Significance

Two of the most noteworthy events on the South African wine calendar took place within hours of each other in the first week of October.

First up was the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG) Auction at Spier in Stellenbosch. There was an unusual nervousness among CWG members in the run up to the annual event; many were noticeably less bullish than in previous years as a result, firstly, of the prevailing economic climate and secondly, because of the remarkable resurgence of the Nederburg Auction one month earlier. One or two mused openly whether local retailers’ budgets might have had a greater chunk allocated to Nederburg than the CWG.

Their fears turned out to be unfounded, however, as it was obvious from the first lot – Kanonkop CWG Paul Sauer 2010 – that buyers were willing to spend freely in order to get their hands on some of South Africa’s finest wines. That initial lot sold for an average of R4 780 per case – or R795 per bottle.

The first million rand in sales was racked up by the time the hammer fell on the fourth lot, the Etienne Le Riche Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2010 – all for just 240 cases (by six 750ml bottles) of wine! The Le Riche also recorded the highest case average of R5 255 or R890 a bottle.

It was notable that Alan Pick of Sandton’s Butcher Shop & Grill, traditionally the auction’s single biggest buyer, was as active as ever, despite the higher prices. Over a cup of coffee mid-morning Pick admitted that he’d already blown his budget… “and I haven’t really started on the wines I want!”

“If I’m going to sell a bottle of wine to my customers for R1 500 or R1 800 rand, it’s got to be something that I can lay my hand on my heart and recommend with total honesty. I only buy wines that I am happy to drink,” he said while working the room to ensure that he secured every parcel of Rianie Strydom’s Haskell Vineyards Merlot 2010.

The final tally was yet another record sale – R8.4 million. It was plain for all to see that the auction room was fuller than in previous years with a broader range of buyers, many of them private purchasers. There was also a good representation of foreign interest, with UK buyers snapping up R474 000 worth of wine, while Danish and Belgian buyers accounted for R297 000 and R225 200 respectively.

While many of those attending the Veritas awards, held at Cape Town’s International Convention Centre the same night, muttered about the timing of the event which coincided with possibly the most crucial rugby match of the year – the All Blacks versus the Springboks in the Castle Championship final – the evening was still a success … in spite of the loss to the kiwis!

Overall, 68 double gold medals were awarded from a total entry pool of 1 792 wines and brandies. Red blends, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc shared the spoils for the single biggest category with eight double golds each. Chardonnay accounted for six and Pinotage and Shiraz five each. Potstill brandies won seven double golds, with Distell’s Van Ryn’s accounting for three of them.

The biggest winner of the night – for the second year running – was the KWV, with four double golds and 13 golds, with Nederburg not far behind, also with four double golds but with nine gold medals.

Organisers of the SA National Wine Show introduced two new prizes this year – the outstanding performers. The first category was for producers who entered fewer than 10 wines and the second was for those with more than 10 entries. The small producer category prize went to Flagstone while Nederburg took the honours in the latter category.

– Fiona McDonald