Address
The Bergkelder
George Blake Street
Stellenbosch, 7600
George Blake Street
Stellenbosch, 7600
After the unexpected challenge of COVID 19, the third year of this exciting new chapter in the South African wine auction landscape has arrived with the historical Nederburg Auction evolving into the Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction, which has been presented by Nederburg since 1975. This brings a new focus, format, selection process and venue for a truly industry-led auction, which is centred around the high expectations of today’s wine enthusiasts, investors, collectors and producers.
Significant input has been sought over the past few years from industry legends, leading producers and buyers to ensure a new-format auction is ready to meet the demands of all wine enthusiasts and collectors. The selection process has also been rigorously debated by world-renowned judges, critics and influencers to ensure that the process aligns with other respected international wine auctions.
The Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction will be held this year over the weekend of the 22nd May 2021 again at the beautiful and very fitting Rupert Museum in Stellenbosch.
The following key criteria will be considered as part of the Auction’s wine line-up selection process:
Brand Recognition and Demand: Does the wine being entered have strong collector demand and brand recognition amongst fine & rare wine collectors? Is there a track record of price rises?
Quality: Is the wine considered high quality by independent reviewers, critics and judges? Can the wine improve by further cellaring?
Rarity: Is the wine being entered rare? For example, it is no longer available from retailers or at the cellar door.
Provenance: Has the wine been stored under ideal temperature-controlled conditions? Can the history, authenticity and where it has been stored be proven?
Niche Items: Producers are encouraged to enter special / once-off niche items. These could be a collaboration collection or single barrel wine for example. Importantly, volume, brand and absolute rarity must be considered for niche items.
Age: There are no minimum age entry criteria.
Quantity: There are no minimum or maximum quantity restrictions.
Availability: All wines must have been unavailable to the retail trade or public for at least 12 months prior to the date of auction.
2020 Veritas: Wine with Gold or Double Gold awards at this year’s Veritas show will not be considered for inclusion in the 2021 Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction unless it is reserved exclusively for the Auction.
Entries: The auction is open to all South African producers of fine and rare wine.
The number of entries per producer is not limited.
Fees: Each wine entered will attract an entry fee of R750 per wine, irrespective of successful entry.
Participating producers will be encouraged to donate a special wine item for the Charity Auction, for example larger format, vertical cases, special mixed cases etc.
The same rigorous selection process will be followed in 2020 as was used in 2019.
A two-stage selection process will be implemented, the first part being a Desktop Review of entries and the second, a Blind Tasting (typically where a wine has not been tasted for some time).
Stage 1: Desktop Review
All wine entries will be presented to a 3-member panel for consideration. The main objective of this panel is to check all entries for rarity, quality, provenance and demand. Is the wine fine & rare wine auction quality? This is a Pass / Taste / Fail test.
Pass: Where there is consensus from all three panel members that the wine meets the auction criteria it will go straight to auction.
Taste: Where there is some doubt (typically where a wine has not been tasted for some time), the wine will be sent to a blind tasting where it will either be included or rejected for the current auction.
Fail: The wine does not meet the entry criteria for the auction and will not be included.
Stage 2: Blind Tasting
Producers will be notified as soon as possible after the Desktop Review has been completed. If a wine has been selected for the blind tasting, samples will be requested and delivery will need to take place within 10 days for the blind tasting.
All wines selected for tasting will be tasted blind by a 3-member panel. A majority consensus will be required to answer the question “Is this wine Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction quality?” Yes or No. Tasting notes of wines being tasted will be made. After each flight is completed, the Chairperson evaluates the “scores” and any significant variations are discussed as a group until a consensus is reached.
Tasting Notes: Up to date and relevant tasting notes will be required for the auction catalogue and all marketing activities. Each producer is responsible for providing these.
We highly recommend that all participants plan their entries and sales with future auctions in mind by holding back certain stock and vintages. The Auction Team would welcome the opportunity to discuss any strategy with you and assist where possible in planning volumes and future release dates.
Please click on the link provided in the covering email or copied below to enter using the Online Google Forms submission system.
ENTRY FORM: Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction 2021
Please ensure that all entries are submitted by the submission deadline of 5pm on Sunday 20th September 2020. Please phone the action office for any late entries.
