Top 15 Best & Most Prestigious (Online) Wine Auctions

A WINE AUCTION is an auction devoted to wine, sometimes in combination with other alcoholic beverages. There are two basic types of wine auctions: first hand wine auctions, where wineries sell their own wines, and second hand wine auctions, arranged by auction houses or other auctioneers to make it possible for any owners of wine to trade it. In most cases, the wines traded at wine auctions are collectible wine, so-called "fine wine". These are wines which are typically suitable for extended cellaring, and where some of the buyers are looking for mature wines which are no longer available through first-hand retail channels.

First hand wine auctions are usually arranged by wine industry organisations, and fill promotional or charitable purposes, or are used to gauge the market. The wines sold at such auctions are usually special lot wines, or back vintages stored by the producers. An example of such auctions is the annual wine auction held by Hospices de Beaune in Burgundy, where Burgundy wines from vineyards donated to the Hospices de Beaune are auctioned off by the barrel, and often bought by négociants who bottle and sell the wines to the consumer market. Another example are the German wine auctions where mostly special lot wines are sold, and are bought by a combination of private wine collectors and wine dealers.

Second hand wine auctions are arranged by many major auction houses, such as Christie's and Sotheby's. Prices for many wines at these auctions are used as a price indication for collectible wine when traded through other channels, such as First Growth Bordeaux wines sold by rare wine dealers, or when négociants sell mature wines from their stock to restaurants.

