Napa Valley Wine Auction – Locals Day
It’s one of the highlights of the year for those who live in Napa Valley, “Locals Day” at the annual Napa Valley Wine Auction.
Think of it this way: they basically throw a party for 3,500 close friends, neighbors and winemakers, and ask some 90 local restaurants and caterers to serve unlimited quantities of superlative food, and request 100+ local wineries to pour current release wines.
The price for this indulgence, for locals anyway, is $125 a ticket for a near all-day eat-and-drink-o-rama.
Accordian Man greeted guests to this year's Local's Day
As in recent years, this year’s Local’s Day extravaganza was held at Trinchero Family Estates, on the doorstep of St. Helena.
When locals weren’t juggling plates and wine glasses in the many tents set on the Trinchero front lawn today, they were swirling, sipping and spitting some of the grandest wines in America; 106 wineries offered barrel samples of their (mostly) 2005 Cabernet blends on which locals, and out-of-town auction attendees, were encouraged to bid in a silent-style auction.
All the monies raised in the annual 4-day, Napa Valley Wine Auction fund community non-profit projects. Since 1981, the Napa Valley Wine Auction has raised and donated nearly $69 million to dozens of Napa County health, youth development and affordable housing agencies.
At today’s silent barrel auction, the highest single bid for a case of wine was $15,000 for a 12-pack of 2005 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon. That’s $1,250 a bottle for those of you without a handy calculator. And that’s for a wine that won’t be bottled or released until September 2009.
You could have children born now and in kindergarten before this wine is ready for release! And even then, in my humble wine drinking opinion, the wine won’t be ready to enjoy until the same child is entering high school. Maybe even graduating from high school! That’s a l-o-n-g time away.
Doug Shafer, owner, and Elias Fernandez, winemaker, Shafer Vineyards
Doug Shafer, of Shafer Vineyards, calls 2005 a “classic cool vintage” in Napa Valley, and reckons that the wine will be similar to Shafer's achievements in 1995 and 2001, also “classic cool” vintages. Their wines age beautifully for a good 12-15 years once released.
Even now in barrel, the 2005 Shafer offers a seamless swallow of bright red fruit and soft-ish tannins. This was one of the wines I found myself swallowing, not spitting, at the barrel auction.
Stephanie Jones of Jones Family Vineyards pours her stunning 2005 Cabernet
Two other wines that I tasted, which I include in the same category (swallow, don’t spit), were the 2005 Joseph Phelps Cabernet and at the tippy top of my tasting notes today, I LOVED the 2005 Jones Family Cabernet, which was ethereally balanced and exhibiting gorgeous notes of toasted nuts and coffee. Who’s surprised? Heidi Barrett is the winemaker.
Favorite food of the day: the Pulled Pork Sandwiches from Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen
On the food side, highlights included the Pulled Pork Sandwiches handed out by Cindy’s (Cindy Pawlcyn) Backstreet Kitchen. Perfectly cooked, succulent pork threads were coated with a secret house sauce and topped with a crunchy, zippy tasting, slaw, and sandwiched in a tasty wholegrain bun.
Cindy Pawlcyn and her crackshot crew from Mustards Grill
Cindy’s offering at her Mustard’s Grill stand was also a showstopper – smoked, lightly charred, organic ribs, and her offering from Go Fish, her fish restaurant, was a stunningly tasty Spicy Tuna Roll.
My favorite sweet, or dessert, of the day was the Butterscotch Pudding served in a homemade Waffle Cup, presented by Market restaurant of St. Helena.
In fact, I found this dessert to be so exceptional that it was the only food of which I had two servings during the Grande Outdoor Bouffe. And even now, four hours later, while writing this column, I am actually thinking that I will have to head to St. Helena tomorrow for a serving of this regular menu’d item. It is to desert in this valley what the Espresso Bean Milkshake at Taylor’s Refresher is to milkshakes: An immediate and quintessential Napa Valley Legend.
Beet and Goat's Cheese Napoleons, prepared by NV restaurant, in the town of Napa
I also loved the Beet and Goat's Cheese Napoleons served at the stand of NV restaurant. Major simple, major yum. And the photo turned out well, too!
Catherine Bergen of Made in Napa Valley condiments. Where's your dog Jane, Catherine?
Catherine Bergen, who makes all those tasty Made in Napa Valley sauces, condiments and ice cream toppings, presented a simple, but oh-so tasty, fruit concoction – a chunk of watermelon speared with a fresh basil leaf and a small cherry tomato, the fruit drizzled with her Made in Napa Valley Garden Herb Dipping Oil. It made me think differently about not-ready-for-prime-time tomatoes – there’s actually a way to gussy them up with Catherine’s tasty oils.
There are still two days to go in the annual auction; out-of-town guests will be wining and dining in the homes and on the patios of the valley’s most prominent winemaker families and then bidding for huge lots of wine, with cars, helicopter rides and the like thrown in to inch up the paddle-style bidding at Saturday’s main auction event.
Fred Constant and his wonder dog Floozy, hawk their Constant wine Lot for the paddle auction - A 10-year history of Constant Cabernet (from high atop Diamond Mountain), 1995-2004. In total, 10 vintages represented by 20 magnums, with local accommodations thrown in and a visit to Fred and Mary's home, one of the most breathtaking residential properties in the entire Napa Valley. (Bid early, bid high!)