A Salmanazar and several jeroboams are among the more exotic sized bottles in a line up of outstanding Cape wines donated to a high-profile charity auction that forms part of the four-day Cape Wine 2004, a showcase for the international wine fraternity at the end of March. The biggest of the collection is the 9-litre Salmanazar, a 1999 Shiraz, from La Motte in Franschhoek, owned by someone with an enormous reputation to match. She is internationally celebrated mezzo-soprano Hanneli Rupert, known to some of her neighbours as Mrs Koegelenberg. The South African opera star is the daughter of renowned entrepreneur Anton Rupert, founder of the Rembrandt Group. Her mega-Shiraz and other stellar wines will go under the hammer of auctioneer Charles Rudd in aid of two wineland charities Dopstop, a project established in 1995 to promote the responsible consumption of alcohol among rural communities, and the Makukhanye Gospel Choir of the desperately poor Nkquebela Township in Robertson. Dopstop will receive 75% of the proceeds, with the balance going to the choir that will also be launching its debut CD at the event on March 30, at 17h30, in the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Some of the other luminaries in the illustrious collection include Platter 5-star winners like the 2001 Foundry Wines Shiraz and 2002 Kumala Journey’s End Chardonnay, as well as eight consecutive vintages (1986 to 1993) of Klein Constantia’s Vin de Constance, once a favourite of Napoleon during his years of exile on St Helena, and also of his contemporary British aristocrats. The modern-day Vin de Constance is also one of the few wines ever awarded five stars in Platter. Apart from the La Motte Shiraz, which is the equivalent size of 12 regular bottles, the other big wines on auction will be the 3-litre jeroboams donated by De Toren with a 2001 Fusion V, (a Bordeaux blend that earned a top ten placing in the World Cabernet Tasting in Switzerland, competing against icons such as Mouton Rothschild and Viader), and Boekenhoutskloof, with a 2001 Shiraz. Boekenhout’s winemaker Marc Kent is widely acknowledged for having put Cape Shiraz on the international map. The internationally acclaimed Hamilton Russell Vineyards has also donated a jeroboam, the 2001 Pinot Noir, judged the finest Pinot Noir on last year’s International Wine & Spirit Competition in London. Additional noteworthy collectors’ items are a magnum of the 1998 De Wetshof Bateleur Chardonnay, made by Danie de Wet, who holds a Vinexpo Grand Prix d’Honneur for Chardonnay, and a 2000 Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc, a wine that helped restore the much deserved reputation of this varietal. Yet another is the 1998 Lanzerac Pinotage. This Stellenbosch winery was the first to commercially bottle South Africa’s indigenous red varietal over 40 years ago. Revealing their personal preferences will be some well-known and well-respected international wine journalists attending the exhibition, some of whom have agreed to donate favourite wines to the auction, among them Tim Atkin, former editor of Harper's. To date, the exhibition, hosted by Wines of South Africa (WOSA), has attracted close on 1 000 registrations, most of them from the UK, Europe, North America and Asia. Other fortified and sweet wines include those from De Krans, which has donated two bottles each of its renowned ports, Vintage Reserve and Touriga Nacional, Bergsig with a Cape Late Bottled Vintage and Cape Vintage Port, and prize-winning architect-cum-winemaker David Trafford who has put forward two bottles of the 2001 Vin de Paille to the auction. Joining his 'straw wine' that earned 93 Wine Spectator points are two other De Trafford gems that also achieved a 93 score, a Shiraz and a Cabernet-based barrel-selected blend called Elevation 393, both from the 2000 vintage. Additional Wine Spectator favourites participating are Rustenberg Wines with a 1997 vintage of its famous Stellenbosch John X Merriman Bordeaux-style blend and Raats Family Wines. Bruwer Raats has donated a 1,5-litre bottle of the 2001 Cabernet Franc, singled out for praise by Jancis Robinson. Participants also include much-acclaimed Stellenbosch boutique winery De Meye with its flagship Cabernet/Shiraz blend Trutina Diemersfontein (2003 Carpe Diem Pinotage) Glen Carlou (2001 Chardonnay and 2001 Grand Classique) Iona Wines (2003 Sauvignon Blanc) L’Ormarins (2001 Merlot) Lindhorst (with a 5-litre bottle of the maiden 2003 red flagship Statement) Mulderbosch (a magnum of the 1997 Alpha Centauri) Saxenburg (1997 Private Collection Shiraz) Slaley (1997 and 1998 Shiraz) Stellenbosch Vineyards (2003 VVS and 2003 Viognier) Vinimark (3-litre Robertson Winery Wolfkloof Shiraz) Western Wines (2001 Kumala Journey’s End Cabernet Sauvignon, in addition to the 2002 Chardonnay) 1,5-littre bottles of the 2000 Warwick Trilogy Signal Hill with its Vinexpo Discovery trophy winner, the Signal Hill 2002 Mathilde Aszú 6 Puttonyos and their 2000 Signal Hill Vin de Glacière. An updated list of wines on auction will be available on www.wine.co.za or www.wosa.co.za on Tuesday, 23 April 2004. Issued by: DKC (De Kock Communications) on behalf of Wines of South Africa (WOSA)Contact: Su Birch, CEO, WOSATel: +27 (0) 21 883-3860DKCContact: Erla RabeTel: +27 (0) 21 422-2690Email: erla@dkc.co.za