Charity auction likely to sell out

Hawke's Bay Winegrowers Charity Fine Wine Auction committee member Peter Cowley (left), event manager Annabel Tapley-Smith, committee member Susie Sturt, Cranford Hospice event manager Debbie Lomas and Te Mata Estate chairman and Cranford Hospice patron John Buck are looking forward to record crowds this weekend. Photo / Supplied

This Saturday's Hawke's Bay Winegrowers Charity Wine Auction is set to sell out, organisers say, with the wines going under the hammer the best they've seen since the event's inception.

Event manager Annabel Tapley-Smith said a change in the format of the auction, sponsored by Hawke's Bay Today, had seen the ticket price reduced from $200 to $20 a head and the event's capacity increased to 400 people.

"The format it's running in this year is a lot more accessible to everybody," she said.

"We want to expose the Hawke's Bay wine industry to as many people as possible who are interested in Hawke's Bay wine." The auction is also joining F.A.W.C! summer series programme for the first time.

Now in its 23rd year, the auction has raised almost $2.5 million for Cranford Hospice, with funds helping to keep palliative care services free for terminally ill patients. Organisers aim to raise more than $100,000 for the charity this year.

The event has moved from its former home, the Hawke's Bay Opera House, to Hawke's Bay Racing's Cheval Rooms, where a tasting will feature wines from 40 Hawke's Bay wineries and food stalls from local caterers.

The auction will then be held in the Saddle Room, with a return to theatre-style seating from previous years round tables. Former Napier MP and cabinet minister Chris Tremain will be the auctioneer.

Most of the wines on offer are from the 2013 vintage. Te Mata Estate chairman and Cranford Hospice patron John Buck, who is also on the auction's committee, said he was confident the event would sell out.

"I've been at Hawke's Bay for 40 vintages and it is the best vintage I've seen. The catalogue for this auction is by far the best we've ever put out."

Also up for grabs at this year's auction Te Mata 2014, a painting of a Hawke's Bay landscape by renowned local artist Freeman White.

For more information, visit: hawkesbaywineauction.co.nz