The London auction house Bonhams has been called upon to swing the hammer at this year’s Nederburg wine auction. It’s a curious, very curious, move.

It is no secret that the famous auction of 35 plus years in Paarl has not been performing well the past few years, despite the millions owner Distell pours into the whole razzmatazz. The once have-to-be-there event has loss most of its Top Billing gloss, even though the social add-ons to the party have been upgraded or reinvented a few times the past four years. It has simply lost its - let’s say - ‘cultural appeal’.

More importantly, it has been not been delivering on price to the many wine producers who have (some for decades) faithfully delivered something special from their cellars. Many lots have remained unsold. This is in contrast to the increasingly successful Cape Winemakers Guild event, which now provoke all the rah-rah (and some ridiculously high prices).

Of course, whether the Nederburg made the right move to sally forth from its traditional April slot to dock next to the CWG’s berth in September, is an open question.

This year’s Nederburg auction takes place on September 3 and 4, and Distell had some time ago announced that De Bruyn Steenkamp, who ran its office in far-away London for a few years, is invested as the auction’s new general manager.

Steenkamp’s UK residency may be a clue why Bonhams yesterday announced to the world that ‘The world-renowned Nederburg wine auction has appointed Anthony Barne, a master of wine at Bonhams, the international fine art and antiques auction house, as its new auctioneer’. Wow!

Bonhams of New Bond street is certainly a glamorous name to bring to the Paarl auction. It readily informs one and all that ‘... founded in 1793, (Bonhams) is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques.’ And wine?

Julian Roup, the house’s dynamic press and marketing director (his parents hailed from Paarl), says they regularly arrange wine sales in London, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Hong Kong. (A press release states that they made ‘over £500 000’ at their recent wine sale in May.)

South Africans, however, are more aware of Bonhams’ role in selling local art in London, where they’ve held seven such sales. There is, of course, also the controversial sale/no-sale/deal of an SA flag flown at the Mandela inauguration and a signed copy of the Kliptown ANC Freedom Charter. Publicity galore.

The Nederburg auction announcement from London is not shy: ‘Bonhams has almost single-handedly built an international market for South African Art, achieving world record prices for Irma Sterns, Pierneefs and Sekotos. Now it has a chance to show on South Africa soil what it can do for wine auctioneering.’

Well, we’ll have to see. It’s that ‘international marketing’ bit that strikes one as Distell’s great wet dream for its tottering auction.

*Observers will also be curious to see what Bonhams’ Mr Barne achieves. The past few auctions have been in the hands of Stephan Welz, undoubtedly South Africa’s master auctioneer (now of Strauss & Co), an art expert of great repute, and pioneer of extraordinary prices (some also ridiculous) lured from whipped-up auction-goers for the likes of Stern, Pierneef and Sekoto.