2018 Premiere Napa Valley wine auction raises $4.1 million at CIA

Premiere Napa Valley took place at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone with 187 wine auction lots.  Live auction bids took place for three and half hours.

The top 10 lots ranged from $55,000 to $110,000 and raised an estimated $690,000. The total amount raised for the 187 auction lots and the additional 31 online wine lots was $4.1 million.

The top-selling Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, started the bidding at $44,000 and quickly rose to $55,000, $65,000 and then $75,000. As the bidding went higher, the crowd began cheering. The auction bid reached $90,000 and stalled before crossing the $100,000 level. Cristina Pearce of Total Wine & More from Bethesda, Maryland won the wine lot for $110,000.

The wine, like all the others auctioned off Saturday, remains in the barrel and the Silver Oak will be available in January 2020.

1. $110,000, Silver Oak, 20 cases, $458/bottle
2. $75,000, Alpha Omega, 10 cases, $625/bottle
3. $75,000, VHR, Vine Hill Ranch, 5 cases, $1,250/bottle
4. $75,000, Rombauer Vineyards, 20 cases, $312.50/bottle
5. $65,000, Staglin Family Vineyard, 5 cases, $1,083/bottle
6. $60,000, Chappellet Vineyard, 5 cases, $1,000/bottle
7. $60,000, Ovid Napa Valley, 2016 Red Wine, 5 cases, $1,000/bottle
8. $60,000, Hourglass, 5 cases, $1,000/bottle
9. $55,000, Quilt Wines, 20 cases, $229/bottle
10. $55,000, Shafer Vineyards, 5 cases, $916/bottle

Barrel Tasting: Participants tasting the 2018 Premiere Napa Valley lots while interacting with proprietors and winemakers from more than 200 Napa Valley wineries.