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There are various ways in which one can procure good wine, though the best wines require a bit more than just a trip to the local bottle store. Whether you buy online at an auction, live at an auction, direct from the winery, or through a trustworthy retailer or wine club, nowadays the process of finding good wine for consumption or investment has been greatly simplified.
Wine enthusiasts and collectors all over the world are rejoicing because, thanks to the advent of the Internet, their world has suddenly broadened. It is now easy to locate rare wines and older vintages. Aficionados also have the option to join wine clubs, start wine mailing lists and enter forums where they can to talk to other enthusiasts worldwide.
If you sign up for a wine club, you will have a selection of good wines delivered regularly to your front door. Depending on whether you join a domestic or international club, the wines you receive will range from those garnered locally within your home country, to those garnered from a varied assortment of countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the US, Chile, Argentina, and Australia. This is a great way to expand your horizons in terms of wine, though it is unlikely these wines will end up as investment wines or collector’s items.
When you enter a wine shop you will likely find yourself surrounded by hundreds of wines in various varieties from a number of estates. How do you choose the right wine for you? If you are confused or uncertain, enlist help from the merchant or shop assistant. If you are able to taste the wines on offer, do so. Remember that price alone does not determine a good wine from a bad. From estate to consumer the price can sometimes have tripled, with retailers often adding on a fair share of profit.
Many wineries will allow you to purchase wine directly from their cellar, some even shipping it to you free of charge if you order a large enough quantity. If you are a collector looking for a rare, fine wine, then you should peruse the Internet for online auctions, or turn to the auction houses of fine-wine specialists.
When Patrick Grubb, previously of Sotheby's wine division in London, wielded the hammer at the first Nederburg Auction in 1975, he had no idea he would be making history. Today, the Nederburg Auction is a premier event on the South African wine calendar.
The ‘famous five’ founding participants were Delheim, Groot Constantia, Overgaauw, Simonsig and of course Nederburg, with 15 wines on offer. Over the past three decades the Nederburg Auction has evolved into an international event where major local and overseas wine buyers bid for a stringently selected range of the finest wines produced by the Cape’s top estates, wineries and cellars. It is the oldest auction in the New World of wine, and is recognised as one of the world’s five major wine auctions.
There are several objectives to the Auction; one of the most prevalent being the need to lift the standard of wine production in South Africa. As the Auction acts as a showcase for the best wine, vintners are encouraged to try harder to produce wines of exceptional standing.
The Auction also ensures the fair distribution of rare wines. Both local and international wine buyers and connoisseurs gather at the Nederburg Auction each year to savour, evaluate and purchase South Africa’s top wines, many of them outstanding old wines available in only very limited quantities.
The general average price paid per case has risen from R19.12 in 1975 to R1 089.00 (or R1 599.00 per 9-litre case) in 2006. At the 2007 Auction there were 70 participants (brands, estates and wineries) offering 136 items.
According to Rob Morris, Manager of Wine magazine’s Online Auctions, online auctioning of wine is not without its challenges. He says that more traditional purchasing channels, such as retail or mail-order are and will remain the most popular for customers. “The calibre of wine we auction makes it a luxury good – this makes the "invisible vendor" syndrome and inherent trust issues associated with online purchasing even more of a concern,” says Morris. “Critical to overcoming these concerns is establishing a personal rapport with your clientele. Being only a phone call away during the entire sales process is a no-compromise principle for us. Secure but flexible payment facilities is another lynch-pin of our business.”
Morris continues to say that barriers to entry make it beyond the reach of potential SMMEs. “Often only established stakeholders in the media sector generally, have the resources to pursue the potential of online auctioneering, such as MWEB, eBay SA and so on. Remembering, too, that in South Africa, only a fraction of the population has access to the internet. It becomes unlikely that this channel will explore its full potential.”
Online auctioneering, however, is arguably the greatest opportunity for customers to find a bargain, though Morris says this is not to say it is not a lucrative business. “Wine magazine's Online Auctions often set zero reserves on our lots and find prices still hit market parity or sell at a premium,” he says.
Wine magazine offers live online bidding every month on case lots of wine selected on the basis of their scarcity, value and quality. These run for a week and commence live on a Friday with the release of Wine magazine to subscribers – either the 3rd or 4th week of the month.
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