FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

Australian online wine auction launches new wine provenance grading system

Adelaide, Australia, 13-October-2004 -- Wickman's Fine Wine Auctions introduce a new provenance grading system to their online wine auction website. Launched this week and to be included in all future auctions, the new system allows potential buyers of wine to determine how well it has been handled by its previous owner(s). 

The provenance of a wine is a combination of its purchase and storage history. When any wine is purchased at auction, the buyer takes a risk on how carefully it has been handled. If the wine has been exposed to excess temperature variation, for example, then there is a chance that the wine has become oxidised and lifeless.

Wickman's system aims to reduce the risk to buyers by disclosing the information it has uncovered about how well the wine has been treated, with the wine grading falling into three categories, Verified, Checked and Caveat Emptor (buyer beware).  

Wickman's verifies a wine vendor’s claim about purchase and storage history by visually inspecting documents, the cellaring site and, on occasion, sampling random vintages and bottles from a collection. 


ABOUT WICKMAN'S 
As well as holding a number of commercial wine auctions through the year, the Wickman Family also host charity auctions for various causes.

Over the past twelve months Wickman's have launched a number of other initiatives in an attempt to set it apart from traditional online wine auction websites. 

Starting with very low sellers and buyers commissions, they introduced a regular charity section into the auction format in February 2005, then launched a new style auction newsletter in August in an attempt to get away from the dry, uninteresting format used in the past and in September a prize draw was introduced giving each person who bid a chance of winning a number of prizes in a draw at the end of each auction.

For additional information contact: 

Mark Wickman

WICKMAN'S FINE WINE AUCTIONS
PO Box 1270
North Haven
South Australia, 5018
Australia

Website: http://wineauction.wickman.net.au/

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