Napa Valley children thank Auction bidders at Saturday's event.
6/4/2017 - St. Helena, CA – With additional contributions coming in overnight, the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) has revised the fundraising total for this year’s Auction Napa Valley to $15.7 million. Proceeds from the 37th annual celebration benefit community health and children’s education. Last year alone, the lives of more than 100,000 clients of 27 different Napa County nonprofits were touched by Auction proceeds.
“It was an honor for our family to chair this year’s Auction Napa Valley,” said Roman Coppola of Inglenook who, along with his parents Eleanor and Francis, sister Sofia and niece Gia, served as the honorary chairs of the four-day fete. “Napa Valley is our family’s home and we’re grateful for the generosity of our bidders, fellow vintners, partners and donors, local chefs, volunteers and every member of the community that comes together to make Auction Napa Valley a success year after year. The funds we raised this weekend will help strengthen families and make the seemingly impossible possible for tens of thousands of our neighbors.”
The crescendo of the weekend took place during the Live Auction Celebration Saturday at Meadowood Napa Valley, which has been the host venue every year since 1981. The bidding was vigorous inside the big white tent designed to feel like a 1930s nightclub, complete with a live jazz band and a nostalgic dance troupe.
The top single lot of the day was donated by Dalla Valle Vineyards and includes a 6-liter bottle of the winery’s red wine blend ‘Maya,’ named for proprietor Naoko Dalla Valle’s daughter, and a week-long excursion with the Dalla Valles to some of their favorite spots in Naoko’s native Japan. “Auction Napa Valley brings Napa Valley’s vintners together to raise funds for worthy causes,” said Naoko Dalla Valle. "Our winery has been a supporter for close to 30 years and I am proud that my daughter Maya has joined me in carrying on this tradition that is so meaningful to our community. Giving back is very important and close to our hearts.”
The day’s top fundraising lot from Colgin Cellars, including a horizontal collection of large format bottles of their 2007 wines combined with trips to Napa Valley and Champagne was tripled, raising a total of $2.1 million. The Antica Napa Valley – Antinori Family Wine Estate/Staglin Family Vineyard joint lot, featuring 10 large-format bottles of wine from the two vintners along with a luxurious, guided trip to Tuscany, was also tripled, bringing in $1.5 million.
Following the Live Auction, the more than 900 guests moved to the fairway for an al-fresco dinner of Italian family favorites prepared by Francis Coppola himself, with support from local chefs John Sorensen along with Alejandro Ayala and the Meadowood events culinary team. After that, it was back to the big tent for dancing to a private performance by soul singer-songwriter Leon Bridges of Fort Worth, Texas.
On Friday, 2,000 guests gathered at the Coppola’s historic Inglenook estate in the heart of the scenic wine region for the Napa Valley Barrel Auction. Inside the winery’s caves, bidders tasted with winemakers and vied for the 108 lots, each selling as 10 single cases of current release Napa Valley wines.
Outside, surrounding the iconic Inglenook fountain, the Auction’s new Wine & Food Pavilions debuted featuring Napa Valley’s most popular wine varieties paired with food prepared by six of the Coppola family’s favorite Napa Valley restaurants and chefs:
Other events taking place over the weekend included vintner-hosted dinners and parties on Thursday and Friday nights and Saturday morning and a farewell brunch for the weekend’s top bidders on Sunday morning.
The next Auction Napa Valley is May 31-June 3, 2018 and will be chaired by The Mondavi Sisters of the Peter Mondavi Sr. Family. Tickets will go on sale in early February at auctionnapavalley.org.
Learn more about how Auction Napa Valley proceeds support the Napa County community.
Top-Selling Live Auction Lots
Top-Selling Barrel Auction Lots
Top-Selling E-Auction Lots
*Fundraising total reflects lot being replicated for multiple bidders.
Auction Napa Valley Since 1981, Auction Napa Valley, the Napa Valley Vintners’ (NVV) annual community fundraiser, has utilized the worldwide reputation of Napa Valley wines and the scenic beauty of the region to enhance the health and wellbeing of the Napa County community. To date, the NVV has invested $170 million from Auction Napa Valley proceeds in local nonprofit organizations. auctionnapavalley.org.
Napa Valley Vintners The Napa Valley Vintners nonprofit trade association has been cultivating excellence since 1944 by inspiring its morethan 525 members to consistently produce wines of the highest quality, to provide environmental leadershipand to care for the extraordinary place they call home. napavintners.com.
Contact: Patsy McGaughy, Communications Director - 707.968.4207, pmcgaughy@napavintners.com
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