The 2012 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction American wine lovers interested in picking up some scarce and excellent South African wines will find it easier than ever to participate in the annual Cape Winemakers Guild auction, thanks to the implementation of on-line bidding this year.&nbsp; The upcoming 28th annual CWG auction will be held on Saturday, October 6, at the Spier estate in Stellenbosch.&nbsp; (The annual CWG event is sponsored by Nedbank, one of South Africa's largest banks. The Trust established by Nedbank supports the education and social needs of farm workers, their families and their communities.) The CWG has teamed up with international on-line auction portal <a target="_blank" href="http://www.the-saleroom.com">www.the-saleroom.com</a>.&nbsp; This will enable interested wine enthusiasts who don't have a jaunt to South African planned for next weekend to participate on-line at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.the-saleroom.com">www.the-saleroom.com</a>.&nbsp; You will be able to watch and listen to the auction as it 

progresses and bid in real time for the items you're interesting in purchasing. Interested buyers can sign up on the website <a target="_blank" href="http://www.the-saleroom.com">www.the-saleroom.com</a> free of charge and browse through the auction 

catalogue. The actual live bidding requires only a basic wi-fi connection and can be done from anywhere in the world. The limited lots of wines on offer at this year's event represent, in theory at least, the best of South African winemaking. The wines are specially crafted to showcase the potential of South African wines to the trade and private buyer.&nbsp; As in past years, the selection of auction wines is distinctly winemaker-driven--hence my decision to provide the winemaker's name as part of each tasting note.&nbsp; In order to be invited to become a member of the Guild, winemakers must have established a track record for making outstanding wines for at least five years. Most of the auction bottlings are extremely limited--typically just a half barrel to two barrels of wine--and are sold in lots of 12 bottles (6 magnums, 12 x 500-ml. bottles or 12 x 375-ml. bottles) upwards. The 2011 auction, for example, featured a total of 2923 cases of 6 bottles, with prices ranging from $65 for a case of 6 bottles to as high as $500 (my figures represent conversions from South African rand prices at the then-current exchange rate). In other words, some very fine wines can be had at remarkably moderate prices. The bad news is that you are unlikely to see these wines in the marketplace, although a small percentage of them typically end up in the U.S., going mostly to private buyers and restaurants.&nbsp; Incidentally, I did not retaste a number of bottlings that I reviewed last year and are scheduled to be offered again this year, so please refer to last year's CWG bonus feature for those tasting notes. Another way to bid on any of these items is via proxy.&nbsp; Here's how to proceed: You must complete a Purchasers Card and a Bidding Form indicating the number of cases of each wine you would like to buy and the maximum amount per case you'd like to bid. Proxy bidders will then bid on your behalf at the auction. If your bid is successful, you can ship purchased wines either using your own shipping agent or through the Guild's courier company, The Vineyard Connection. Interested bidders should contact General Manager Kate Jonker at 27 (0)21 852 0408 or kate@capewinemakersguild.com for further details and to obtain a copy of the Purchasers Card and Bidding Schedule. Besides the wines reviewed in this article, I tasted two bottles each of two additional wines (the Boschkloof 2010 Bakhand Shiraz Stellenbosch and the Rijk's 2010 Pinotage Tulbagh), but my samples were too advanced to recommend. Please note that, as in the past, I have had no choice but to describe CWG auction items without recourse to the words "Auction Reserve," which actually appear on a number of labels, as this phrase has been trademarked by a U.S. importer who is quite adamant about reserving it for his own use in the U.S. market.&nbsp; But it should be clear from my notes which wines I am referring to.

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