Wine prices climbed to a record at one of South Africa’s biggest sales, with hotel group Tsogo Sun Holdings Ltd. being the largest buyer for a third straight year.
Sales at the 32nd Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild auction increased 17 percent to 13.83 million rand ($1 million) from a year earlier, the guild said in a statement on its website.The single-day event on Oct. 1, which took place at the Stellenbosch Winelands, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of Cape Town, saw record prices for red, white, Methode Cap Classique and port, it said. Fifty-two wines and a potstill brandy were showcased.
Local purchasers bought 84 percent of the wines, with Tsogo, South Africa’s biggest hotel and gaming company, buying more than 2.6 million rand of wine, it said.
South Africa is among the world’s biggest producers of wine by volume. The country grows white-wine grapes, including chenin blanc, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, and its red varieties include pinotage, which was created in the nation. The country’s almost 100,000 hectares (247,100 acres) of vineyards are mostly concentrated in the Western Cape and the industry employs 300,000 people.
This year’s auction was attended by 125 local and 27 foreign buyers representing countries such as the U.K., the U.S. and France. In total, 2,428 cases containing six, 750-milliliter bottles each were sold at an average price of 5,697 rand each. The average price per bottle was 950 rand.
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