Auction Napa Valley Raises $9.8 million at Annual Charity Fundraiser
The American Classic Wine Auction is Quintessential Napa from
Start to Finish
St
Helena, CA - The Napa Valley Vintners' (NVV) Auction
Napa Valley (ANV) charity wine auction concluded today, raising
more than $9.8 million during the annual four-day event, for health
care, youth services and affordable housing non-profits. Now in
its twenty-seventh year and appropriately themed "The American
Classic," the event was again the quintessential Napa Valley
experience focusing on the outstanding wines from NVV member wineries,
the culinary excellence of the region's chefs and restaurateurs,
the renowned hospitality of the vintners and the collaborative
effort in the Napa Valley with over 800 local volunteers.
As
the final gavel fell, 45 Live, 106 Barrel and 81 E lots that offered
extraordinary collections of wine, vintner-hosted events and travel
adventures donated by the organization's many wineries had raised
more than $9.8 million. "This is a tremendous showing of
generosity by our bidders who come from around the world and from
our community to support these charities," said Bill Phelps
whose family and winery team chaired the prestigious fundraiser.
The
auction proceedings began as soon as the over 800 guests, including
bidders and vintners, were seated when comedian Dana Carvey welcomed
the crowd with his infamous humor that pokes fun at current events
and politicians. Not long into his program he took several jabs
at Speaker of the House and Napa Valley vineyard owner Nancy Pelosi.
Then, when it was brought to his attention that her husband Paul
was seated near the stage, Carvey recovered with a laundry list
of compliments praising the Speaker, hoping to get off the self-inflicted
hot seat with Mr. Pelosi. The crowd roared and Pelosi countered
that it was all in good fun.
Perhaps
the most moving bidding came just before the final five lots were
offered when John Shafer of Shafer Vineyards took to the stage
to encourage bidders to raise their paddles in an ANV-first "fund
a need." Here with no prize to be won other than supporting
children's medical care at Clinic Ole, bidders raised their paddles
to get in on the giving, beginning with those in for $1000, then
those in for $5000 and so on, finally paying their top bid placed.
The highest bids of the round came from perennial top-bidder Joy
Craft of Woodside, CA who gave $200,000 and from the Trinchero
Family and Joseph Phelps Family who jointly gave $225,000. When
the lot closed, it had raised $764,000 from 68 bidders.
It
was lady's night when the NVV lot, in partnership with Lexus offered
not only the pre-release of its first-ever hybrid luxury sedan
with a trunk filled with Napa Valley wine, but also a cadre of
lady vintners who took to the stage to add "a weekend with
the girls" to sweeten the deal. In a chorus-like lineup that
included Nancy Andrus Duckhorn, Karen Cakebread, Paula Kornell,
Margrit Mondavi, Andrea Phelps, and Pat Phelps, the final bidder
was Oakville Ranch Winery owner Mary Miner, who paid $360,000
for the Lexus and its ladies.
Breaking
new records, the Staglin Family Vineyards Lot 24 surged ahead
in bidding that had stalled at $900,000 for a package that included
not only wine, but a six-day driving trip with the Staglins in
Italy with the use of two Maserati sports cars, when winery owners
Shari and Garen Staglin added ownership of one of the Maseratis
if the bidder advanced to $1.1 million. A couple from Woodside,
who asked to remain anonymous, raised their paddle and the gavel
fell setting a new auction benchmark. The couple commented to
a crowd of well-wishers; "We love what the Auction stands
for and what it does for Napa Valley."ANV 2007 bid farewell
to ever-feisty auctioneer Ursula Hermacinski, who has worked nearly
every Auction since 1992. Her co-auctioneer Fritz Hatton handed
her the gavel to close the final bidding of the night and the
2007 event. Hermacinski will continue to be an integral part of
Napa Valley as she has joined the team at Screaming Eagle winery.
Napa
Valley's World-Class Chefs Create Masterful Meal
As guests arrived for the Saturday soiree, it was pure, classic
Napa Valley with the understated elegance of a summer garden party
set on the golf course at Meadowood Napa Valley. Oversized white
paper lanterns hung from the trees as guests sipped sparking wine
with hors d'oeuvres prepared by Napa Valley, Emmy-winning Food
Network chef, Michael Chiarello. The bar was set for the rest
of the evening. Dinner was served during auction bidding in the
open-air tent decorated with olive boughs and garden lanterns
with courses prepared by winery chefs Sara Scott and Peter Hall;
Hiro Sone and Lissa Domani of Terra; Richard Reddington of Restaurant
Redd; Vincent Nattress and Joseph Humphries of Meadowood; and
Paul LeMieux of Auberge du Soleil.
Napa
Valley's Consummate Weekend for Foodies
Dinner on Saturday night was the culmination of a days-long food
and wine extravaganza, with vintner-hosted intimate fêtes
on Saturday midday and Friday night as well as the spectacular
Taste Napa Valley at Auction Napa Valley on Friday midday, held
for the third year at Trinchero Family Estates in St Helena. Taste
Napa Valley featured over 90 of the region's best restaurants
and artisan food producers alongside nearly 140 vintners pouring
wine in a festival setting with a variety of live musical performances,
while inside the cellar 106 different wines were "thieved"
from the barrel by winemakers for bidders to taste and bid on
as part of this rousing wine futures barrel auction.
The
Barrel Auction raised just over $1.23 million, a fifty percent
increase over 2006 with virtually the same number of cases offered.
