All eyes will be on the six new participants making their debut with eight new wines on the 32nd Nederburg Auction in Paarl on 7-8 April.

"There is always great interest in what their wines will fetch on auction - as often the Nederburg Auction is the platform for a maiden vintage or an unusual blend," said Christine Joubert, auction manager.

This year the newcomers are all boutique wineries ranging in size from 10 to 146 hectares with production tonnages ranging from 60 to 1 100 tons. They are Avondale, Diemersfontein Wine and Country Estate, Graceland Vineyards, Kaapzicht Wine Estate, Morgenster Estate and Uva Mira Vineyards.

They offer seven reds - two Pinotage, one Cabernet Sauvignon, one Shiraz and three Cape blends - as well as a Chardonnay with all the promise of a five-star wine, coming from a traditional red wine-producing area.

The two award-winning Pinotage wines come from Diemersfontein and master winemaker Danie Steytler of Kaapzicht. Diemersfontein made a big impact with its first 2001 Pinotage which is also part of the Pinotage Association's entry this year of the ABSA Top Ten competition winners 2001. The 2003 vintage has just won the SA Red Wine Trophy at the 2005 International Wine Challenge in London.

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