Premiere Napa Valley Brings Auction Of Rare Wines Online For The First Time
Now in its 20th year, the Premiere Napa Valley barrel tasting and futures auction has brought a portion of its auction online for the first time in its history.
The annual auction offers some of the highest quality and most sought-after wines from California's Napa Valley, in bulk quantities up to 240 bottles. In 2015, the auction raised a record $6 million, but this year's auction on February 20 could potentially break that record, especially with the addition of 25 lots that will be available exclusively online. Bidding for the online auction opens Friday, February 19 at 8 a.m. Pacific Time.
The remaining 200 lots will go to auction at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa Valley on February 20. The sold-out even is open only to licensed members of the wine trade who are buying in bulk for customers or collectors.
"Premiere Napa Valley is our vintners' chance to color outside the lines by creating a wine we've always wanted to make, one time only, specifically for this event," Doug Shafer of Shafer Vineyards and 2016 Premiere Napa Valley steering committee chair, said in a statement. "We then get the chance to share that wine with our friends in the wine trade who in turn pass these one-of-a-kind treasures to their valued customers."