Wine Auction News, Reviews & Resources

• 5 of the most expensive bottles of wine ever sold - The Week.
• 10 Most Expensive Wines Sold at Auction - Catawiki.
• A bottle of Bordeaux aged in space is expected to sell for $1 million - "The Château Pétrus 2000 was part of an experiment carried out by start-up Space Cargo Unlimited to see how conditions in space affect wine."
• A TRUE-CRIME DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE CON THAT SHOOK THE WORLD OF WINE - The New Yorker.
• Bordeaux Wine Snobs Have a Point, According to This Computer Model - "With machine learning, scientists are trying to chemically define the murky concept of terroir. The models might be useful for detecting wine fraud."
• ‘Every bottle has a story’: most valuable wine collection ever sold could fetch £41m - "Billionaire Pierre Chen selling 25,000 bottles including burgundies valued at £156,000 and a very rare 1982 Pétrus."
• Fugitive Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau makes HK$64 million after auctioning off 414 wines at Christie’s - "Lau is selling off eight pieces of Chinese imperial porcelain at Sotheby's, plus rare wines at Christie's."
• Luxury Investments Around the World Compared - infographic - "Do you enjoy the finer things in life? For many of the world’s wealthy individuals, acquiring luxury goods such as art, fine wine, and watches is a passion. Unlike traditional investments in financial assets, luxury goods can be difficult to value if one does not have an appreciation for their form. A rare painting, for example, does not generate cash flows, meaning its value is truly in the eye of the beholder. To gain some insight into the market for luxury goods, this infographic takes data from Knight Frank’s 2021 Wealth Report to compare the preferences of nine global regions."
• Most Expensive Bottle of Wine Ever Sold at Auction - The Wall Street Journal.
• Most Expensive Bottles of Wine - TheRichest.
• Most expensive wine sold at auction - Guinness World Records.
• One Of The Most Valuable Whisky Collections Is Now Up For Auction - "Whisky collectors will want to set a calendar reminder for May 11, 2023. On that date Sotheby’s in New York brings The Legacy Collection under the hammer. The 142-lot trove includes some of the most exclusive distilled liquids on the planet and is expected to fetch as much as $1.9 million at the live auction."
• Rudy Kurniawan - wine collector and convicted perpetrator of wine fraud. Arrested on 8 March 2012 and indicted for selling fake high-end wines at auction. The 2016 documentary Sour Grapes retells the events in the wine counterfeiting story of Rudy Kurniawan. At the end it states that as many as 10,000 bottles created by him may still be in private collections.
• Sotheby's Sells Record-Breaking $1.6 Million Superlot of Romanée-Conti Wine - Forbes.
• Sotheby's to Hold the Biggest Champagne-Only Auction to Date - "The Largest Private Wine Collection Ever Auctioned Is Heading to Sotheby’s. Part of a series of sales around the globe, the next two will feature Champagne and Burgundy."
• Sour Grapes - documentary. "With pockets full of cash, charisma and a preternatural memory for vintages, an unassuming young Rudy Kurniawan earns the reputation of a wine savant, surrounding himself with some of high society’s most fervent wine connoisseurs. But when Bill Koch, a top US collector,and, Laurent Ponsot, a Burgundian wine producer, discover suspicious bottles, a humorous and suspenseful investigation begins into one of the most ingenious cons of our time."
• Sour Grapes review - "Highly entertaining uncorking of counterfeit wine scandal."
• The great wine fraud - The Guardian.
• The Setting Cabernet Sauvignon Sells For $1 Million At Emeril Lagasse Foundation Auction - "The foundation’s 19th annual Carnivale du Vin was held in New Orleans on November 6th, raising a total of $3.75 million to support its mission to create opportunities to inspire, mentor, and enable youth to reach their full potential through culinary, nutrition, and arts education, with a focus on life-skills development."
• Top 10 most expensive wines sold at auction - The Drinks Business.
• Vintage technology: Researchers create AI tool with a nose for fraudulent wine - "Machine learning used to analyse compounds in a bottle of wine and trace them back to estate."
• WINE AUCTION - Wikipedia.
• Wine Auction | Discover 35000 Lots Every Week - "Europe’s Fastest Growing Online Auction Platform For Unique And Rare Objects. Notarial Supervision. 190 Experts. More Than 130 Auctions. 20 Million Visitors. 30,000 Lots Every Week. 1M+ Registered Users."
• Wine Auctioneers - as of March 5, 2019, Wine-Searcher currently lists 436 Wine Auctioneers, Worldwide.
• wine spectator auction index - "The Wine Spectator Auction Index is a composite of average prices for selected benchmark wines sold at commercial auctions. Updated on a regular basis, the index allows collectors to track the overall rise and fall of the wine-auction market. The index was created in the fourth quarter of 1995, with a baseline value of 100. The index comprises 32 of the most important wines in today's auction market."
• World's Best Bordeaux - "The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we've no place to go, drink Bordeaux, drink Bordeaux, drink Bordeaux... The heady blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot - the perfect marriage of black forest fruits, cassis and tannin - are surefire wines for all those festive feasts from glazed ham and spiced cranberry to Christmas pudding."
• World's Best Vineyards 2023: Top 50 - "The worlds best vineyards showcases the prestigious list showcases the worlds best and beautiful vineyards."
• World's Most Wanted Wines 2024 - "Step aside Burgundy, there's only one region people are seriously searching."

