Premiere Napa Valley Week Draws Hundreds of Top Wine Professionals

New this year: Expanded online auction features some of Napa Valley’s rarest wines for global bidding

2/20/2017 - St. Helena, CA - More than 1,000 wine industry professionals will gather Saturday for the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) 21^st annual Premiere Napa Valley barrel tasting and futures auction. Hundreds more are converging on the renowned wine region for a week of related wine education events and activities often referred to as the best week of the year in the Napa Valley wine business.

Produced by Napa Valley winemakers in quantities as small as 60 and never more than 240 bottles, the Premiere Napa Valley portfolio showcases some of Napa Valley’s rarest and highest quality commercially available wines. Each wine is sold to only one bidder and every bottle is hand-signed and individually numbered by the winemaker.

“Premiere Napa Valley gives members of the wine trade the chance to capture one-of-a-kind wines to offer to their most discerning customers,” noted Andy Erickson. Andy and Annie Favia of Favia Erickson Winegrowers are the chairs of the 2017 Premiere Napa Valley steering committee. “The peer-to-peer networking and relationship-building with Napa Valley's vintners is often likened to a homecoming for many of our region’s most loyal wine ambassadors.”

Descriptions of this year’s 217 unique lot offerings, each one telling a compelling story, as well as where to purchase Premiere Napa Valley wines from past auctions can be viewed at premierenapavalley.com.

Although Saturday’s Premiere Napa Valley Barrel Tasting & Auction is sold out, the NVV has created new opportunities for wine trade from around the globe to access these unique lots by offering 45 of them exclusively online. Pre-registered licensees can bid from anywhere in the world in the Premiere Napa Valley Online Auction from Friday, February 24 at 9 a.m. PST until Saturday, February 25 at 1 p.m. PST. Members of the wine trade wishing to register for the online auction should visit premierenapavalley.com or call the NVV at 707.963.3388.

Proceeds from Premiere Napa Valley support the NVV’s mission to promote, protect and enhance the Napa Valley appellation.

Other activities drawing wine professionals to the Napa Valley this week include:

The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa Valley, bringing more than 40 distinguished faculty, speakers and emerging wine writers from around the world together to hone their craft.
Winemaker Trials Tasting, peek behind the curtain to learn how Napa Valley winemakers are constantly striving to up their game to produce the best wines in the world.
Cultivating Excellence Seminar and Tasting, an all-star panel of growers and winemakers will discuss how a passion for innovation has allowed Napa Valley to lead the way in wine quality.
Vintage Perspective Tasting, a walk-around blind tasting that explores Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon in a vertical of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 vintages, as well as white wine from producers throughout the region.
Premiere Napa Valley Preview Events, throughout the week, vintners host trade and media guests for tastings of current release, library and their Premiere Napa Valley wines.
Local Restaurant Wine Promotions, nearly 30 local eateries have special Napa Valley offerings, including Premiere Napa Valley wines, by the glass and in flights.

For more information about the portfolio of Premiere Napa Valley wines, to register for the Premiere Napa Valley Online Auction or place absentee bids (for qualified members of the wine trade), or to follow the action as it unfolds, visit premierenapawines.com. To join what promises to be a dynamic social media conversation throughout the week, follow #PNV17.

About the Napa Valley Vintners The Napa Valley Vintners nonprofit trade association has been cultivating excellence since 1944 by inspiring its more than 525 members to consistently produce wines of the highest quality, to provide environmental leadership and to care for the extraordinary place they call home. Learn more at napavintners.com.

Contact: Cate Conniff, Communications Manager - 707.968.4229, cconniff@napavintners.com