Bidding was brisk and the wines fetched unexpected high prices right from the onset culminating in a record turnover of R5,204,400. This represents more than a 5% increase on last year, despite the 10% reduction in the quantity of wine on sale.
The highest price fetched for a case of wine (equivalent of 6 X 750ml bottles) was R5200 for Peter Finlayson's Bouchard Finlayson Unfiltered Pinot Noir 2007 (1.5 litre bottles), followed closely at R5100 by Louis Strydom's Engelbrecht Els CWG 2007 and Marc Kent's Boekenhoutskloof Syrah Auction Reserve 2007, a new vintage of last year's record holder. The highest priced white wine was Adi Badenhorst's Badenhorst Family Wines Kalmoesfontein Semillon Noble Late Harvest 2008 (375ml bottles) which fetched R4600.
Of the 159 buyers - the most ever to bid at the auction and 59% more than last year - the vast majority, 84%, were local buyers who spent a total of R4,396,400. Foreign buyers made up the remaining sales totalling R808,000. Alan Pick of The Butcher Shop and Grill triumphed for the eighth consecutive year as the biggest spender at R1,056,200. Only one overseas buyer made the top ten list which this year included four newcomers to the auction. The biggest overseas buyers came from Belgium, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Denmark.
"I'm very happy that so many people have come to respect the quality of the Guild wines. It has become a recognised brand and we got some awesome stuff," said an elated Alan Pick, who purchased considerably more white wines than previously and praised the exceptionally high standards of this year's wines.
The total number of cases sold this year was 2,274, with R2288.65 the average price per case. The vast majority of buyers were private collectors.
"It is obvious from the results that the sale of quality of wines is not affected by the economic downturn and that there will always be a demand for individually crafted, specialist wines," said Henré Hablutzel of Hofmeyr Mills Auctioneers, who has seen the interest by private collectors in the Guild auction grow exponentially over the past 10 years.
"This was borne out again by the overwhelming number of small, single lots purchased at the auction, as opposed to multi-lot bulk buys by trade buyers,” he added.
A commemorative 12-litre bottle to celebrate South Africa's 350 years of winemaking - a singular blend crafted by Guild members whose cumulative experience in winemaking spans 350 years - raised R22,000 in the charity auction in aid of the Nedbank CWG Development Trust. The bottle was purchased by Neil and Sue Proudfoot of Wine Concepts on Kloof. The total raised on the silent auction was R91,600. Founded in 1999, the Development Trust assists with education, training and empowerment of young people from previously disadvantaged wine farming communities and includes the Guild's Protégé Programme, a mentorship scheme for young, upcoming winemakers.
“We are delighted by the unprecedented results of our auction, both in terms of the many new buyers as well as the excellent prices and record breaking turnover attained despite the lower volumes of wine on offer this year. This just goes to show that even with the global economic downturn, there will always be a market for exceptional quality,” said Johan Malan, Simonsig winemaker and chairman of the Cape Winemakers Guild.
