$12 Million Raised at Auction Napa Valley

June 4, 2019 – The 39^th Annual Auction Napa Valley raised nearly $12 million for nonprofit organizations that focus on health and children’s education.  Since 1981 when the first auction was held,  $185 million has been distributed to these good causes in the Napa Valley.  The wine industry, the hundreds of Napa residents who volunteer hours of their time, and the wine devotees who attend, are generous to a fault.

Events held over four days culminated in a live auction on Saturday at the beautiful Meadowood resort.  In addition to Saturday’s live auction, a barrel auction took place on Friday at the Louis M. Martini Winery.  Each year a different winery hosts this event.  Guests were able to taste yet-to-be-released wines straight from the barrel and talk to the winemakers and owners pouring the wines.  This year there were 112 lots and the way it works is the 10 top bidders for each of the 112 lots will receive a case of the auctioned wine.

Top Auction Napa Valley Bids

For the second year running, VGS Chateau Potelle of St. Helena received the top bid, this year for its 2017 red wine blend of 97 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 3 percent Malbec.  The top 10 bids totaled a very impressive $85,250.  One bidder alone chipped in $25,000.  VGS Chateau Potelle is a very small winery producing less than 10,000 cases.  It is named after the original 500-year-old Chateau Potelle in France. And what does VGS stand for?  Check out David Thompson’s column at the Napa Wine Project.

Nothing stuffy about this winery!