Auctioneer Warwick Grimmer takes the final bids for a Salmanazar (9 litres) of China Girl Pinot Noir, signed by John Key and Sir Michael Hill, which sold for $11,500. The woman behind a failed bid to build a $100 million waterfront hotel in Dunedin has moved on to making million-dollar bottles of wine. The grapes for the wine were grown on Chinaman’s Terrace at Bendigo, near Tarras, where Chinese goldminers lived and toiled in the 19th century. The wine auction raised more than $18,000, which included a Salmanazar (9-litre bottle) of China Girl, signed by Prime Minister John Key and Sir Michael Hill, selling for $11,500 to an anonymous bidder. Ms Song was unsure how much the bottle would sell for, but said it could reach $1 million given how much gold was on it.

Source: Otago Daily Times November 03, 2016 17:42 UTC