Top 15 High-End Wine Auctions

• ACKER MERRALL & CONDIT - since 1820. "The World's Leading Wine Auction House." Online auctions.
• ARTCURIAL - Paris, France. International auctioneers. One of the leading French Fine Wines and Spirits auction houses. The department, one of the leaders on the market, has been focusing on the most prestigious French and international wines and spirits for several years now, whether these are for drinking, laying down or investment.
• AUCTION NAPA VALLEY - "The American Wine Classic." The Napa Valley Vintners’ annual auction that has supported and enhanced the wellbeing of the community since 1981.
• Aymeric de Clouet - since 2011. "Vin et expertise depuis 1971." Bienvenue sur le site d'Aymeric de Clouet, expert en vins et spiritueux, expert près la Cour d'Appel de Paris depuis 2011. 113, rue de l'Abbé Groult, 75015 Paris, France.
• BONHAMS - since 1793. "Bonhams Fine and Rare Wine auctions offer a wide range of classed-growth Bordeaux, Domaine bottled Burgundy, vintage Champagne, Rhone and Port as well as highly regarded wines from Italy, Spain, California and Australia. We hold around 12 auctions a year in London, Paris and Hong Kong. Buying and selling wine at Bonhams. Bonhams Wine department is led by Master of Wine Richard Harvey with a global team of specialists and representatives in London, Paris and Hong Kong. Wines offered for sale are inspected carefully and stored under temperature-controlled conditions in specialist warehousing. We arrange packing of cellars and collection and shipping from client's premises. With offices and representatives in nearly 50 locations, Bonhams gives buyers and sellers access to a global network of collectors, to achieve the highest price and level of customer satisfaction possible. Contact a specialist directly for more information or submit your item online for a free auction estimate."
• Brentwood Wine Company - since 1998. "The World's Most Interesting Wine Auctions." Brings you the world’s finest and rarest wine at exciting internet auctions.
• CHRISTIE'S - since 1766. "Since our founder’s first auction in 1766, Christie’s has offered some of the finest and rarest wines and spirits from around the world. Our sales present collectors with the opportunity to acquire single bottles or collections from Bordeaux, Burgundy and many other renowned regions. With live auctions across Europe, the US and Asia, and online sales throughout the year, Christie’s is the market leader in this category and has a long history of exceptional prices, including world auction records for Vega-Sicilia and Romanée-Conti. Our global team of specialists offer free and confidential valuations, whether for a single bottle or an entire cellar, and are always available to advise on building and maintaining a collection."
• Heritage Auctions - since 1976. "The World's Third Largest Auction House." Fine & Rare Wines.
• iDealwine - since 2000. "The Leading Online Wine Auction Website." The reference website to buy and sell fine wine, estimate your wines, grands crus from Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhône at auction or direct from the domaine. If you need a place to store your wine, you're in the right place, with our all-inclusive, simple, and digitalised solutions.
• Les Hospices Civils de Beaune Wine auction - former charitable almshouse in Beaune, France. It was founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of Burgundy, as a hospital for the poor. The charity auction been arranged annually since 1859, taking place on the third Sunday in November amid a three-day festival devoted to the food and wines of Burgundy called Les Trois Glorieuses. The auction has been organised by Christie's since 2005, setting a record total figure at the 149th auction in 2009 when 799 barrels were up for sale, and 40% bids by telephone, internet or fax connecting some 500 participants from around the world, the auction has in recent years evolved from a wholesale market to a retail market.
• Morrell & Company - since 1994. "The only wine retailer in New York with a wine bar, an auction division, e-commerce site and a storage company, Morrell’s unrivaled collection of highly allocated wines and unmatched expertise makes it a destination for wine lovers and collectors from all over the world."
• OMEGA AUCTIONS - since 2010. "Fine Wine Auctions." Our specialist Wine Department is always looking for fine, rare or collectable Wines, Champagne, Port or Madeira, for our regular Wine, Port & Spirits auctions held 4 times a year. Wines for auction include classic and vintage wines from prominent vineyards within Europe and also the best New World Wines from across the globe.
• SOTHEBY'S WINE - since 1744. "Sotheby’s Wine is both a retail wine merchant and auctioneer, with a store in the lobby of Sotheby’s headquarters building in New York, at 72nd and York. Sotheby’s Wine, which was formerly known as Aulden Cellars, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sotheby’s Inc. In May 2009, we combined our retail and auction wine businesses under the “Sotheby’s Wine” name and now offer a full range of buying and selling services across both channels. With the launch of our retail website, we will be able to offer wine buyers a wider range of wines, available for more immediate delivery (and consumption), in addition to our regular auctions.
• SPECTRUM WINE AUCTIONS - "Launched in 2009, Spectrum Wine Auctions is the world’s newest live and online auction house of fine collectible wine."
• WINEBID.COM - since 1996. "The premier online wine auction. Buy and consign fine and rare wines at weekly auctions. We offer collectors complimentary appraisals." ine wine for the privileged many. WineBid is the world's largest online auction for fine wine and trusted new vintages to Buy Now.
• ZACHYS WINE AUCTIONS - since 1994. "The Zachys Wine Auction experience reaches back to the introduction of wine auctions into New York City in 1994. Our global team of consultants poises Zachys Wine Auctions to reach the ever-expanding worldwide auction market. We have specialists in New York, California, France, London, Japan, Hong Kong & China waiting to help you grow or sell your collection."