How to read a wine auction catalogue
The lot title, the estimate, the condition line and the closing time each say something specific. Here is what to read, in the order a buyer needs it.
The lot title
Producer, wine, vintage, and then the lot's make-up: how many bottles and what size. "6 bts" is six 750 ml bottles; "1 mag" is one magnum (1.5 L); "OWC" means the original wooden case; "12 bts (2 x 6 OWC)" is two cases. Some houses put the count and size first ("6 bottles per lot"), some last, and Bonhams writes both inside brackets. The wine itself is what the badge matches on; the count and size decide the per-bottle price.
The estimate
A range the house expects the hammer to land in, set before the sale. It is a guide to the reserve (the lowest price the seller will accept, usually at or under the low estimate) more than a prediction. Lots sell under the low estimate every week; that is where the bargains are, and where a last hammer price on the same wine tells you whether the low estimate is itself high.
The condition line
Fill level (base neck, top shoulder, mid shoulder), label condition (bin-soiled, scuffed, torn), capsule, cork, and the case. For an old wine the fill is the first thing to read: a 1982 into the shoulder is a different lot from one at base neck. For a young wine the condition line is usually short and the price is about the wine.
The closing time and the rules
Online sales close by the lot or all together, and most extend a lot's close when a bid arrives in the last minutes. Weekly houses run to a fixed evening: WineBid and Acker's online sale close on Sunday, Spectrum's sessions end on a fixed night, Zachys' zCollections run about two weeks. Live sales have a start time and move at the auctioneer's pace. The auction calendar lists what is open and closing, and will email you the day before a sale you mark.
Location and shipping
Where the wine sits decides what it costs to get to you and whether the house can ship to your state at all. A New York house selling wine held in Delaware is the same lot at a different shipping cost. Read the location line before the bid, and the house's shipping page once.
The number that is missing
What the same wine last sold for. The catalogue shows an estimate; the house's own results archive, if it has one, shows only its sales, with the premium in. LastHammer shows the last hammer price per bottle, from fourteen houses, under the lot title as you browse, and the sales behind it on a click. What a hammer price is, and how a published result turns into one.