In late February of this year, the highly anticipated annual Premiere Napa Valley event occurred with several Skolnik stainless steel wine barrel customers showing very well and fetching record prices for their wines. Founded in 1997, Premiere provides funding for the Napa Valley Vintners organization (NVV) to further its mission to promote, protect and enhance the Napa Valley appellation, its wines and its community. Revenue comes from the auctioning of rare, ultra-boutique, one-of-a-kind wines, crafted in as few as 60 bottles and never more than 240. For Napa Valley winemakers, Premiere is a chance to express something they have always wanted to convey in a wine in very limited production for this one moment in time and then never again. For attendees, it’s the chance to preview the vintage coming into market. This year’s 67 successful bidders had the chance to choose from an array of wine lots as diverse as the grape varieties grown in the Napa Valley itself, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Chardonnay, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Semillon, Syrah, and even sparkling wine. The Napa Valley Vintners’ 17th annual Premiere Napa Valley today brought in a resounding $3.04 million, nearly matching last year’s record-breaking event. The auction’s 211 lots donated by 218 NVV members were purchased in just over three hours of lively and spirited bidding at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. For anyone with no aspirations of buying wine at the auction, the weekend’s primary point of interest lies in the tasting held before the auction, where these 212 barrel lots are made available for members of the trade and the media to sample. All lots are from the 2011 vintage and are due to hit the market it 12 to 24 months. 2011 was by many accounts the most challenging vintage Napa (and most of Northern California) has seen in decades. Thanks to very heavy early-season rains just before harvest, many vintners battled significant amounts of botrytis, mildew and grey rot on their generally soggy fruit. Those few who managed to pick before the rains had absolutely stellar fruit, if somewhat lower yields than normal. Those who managed to get their fruit dried out, took drastic action to combat botrytis and mildew, and then managed to get the fruit off the vine in late October had between 20 and 40 percent less crop, but good fruit at relatively lower sugars and higher acidity levels than normal. Those who waited into November took their chances with mixed results. With that said, many wine makers achieved spectacular results. Judging by the auction’s proceeds of $3.04 million, which didn’t quite top last year’s record haul of $3.1 million, the demand for Napa’s wine remains strong. We were happy to see several of our favorite stainless steel wine customers at the top of many critics lists of the 2011 vintage!
Wine