Joelle Thomson watches a winemaking community get behind a very worthy cause...

A drive through the rolling green hills of the Wairarapa and the drier hills of central Hawke’s Bay took me to Napier for the 2024 Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction in September. It was a humbling experience.

The auction is now in its 33rd year and the last time I attended was about 20 years ago when it was a far smaller event at a far smaller location and with fewer wines, but the same unwavering focus on donating the proceeds to the Cranford Hospice. The hospice remains the sole charity to benefit from the auction every year and the generosity of winemakers has grown exceptionally, along with that of those who attend.

The most remarkable moment at this year’s auction was when the purchase of one lot of wine (Te Mata Coleraine) was gifted back to be re-auctioned straight away. This meant that four decades of Te Mata Estate Coleraine (1982 to 2021) was auctioned twice, raising $32,500 of the grand total of $335,697 given to the Cranford Hospice this year. The hospice receives this entire sum of money as all operating costs of the auction itself are met by its sponsors.

“There are no bargains. There’s a lot of love that goes into this. We as winemakers are gifting what we hope will represent outstanding wines from our region and give those who buy them a special experience,” says Peter Cowley, chairman of the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction. “We’ve been building on our humbler beginnings to where we are now and we’re still working on building up the sum that we can raise each year for the hospice, which does an incredible job.”

It was a real privilege to be there this year, gaining a first-hand insight into how excited people are to taste a range of wines that represent Hawke’s Bay, and then happily dig deep to give to the hospice.

The fact that the wines are commanding high prices is also positive for the wineries and the individual winemakers who gift them.

Winemaker Tony Bish sees the robust prices paid for the wines as a positive reflection of brand health and I love that, because it says everything about the vitality not just of individual brands but of Hawke’s Bay as a wine region.

Notwithstanding Cyclone Gabrielle and a previously challenging vintage, Hawke’s Bay remains incredibly strong and is growing even more so. The annual wine auction is a beautiful reflection of this, not to mention a great weekend away.

W: Find out more at hawkesbaywineauction.co.nz

Joelle Thomson is a journalist, wine writer and author.

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