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.

 

 

 

 
 

 

January 30th, 2018 - Napa Fire Relief Charity Event

90 Plus Wine Club, 25th Premium Selection Tasting Event at Tokyo American Club.

We　had　more　than　150　members　and　guests　attended　our　tasting event & fundraiser　and we raised ¥1,627,000.  100% of proceeds will be donated to the Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund (www.napavalleycf.org/fire-donation-page).

The wildfires which ignited on October 9th, 2018 and was not officially declared extinguished until 23 days later, killed 44 people and burned more than 200,000 acres in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties.  Approximately 9,000 homes and structures were destroyed in the fires. It was the most destructive wildfire in California history.  There were 44 wineries reportedly damaged which included our partner wineries: Montgomery Vineyard, Patland Estate Vineyards, Roy Estate, Signorello Estate, VinRoc Wine Caves and White Rock Vineyards.  The winery in Santa Rosa, Paradise Ridge, where the first Japanese, Kanaye Nagasawa, built his winery in 1875, was destroyed including his historical exhibition.  The total losses from the Northern California wildfires were estimated at $1,045 billion.

Fortunately, most of the vineyards were saved from the fires due to their regular maintenance and the fact that there was some moisture in and around the vineyards.  In some cases, the vineyards actually served as a fire break, preventing the spread of the wildfires.   Luckily, the 2017 season was warmer and drier than most of the years and about 85% of the grapes had been already harvested.  The majority of the remaining grapes were Cabernet Sauvignon which is fortunately the most resistant to the “smoke taint”.

The re-construction from the fire damage will take several years but the first step of cleaning up the debris has begun and we are on our way to recovery.

 

Wine-Country Wildfire Recovery Benefit Raises Over $3.4 Million

A passionate committee of leaders, vintners, chefs of Napa and Sonoma organized a dinner and charity auction on December 2, 2017.  More than $3.4 million was raised to  provide　immediate　assistance　and　financial　support　to　the　people　most　affected　by　the　devastating wildfires in California’s North Bay counties...

“A Night of Friendship & Neighbors” was held at the Greystone campus of the Culinary Institute of America. More than $2.3 million was raised during a live auction of prestigious lots held while 340 guests enjoyed a $2,500-a-plate dinner in the building’s old barrel cellars.

One of the driving forces behind the benefit was chef Thomas Keller, who operates two Grand Award–winning restaurants, the French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., and Per Se in New York. He was joined by Kyle Connaughton of SingleThread Farms, Christophe Kostow of the Restaurant at Meadowood (also a Grand Award winner), and Stephen Durfee of the CIA at Greystone, who together presented a four-course dinner.  Fourteen wineries, including Caymus and Screaming Eagle, Maya in Napa County and Williams Selyem in Sonoma County, donated bottlings for the dinner.

The 10 lots were collection of world renowned wines, dining and luxury vacations. A dinner for 50 to be prepared by Keller, Kostow and Connaughton sold for $250,000. From France, leading vintners in Burgundy and the Rhône Valley in France donated a lot of large-format bottlings that sold for $200,000.

One of the many vintners in attendance was Naoko Dalla Valle, who offered a lot comprising a dinner in Tokyo with her featuring the wines from her Napa estate. It sold for $180,000, then the lot was doubled, bringing in a total of $360,000.  An evening with John Legend at Raymond Vineyard for up to 30 couples at $20,000 a couple.

The fires, which began on Oct. 9 and were not officially declared extinguished until 23 days later, killed 44 people and burned more than 200,000 acres in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Approximately 9,000 homes and structures were destroyed in the fires. They rank as the most destructive wildfires in California history.

All proceed was distributed through Tipping Point Emergency Relief Fund to support low-income, communities impacted by this crisis.  www.tippingpoint.org/relief

Thomas Keller (center) with community leaders & chefs

11 Napa & 7 Sonoma Restaurant appetizers

Hiro Sone & Lisa Doumani of Terra with Thomas Keller (center)

4 course dinner menu

Regiis Ova White Sturgeon Caviar Passmore Ranch Sturgeon “En Brioche”, Green Apple Puree and Sorrel by Thomas Keller