Help Tour
New Subscriptions:
You can sign up as a new subscriber online at: SUBSCRIBE or by calling us on (03) 9499 6990. There is a once off charge of $27.50 including GST.
Please note that shipping is mandatory for shipping addresses outside Victoria. If there are specific delivery details for our courier please call us or email the instructions to auctions@mwwines.com.au.
Logging in:
Click on the Login button at the top right of the website and the text boxes for your username and password will appear.
Update Details:
Log into site, then click on my account – my details
This will display your current address and contact details as registered with us.
Change details as required and then click update at the bottom of the page to save.
Search Catalogue:
The ‘Auction Search’ tab displays the entire catalogue. It also allows you to search for lots from a specific winery, variety or vintage.
You can use advanced filters to conduct more specific searches including additional filters such as lot number, Unit of Measure and price range or category. This is also how you select a previous auction if you are searching for previous auction results.
From your search results you can click on a lot description to see additional details of a lot including the lot estimate, current bid, minimum bid, comments, attributes, score, and a photo as applicable. If the lot is not already in your watch list you can also bid directly on a lot from here.
When you have input bids and clicked to place bids you will be shown a confirmation screen to review your bids before confirming them.
Bidding Increments
MW Wine Auctions uses a system of bidding increments and bids can only be place in these increments. The increments are:
$0 to $5 = $0.25 increments
$5 to $20 = $1 increments
$20 to $80 = $2 increments
$80 to $200 = $5 increments
$200 to $500 = $10 increments
$500 to $1,000 = $20 increments
$1,000 to $250,000 = $50 increments
For example a bid of $21 cannot be placed on a lot. The bid must be either $20 or $22. Where a prospective buyer attempts to place a bid that is not a valid bidding increment the bid will automatically default to the bidding increment below the bid placed so that in this case the bid would automatically default to $20.
It is very important to review the bids here to ensure they are correct as once you have confirmed bids they cannot be revoked under any circumstances.
If you want to watch more than one lot and place bids on multiple Lots, click on ‘Watch’ on the right hand side of the page.
Once you have searched the catalogue and have clicked on the lots you wish to watch and then bid on, go to the ‘Watch and Bid’ tab at the top of the page.
Watch and Bid / Bid Register
The Watch and Bid page shows you all of the lots that you are watching and also those that you have bid on regardless of whether you are winning or losing that lot. From here you can also rebid or increase winning bids.
Place your bid in the New Bid column. If you add a bid value that is below the next minimum bid, the bid now box will highlight in red and your bid will be ignored.
If you are winning a lot it will appear in green on your bid register and will appear as red if you are losing. If you like you can hide lots you are losing by clicking on the small ‘H’ to the right of the new bid column.
To view the hidden lots again you can tick on the ‘Show Hidden’ box at the top of your watch and bid screen. To then unhide the lot click on the small ‘U’ to the right of the new bid column.
Filtering your Watch & Bid list
It is possible to filter what you are looking at within your Watch & Bid list. Firstly you can filter to either show just lots you are Watching (but have not placed a bid on) or lots that you have placed bids on by toggling the buttons at the top of your Watch & Bid list.
Further to this if you filter to just view the lots you have bid on, you can click on the drop down to change the filter from viewing All lots you are bidding on to either just those you are Winning or Losing.
Viewing and paying invoices
To view and pay outstanding invoices online go to ‘My Account’ and then click on ‘Outstanding Invoices’(paid invoices can be viewed by going to ‘Past Invoices’)
Find the invoice that you want to pay or view and click on ‘View details and pay online’
Here you can view the full invoice details and charges. If you would like to pay from here by credit card (Visa or Mastercard) click on ‘Pay Online’ at the bottom of the screen. To pay by EFT please see your emailed invoice for bank details or contact us at auctions@mwwines.com.au or on 03 9419 6990 to obtain details or pay over the phone.
Bidding Increments
MW Wine Auctions uses a system of bidding increments and bids can only be place in these increments. The increments are:
$0 to $5 = $0.25 increments
$5 to $20 = $1 increments
$20 to $80 = $2 increments
$80 to $200 = $5 increments
$200 to $500 = $10 increments
$500 to $1,000 = $20 increments
$1,000 to $250,000 = $50 increments
For example a bid of $21 cannot be placed on a lot. The bid must be either $20 or $22. Where a prospective buyer attempts to place a bid that is not a valid bidding increment the bid will automatically default to the bidding increment below the bid placed so that in this case the bid would automatically default to $20.
Buyers Note on GST
Lots which are marked with a (T) next to the lot description have GST inputs available as the seller is a registered entity for the purposes of GST.
Under current regulations, the winning bid will be inclusive of GST and the buyer (if a GST entity) may claim an input credit on the total tax invoice price.
All premiums charged are GST inclusive.
Attributes
Careful attention should be paid to any attributes listed for lots in auction. Attributes can give a buyer guidance as to the potential quality of the wine in the bottle. The following tables list the abbreviations used by MW Wines when listing attributes for wine bottles. For your convenience, we have separated the tables into ullage attributes (the level of the wine in the bottle) and other attributes.
