Every year, the Napa Valley Vintners (the organization that promotes the Napa Valley wine growing area) holds a fundraiser called Premiere Napa Valley. This year Charnu Winery is participating in this event, which is being held Saturday, February 25th.
This is an event for the wine trade only—restaurants, stores, distributors, etc. And even if you wanted to go, it's sold out (with a waiting list).
A Unique Event
Premiere Napa Valley is, as far as I know, unique in it's approach.
The event starts with a walk-around wine tasting, followed by lunch and a live auction. That sounds like a lot of other events. What's different is what's up for auction.
First, the auction lots are only wine. Each of the approximately 200 lots consists of 5, 10 or 20 cases of one wine. Also, the wine is being sold as futures, meaning that it doesn't get delivered until later.
Second, these lots are not the wineries' normal bottlings. Each is one-of-a-kind offering created especially for this event. For example, a winery may offer a special blend of wine from selected barrels. As an additional twist, several wineries can collaborate on a lot that is a blend of wine components from each of the participants.
Third, the wine is not labeled under the winery's own brand. All of the wines are labeled with the "Premiere Napa Valley" brand, with the winery name(s) listed below. This brand even has it's own website.
What does a lot winner get for their money? They have a unique bottling of Napa Valley wine that they can offer to their customers. That's real exclusivity.
Charnu Winery's Premiere Napa Valley Lot
Our lot is going to be a 5-case lot (hey, our production is small). It's going to be a blend of the best barrels of our 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon. Mark is working on the final blend now. We've tasted a preliminary blend, and it was delicious!
One of the best parts of the event for a small, new winery like Charnu is the walk-around tasting. This gives us an opportunity to show off to some of the most important wine trade representatives in the country.
Are You Going To Be There?
If you're one of our non-trade customers, I'm sorry that you can't attend.
If you're in the wine trade, be sure to stop by our station and try a sample of our lot (Lot #46). And bid it up.
Photo by Napa Valley Vintners/Jason Tinaci