Auction Napa Valley 2009 raises over 5.7 Million Dollars for area healthcare, youth and housing non-profit programs.

By Al Hernandez

Masked horsemen, top toques and local area charities were the main focus of the 29th Annual Auction Napa Valley held June 4-6th. The annual event began Thursday with various winery hospitality events throughout Napa. The most unique and exclusive event was a mock train holdup orchestrated by this year’s chairperson, Janet Trefethen of Trefethen Family Vineyards. Masked riders on horseback held up the Napa Valley Wine Train, holding some of the previous year’s top-bidders “hostage.” No money was stolen from those held up at faux-gunpoint, as the “bandits” wanted to ensure these bidders had money to spend at Auction. Instead the “hostages” were treated to a world-class dinner at the Trefethen Estate prepared by Charles Phan of San Francisco’s Slanted Door .

On Friday, the signature “Taste Napa Valley” barrel auction was held at the Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville. Nearly 2,500 bidders and vintners enjoyed near-perfect weather as they sampled spectacular auction lots and were enticed to indulge by decadent cuisine from The French Laundry, Go Fish, Bounty Hunter, Rutherford Grill, étoile, and Mustards Grill, among others. These fine restaurants showcased the full spectrum of Napa cuisine, from barbecued pork ribs, to spicy tuna hand rolls, to savory watermelon ice topped with nicoise olives, to wood-fired pizzas. It was difficult to determine whether food or wine was the star as guests could pair the culinary treats with over 100 different wines amongst the To-Kalon vines. Taste Napa Valley bidders also were entertained by various booths, including fortune tellers, caricature artists, and a hoop-toss game featuring Napa Valley AVAs and trivia.

The fine food, entertainment, and beautiful California weather were the precurser to Friday’s main event in the To-Kalon Cellars, where feverish bidding on barrel futures from 120 different wineries took place. Various notable barrel lots included Nickel and Nickel, Miner Family, Terra Valentine, Viader, and host Robert Mondavi. The barrel auction raised nearly $1.1 million for local area charities. The top lot of the year was from Shafer Vineyards, bringing just over $45,000 for the 10 cases.

In addition to barrel auction, Friday’s events included the global online E-Auction, which had been live since May 22nd. Bidders from around the world went head-to-head with bidders on-site at Robert Mondavi Winery during the final hours of Friday's event. This year, 111 lots were offered, the top lot being an offering from Arietta Winery valued at $13,500 for three 6-liter bottles of wine. If the bid exceeded $10,000, Arietta Winery owner, Fritz Hatton, who is also a pianist and renowned Auction Napa Valley auctioneer, offered to pack up another case of wine and some sheet music and come to the winning bidder’s home “for an evening of Ariettas.” The winning bid exceeded $10,000. The E-auction included successful bidders from as far away as China, bidding, as event organizers say, “Napa in your pajamas,” in reference to people bidding at their homes across the country and around the world at very late (or early) hours of the day.

Full-package ticket holders filled time between the Friday daytime festival and the Saturday night live auction with intimate dinner parties and luncheons at vintners’ homes and wineries, for a behind-the-scenes experience with America’s top winemakers, and some of its top local chefs.

Auction Napa Valley culminated on Saturday evening with the live auction at Meadowood Napa Valley. Under the tent at Meadowood were acrobats, dancers, vintner antics and a live band. The spectacular entertainment and elegant dinner were a backdrop for long-time Auction Napa Valley auctioneer Fritz Hatton, and newcomer (to Auction Napa Valley) Viveca Paulin Ferrell. The talented auctioneers landed gavels on 42 uber-lots of incredible wine and vintner-hosted excursions offered to savvy wine lovers. The top lot of the night, from the offering by Antica Napa Valley-Antinori Family Wine Estate, raised more than $1million. A three-way bidding war ensued. A huddle with the Marchese Piero Antinori of the renowned Tuscan wine family and now a Napa Valley vintner as well, resulted in the Marchese tripling the lot so that all three parties could win, thereby increasing the income from the lot.

Doubling down also took place with the joint lot offered by Staglin Family Vineyards and HdV, where an on-site bidder and a phoned-in bid were combined to take the $200,000 bid to $400,000 for the sumptuous wine and travel package.

Fund a Need Continues to Pull Heartstrings…

Once again, paddles were generously raised to pledge $500, then $1000, and up, as bidders with nothing to “win” but the opportunity to support children’s health programs offered their support to this worthwhile cause. Before the bidding began, a group of local school-aged children, who stayed up late to participate, took to the stage. One selected spokesperson, Yesenia, a 10-year-old attending Bel Aire Elementary and the Boys & Girls Club of Napa Valley, said, “My friends and I came here tonight from the Boys & Girls Clubs in Napa County to say thank you for coming to Auction Napa Valley. Every dollar raised helps Napa County non-profits, and every dollar raised at this year’s Fund a Need will go directly to programs that support children’s health and well-being. And that’s US! So here’s to you and all you do for our community!” The paddle raise brought in more than a half-million dollars.

Thinking of attending next year? Visit http://www.napavintners.com for more information.