“Take Care of Those Who Take Care of You”
Take care of those who take care of you. Good leaders do it. Smart quarterbacks do it. And, this past weekend in Napa Valley, the Napa Valley Vintners did it with their annual community fundraiser — Auction Napa Valley. The spirit of taking care of others was alive and vibrant in the actions of wineries, winemakers, and volunteers who work and live in this valley through their donations of auction lots and tireless hours of putting on a successful event.
Each year in June, the Napa Valley Vintners band together to raise money for many worthy charitable organizations in the Valley. Their stated mission: “To use the worldwide reputation of Napa Valley wines to enhance the well-being of the Napa County community.” Their areas of focus: Community health and children’s education. Winemakers donate 10 cases from a barrel to sell for auction prices at the barrel auction on Friday; wineries put together packages to auction on-line or at the live auction on Saturday. Each year, I am impressed with the generosity of the wineries as they live the values of taking care of others.
The cool thing for attendees is the opportunity to taste wine from barrels, taste delights from local restaurants, and have the opportunity to bid on great packages put together to win the hearts of bidders. It is a true win-win situation. This year again, the auction broke last year’s record, raising $18.7 million for charities. The event was another huge success.
The main event I attend is the barrel auction on Friday, which was held at Charles Krug Winery this year. Wineries and winemakers donate 10 cases of wine from a barrel. (A barrel holds approximately 25 cases of wine.) During the auction, guests are tasting wine from the barrels — you could call this tasting the “futures” of Napa Valley, as the wine will usually not be available for sale or delivery for over a year. The people who place the top 10 bids on each of the barrels will receive a case of the wine.
On auction day, guests can taste from 100 barrels. In addition to the barrel room, there are several outside tents filled with food from local restaurants and other wines to try. The challenge is to keep your palate fresh to discern which wines will mature well such that you may want to bid on them. As a result, the biggest test is to not swallow the wine you’re tasting. If you do, you will no longer be able to discern the balance of the wine. When tasting from the barrel, I am looking for the components of fruit, tannins, acidity, and alcohol to be in harmony. The only way to maintain a level of objectivity is to spit, and this is totally acceptable in these types of situations. I carry a cup – a red solo cup – to allow myself to get an impression of the wine and not take in all the alcohol.
The barrel hall was almost totally filled with wines from the 2012 vintage. This is said to be one of the most perfect growing years in recent memory, allowing for long hang time for the grapes without threat of rain or frost. It provided great yields and many excellent wines. It was a challenge to not bid on too many cases of wine. You have to stay on top of your bids to ensure that you stay in the game. I was fortunate to successfully bid on three.
Look for a follow-blog in which I’ll talk about several of the wines, including the ones I successfully bid on. More to come from Auction Napa Valley!
