Saturday 3 October 2015

Cape Winemakers Guild Auction 2015

A case of six bottles of Kanonkop CWG Paul Sauer 2012 fetched the highest price ever paid for a red wine at the auction with a top bid of R12 200. White wine prices also soared with AA Badenhorst Family Wines Graniet-Berg 2013 setting a new auction record of R7 000 for a case of six.

This year no less than six red wines fetched higher prices than last year’s record of R8 600 per case. Hartenberg CWG Auction Shiraz 2013 peaked at R11 000, Boekenhoutskloof Syrah Auction Reserve 2013 sold for R10 000, Etienne Le Riche Cabernet Sauvignon Auction Reserve 2011 for R9 600, and Beyerskloof Traildust Pinotage 2013 and Rust en Vrede CWG Estate 2012 both on R9 200. Amongst the whites four beat last year’s record high including Ataraxia Under the Gavel Chardonnay 2014 at R6 400, the AA Badenhorst Family Wines “Geel-Kapel” Muscat de Frontignan 2013 at R6 000, and Jordan Chardonnay Auction Selection 2014 at R5 800.

“Through our auction events we have been able to plough back into the industry by raising over R1,6 million this year alone to support transformation and the development of talented young winemakers and viticulturists through the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Development Trust and our Protégé Programme.”says Andries Burger, Chairman of the Cape Winemakers Guild.

Over and above the main auction, a record amount of R231 500 was raised on the day in aid of the Cape Winemaker’s Guild Protégé Programme, a mentorship initiative for young, upcoming winemakers and viticulturists. This year’s special item sold at the Charity Auction, a one-of-a-kind 18-litre 2013 Members’ Reserve comprising a blend of top wines from all 46 members of the Guild, was purchased for R40 000.

Tsogo Sun was the biggest buyer for the second consecutive year with total purchases of over R2 million. Other top buyers included The Butcher Shop and Grill, Restaurant Mosaic, Rouseu Wijnen of Belgium, Singita and a number of private collectors. 

The bulk of the wines, 84%, was snatched up by local buyers with 16% bought by foreigners – 6% more than last year. Amongst the foreign buyers, the most bids came from Germany followed by Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands.


Tuesday 21 April 2015

Cape entering new viticultural era


The Cape is embarking on an era of great viticultural exploration. Following decades of sanctions, stifling regulations and export demand largely based on the so-called international varieties in more recent years, Cape growers and nurseries are starting to behave like the proverbial kid in the candy store – and there is much to choose from and contemplate considering the Cape’s diverse terroirs and the number of varieties either currently or imminently available.

Vititec’s contract with French nursery Entav-Inra, Distell’s sale earlier this year of in-house plant improvement facility Ernita to private nursery Bosman Adama (Pty) Ltd, and the likes of leading winemaker Eben Sadie and viticulturist Rosa Kruger, ensure that Cape viticulture is entering a very exciting age.

“We have suffered from Bordeaux envy for too long,” says Kruger, one of the main instigators of cataloguing the Cape’s old (35+ years) vineyards and the importing of new varietal material from Europe. “We need varieties better equipped to withstand our drought and heat while retaining acids until they reach ripeness,” says Kruger.

Sadie is at the “embryonic stage” of what appears to be a life’s work – and commitment – of trial and error plantings of new and exotic varieties. “I started eight years ago and it’s been a complex task of soil mapping and terroir assessment, plus the frustration of dealing with vested interests, politics and bureaucracy.”

Following their contract with France’s Entav-Entra, private plant improvement business Vititec are importing 10 new varieties and/or clones every year. New varieties available from 2013 include Macabeau/Viura, Marsanne, Roussane, Petit Manseng, Piquepoul Blanc, Terret Noir and Vermentino; from 2014, Counoise and Marselan; from 2016, Cinsaut Blanc, Grenache Gris and LLedoner Pelut; from 2017, Agiorgitiko, Arriloba, Asyrtiko, Caladoc, Ekigaina and Sauvignon Gris.

