More than 9200 cases of top Cape wine go under the hammer at the 30th Nederburg Auction in Paarl, South Africa in the next two days.

A total of 178 wines from 102 wineries will go under the hammer of auctioneer Patrick Grubb, who over the 30 years has knocked down more than R75 million worth of wine.

Leading international buyers, who also attended this week's Cape Wine 2004 exhibition in Cape Town are expected to bolster the foreign buyers at this year's auction.

Record prices are again expected this year, bolstering those from last year, when R7.5 million was realised.

The average bottle price last year was R102 compared with R1.60 a bottle in 1975. One of the wines expected to reach exceptional prices is the 1974 Nederburg Auction Cabernet, considered one of the finest wines in South Africa.