Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auctions Redefines the Market

20 Aug 2025

‘Over the last six years, Strauss & Co has established itself as an essential part of the South African fine wine scene, giving prominence and credibility to the country’s best producers as well as those from overseas.’ comments Tim Atkin, Master of Wine and author of the annual Tim Atkin South Africa Special Report. The partnership between Africa’s leading art and collectables Auction House Strauss & Co, retailer WineCellar.co.za and Higgo Jacobs has given insight into South Africa’s wine history and boosted the fine wine market. 

The Strauss & Co auction platform has allowed collectors and consumers to buy and sell old wines that have been vetted by a specialist team. Strauss & Co has offered wines from 850 producers from around the world, including benchmark wines from all the major regions. A wine from almost every vintage from the 20^th century has been offered, and older. 

South African Wine History

‘The auctions have slowly unveiled a timeline of South African wine. For the first time in decades, Constantia sweet wines from 1791 and 1821 have been offered, when Napoleonfavoured South African wine over every other. The 99-point 1800 Joubert Muscat d’Alexandrie Solera and 1890 Sweet Pontac show the rich history of Montagu winemaking. KWV’s early 20^th century success starts from 1929 Jubilee Port, in an era of world-class fortified wines that are still delicious today.

In 1924 Stellenbosch Farmers Winery started the South African red wine movement. Chateau Libertas has been offered from 1937 onwards, 1945 Zonnebloem Cabernet andthen Lanzerac from 1957. South Africa’s most expensive red wine, the famed GS 1966arguably built its reputation on Strauss & Co, while the 1970s saw the rise of wine estates in South Africa with now extremely- rare lots of Meerlust and Kanonkop from 1975.

In the modern era, Strauss & co has offered Young Guns, New-wave and benchmark Cape Wines, reflecting the rise of fine wines in South Africa over the last two decades.’ explainsSenior Wine specialist Roland Peens.

Market development 

Since 2019, Strauss & Co has sold more than 68,000 bottles with an average price of R2,060 per bottle on its auction platform, including commissions. Strauss & Co achieved an89% sale through rate on 10,253 wine lots on live and online auctions. These figures include Cape Winemakers Guild auctions from 2022-2024. ‘This is a meaningful increase in secondary market trade and the industry now has more certainty of prices.’ comments Roland Peens. 

‘No wine region is viewed as a mature fine wine market without an established secondary trading platform.’ agrees Senior Wine Specialist Higgo Jacobs. 

‘Thanks to Strauss & Co’s transparent platform, researchers and collectors alike can now uncover robust trend insights and make better-informed decisions.’ Adds Prof. Mesias Alfeus, Stellenbosch University who used Strauss & Co data for his paper titled ‘South African Fine Wine Investment: A Case Study for Emerging Markets’ in 2023. 

Mature Wines

‘South Africa is has not traditionally had a wine collecting culture and there is a relatively low volume of stock that is bought to mature.’ says Roland Peens. Wine is sourced from private collectors and leading wine producers. Strauss & Co has also partnered with leading cork supplier Amorim to recork the top South Africa’s very old wines. This ensures quality and a level of longevity.  

‘Fine wines produced from Cape vineyards have proven to be age worthy over the long term, and yet we consume our wines too young, even in fine dining environments. The Strauss auction platform has added both value and confidence into both our fine wine collecting and consuming culture.’ says Higgo Jacobs.

‘Provenance is paramount. Only stock vetted for optimal storage conditions should be considered for the formal vintage wine market.’ continues Higgo Jacobs 

‘While many of the record prices set by Strauss & Co are extremely rare wines, the platform offers mature wines from as little as R300 per bottle!’ Says Roland Peens.  

Collectables and Experiences

‘The market for very old sweet and fortified wines has grown considerably over the last decade. It’s been an era for price discovery, with wide interest helping establish a market price for rare vintage South African Wines.’ Comments Roland Peens

Strauss & Co has also offered exciting cellars such as the Tabernacle and Coats cellar. The former, a treasure of vintage South African wines collected by SFW, then Distell and now Heineken, featuring the history of South African wine. The Coats cellar featured incredible verticals of the worlds most sought-after wines from around the world including almost complete collections of Chateau d’Yquem from 1892, Mouton Rothschild from 1945 and Penfolds Grange from its maiden vintage. 

In 2022, Strauss & Co partnered with the CWG (Cape Winemakers Guild), formed in 1982 to promote and develop fine wines in South Africa. Today the CWG offers an unparalleled set of South African fine wine from 42 leading winemakers across the Cape. The CWG Auction is a two-day, annual live auction and supports an online Protegee Program, a charity that supports emerging winemakers. In July Strauss & Co hosted the Grootbos Cape Winemakers Guild experience, a weekend at the Grootbos Private Nature Reserve and journey through the Cape with vintage CWG wines and benchmark international wines. 

Wine Specialists

‘I have nothing but admiration for the professionalism and knowledge of its wine team. Tim Atkin MW. Head of the Wine department is Sarah Jordaan with decades of wine experience, including at Wines of South Africa (WOSA). Wine specialists, Sommelier Higgo Jacobs and Roland Peens of WineCellar.co.za have worked together in the South African fine wine industry for two decades. 

‘We investigate, taste and learn about vintage wines from all around the world. There is excitement when a new sale is unearthed or compiled.’ Roland Peens

The wine specialists combine experience from each facet of the fine wine industry with a long track record of wine tasting. ‘Higgo and I have shared a similar journey in the industry since university. It’s been really rewarding seeing the success of Strauss & Co Fine Wines.’Roland Peens

Top selling wines 

The top selling producers on the Strauss & Co auction have been Kanonkop Wine Estate from Stellenbosch and the Sadie Family from the Swartland. The top selling wine isKanonkop Paul Sauer 2015, which was the first South African wine to receive 100 points by an international critic, Tim Atkin MW. 

‘Kanonkop’s strategy on building our brand has for 52 years been built on credibility and consistency. In this instance Strauss & Co’s wine auctions is the ideal platform to confirm why Kanonkop was this year rated 25^th most admired wine brand internationally by Drinks Business.’ comments Johan Krige, proprietor of Kanonkop.

Next top selling South African producers, in order of sales volume are Meerlust, Klein Constantia, Vilafonté, Alheit Family and Mullineux Family.

Top 10 Strauss & Co South African Wines  

Grand Constance, Constantia	1821	R967 300
Constantia, Sweet White	1791	R287 500
Joubert Family, Muscat d’Alexandrie	1800	R91 040
GS, Cabernet	1966	R91 040
Chateau Libertas	1957	R91 040
Constantia Port	1890	R70 350
Klein Constantia, Vin de Constance	1986	R58 625
Klein Constantia, Vin de Constance	1987	R58 625
Kanonkop, Paul Sauer 5000ml	1995	R41 038
PJ Joubert, Fine Old Sweet Pontac	1890	R41 038

Top 10 Strauss & Co International Wines

Penfolds, Grange	1951	R577 625
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Romanée-Conti	2010	R438 995
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Romanée-Conti	2009	R404 338
Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac	1945	R175 875
Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac 1500ml	1949	R175 875
Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac 5000ml	2000	R175 875
Penfolds, Grange 375ml	1952	R172 500
Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac, 1500ml	1947	R161 000
Chateau Pétrus, Pomerol, 1500ml	1989	R140 700
Chateau d’Yquem, Sauternes	1899	R136 560