Thousands of bottles of wine that were part of this year's Decanter World Wine Awards are set to be auctioned by Christie's today to raise money for the WaterAid charity.
Decanter publishing director Sarah Kemp during a visit to Zambia alongside WaterAid
The auction, which takes place in London on Thursday 24 October at 10.30am, features 103 lots and marks the eighth year of partnership between Decanter and WaterAid, the international charity dedicated to providing domestic water, sanitation and hygiene education across Africa and Asia.
This year’s auction is expected to take the total raised during the partnership to more than GBP390,000 since 2005.
‘Decanter is proud to be one of WaterAid’s longest standing corporate partners,’ said Decanter’s publishing director Sarah Kemp, who visited Zambia in 2012to see the work being done by WaterAid with proceeds from the Wine into Water initiative.
‘I have seen first-hand how the money raised by the sale of Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) wines can save lives. The Christie’s sale is a marvellous chance to taste some fantastic wines at great value prices, while helping those who need our help most.’
French wines dominate the auction list, with Bordeaux, including Sauternes, Burgundy, the Loire, Rhone and Champagne all represented. Buyers will also have the chance to pick up Spanish and Italian reds, as well as Port.
All the wines in each 12-bottle mixed case were entrants in the ‘over £10’ category at the DWWA 2013, and the majority of vintages are between 2007 and 2012.
Following the success of last year’s auction, which raised over £40,000, buyers from around the world can bid in person, as well as by telephone and online. Further information on how to bid is available in the Christie’s sale catalogue.
David Elswood, international head of wine at Christie’s, said, ‘the wines from DWWA, sold to benefit WaterAid, always have a great appeal to Christie’s clients worldwide and we hope the even wider selection and larger quantity on offer will produce a record amount for the Charity’.
For absentee and telephone bids or general enquiries this sale should be referred to as Wateraid-1173 on the number: +44 (0)20 7389 2658.
Written by Decanter staff
