20 Aug We’re teaming up with the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction to offer LIVE online bidding!

For the first time ever, The Wine Auction Room is thrilled to partner with the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction to offer live online bidding in the 2025 auction, taking place on Saturday, 13 September 2025.

This innovation will allow passionate Hawke’s Bay wine lovers—whether in London, Los Angeles, or Lagos—to access some of the rarest and finest Hawke’s Bay wines ever made, many of which come from the truly extraordinary 2024 and 2025 vintages and to support vital end-of-life care services in Hawkes Bay. 

Established in 1991, the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction is, outside of vintage, the most important date in the Hawke’s Bay wine calendar. It serves as a fundraiser for Cranford Hospice, created to demonstrate the regional wine industry’s commitment to its community and to promote New Zealand wine on the world stage.

“It’s our absolute joy to partner with the Hawke’s Bay Wine Awards,” says Reece Warren, founder and director of The Wine Auction Room, “to help Cranford Hospice in the vital work they do providing palliative care, education and support across the Hawke’s Bay region.” 

At The Wine Auction Room, community is at the heart of everything we do. Supporting Cranford Hospice feels like a natural extension of our purpose; bringing people together to share in discovery, enjoyment, and generosity. “This partnership is more than just fine wine. It’s about raising a glass to care, compassion, and connection, while ensuring every bid helps those who need it most.

Lots

The 2025 Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction features 37 lots* donated by local wine and hospitality businesses, plus,

• Lot 20: A framed 1700mm x 940mm painting by acclaimed local artist Joe Helmore, and
  
• Lot 40: A seven-night vacation for two in Vanuatu.

The winemaker lots include some amazing one-off wine and culinary experiences, as well as bespoke bottlings, including barrel lots available only at this event.

There is also a silent auction with twelve lots, mostly large-format bottles. The full catalogue is now available on the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction website.

Highlights include:

• Collaboration wines like Lot 2, a 225L barrel (288 bottles) of the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowers Association Assemblage Cabernet Sauvignon, blended by winemaker Jenny Dobson, with components donated by Church Road, Elephant Hill, Esk Valley, Mills Reef, Mission Estate, Pask, Sacred Hill, Smith & Sheth, Squawking Magpie, Trinity Hill, Unison, and Villa Maria.
• Once-in-a-lifetime wine experiences like Lot 10, the chance to “blend-your-own” Chardonnay (or red) with Clearview winemaker Tim Turvey including (56L / 72 bottles) plus lunch at Clearview.
• Wines that are exclusive to the Hawke’s Bay Wine awards and will never be made again like Lot 34, 18L (24 bottles) lot of the inaugural 2025 vintage of Bilancia La Collina Mourvèdre.
• Fun restaurant events hosted by Hawkes Bay winemakers like Lot 28, a pizza party for you and nine friends at legendary HB pizzeria Vinci’s, accompanied by 24 bottles and two magnums of organically grown, naturally made Hawke’s Bay Sangiovese from Halcyon Days.
• And if you are having a celebration coming up in the summer, Lot 8, 72 bottles of Alpha Domus Cirrocumulus NV, a one-off bottling for the event OR Lot 22, 54 bottles of Sparkling from the The Methode Services Client Collection including six bottles each from Abbey Cellars, Clearview, Hope’s Grove, Maxim Wines, Oak Estate, Pask Winery, Swift Wines, Te Awanga Estate and Vilaura.

*Please note: Lot 39, a selection of 27 wines from the Great Wine Capitals, will not be included in the online auction.

Syndicates

As this is a charity auction featuring many highly desirable wines not otherwise available, lots are expected to sell for $3,000+, with some reaching up to $40,000 (notably the artwork lot).

We encourage serious bidders to form syndicates with friends and family, pooling resources to secure and share an auction lot. More information on forming a syndicate can be found on the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction website.

One important tip: if you’re bidding as a syndicate, ensure that only one nominated person places bids on behalf of your group. You don’t want to be accidentally bidding against each other!

The Details

Registrations for the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction open via our website at 9am on Wednesday, 3 September.

The process will operate similarly to our other live auctions: once registered, you’ll be able to place absentee bids and watch the live feed to bid in real time via our website. 

A few important exceptions to note:

• Bidding increments will be set by the auctioneer on the day, based on the pace of bidding (similar to a house auction).
• All bids are for the entire lot, not per bottle.
• Invoices will be issued directly by Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction immediately after the sale, and payments are to be made promptly to them.

Full terms and conditions are set out in the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction catalogue and will also be replicated on the bidding platform. We encourage you to take the time to read these carefully before the auction.

On auction day, we’ll be in the room working alongside the Harcourts auction team, who will run the live event. If two bids are placed simultaneously, priority will be given to in-room bids.