The last hour of the Strauss & Co South African Wine NFT (non-fungible token) online auction saw frenetic bidding as a rare lot of Vin de Constance was sold for a staggering R1,251,800 including commissions (£62,799k). This unique lot was part of a collection of 5 of South Africa’s finest wines that went under the hammer in the country’s first NFT online auction. An exciting opportunity allowing investors from across the globe the chance to bid on the ownership of older & future vintages of the legendary Vin de Constance.
The NFT offered the first 40 vintages of Klein Constantia’s world-famous sweet wine, including the 1986 through to 2012 in 500ml bottles as well as three magnums of each vintage from 2013-2027, estimated at R550,000-R750,000 (£28-£40k). Many of the wines within the Vin de Constance NFT are extremely rare – with only a handful of 1986 Vin de Constance left in the library, virtually no complete verticals are likely to exist outside of the estate.
Hans Astrom, Vice Chairman & shareholder of Klein Constantia, comments “We’re excited about this auction. It’s the first time in modern times, we have ever put a complete lot of Vin De Constance up for sale with the 40 vintages spanning over 5 decades. The wines have all been cellared at Klein Constantia, which guarantees provenance and authenticity. It is truly a unique and rare opportunity to acquire one of the world’s most collectible wines. This auction is a great opportunity for interested wine amateurs or collectors from all around the world to acquire some of South Africa’s great and rare wines that normally are not seen in the market. Fine wines are appreciated all around the world and the best of South African wines deserve to be on this platform as well.”
The other fine NFTs that featured in this prestigious auction were Meerlust’s 50-year vertical of their famous Rubicon (reaching R1,081,100), Vilafonté’s Series C 2003-2027 (reaching R569,000), Mullineux’s Olerasay 1-20 (reaching R318,640) & Kanonkop’s Paul Sauer 2000-2025 (reaching R250,360). R93,800 was simultaneously raised for charities critical to the wine industry.
What is a Non-Fungible Token (NFT)? An NFT is a digital asset representing the ownership of either a real life or digital object that is generally bought and sold online, frequently with cryptocurrency. Having taken the world by storm recently, Non-Fungible Tokens are quickly becoming recognised as a highly efficient way to package collections of wines for trading and investment. The digital contract is stored on the Polygon blockchain (a cryptocurrency financial services company) and includes provenance, pricing, transaction, sensorial and ageing information. Once auctioned, the NFT can be traded by the owner on any platform.
Vin de Constance is a natural sweet wine made with muscat grapes grown at Klein Constantia’s historic vineyard on the Cape Peninsula. It is the re-creation of the legendary Constantia wine made in the 18th and 19th centuries, sought after by royalty and dignitaries across the world. Firmly established and highly sought-after, current vintages are traded on the Bordeaux market.
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