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| 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 Napa Valley’s Consummate Weekend for Foodies 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. Bids Cast Around the World Auction 2007 Chairs 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 More Information: Auction
Napa Valley 2007 Photo Gallery ANV 2007 Recap 2007 10 Top Live Lots- Screaming Eagle, $500,000 Hundred Acre, $400,000 Harlan Estate, $380,000 NVV and Lexus, $360,000 Araujo Estate Wines, $340,000 Colgin Cellars $320,000 Opus One, $280,000 Shafer Vineyards, $250,000 NVV and Departures Magazine, $220,000 2007 10 Top Barrel Lots- 2007 Top 10 E-Lots- About ANV About the NVV Terry Hall Communications Director Direct 707-968-4217 thall@napavintners.com # # # |