Bid for Wine ups the ante

Bid for Wine, the UK’s only online wine auctioneer, has stepped up competition with traditional auction houses by launching a regular series of large sales.

The first of these, a collection of top-end Burgundy including multiple vintages of Ponsot Clos de La Roche, Rousseau Chambertin and Comtes de Vogüé, will begin closing at 9am tomorrow.

Explaining this development in company strategy, Lionel Nierop, managing director of Bid for Wine, said: “Until now, when wines were consigned to us for sale, they were normally listed and put up for sale immediately in amongst our standard ‘peer to peer’ auctions.

“While this works perfectly for odd bottles, increasingly we’re being asked to handle large collections by consignment, which requires a different approach.

“For example, the client normally doesn’t want any direct involvement in the sale and the wines need to be visible for longer than simply just the seven days of a sale.”

The move sees Bid for Wine build on its consignment service operated in partnership with EHD London, which allows for a full valuation, photography and collection of wines prior to sale.

The company plans to organise these larger sales of consigned lots every few weeks, with potential bidders able to browse online several weeks in advance.

Sellers will now also be able to benefit from having their wines advertised via websites such as TheSaleroom.com.

Lots from the current sale can be viewed via tiny.cc/RedBurgundyAuction

Forthcoming large-scale auction events include “Mature Bordeaux, Top Australian & others” beginning on 4 June, and “No reserve 2005 Bordeaux & others” from 25 June, which offers the chance to pick up the likes of châteaux Montrose, Calon-Ségur and Léoville Barton for as little as £1.

A preview of lots for sale can be viewed at www.bidforwine.co.uk/forthcoming_sales.

Gabriel Savage, 27.05.2010