If your wine is selected for the Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction, additional information will be requested like professional bottle shots, company bio, logo etc. This information is required in order to produce the auction catalogue and auction presentation.
Please note – entries can only be submitted through the online Entry Form. No other form of entry will be accepted. There is no limit to the amount of wines you can enter as long as they all meet the submission criteria. Each entry must be submitted individually.
All queries regarding entries should be directed via email to Suné Van Der Merwe Sune@CapeFineRareWine.auction
| Event | Day | 2020 Date | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Submissions Open (Complete online Entry Form) | Mon | 31 August 2020 | 9pm |
| Submissions Close (Last day to submit entry form) | Fri | 18 September 2020 | 5pm |
| Selection Stage 1: Desk-Top Review | Wed | 07 October 2020 | 10am |
| Sample delivery opens for Stage 2 tasting Selection | Tues | 14 October – 28 October | 12pm |
| Selection Stage 2: Blind Tasting | Thur | 3 & 4 November | 10am |
| Contracts Issued to Producers | Wed | 30 November – 4 December | 12pm |
| Wine Deliveries/Collections: Auction & Tasting Stock Murdo to collect from producers | Thur | 30 November | 8am |
| Wine Deliveries CLOSE: Auction & Tasting Stock | Thu | 4 December | 3pm |
| Final Results: Auction line-up announced | w/c | 7 December |
The Auction will do its utmost to minimise sample requirements as we understand that this is a drain on valuable stock.
Samples will be required for all wines that have passed the stage 1 (desktop review) process. This allows the Auction Office to check all bottles against the supplied submission information (entry forms, export certificates etc.) and to have stock available of all wines that need tasting as part of the stage 2 process. Not all wines will be tasted.
No samples will be opened unnecessarily. Any left-over samples will either be returned or kept in storage for the pre-Auction tasting.
The following wine samples and stock will be required for the selection tasting, pre-Auction tasting and auction, which must be delivered to the Auction office at Die Bergkelder, Stellenbosch:
| Event | Delivery Window | Required | 375ml | 750ml | 1.5L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry Review and Selection Tasting | 14 October – 28 October | If Selected | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Auction tasting* (media, influencers & UK – no pre-auction tasting this year) | 30 November – 4 December | If Selected | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Auction Stock – to be collected | 30 November – 4 December from producers | If Selected | TBC | TBC | TBC |
* These are minimum requirements. Any remaining samples from the Selection Tasting will be kept for the Pre-Auction tasting / International Auction or returned. This will be communicated to each producer.
All samples to be delivered to Murdo Dreyer at the address detailed below.
All unopened samples will be returned to the producers.
Any samples or stock not received by the delivery deadline dates above will lead to the entry being withdrawn.
All queries regarding wine deliveries should be directed to Murdo Dreyer (mailto:Murdo@capefinerarewine.auction).
Kindly note the following:
Contract - All producers selected to participate at the 2021 Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction are required to sign a contract confirming your participation and acceptance of the terms and conditions. The Auction Office will issue these to all successful producers invited to participate at the Auction after the Selection process. All contracts must be signed prior to announcing the Auction Line-up.
Auction Seal – The official Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction “Auction Seal” sticker will be affixed to each bottle by the Auction Team once the Auction stock has been received.
Payment – Payment for wines sold on Auction will be made to producers approximately four weeks after bidder payment has cleared.
Producer Sales Return – All participating producers will receive 75% of the final auction knock-down price achieved per lot, which excludes VAT and any International door to door deliveries.
Invoicing – each producer will be required to submit a Tax Invoice to the Auction Office for payment after the Auction. All relevant details will be provided to each producer individually after the auction.
Please contact the relevant Auction Team member for any queries or additional information.
| Name | Designation | Contact for | Tel | |
| Suné van der Merwe | Auction Manager |
|
+27 (72) 224 2888 | sune@capefinerarewine.auction |
| Murdo Dreyer | Auction Logistics |
|
021 809 7203 | murdo@capefinerarewine.auction |
All wine samples and Auction stock must be delivered to the following address as per the specified quantities and dates detailed above.
All deliveries must be marked as follows:
Attention: Murdo Dreyer
Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction Office
Distell, Die Bergkelder
George Blake Street
Plankenbrug
Stellenbosch