Oenophiles and collectors, listen up! If you love wine and giving back and would like to see some of the money you spend building up your wine cellar go to fantastic causes, you’re definitely going to want to put this event on your radar for next year. And while we know you wouldn’t want to pass on any opportunity for a trip to wine country, snagging a coveted bottle of collectible wine from this special Napa Valley fundraiser doesn’t even require a plane ticket.
June 1-4, 2017, marked the 37th annual celebration of Auction Napa Valley, put on by Napa Valley Vintners (NVV), which raised $15.7 million to benefit health and children’s education in the community. Since the auction started in 1981, it has contributed $170 million to Napa County’s nonprofit organizations, serving residents with a variety of programs from providing adult day services and Alzheimer’s support to English language preparation for kindergarteners.
The four-day event featured welcome parties hosted by vintners on Thursday night, private dinners and the Barrel Auction on Friday, and the traditional Live Auction on Saturday followed by an al-fresco dinner prepared by Francis Coppola and a private performance by Leon Bridges. New this year were Wine and Food Pavilions — featuring Napa Valley’s most popular wines and food prepared by six of the Coppola family’s favorite restaurants and chefs — and the first-time E-Auction, allowing people from around the world to bid on 108 Barrel Auction lots.
The day’s top fundraising lot was from Colgin Cellars, raising an impressive $2.1 million for a horizontal collection of large format bottles of their 2007 wines along with trips to Napa Valley and Champagne.
Once you take a look at the incredible photos from the weekend’s festivities, we’re pretty sure you’re going to want to save the date for the 38th annual Auction Napa Valley next year May 31 – June 3, 2018.
Oh, and in case you needed any more reasons to enjoy that refreshing glass of rosé at the end of a long day, or that big, bold Cab with a nice steak, science says wine tasting engages your brain more than any other human behavior, so enjoy!
For more information, visit auctionnapavalley.org.
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Manon Blackman is a Make It Better intern and rising senior at Northwestern University, pursuing a dual-degree in journalism and vocal performance. When she’s not in class, you can find her running, experimenting with vegan cooking, and drinking lots of coffee.
