The 30th Nederburg Auction in Paarl on April 2 and 3 will feature an array of 9 290 cases of 178 fine wines from a record 102 participants, including 11 newcomers.The newcomers are Annandale, Asara, Darling Cellars, De Toren Private Cellar, Durbanville Hills, Hidden Valley, Kleine Zalze, Nitida, Onderkloof, Stellenbosch Vineyards and Tukulu.Bennie Howard, Auction manager says: ‘this superb collection celebrates a milestone in the South African wine industry. Our participants have excelled themselves in pulling out all stops to submit some truly remarkable wines.There are 123 red, 29 white, four sparkling, eight Noble Late Harvest, one Special Late Harvest, 10 ports and three muscadel wines.The 123 red wines include 36 Cabernet Sauvignon, 17 Pinotage, 16 Shiraz/Syrah, nine Merlot, one Malbec, one Cabernet Franc, one Touriga Naçional as well as a record number of 42 red blends.The 29 white wines include 10 Chardonnay, eight Chenin Blanc, seven Sauvignon Blanc, three Semillons and one white blend.The four bottle-fermented sparkling wines include the Pongrácz MCC 1992 - a single 3-litre bottle of the same vintage went for R740 last year, the highest price for a sparkling wine for the second year running.South Africa's own cultivar Pinotage has had a winning streak on the Nederburg Auction. Last year the Lanzerac Pinotage 1968 netted R7,000 per 6 x 750 ml case - the highest price for a red wine. This year the 1964 vintage will be on auction.The 2004 auction kicks off with 10 bottles of the 1999 award winners of the Pinotage Association’s Absa Top Ten Competition.The 10 ports feature some delightful old and younger wines – including the usual stalwarts from Boplaas, De Krans, KWV (a 1963 vintage), Monis (Monis Collectors Port Stamp Collection 1948 that went for R7 400 per 6 x 750 ml case in 2003), Morgenhof, Rooiberg, Simonsvlei and Wellington Wine Cellar, as well as the rare once off 1964 Port made by Günter Brözel of Nederburg 40 years ago (on auction for only the second time). ‘Among the 33 items from Nederburg are its famous Edelkeur and Eminence, and a selection of some lovely scarce old wines to celebrate the 30th Auction,’ says auction manager, Bennie Howard. ‘This includes five 10-bottle cases of the 1980-1989 vintages of Nederburg Private Bin R115 - a 50/50 Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon blend specially created for the auction, 12 uninterrupted vintages of the highly successful Nederburg Private Bin R103 – a 75% Cabernet Sauvignon/25% Shiraz blend. And one of the most sought after collectors items is bound to be three sets of 30 single bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon representing each vintage from 1971 to 2000 - made by the three winemakers during this epoch, Günter Brözel, Newald Marais and Razvan Macici.’Included in the five pre-release wines is a very unusual red wine made from a cultivar usually associated with Port - De Krans Touriga Naçional 2001. De Krans was the first winery in South Africa to make a wine from this single cultivar. This wine also won a double gold medal at the Southern Cape Bottled Wine Show, as well as the Best Unusual Red wine in Wine magazine in 2002. The Nederburg Private Bin Auction Malbec R101 2000 is another pre-release wine to go on auction – the first time for this cultivar and the first Malbec from the Nederburg cellars. Other pre-release wines are a Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2003 from Fort Simon, the wooded Nitida Semillon 2003, and the Bizweni Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 from Havana Hills. Winelovers should watch the press for details on the pre-auction tastings which will be held around the country during February – bookings have opened and can be done through Computicket, Computicket Counters in MTN shops or by visiting the website www.computicket.com Issued by: Jenny McQueen & Associates on behalf of Nederburg AuctionContact: Bennie Howard, Nederburg AuctionTel: +27 (0) 21 809-7000Jenny McQueen & AssociatesContact: Jenny McQueen Tel: +27 (0) 21 439-5063Email: jenny@mcqueen.co.za