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Nederburg Auction is an annual Ascot-type of event where glitterati and social celebrities and fashion fraternity turn up to see others and be seen. In India, we refer to them as P3 types. The guests whose list and entry is tightly controlled by the organisers, also include the who's who of wine industry and the restaurant community who come to bid and buy wine in lots, that could be rare, premium vintages or even new vintages if they are tasted and approved by a panel, making even the entry into the auction a matter of prestige for the wine producers.
Keeping up with the changing times, the intake was lower this year, second year in a row. Many of the participants expressed the reduced popularity of the event while the organisers attributed this year's lower income and average price of wines being 10% less than the last year to the difficult economic conditions and mounting competition facing South Arica and the rest of the world.
Foreign buyers remained the same as last year-at 23 percent of the sales. Importers from Zambia, Taiwan and Brazil were among the Top Ten buyers. For the second time in the history of this auction, a restaurant chain, Cape Town Fish Market, took the top spot, buying wine worth almost a million Rands-a fifth of the total sales. As in the past the supermarket and retail groups like Checkers were the bigger buyers.
Jan Scannell, MD of the Distell Group which owns Nederburg Auction and the winery where the auction has been historically held since the inception was pleased with the sustainability in international sales, including higher sales to the rest of Africa.
The average price paid for a dry white wine was R935 per nine-liter case, an increase of 10 percent on last year's price, with the top price paid for Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay 2003 at R300 a bottle. The top price for Méthode Cap Classique (South Africa's answer to Champagne) wine went for Graham Beck Brut Blanc de Blanc 2001at R200 (about $25) a bottle.
One of the features of the Auction has been the inclusion of current vintages of Sauvignon Blanc. The highest price paid in this category was R83 (about $10) for a bottle of Nederburg Private Bin D234 Sauvignon Blanc 2008.
An important feature of the Auction is that it conducts a charity sale which raised R 227,600 for the three beneficiaries in the area of health and education. With the corresponding sale of R 386,500 last year, the significant reduction could be reflection of the difficulties in the current economic scenario. Incidentally, the highest price paid on the charity auction was R 50,000 (about $6300) for a 50-litre barrel of Nederburg Flagship Red Blend.
Professor Monika Christmann, from the Department of Oenology and Wine Technology at the Geisenheim State Research Institute in Germany, was this year's keynote speaker. Her important and topical address relating the consumer and the future trends in winemaking will be featured in a future issue of delWine.
Lifestyle Experience
Nederburg Lifestyle Experience is more than just the Auction -which is the business aspect of the event and helps pay the bills. The social and entertainment face of the Auction was a journey of pampering five senses- Sight, Taste, Sound, Touch and Smell. By the end of this experience one could not blame ordinary wine- loving mortals getting -let us say, 'pretty' high.
The multiple number of marquees in white (this seems to be the most favourite colour in this part of the country) with plenty of food, wine and music. The 800-odd wine socialites milling around did not indicate that there would be a pressure on the sales at the auction in a big hall which saw an overflowing house mesmerised by the keynote address by Prof Monika Christmann.
One could relax on the deck in style or just lounge around and Sight beautiful models strut around gracefully, displaying fashions by well known South African fashion houses like Black Coffee, Hip Hop Fashions, couturier Gert Van de Merwe, Thula Sindi and atelier Kobus Dippenaar. There were several sumptuous dishes and wines to add to the feast beyond the eyes.
After the sense of Sight one entered another marquee of Taste, where in a laid back style one could indulge in an almost-perfect food pairing with wine from a selection of Nederburg Auction wines under the helpful guidance of an acclaimed chef and a wine expert.
In the Sound section, guests were treated to short poems created by South African poets, inspired by a different Nederburg wine. Each poet created a different mood capturing the nuance of the wine he tasted. Of course there was a live band providing pleasant music under the warm sun.
The old, beautiful and historical Manor House where I had enjoyed a couple of sumptuous lunches and several coffee breaks during the SAA tasting last month was the scene of the Smell. To introduce the guests to the exploding aromas one finds in some of their premium Sauvignon Blancs, Chardonnays, Shirazes and the Pinot Noirs one could associate the aromas of wine with the perfume sources, like chocolate, berries and spices, nosing the selection of Nederburg wine and linking its fragrance with the cue.
The sensation of Touch was provided in the very popular Pamper Lounge where one could have the hair and make-up done up. Invigorating hand and shoulder massages were also available, perhaps to remind the guests of the bold and powerful style of their Bordeaux blends some of whom could touch 8 on the Richter scale (16% ABV).
One could not but wonder if many of the guests found the warm and sunny ambience in the lawns after days of rainy, cold days of recent past, too inviting to stay on , especially with rains predicted again during the following days, explaining the half full auction hall.
The system of bidding inside was quite systematic with lots to be auctioned, well defined and documented. A catalogue listing the lot details and the approximate time of the auction implored you to enjoy the surrounds and catch up with the latest gossip (I over-heard two socialite ladies talking about a local eligible bachelor wine writer finding a new lover!). Animated discussions about the prices in the auction and the wine scenario in general was more in tune with the atmosphere. Nr. Mbeki was still the President and the political discussions were not so heated up and frequent.
Lower prices of some of the wines and the advisability of auctioning the current vintages of Sauvignon Blanc were more of interest to wine buffs. Chef Harald Bresselschmidt, the German Chef who worked for years in Hotel Grand Roche- the beautiful, historic property in Paarl where I had spent 4 memorable nights last month and now runs a sophisticated dining, high-end restaurant, Aubergine at 39, Barnet Street in Cape Town could not complain. He could pick up 32 cases in 7 different lots costing him only R 28,200 (about $3,500) on the first day of the 2-day auction.
' I like to go to the Nederburg auction to find wines of older vintages usually of wines we used to have and are sold out. It always upgrades the wine list and since we have a Diamond award we need to look at that.' he said, adding, 'this year I found some good buys and was quite happy with what I bought. The positive features of the Nederburg Auction is that most of the big buyers are bidding for larger lots which leaves us with a good chance to scoop up lots for 4 cases or less.'
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The timing of the auction has mercifully been changed to coincide with Cape Wine so the visitors to Cape Wine 2008 could also enjoy the event if they were resourceful enough as the entry is always very restricted. Citing this as a negative feature of the Auction for a serious buyer like him, Chef Harald said,' The negative feature is the way the Auction is designed and takes two full days one doesn't have time for complete shopping. I only got a ticket for one day which leaves me with a limited choice of wine I can buy.'
So next time you go to Aubergine Restaurant in Cape Town for some fine dining and order a bottle of Glen Karlou Syrah 2003, or Simonsig Merindo Syrah 2001 or want to finish the meal with the seductive Weisser Riesling Noble late harvest 2002 fro Nederburg Private Bin 316, you know where it came from.
The Nederburg Auction 2008
Subhash Arora |