Wine auction sold out

L-R: Melisa Beight, John Buck, Ali McEwan, Annabel Tapley-Smith and Tony Bish front this year's 2016 Hawke's Bay Wine Auction. Photo / Paul Taylor.

Tickets to the 25th Hawke's Bay Wine Auction have officially sold out.

Organiser Annabel Tapley-Smith said she was thrilled that they had sold all 600 tickets to the event with just under three weeks still to go.

"It has been elevated as one of New Zealand's most prestigious wine events, which is huge for us and huge for Hawke's Bay," Ms Tapley-Smith said.

This year's auction is being held on Saturday, November 12 and sees some of Hawke's Bay's most prestigious wineries provide 42 unique and "never-to-be-repeated" lots of wine.

Ms Tapley-Smith said many have been specially blended just for the event.

Wine writer, Yvonne Lorkin, said the wine auction had firmly cemented itself as the most unique event of its type in the southern hemisphere.

"Nothing touches it for history, pedigree and prestige. No other event draws such immense generosity and creativity from the wine-making community and big-heartedness from the wine-enthused public. Event-wise, it is New Zealand's own Hospices de Beaune," Ms Lorkin said.

Ms Tapley-Smith was also excited about this year's artist, Gavin Chilcott, who has created a "very special" piece of art, which would also be auctioned at the event.

For people who have missed out on tickets Ms Tapley-Smith said it was not to late to join in by placing absentee bids.

The 2016 auction catalogue is available at hawkesbaywineauction.co.nz and people can contact Ms Tapley-Smith as a bidding syndicate or as an individual on 0274 306 373.