The 2022 Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction took place
over two days this year, 30th September and 1st October. The auction was
conducted by auctioneers Strauss and Company on-line and physically at the Lord
Charles Hotel in Somerset West
We had been invited to attend and decided to go to the
second day. However, we did watch the first half of the auction on line at home
on Friday night, drinking some rather good wine and getting very excited by the
bidding, which came from all over the world. Strauss certainly had all their on-line and phone connections working seamlessly
It was a huge success, and very exciting to watch, beating
all the records for the prices received for the 513 lots. The final total was
an impressive R13 985 500. "Prices were up by 30% on last year's auction
and almost every lot sold above its pre-sale high estimate", said the CWG
after the auction. Two of the top four wines at this year’s Nedbank Cape
Winemakers Guild (CWG) Auction were white wines, incidentally produced by
leading female winemakers Samantha O’Keefe of Lismore Estate Vineyards and Andrea
Mullineux. The Lismore Valkyrie Chardonnay 2021 from Greyton reached an average
of R1743 per bottle while the Mullineux Trifecta Chenin Blanc 2020 from the
Swartland sold at R1633. Kanonkop CWG Paul Sauer 2019 reached the highest
average price of R2457 per bottle, with Cederberg Teen die Hoog Shiraz 2020
selling at R1861.
To see more about the Auction results and a short video of
the successful Auction, click on this link from the CWG
Miles Mossop on the steps of the Conference Centre
Martie Nauschutz, Logistics Coordinator at Cape Winemakers
Guild, and outgoing chair Gordon Newton Johnson
The CWG staff always excels in the complex organization
necessary to bring these wines to auction
The backroom girls from Strauss did
a sterling job too
We had to be there early, so we set out just before 7 am as
we wanted to experience the pre-auction tasting of the wines
Which meant no
breakfast but, happily, they had provided exactly what we needed on arrival
and good coffee from the Bootleggers stand
JD Pretorius, CWG Chair Gordon Newton Johnson and David
Trafford, chatting
and slowly, more people began to arrive
Of course, one needs a bubbly to get the day started and
there was one from Spier
Wine flowed throughout the day, as did the water on
the tables
Good gammon and cranberry sauce in the croissants
and mushrooms in the quiches
and then a quick tasting of as many wines as one could manage before the auction started at 9 am,
to remind ourselves of what would be on the
auction. And the wines were superb
The Elsenburg final year students doing the pouring were so helpful, interested
and interesting;
they are the future of the wine industry
and the Auction begins
Susie Goodman was one of the three auctioneers and she
started the day off
She really knows how to work the room, grab bids and keep
the pace building
Lynne worked for Phillips Auctioneers in London for a while
many years ago, so she really liked her style and ability
Bina Genovese was the second auctioneer who took over after
about two hours
It is an exhausting job and they all did very well
Roland Peens, Senior Wine Specialist, has his own style of
business, brisk and clear on the podium
He does have the added advantage of
knowing many members of the wine and hospitality industries
Francois Rautenbach of Singita, a significant bidder
Cape Winemakers Guild members Alex Starey, Sebastian
Beaumont and Peter Finlayson
waiting to see how their wines sold
Sadly, it is
Peter Finlayson's swansong auction for the Guild. It is Alex Starey's first
Master Sommelier and Consultant Senior Wine Specialist for
Strauss, Higgo Jacobs, Roland Peens
and Annareth Bolton, Strategic Marketer:
Wine, Destinations and Events, Fine Wine Fundis, Stellenbosch University
Annareth is Higgo's sister
Niels Verburg and Louis Strydom with Charles Hopkins on his
phone in the background
Duncan Savage & his daughter sitting next to Andrea
Mullineux
The view from the podium; phone bids were taken on the right
Much of the bidding was on line and on the phone as well as
in the room
Gregory Mutambe, Twelve Apostles Hotel Head Sommelier, was there to
buy for the hotel
Mid morning snacks if you were feeling a little jaded. Great
fresh bagels with cream cheese and smoked trout
Fresh oysters
Vietnamese spring rolls which needed some dipping sauce
Chef Christophe Dehosse and Jeremy Walker
Carel Nel of Boplaas and his daughter Rozanne
Frans Smit, Dewaldt Heyns and Dawid Nieuwoudt
Jeremy Walker, Tiffany Hurst, Jeff Grier, Anne Ferreira, Billie
Lambrechts
Frans Smit, Dawid Nieuwoudt, Jac Borman
Bubbly couple Anne and Pieter Ferreira
At 1.30, six chefs stations opened in the foyer; each was
well known and respected for their food
They had each made one dish for lunch
and one could taste them all
Ellerman House Chef Kieran Whyte produced…
…excellent Seared Tuna Tataki,, with Malay mayonnaise,
spring onion, naartjie ponzu, naartjie salad
was so very, very fresh and he had
added crisp onion sprinkles to the top of the dish for texture,
which was life
changing, something we will copy in future
Lord Charles Hotel's Chef Yusuf Abrajee's Mushroom
chawanmushi
with Hokkaido pumpkin caramel, pickled shimejis, papaya and bamboo
salsa, curried vegetable cornflakes
was a dark, deep mushroom custard topped
with the freshness of pickled mushrooms. Delicious
Chef Gustaaf Boshoff, chef patron of The Millhouse at
Lourensford produced Grass-fed brisket taco,
umami bomb, blue cheese ranch,
pickled red onion
We did see some pick up the taco and attempt to eat this
neatly,
we just used a fork to eat the oh, so tender brisket and
accompaniments. It brought back great memories too
Chef Garth Bedford of The Kraal Bistro at Klein Joostenberg
His Pork Cheek Bourguignon with a celeriac purée was so, so
tender and full of wine rich flavours
Chef Christophe Dehosse of The Vine Bistro, Glenelly,
with
his Salmon trout gravadlax with wakame, honey dill mustard and lavash
Divine - Lynne has to admit having more than a couple of these
She needs to remember to
add the honey dill mustard sauce to hers when she next makes it
Gordon Newton Johnson and his son, Noah
Gordon worked so hard to
arrange all of this and it was a great success
HIs excellent wines also
achieved impressive prices
Later in the afternoon, to help people soldier on bidding,
dessert was served
These small choux éclairs were filled with lemon curd and
topped with meringue
Peppermint crisp tart squares
We loved these tiny Carrot cakes which had plenty of the
essential pecan nuts
The final total and the final bid on the last item
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