Annual Napa wine auction raises $3 million
Premiere Napa Valley last weekend raised at $3 million to support the trade association that represents most wineries in Napa County. The sold-out event, exclusively open to members of the wine trade, drew crowds at a time when the industry continues to face a downturn in wine sales.
For the past 30 years, the annual auction has raised money for Napa Valley Vintners by auctioning yet-to-be-released unique wines. Saturday’s auction at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena featured 181 lots, mostly wines from the 2024 vintage. Buyers also bid online.
“Considering market realities, our expectations were measured and we’re really happy with the results,” said Teresa Wall, senior director of communications at Napa Valley Vintners, which represents 550 members.
Last year’s auction raised $3.3 million from the sale of 194 lots. Premiere Napa Valley in 2015, which featured 225 lots, raised a record $6 million.
Wall cautioned against year-to-year comparisons, saying many variables factor into the total raised including the number of lots and market conditions.
This year’s event drew about 1,000 buyers representing retail stores, hotels, restaurants and other businesses from across the country and overseas. Twenty-five venues hosted the visitors across the valley between Feb. 18-21.
Josh Phelps, owner and winemaker at Grounded Wine Company, co-chaired this year’s event with his father, Chris Phelps.
“We’re grateful to every trade partner who came out, who raised a paddle and who continues to believe in Napa Valley. The week provided a surge of momentum, and it was pure joy to be surrounded by so many people who are passionate about wine and about Napa Valley,” Josh Phelps said.
Saturday’s annual grand tasting took place a few hours before the auction on the second floor of the Culinary Institute of America building, a former Christian Brothers winery.
Malek Amrani, founder and winemaker at The Vice, has volunteered for the event for years, including donating lots, serving on the steering committee, and pouring wine at the auction.
“I just want to give back as much as possible to the community,” Amrani said.
Thomas Baldacci, owner Baldacci Family Vineyards, and others said the event is an opportunity to catch up and meet other winemakers. He was happily surprised to learn that the event had been sold out.
Regardless of market trends, Baldacci said, the wines are still “world class.”
Vintner Jean-Charles Boisset, owner of Boisset Collection, said the turnout at Premiere Napa Valley was “fantastic.”
On Friday, he hosted a private party for 350 guests.
Boisset has been busy with a number of projects, including the opening of Flora Springs Wine Lounge and Napa Fragrance, a luxury home business on First Street in Napa. He has also undertaken renovations of the Flora Springs winery in St. Helena and the creation of Le Club, a new social club next to Elizabeth Spencer in Rutherford.
“I just don’t buy into this negativism,” Boisset said, referring to the current downturn in the wine industry, as retailers, winemakers, restaurant owners, wholesalers and others milled about during Saturday’s grand tasting.
Linda Neal, owner of Tierra Roja in Oakville, has participated in the annual event for 16 years. “It’s a joyful event,” she said.
Clif Family winemaker Laura Barrett, who also attended Premiere Napa Valley, said the event is an opportunity to reinforce relationships with members of the wine trade. “And it’s been really fun,” she added.
Gretchen Brakesman on Saturday poured wine for Domaine Alice Hartmann, a Luxembourg company that produces wines at her family’s Summit Lake Vineyards on Howell Mountain. Her husband, Brian Brakesman, is the winemaker.
Gretchen Brakesman maintains a positive outlook on the future of the wine industry. “Wine has been around for thousands of years. There is a reason for that,” she said.
“Culturally, I think wine is becoming more and more needed to bring families together and to bring back that tradition of sitting down for dinner.”
Being “negative is not going to help anything,” Brakesman added. “So, sell joy, sell happiness.”
Buyers included retailers, wine clubs, restaurants, hotels and others from 25 states and 12 countries.
Angel Comulada-Rivera, a physician from Puerto Rico, came with Toa Baja restaurant. Attending Premiere Napa Valley is an opportunity to taste the 2024 wines and share experiences, knowledge and ideas with vintners, winemakers and others, Comulada-Rivera said.
On Saturday, he and his wife, Sonia Ortiz, planned to buy wines. They successfully bid on four lots – 240 bottles of 2024 Cabernet Sauvignon by Davies, Diamond Mountain, Diamond Creek, Dyer and Lokoya for $50,000; 120 bottles of Chandon 2011 sparkling wine for $17,000; 60 bottles of Crocker and Starr 2024 Cabernet Franc for $26,000; and 60 bottles of Beringer Vineyard 2024 Cabernet Sauvignon for $8,000.
JP Sandhu, owner of CSN Wine and Spirits in Calgary, British Columbia, also bought one of the priciest lots – $50,000 for 240 bottles of Robert Mondavi Winery’s 2024 To Kalon Red Table wine.
Sandhu, whose company has not stopped selling U.S. products, said he likes the wine and the Robert Mondavi brand. With its brand name recognition, it will not be hard to sell the wines, he said.
Sandhu was attending the event for the first time. He came to Premiere Napa Valley to find unique wines, noting it is increasingly difficult to obtain U.S. wines in Canada.
The demand is there, added Sandhu, whose country has been boycotting U.S. wines in part because of the Trump administrations’ trade policies.
The next Premiere Napa Valley is set for Feb. 24-27, 2027. The chairs are Amici Cellars’ John Harris, Melissa Devore and Toni Biagi.