1,060 total cases were purchased, with an average case price of
$1161. The barrel lots are bid on as individual cases, with each
barrel offering representing ten cases, providing opportunities
for a great number of bidders. Over 1,600 bidders joined in the
fundraising, primarily in the Barrel Auction which is a perennial
favorite for its rambunctious and exciting pace. Top professional
sommeliers from VinTrust were on hand throughout the barrel tasting
to assist bidders.
David
Freed, chairman of Silverado Premium Partners, was the top bidder
in the Barrel Auction, purchasing 74 cases of wine for nearly
$60,000. Freed also won the Freemark Abbey lot in the Live Auction.
Freed said: "We are involved in the Auction because we supply
wine grapes to many of the wineries that participate, and it's
our opportunity to say thank you to them. If it helps the wineries,
it helps us, and it helps the community. It's a triple net gain
to the bottom line!"
Bids
Cast Around the World
Also at the Friday event was the finale of the E-Auction where
bidders from around the globe had been actively bidding since
May 25th for wine collections, vintner-hosted activities, luxury
items and more. Advance bidding parties were held bi-coastally
at Gordon Ramsay at the London NYC in New York City and at the
Ritz-Carlton Huntington in Pasadena on June 1st. The E-Auction,
now in its second year since going global, has grown steadily.
Finishing at nearly $379,000, this represents a 21% increase over
2006.
Auction
2007 Chairs
Chairing this year's event was the Joseph Phelps Vineyards Family,
including Joseph Phelps, winery founder; his son Bill, chairman;
Tom Shelton, president and CEO; Craig Williams, senior vice-president
and director of winemaking; and their partners. "The theme
of the American Classic seemed the purest expression of who we
the vintners are in Napa Valley and what this event has become
over its twenty-seven-year history. We are proud to have been
a part of this incredible tradition," said Bill Phelps.
Work
on the event began more than a year ago with the Phelps team assembling
a steering committee of vintners and community members to coordinate
all aspects of the operation from logistics to décor and
from culinary to "hoopla," a committee dedicated to
keeping the energy high. Phelps continued, "With over 800
volunteers, the Auction is a well-run, collaborative effort that
showcases the best our community can be, with neighbor helping
neighbor, to raise funds for scores of charity organizations."
Funds from the Auction will be distributed in the fall, but over
the event's history nearly $70 million has already been given
to more than fifty non-profit organizations.
ANV 2008
Plans are already underway as the chair of Auction 2008, the Heitz
Wine Cellars Family, was announced Saturday night during the bidding.
Dates for ANV 2008 are June 5-8, 2008.
For more information about NVV and ANV
please go to www.napavintners.com
ANV 2007
Recap
2007 10 Top Live
Lots-
Staglin Family Vineyards, $1.1 million
Bidder: Anonymous
3-3 liter bottles and a driving tour of Italy hosted by the Staglins
Screaming Eagle, $500,000
Bidder: Joy Craft of Woodside, CA
3-3 liter bottles and a campout at the vineyard
Hundred Acre, $400,000
Bidder: Anonymous
1-18L bottle and dinner for 10
Harlan Estate, $380,000
Bidder: Ron Kuhn of Wheaton, IL
4-3 liter bottles and dinner for 8
NVV and Lexus, $360,000
Bidder: Mary Miner of Oakville, CA
A Lexus hybrid sedan, wine collection and a weekend in Napa Valley
Araujo Estate Wines, $340,000
Bidder: Joy Craft of Woodside, CA
Wine collection and dinner for 10
Colgin Cellars $320,000
Bidder: Anonymous
7 bottles of wine, dinner for 10
Opus One, $280,000
Bidder: Ann Colgin of St Helena, CA
10 magnums and trip to Bordeaux
Shafer Vineyards, $250,000
Bidder: Anonymous
3-3 liter bottles and dinner for 8
NVV and Departures Magazine, $220,000
Bidder: José Nazar of Los Angeles, CA
Wine collection, trip to Singapore for Premiere Festival del Sole
2007 10 Top Barrel
Lots-
Shafer Vineyards, $104,950
Pride Mountain
Vineyards, $36,400
Joseph Phelps Vineyards,
$35,850
D.R. Stephens Estate,
$35,000
Blackbird Vineyards,
$28,150
Jones Family Vineyards,
$24,900
Nickel and Nickel,
$22,050
William Cole Vineyards,
$22,000
HDV, $20,750
Etude, $20,100
2007 Top 10 E-Lots-
Kongsgaard, $21,000
Viader Vineyards,
$16,500
Domaine Chandon,
$15,100
Sherwin Family
Vineyards, $15,100
Miner Family Vineyards,
$14,500
Etude Wines, $12,400
Franciscan Estate,
$12,100
Arietta, $11,800
Cakebread Cellars,
$11,200
NVV and Viking
Range Corporation, $10,600
About ANV
Established by a thoughtful group of Napa Valley vintners in 1981,
ANV is the granddaddy of charity wine auctions in America, having
given nearly $70 million dollars over its first 26 years for healthcare,
youth service and low-income housing charities in Napa County.
Funds from the 2007 event will be distributed in the fall. NVV
is proud of our member's contributions, raising desperately needed
funds through ANV and for being the inspiration and backbone of
all other charity wine auctions across the U.S.
About the NVV
Now in our seventh decade, the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) non-profit
trade association is the sole organization responsible for promoting
and protecting the Napa Valley Appellation as a winegrowing region
second to none in the world. Respect for our history reinforces
our commitment to the preservation and enhancement of the Valley's
land, wine, and community for future generations. We address the
shared interests of our nearly 300 members and aspire to be the
essential organization for all Napa Valley vintners.
For more information, please contact Amy
Krakow at (212) 710-0529 (office) or (212) 587-0540 (cell). |