The provenance of a wine is a combination of its purchase and storage history.
When you buy any wine at auction you are taking a risk that the wine has been carefully
handled by the original owner(s). 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.
Our aim is to minimise your risk by providing you with essential knowledge and as
much information as possible about a particular wine.
Wickman's will now be grading each lot of wine based on our ability to obtain this
information, thereby increasing your own ability to assess any bid. Most lots describe
the provenance of that lot and you are encouraged to read the description as part of your buying
decision.
VERIFIED PROVENANCE
(Guaranteed)
On lots that have been marked with this symbol (or in the catalogue with the words
"Verified"), it means we have taken extra steps to prove and verify the provenance
of this wine and will guarantee the wines purchasing and storage history. This is
exclusive to Wickman's and not something that is typically offered by other wine
auctions.
It generally means that this wine is from a reputable wine collector and we have
verified his or her claims of purchasing and storage history by visually
sighting documentation and inspecting the cellaring site and sometimes by even sampling
random vintages and bottles from the collection.
CHECKED PROVENANCE
On lots that have been marked with this symbol (or in the catalogue with the words
'Checked"), it means we have taken steps to discover the provenance of this wine
but have not verified it through documentation or other means. This is generally
the most that is offered at other wine auctions.
Whilst the owner of this wine has informed us where it has been purchased and how
it has been stored we have not gone through our process of verifying the validity
of the claims.
SAMPLE TESTED
On lots that have been marked with this symbol it means the vendor had enough confidence in thier wine to offer up a sample of this wine for general, public tasting, typically at a member event hosted by Wickman's.
NO SYMBOL (CAVEAT EMPTOR)
On lots that have no markings, it does not necessary mean that there is any problem
with this wine, it just means that we have been unable to discover the wines previous
owner, perhaps because it was purchased previously at auction or that it was given
as a gift or prize.
WARNING
The best handling and storage in the world cannot prevent faults from entering a
wine at bottling time and it is possible that the wine you purchase at auction (or
from the winery or a retailer for that matter) contains cork taint, Mercaptan, random
oxidation or something unpleasant that may affect your enjoyment of the wine.
Whilst we make every effort to discover the provenance of a wine, we cannot guarantee
the wine in the bottle you purchase.
Also see our explanation of terms
used when describing bottles in our wine auctions.