Auctions: History

Auctions have long been an integral part of the wine trade. Wine was sold by auction in Ancient rome and, in the Middle Ages, before it became commonplace for buyers to visit wine regions, wine shipped in barrel to its final destination (see containers) was frequently sold by auction as well as by private contract. In Britain, wine auctions were common at trading ports such as Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland, where the auction room in The Vaults testifies to a once lively auction trade in casks of fine bordeaux. In Germany, the practice of selling wine by auction under the names of village and vintage became well established in the 18th century. The Nassauer’sche Domäne in the Rheingau was among the first to initiate the movement towards establishing conditions of sale by auction in the 1830s.