The only one of its kind, skillfully blended by Guild Cellarmaster Frans Smit, this singular bottle of wine reflects the passion and camaraderie of the 45 members of the Cape Winemakers Guild, all masters of their craft. Every year Guild members contribute towards a special charity wine to be auctioned off in aid of the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Development Trust, sponsors of the highly successful Protégé Programme for the development of young aspiring winemakers. This exceptional blend will be sold as the charity item amongst the bumper lineup of 59 rare and exclusive auction wines this year. The proceeds of this year’s 18 Litre auction blend will boost the R305 320 already raised by Guild members at various silent and charity auctions at dinners and tastings during the course of this year. In addition to the Guild’s own fund raising initiatives, Nedbank, a long standing partner, invested R635 000 in the Protégé Programme in 2013. The Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé Programme was launched in 2006 with the goal of bringing about transformation in the wine industry by cultivating, nurturing and empowering promising individuals to become winemakers of excellence. The Protégé programme currently supports eight qualified winemakers completing their 3-year internships under the mentorship of Guild members. The prestigious Cape Winemakers Guild Auction is recognised as South Africa’s leading wine auction open to the wine trade and the general public. The 2013 auction lineup features small volumes of unique wines all crafted exclusively for the auction by members of the Guild. This year’s auction wines, all poised to become rare collector’s pieces, include 36 red wines, 18 white wines, 2 Méthode Cap Classiques, one dessert wine, a Port and a potstill brandy making up the tally of 3 184 cases (6 x 750ml case equivalent). Since its inception in 1985, the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction has become a quality benchmark and the CWG label is an authentic assurance of quality recognised by leading wine buyers both locally and from abroad. While the vast majority of buyers at the auction are local, there has been a surge of international interest in recent years and overseas pre-auction tastings will be held again this year in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Hong Kong. The 29th Nedbank CWG Auction, conducted by Henré Hablutzel of Hofmeyr Mills Auctioneers for the 16th consecutive year, is open to the public and will be held at the Spier Conference Centre in the Stellenbosch Winelands on Saturday, 5 October 2013. Prospective buyers who are unable to attend the auction on the day, can register in advance with the CWG and take advantage of their telephonic and proxy bidding facilities. Live bidding will also be available online through www.the-saleroom.com. For further details and to attend the Auction, visit www.capewinemakersguild.com or contact the Guild Office on Tel: 021 852 0408 or info@capewinemakersguild.com.