Nederburg auction offers public tastings, exciting new auctioneer

Anthony Barne

The pre-auction public wine tasting, with wine expert Bennie Howard, is on offer in Cape Town at the recently opened Upper Eastside Hotel, Brickfield Road, Woodstock on Thursday 15 July and in Johannesburg on Wednesday 21 July at the Southern Sun Grayston Hotel, corner of Rivonia Road and Grayston Drive in Sandton. Both tastings will start at 7pm for 7.30pm.

As only licensees may bid on the Auction, the pre-tasting is the ideal opportunity for wine lovers to select the wines they would like to acquire, which can be purchased on their behalf by their local liquor outlet, wine shop owners or supermarket wine buyers. Tickets are R120 per person and include sparkling wine on arrival and snacks afterwards. Book through Computicket or the Nederburg Auction website www.nederburgauction.co.za.

International auctioneer

Anthony Barne of Bonhams, the London-based British auction house that is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art, wine and antiques, takes up the hammer for the first time at the Nederburg Auction.

As its UK head of wine, Barne's expertise in auctioning fine and rare collectable wines perfectly compliments the Auction's core function as a platform for selling rare Cape wines. "South African wines have always been a part of my life, so I'm thrilled to be involved this year. Through my association with the Auction, I hope to have the opportunity of getting to know them in much greater detail."

Carina Gous, head of Distell's wine marketing division, says, "We are very pleased to have someone of his calibre on board. His involvement is in line with our objective to continue to stimulate interest for South African wines among connoisseurs and the wine-loving public, particularly from an international perspective." The auction catalogue will be available shortly.