Cape Fine & Rare Auction confirms new date

The Cape Fine & Rare Auction will now take place on 22 May, having being postponed last year due to restrictions in South Africa imposed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The prestigious auction (previously known as the Nederburg Auction) was due to take place in October last year but had to be postponed due to the pandemic.

The organisers have said that the auction will be presented in a “hybrid format” with live bidding online as well as bidding from the floor.

The auction will take place at the Rupert Museum in Stellenbosch, while, in connection with Christie’s, there will be a series of events in London in the run up to the sale featuring Zoom calls with winemakers.

The wines for the auction will be selected by Cathy van Zyl MW, writer Micheal Fridjhon and François Rautenbach as well as Joseph Dhafana who joins as an associate judge for the first time.

Winemaker Niël Groenewald, the new director of the auction, said: “We are excited that the Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction can continue to act as a much-needed platform to showcase the best of South African wines. Indeed, there is no better time to support our great wines than the present.

“We are formulating exciting plans which will allow our online bidders to still share in the magic and enjoy the energy that the Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction has come to represent. We are especially thrilled that our online format allows producers to virtually enter the homes and cellars of collectors, even those as far away as the UK, Hong Kong or the US. 

“Auction houses globally have seen a shift in collectors’ behaviours, who are now more confident than ever to bid online – the Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction looks forward to broadening its bidder base to include these global collectors.”