Presented by the Association of Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP), the wine auction has been an annual tradition of the VDP for over 100 years and serves as a valuable benchmark for the wines of Germany and the wines of leading German estates.

In recent years, thanks to modern technology, wine enthusiasts from the world over are able to participate in the auction with the feature of online bidding.

Wine bidding participation is available online through a wine broker attending the auction or by registration through the regional VDP branch hosting an auction. Wine brokers services include tabling clients’ bids and arranging payment and shipping on behalf of successful bidders.

A list of the wines to be auctioned as well as the registration procedures for bidding is available on the internet at: (www.vdp.de/auction)

The VDP wine auctions are scheduled as follows:

• Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Estates – Wednesday, Sept. 21st

• Rheingau Estates – Saturday, September 24th

• Nahe and Ahr Estates – Sunday, September 25th.

Those who are able to attend any of the auctions in person, there is an added opportunity to pre-taste all but the rarest wines on the day of the auction.

"These auctions are a great opportunity to showcase Germany’s estate wines and German Riesling wines in particular," said Armin Göring, managing director of the Deutsches Weininstitut. " Last year’s auction saw wine bidding from every continent of the world where German Riesling is sold." "And for many of us, what makes this auction special is that the auction prices reached represent an expression of confidence wine buyers everywhere have for the aging potential of the German estate Riesling wines. What better compliment can be extended to the winegrowers and the Riesling grape."
 

BACKGROUNDER

Wine Auctions in Germany

Following secularization of the wine industry in Germany over 200 years ago, wine estate owners introduced wine auctions as a method of establishing a marketing benchmark for their estate wines. Originally one 600-litre casks or one 1,200 litre cask of the estate’s best wine was reserved for this auction, but over time, the auctioning off of an entire cask was replaced by smaller bottled lots and even single bottles.

The VDP association wine auctions that began in 1897 continued the tradition of putting up for auction the finest wines of an estate’s vintage. A committee determines which wines from interested member estates qualify for auction and appraises the wines for their minimum opening bids. Producers verify that the auction wines have never left the cellar, are from specific vineyard sites and will be exclusively available only at the VDP auction.

VDP auction wines range from Kabinett to Trockenbeerenauslese and while the newest vintage predominates the selection, limited rarities are sometimes included.

Auction prices vary depending on the quality level of the wine, the reputation of the estate and the number of bottles of the wine available.

Some exceptional bidding prices for just one bottle also serve to establish a quality reputation for the estate and its vineyard site. Examples include:

• (Sept. 2000) - 6,235 DM (approx. $5,000 Cdn.) for a 1999 Kiedrich Gräfenberg Riesling TBA from Weingut Robert Weil;

• (Sept. 2001) 9,228 DM (approx. $7,400) for a 1994 Scharzhofberger Riesling TBA from Weingut Egon Müller Scharzhof.

• However, the world record auction price for one bottle of wine was 53,000 DM (approx. $43,000 Cdn. at the time) for a 1735 Johannisberger Riesling from Domänenweingut Schloss Schönborn at the VDP auction in 1992. The successful bidder was an enthusiastic wine collector from London, Ontario, Canada.