Ullage Attributes
| BN |
BASE NECK |
| VTS |
VERY TOP OF SHOULDER |
| VHS |
VERY HIGH SHOULDER |
| HS |
HIGH SHOULDER |
| MS |
MID SHOULDER |
| LS |
LOW SHOULDER |
| -Xcm |
Used for Burgundy style bottles only and indicates the wine level is approximately X distance from the cork. Anything less than 2 cm from the cork is considered a normal fill level. |
More detailed information on ullage in wine bottles can be found in the section following titled ‘further information on ullage’.
Other Attributes
| CB |
CLINICED BOTTLE (Wine has been passed at the Penfold’s red wine recorking clinic) |
| CC |
CONTROLLED CELLAR (TEMPERATURE & HUMIDITY) |
| CL |
CLEANSKIN |
| CRL |
CREASED LABEL |
| DC |
DAMAGED CAPSULE |
| DCK |
DAMAGED CORK |
| LC |
LEAKY CORK |
| MC |
MISSING CAPSULE |
| ML |
MOULDY LABEL |
| PSF |
PROFESSIONAL STORAGE FACILITY (TEMPERATURE & HUMIDITY) |
| RC |
RAISED CORK |
| SCL |
SCUFFED LABEL |
| SDC |
SLIGHTLY DAMAGED CAPSULE |
| SL |
SOILED LABEL |
| SLC |
SLIGHTLY LEAKY CORK |
| SRC |
SLIGHTLY RAISED CORK |
| STL |
STAINED LABEL |
| SW |
SIGNED BY WINEMAKER |
| TL |
TORN LABEL |
| UC |
UNDERGROUND CELLAR |
| WL |
WRITING ON LABEL |
Further Information on ullage
The fill level of a wine bottle communicates a great deal about the condition of its contents. A lower fill level means more air in the bottle, which typically contributes to an accelerated ageing process. The technical term for lost (or unfilled) volume in a bottle, barrel or tank is 'ullage'.
The key reasons for low fill levels are:
- Natural evaporation through the cork - a naturally breathable substance
- Poor bottling controls, e.g. bottling at high temperature
- Faulty or deteriorating (leaky) corks
Wine breathes naturally through the cork as it ages. It is this gradual process of oxygenation which adds complexity and finesse – and lower levels of liquid in the bottle through evaporation. However, fill levels lower than expected for a wine's age often indicate a problem, leading to a reduction in the wine's market value.
There are different fill level abbreviations for Bordeaux-style and Burgundy-style bottles. The terms used for lower fill levels are listed below. Any fill levels above those listed below are considered excellent for any age. All comments on potential drinkability below are intended as a guide only and are not to be considered definitive on any given bottle.
Bordeaux Bottle
The following image should be used as a guide only as the levels are ranges and cannot be measured exactly.
Fill Levels for Bordeaux Bottles:
Levels above Base Neck are considered to be prefect and are not noted on the lots.
| BN |
Base neck: The fill is at about the bottom of the neck. Indicates excellent storage. A standard fill for recent and older vintages. For wines over 25 years of age, indicates exceptional storage conditions. |
| VTS |
Very top of shoulder: A fill just below base neck. For wines over 25 years of age, indicates excellent storage conditions. |
| VHS |
Very high shoulder: Good fill for wines over 25 years of age. |
| HS |
High shoulder: A fill just above the midpoint (as measured by volume) of the shoulder of the bottle. Common for wines over 25 years of age. For wines less than this age, may indicate problems with storage conditions. |
| MS |
Mid shoulder: A fill at about the midpoint (as measured by volume) of the shoulder of the bottle. Not unusual for wines over 40 years of age, but may suggest poor storage conditions or early signs of cork failure. Can be at risk of being undrinkable. |
| LS |
Low shoulder: A fill below the midpoint (as measured by volume) of the shoulder. This can be an indicator of poor storage conditions and may be an undrinkable wine. |
| BS |
Below Shoulder: Rarely seen, but indicates the fill has dropped below the shoulder into the main cylindrical section of the bottle. A high chance that the wine is undrinkable. Rarely sold, except where the bottling or label is rare. |
Burgundy Bottle
The shape of Burgundy bottles does not allow for a level rating system based on the shoulder of the bottle; levels are described in terms of centimetres below the cork.
Fill Levels for Burgundy Bottles:
| -2cm |
A perfectly normal fill for wines 12 years of age and older. |
| -3cm |
This is an excellent fill level for wines 25 years of age or older. |
| -4cm |
Considered a normal fill for wines more than 20 years of age and excellent for wines more than 35 years of age. |
| -5cm |
Not uncommon in older wines of 30 years and more. This can be an indicator of poor storage conditions and may be an undrinkable wine. |
| -6cm+ |
This is a poor fill level for any wine and is unlikely to be available for sale unless extremely rare. |