From 2016 Sadie will be planting exotic varieties, new selections and new clones every year for five years up until 2020, with the new varieties – many of them Mediterranean – being tested in up to three different sites. “Once they are planted we will quickly be able to make viticultural notes but notes from experimental wines will take a little longer,” says Sadie.

Kruger has had similar battles in her mammoth project of cataloguing old vineyards but early next year she will launch a website detailing all of the Cape’s old vineyards. Besides locating the vineyards, of course, she was, for example, required by the authorities to contact every single grower to get their permission to publish the details.

Sadie has produced critically acclaimed wines from some of these vineyards known as Die Ouwingerdreeks (The Old Vineyard Series), which sell out on release each year, but is more famous internationally for his red and white blends Columella and Palladius.

Last month Michela and Attilio Dalpiaz, the Italian owners of Ayama Wines of Voor Paardeberg, after working with Italian viticulturist Augusto Fabbro and Johan Wiese of Voor Groenberg Nurseries, planted South Africa’s first commercial block of Vermentino. They believe it to be a good match with Sardinia’s terroir, which includes its tolerance of wind and warm summers, and compatibility with decomposed granite soils. Voor Paardeberg also recently saw the planting of over four hectares of Marsanne. Three years ago Albariño/Alvarinho was established by the Newton Johnson family in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley outside coastal town Hermanus.

Varieties available from Lelienfontein (Bosman Adama) include Nero d’Avola, Irsai Oliver, Marsanne, Folle Blanche, Prosecco (varieties) and Aubun. There are other varieties that are either planted or in quarantine that are subject to confidentially clauses between the grower and nursery until they are released commercially.

Regardless of the outcome, there is no question that Sadie and Kruger are doing pioneering work, not least because nobody else is doing anything like their scale of experimentation. “Given the Loire’s climate, who would have thought Chenin Blanc would be so suited to the Cape? We have never been in a better position to experiment and we can find varieties that are far better suited to our terroirs than what we currently have. I will be very happy in 20 years time even if only 10% of the plantings prove a success. Too many of our varieties are out of spec. We need varieties that better retain their fruit and acids.’ says Sadie.
– Jonathan Snashall

Tuesday 3 February 2015

Afrasia Auction Bidding by Gavel & Grand


THE AFRASIA BANK CAPE WINE AUCTION ONLINE BIDDING NOW LIVE


The AfrAsia Bank Cape Wine Auction, which set a philanthropic precedent in the South African wine industry when it raised an astounding R7.045 million for education in the winelands, at its inaugural 2014 event, is set to raise the bar this year when 34 ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ lots go under the hammer at the historic Boschendal Estate on Saturday 14th February.

2014 Barrel tasting & Auction Preview at Waterford
Gavel & Grand, based in New York, partners with charities across the globe, expanding the audience of bidders, using state-of-the-art technology to ensure a seamless online bidding experience. Access is provided to international luxury items and remarkable experiences to raise money for charities worldwide. 

Anyone in the world will be able to place online bids in the weeks leading up to the Auction, from 15th January until 13th February: 12h00 South Africa (CAT), 05h00 New York (EST), 10h00 London (GMT) and 18h00 Hong Kong, and then via telephone on the big day.

With only 350 Auction tickets available at R3 000 per head, the 2015 Auction’s sophisticated online bidding platform, will extend the bidding to international wine aficionados and philanthropists, creating a new high-water mark for a charitable fundraiser.

The 2015 Cape Wine Auction lots, generously donated by the Auction Ambassadors, include extremely rare local and international wine collections, gourmet dinners with world-renowned chefs, exceptional art pieces, international travel to exotic locations, exclusive private weekend parties, luxury cruises and access to the inner sanctum of the South African wine industry. These opportunities come along only once, for one Auction, and are never repeated.

All the proceeds from the Auction, without offset or deduction, go to educational charities in the South African winelands. Charity beneficiaries to date include the Pebbles Project, the MAD Charity, the Click Foundation as well as 10 other charities.



To join the excitement of The AfrAsia Bank Cape Wine Auction and to make a difference, place your online bid at www.gavelandgrand.com/thecapewineauction



For more information


Auction Director: Jessica Henrich

Email: jess@thecapewineauction.com

twitter @capewineauction