First Napa Valley Auction Surpasses $2 Million at Online and In-Person Event | Local News

Returning to its traditional February date, after COVID-19 disrupted its 2021 schedule, the auction was a hybrid of an in-person event, combined with online streaming, which allowed bidders from around the world to compete. for 109 batches of unique wines, created just for Première.

Included are wines from the 2020 vintage as well as 2019, 2021 and multi-vintage wines.

Premiere is the trade organization’s fundraising fundraiser that supports its educational and promotional activities for Napa Valley wines. It is open only to trade, which can then sell these unique wines in restaurants and shops. In 2021, Premiere moved to June, due to COVD-19, and raised $2.7 million with the sale of 149 lots.

This year’s in-person audience at Greystone’s Culinary Institute of America was limited to “former successful bidders,” according to the Vintners.

In November 2021, Napa Valley Vintners announced a three-year partnership with Sotheby’s Auction House, which hosted Premiere 2022. Seen online, it showed rising bids, bouncing between online and in-person attendees.

According to Napa Valley Vintner’s post-auction release, “Wines sold at the first Napa Valley Wine Auction of 2022 will travel to 14 states and six countries.”

While Saturday’s auction was lively and professional as Sotheby’s auctioneers moved swiftly through the lots, the previous week was full of old-fashioned hospitality, like ‘Chardonnay and Oysters’ of Lee and Cristina Hudson, where guests could taste the first batch of Hudson Vineyard. . Trillium, 60 bottles of 100% Chardonnay from three favorite sites in their Carneros vineyards, sold for $15,000.

On Thursday, Louis Martini Winery hosted a Vintage Perspective tasting of wines at auction from 2001 to 2010, and Charles Krug Winery hosted a grand premiere Napa Valley Tasting on Friday morning. COVID precautions remained in effect at these large gatherings where guests were asked to take rapid-result COVID tests before entering wineries.

During his first preview, Jean-Charles Boisset gave guests a glimpse of his new Chateau Buena Vista tasting room, which will open in March in Napa. With him were Marc Mondavi and Peter Mondavi, Jr. of Charles Krug Winery, as well as Angelina Mondavi, daughter of Marc and Janice Mondavi, who made Lot 14, with Brian Maloney of Buena Vista Winery, from grapes of Napa Valley.

Boisset described the lot, titled “Past, Present and Future,” as a “reunion” between the two historic wineries. Charles Krug, who established Napa Valley’s oldest winery, served as an apprentice winemaker for Agoston Haraszthy, the self-proclaimed “Earl of Buena Vista,” who founded California’s first winery in Sonoma. Boisset purchased and restored Buena Vista, and the Mondavi brothers today own Krug, which their grandfather purchased in 1943.

A new “Count” was at the door of Chateau Buena Vista on First Street, Napa, to greet guests. The tasting room, unlike any other in town, has all the characteristics of a Boisset creation, where love of history and luxury meet. Boisset said it will serve “the four Cs: champagne, caviar, chocolates and cabernet.”

Lot 14 attracted considerable interest at auction, winning one of the highest bids, at $40,000 for 120 bottles.

According to the Sotheby’s website, the top lot was Shafer Vineyards, 60 bottles of 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon made by Elias Fernandez that sold for $75,600, which includes a buyer’s premium. Shafer was sold in February to Shinsegae Property, a luxury brand based in Seoul, South Korea.

On the Sotheby’s list, a 120-bottle lot of 2020 Favia/Hourglass red table wine sold for $54,000, as did Heitz’s 60-bottle lot of 2019 Cabernet. Silver’s Better Together 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon lot Oaks sold for $70,200.

During the pandemic, the Napa Valley Vintners revamped their fundraising platforms, including Auction Napa Valley, which raised millions that the Vintners gave back to the community. Discontinued after 2019, this auction has been incorporated into the new Napa Valley Collective, which will present a program of events throughout the year, taking place in the valley but also inviting fans from around the world to participate. The first Collective event is coming in March.