NFT bottles of South Africa’s most celebrated wines just sold for approximately $219,000. Organized by the fine art & wine auctioneer Strauss & Co, this recent auction included NFT “lots” featuring digital wine bottles from five South African companies.
Klein Constantia Estate was the star of South Africa’s first NFT wine auction. The sale for this Cape Town-based winery’s “1986-2027 vertical collection” NFTs sold for $79,000. However, the Meerlust Estate also had an impressive showing with $68,000 in sales for its Rubicon wine NFTs.
The three remaining NFT wine collections sold for the following amounts:
- Vilafonté Series C 2003-2027: $36,000
- Mullineux Olerasay 1-20: $20,000
- Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2000-2025: $16,000
Although these NFTs were sold as “lot contracts,” owners can mint and trade individual NFT wine bottles in their collection. Each NFT lot could have between 20 – 50 vintages and 66 – 288 wine bottle NFTs.
Strauss & Co said the demand for this historic wine auction attracted a lot of attention from the international fine wine community. The auctioneer also said two winning bidders bought their South African wine NFTs with Bitcoin.
A portion of the proceeds from Strauss & Co’s NFT auction will go towards charities dedicated to equality in South Africa’s wine sector.
News of South Africa’s first NFT wine sale comes shortly after another historic NFT auction in the sub-Saharan nation. South Africa’s Liliesleaf Museum Heritage Site recently raised $130,000 by selling an NFT version of Nelson Mandela’s arrest warrant.
High-End Liquor Collectors Love NFT Trading
Strauss & Co’s recent success with South African wine NFTs highlights an exciting fusion between the blockchain and high-end beverage industries. In the past few years, more companies involved in high-end wine, beer, and spirits have become incredibly receptive to using NFTs.
In fact, there are now NFT trading platforms solely dedicated to the wine & spirits industries. For instance, Rarity Sniper recently reported on the NFT platform BlockBar, which has partnered with IRL brands like Hennessy, Glenfiddich, and Monkey Shoulder.
The site MetaCask on the Casper Blockchain also sells “deed NFTs” for some of the world’s most expensive spirits. Impressively, MetaCask raised $2.3 million in its first auction for a Macallan 1991 cask.
A competing company called Club dVIN now sells wine enthusiasts NFT lifetime passes to its exclusive community. A few perks Club dVIN NFT holders enjoy include wine tastings, vineyard tours, and exclusive wine-themed NFTs.
Many high-end liquor brands are also interested in using NFTs to help promote their products. Most notably, the Mexican company Siempre Tequila now uses “Chido” (aka Bored Ape #5132) as its official “spokesape.” There’s even an official Bored Wine Company that uses various Bored Ape NFTs in its labeling.
Nowadays, sommeliers have plenty of ways to fuse their love of fine wine with Web3.