1679
Number of world records set in the fine wine auction market in the first six months of 2020, according to John Kapon, chairman of Acker, the New York auction house. As restaurants turn their cellars into much needed cash during the pandemic, and long-standing wine country auction galas go virtual, online auctions experienced a 33% increase in the number of overall bidders over a similar 6-month period in 2019. Sotheby’s Wine reveals that 20% of its bidders are new to Sotheby’s, and half are under 40 years old.