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A Stellar Year for Auction Napa Valley Raises $8.4 Million for Charities
$1.05 million for single lot sets new record
6/4/2006 - St Helena, CA - The Napa Valley Vintners' (NVV), annual Auction Napa Valley (ANV), the granddaddy of America's charity wine auctions raised $8.4 million in auction revenue over the annual four-day event that concluded today for health care, youth services and low-income housing efforts.
The stars come out for ANV
American Idol host and media mogul Ryan Seacrest opened the Live Auction proceedings, held on the grounds of Meadowood Napa Valley, on Saturday evening to thunderous applause as bidders took to their paddles for fast and furious auction action. Seacrest, along with renowned auctioneers Fritz Hatton and Ursula Hermacinski began the evening offering 4 tickets and backstage passes to American Idol, then duplicated the lot so that two successful bidders, each bidding $35,000, brought $70,000 to the table in the first few minutes of the proceedings. Seacrest, an avid wine lover and collector, was right at home with the renowned vintners of Napa Valley.
Hollywood star Geena Davis was on hand to help sell the Frank Family Vineyards lot that featured a walk-on role in Davis' upcoming film based on her critically acclaimed television show Commander in Chief. Davis good-naturedly chided the group to continue to raise their bids by saying, "I am the fake president and you must do as I say."
A star was born as Koerner Rombauer, of Rombauer Vineyards beat out a cheering crowd of fellow bidders to land the part.
Setting new records
Record-breaking Lot 9, billed as "a new French Connection," provided by Staglin Family Vineyard, offered 5 large format bottles and a trip to France, hosted by Shari and Garen Staglin had the crowd on edge as a bidding war erupted that brought the sale of the lot to $1.05 million. Setting the new mark was second-year bidder Joy Craft of Woodside, CA who said: "I'm excited to make memories in my life," and though proud to be in a position of philanthropy, she came from humble beginnings, growing up on a farm in South Carolina. Garen Staglin commented; "We are honored to have contributed this lot that touched a bidder to respond so generously to our community."
As the final gavel fell, 60 Live, 105 Barrel and 62 E lots that offered extraordinary collections of wine, vintner-hosted events, luxury items and travel adventures donated by the organization's many wineries had raised nearly $8.4 million. One lot, donated by Cakebread Cellars, Dyer Vineyards, Lail Vineyards and Oakville Ranch Vineyards included a 2007 Chevy Suburban donated by General Motors to be given to one of the Auction's beneficiaries. The vehicle is equipped with the option to use clean-burning bio-fuel. Bidders Rick Jones and Chuck McMinn won the lot, and from a hat was pulled the Community Action of Napa Valley's Shelter Project as the proud new owner of the much-needed vehicle.
The chair of this year's event was the Cakebread Family of Cakebread Cellars, who took to the stage en masse to toast the bidders, vintners and the nearly 900 volunteers who made this event possible. A beaming Dennis Cakebread said: "This is terrific, just terrific. After last year's blow-out for the 25th anniversary, we and the board of directors had budgeted $5 million in revenue and had told our beneficiaries to remember that last year was a gift, not a signpost for the future. So we are thrilled with the results and had a great time showing off our valley's excellent hospitality."
As the party continued with great wine and camaraderie, Hugh Davies, president of the board of directors of NVV and ANV said: "This is when our community shines brightest, when our vintners work with a single purpose to raise funds for these programs that countless people in our community rely on for basic well being."
Culinary stars create memorable feast
Bidders, celebrities and vintners adjourned to The Party under the stars where celebrity chefs Traci Des Jardines of San Francisco's Jardinere, Suzanne Tracht of Los Angeles' Jar, John Folse of Baton Rouge's John Folse and Co., and renowned pastry chef and author Mary Cech prepared signature dishes at kitchen stations provided by Viking Range. Ringing the over-sized deck created for the event were ten cabanas for the event's top ten bidders.
ANV 2007
Plans are already underway as the chair of Auction 2007, the Joseph Phelps Vineyards Family, was announced Saturday night at the close of bidding. Dates for ANV 2007 are June 7-10, 2007.
More Information:
For more information about ANV and for downloadable photos from our gallery, please go to www.napavintners.com and click on the "press room."
Auction Napa Valley 2006 Photo Gallery
ANV 2006 Recap
2006 10 Top Live Lots
Staglin Family Vineyards, $1.05 million
Bidder: Joy Craft of Woodside, CA
5 large format bottles and a trip to France hosted by the Staglins
Screaming Eagle, $460,000
Bidder: M.K. Koo of Hong Kong
12 magnum vertical from 1992 forward
Colgin Cellars, $380,000
Bidder: Stratton Sclavos of Saratoga, CA
4-3 Liter bottles, Tychson Hill Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon and dinner for 8
Harlan Estate, $340,000
Bidder: David Reis of Rye, NY
10 magnum vertical from 1993 forward and dinner for 8
Frank Family Vineyards, $305,000
Bidder: Koerner Rombauer of St Helena, CA
12-750ml bottles and 5 magnums Cabernet Sauvignon and a walk-on role in Commander in Chief, the movie with Geena Davis
Chair's Lot, $300,000
Bidder: Koerner Rombauer of St Helena, CA
98 bottles of Cakebread Cellars wine, plus ten cases, a 2006 Z06 Chevrolet Corvette, high performance driving school and luxury trip to Arizona.
Dalla Valle Vineyards, $200,000
Bidder: M.K. Koo of Hong Kong
6-750ml bottles and 1-9 liter Maya along with a dinner with Naoko Dalla Valle.
Duckhorn Vineyards, $200,000
Bidder: Larry Durham of Montecito, CA
Wine Country package plus 25 magnums
Joseph Phelps Vineyards, $180,000
Bidder: M.K. Koo of Hong Kong
12-750ml bottles and 1-9 liter Insignia Proprietary Red Wine
Robert Mondavi Winery, $180,000
Bidder: Koerner Rombauer of St Helena, CA
Excursion to Italy to the roots of the Mondavi family along with 43 bottles of wine from 1966 forward
Arietta Winery, $180,000
Bidder: Jess Jackson of Santa Rosa, CA
Dinner for 20 and 20 bottles of wine
2006 10 Top Barrel Lots
Shafer Vineyards, $37,500
Pride Mountain Vineyards, $28,000
Jones Family Vineyards, $26,550
D.R. Stephens Estate, $24,550
Joseph Phelps Vineyards, $23,250
HDV, $22,150
Cliff Lede Vineyards, $18,200
Clark-Claudon Vineyards, $16,550
Viader Vineyards & Winery, $16,250
Hartwell Vineyards, $14,950
2006 Top 10 E-Lots
Beringer Vineyards, $48,100
Domaine Chandon, $34,800 (duplicated by the donors, 2 lots of $17,400)
Spring Mountain District Assoc., $15,500
Franciscan Oakville Estate, $12,200
ZD Wines, $10,100
Howell Mountain Vineyards, $8,500
Sherwin Family Vineyards, $8,000
Broman Cellars, $7,000
Mumm Napa Valley, $6,400
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 $62 million dollars over its first 25 years for healthcare, youth service and low-income housing charities in Napa County. Funds from the 2006 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 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 l
View and download photos from Auction Napa Valley 2006
Contact: CONTACT: Terry Hall Communications Director (707) 968-4217 thall@napavintners.com
