Strauss & Co launches Africa’s first NFT auction with SA’s leading fine wine producers

By James Bayley

Published: 11 April, 2022

South African auction house Strauss & Co has partnered with five of SA's most respected fine wine producers to offer Africa’s first fine wine Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) on auction from 18-15 April.

Capturing past, present and future vintages, these unique digital contracts encompass vertical collections of Klein Constantia Vin de Constance, Kanonkop Paul Sauer, Meerlust Rubicon, Mullineux Olerasay and Vilafonté Series C. Each NFT holds between 20 and 50 vintages, with collections from 66 to 288 bottles.

The auction is a joint venture between leading South African fine wine merchant Wine Cellar, sommelier Higgo Jacobs and leading auction house Strauss & Co.

“We are beyond excited to launch Africa’s first NFT auction online, which we believe can play an important part in generating awareness for South African fine wine internationally,” said Roland Peens, director of Wine Cellar and director Strauss & Co fine wine specialist.

READ MORE: What the fungible? NFTs explained

“Various fine wine NFTs have become available over the last two years as the NFT market has boomed. However, Strauss & Co Fine Wine NFTs offer a unique iconic South African industry collective of verticals direct from the producers, providing unprecedented ownership of vintage wines and futures to the collector and investor.”

Non-fungible tokens are are quickly becoming recognised as a highly efficient way to package a collection of wines for trading and investment. The digital contract, stored on the polygon blockchain, includes provenance, pricing, transaction, sensorial and ageing information.

While South Africa has produced wines for over 350 years, historic wine estates such as Meerlust, Klein Constantia and Kanonkop have only produced bottled wines for four to five decades.

The five-lot NFT sale will take place online from 18-25 April on Straussart.co.za. Bidders can make payments in ZAR as well as Bitcoin and Ethereum. There is a standard KYC process for fiat and cryptocurrency purchases.

Viewing of lots opens 11-18 April, with bids open from 18 - 25 April.

Meanwhile, VCL Vintners, London’s leading whisky cask broker, has launched an NFT collection.

The Vanishing Spirits line with Ernie Button is on NFT marketplace Metacask, allowing investors to bid for spirits backed NFTs.

The first auction on 5 April will allow individuals to buy whisky casks and works of art and use a digital artefact as a proof of ownership. Instead of a paper-based delivery order, the bidder can take part in auctions and sales of NFT casks and use the NFT itself as proof of ownership – knowing that the physical cask safely exists within an HMRC-regulated facility under Scottish law.

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