg), Philippa Douglas (Organ Donor Foundation)

Front from left to right: Sarah Demian and Nomondo Tengwa (M2M) and Liz Gwythers (HSPCA)

Oldest auction in new world of wine pays tribute to its heritage

36 years ago, 15 rare Cape wines from five wine estates were showcased at the first Auction of the finest Cape Wines to take place at Nederburg in South Africa. It had a humble beginning as a platform for selling Nederburg Edelkeur, with the emphasis on affording licensees an opportunity to gain access to a selection of the finest local wines that represented the ultimate expression of the winemakers’ art in South Africa.

Since then, in a country that has experienced significant change, the event now recognised as the Nederburg Auction of rare Cape wines continues to make an impact. It is one of the world’s five major wine auctions and in fulfilling its objective to ensure fair distribution of rare wines, has done much to stimulate interest in South African wines among connoisseurs and the wine-loving public, both locally and abroad.

This year’s auction on September 3 and 4 draws on some new inspiration in the form of the appointment of new General Manager De Bruyn Steenkamp. Based at Distell’s London office for just over three years, De Bruyn is pleased to be back in South Africa; “I’m thrilled to be working on such an established brand and look forward to September’s event, which also heralds a few exciting changes to the existing format. More information on that shortly,” he says.

The 36th Auction pays homage to its origins with a selection of 153 wines, including some rare 70’s vintages. Buyers ranging from liquor licensees, restaurant owners, food and beverage buyers for hotels, guesthouses, game lodges and the supermarket retailers, will bid on a range of wines from 77 participants, including five newcomers, across various brands, estates and wineries.

The original five wine estates represented at the founding auction nearly four decades earlier – Delheim, Groot Constantia, Overgaauw, Simonsig and Nederburg – are again represented. “Their uninterrupted presence since the Auction’s inception is a testament to the exclusive, quality wines that the ‘big five’ consistently produce for the event”, says De Bruyn. “In 1975 they set a very high standard for rare Cape wines and, 36 years on, continue to underpin the Auction’s history and heritage by providing an incentive to greater wine standards with carefully crafted, superior wines.”

Joining the 2010 participants are newcomers Mountain Oaks, Ryk Tulbagh, Seven Oaks, Vrede en Lust and Vilafonté.

The prestigious two-day event showcases the spectrum of award- winning wines and rare Cape finds created by the country’s most talented winemakers and those that have passed the stringent criteria of winemakers, viticulturists, Cape wine masters, wine consultants and wine judges. Three groups of tasters preside at blind tastings, chaired to ensure absolute anonymity and impartiality and the integrity of the selection process. Each wine is tasted twice by different panels and the results are audited to determine a fair result.

Highly respected international wine expert Dave Hughes, one of the panel leaders during this year’s selection process, says, “There were a number of astounding Shiraz wines that stood out for me this year – the quality of the 1999, 2000 and 2001 vintages in particular was magnificent. I believe there are some really noteworthy wines in this category that buyers will find attractive.”

Margaret Fundira, business manager at Anchor Yeast and a member of the 2010 auction judging panel, tasted in the Chardonnay and red blend category. “I found the quality of most of the wines to be outstanding. I think winemakers put a lot of thought and effort into the wines that they enter for the Nederburg Auction”; she says.

De Bruyn adds, “In addition to the high number of award-winning wines that have already passed the selection criteria, we’re pleased to welcome the 2005 winners of the Pinotage Association’s ABSA Top Ten Pinotage competition, who have become a regular item on the auction since 2002.”

This year’s pre-release wines – a category introduced at the 2002 auction – include the Kanu Viognier 2009 and the Speciosa 2006 from Nitida, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Savignon and Cabernet Franc.

The complete wine line-up for 2010 comprises 95 red, 32 white, five natural sweet, 11 Noble Late Harvest and 10 ports.

The red wines include 32 red blends, 20 Cabernet Sauvignons, 15 Pinotages, five Merlots, 15 Shiraz/Syrahs and eight other reds.

The white wines include 4 MCC’s, 10 Sauvignon Blancs, nine Chardonnays, four Chenin Blancs and five white blends.

Full details of all the wines on auction will appear in the catalogue, which will be available in July.