Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/807387
{ SOMMjournal.com } 65 wines are made exclusively for the bidders—all qualified trade buyers—for the 217 lots. "The wines we tasted from the 2015 vintage were extraordi- nary," said Michael Osborn, founder of Wine.com, who purchased lots at Premiere Napa Valley live and also during the event's online auction, where ease of bidding proved a strong draw this year, account - ing for 20 percent of the lots sold. "Although the harvest was smaller, that seems to have paid off in terms of quality for Napa Valley. From hillside wines to those from the valley floor, everything we tasted from this vintage was truly great." "We're thrilled with the outcome of this year's Premiere Napa Valley," said Michael Honig, Chair of the NVV Board of Directors and President of Honig Vineyard & Winery. "It's been more than 20 years since the Napa Valley Vintners created America's first barrel futures tasting and auction for the trade. As the industry leader, we cannot rest on our longstanding success. We want the Premiere Napa Valley brand to be coveted around the world. Our purposeful, strategic decision to sell more of this year's lots exclusively online was a major step toward achieving this goal." Top-selling lots of the day included Scarecrow Wine, Alpha Omega, Arkenstone, Silver Oak Cellars, Robert Mondavi Winery, Honig Vineyard & Winery, Rombauer Vineyards, Shafer Vineyards, a group lot from Arrow&Branch/Caldwell/Covert/ Italics wineries, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Dalla Valle Vineyards and Staglin Family Vineyard. The Barrel Tasting At the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in St. Helena, the rain was finally in our past while we tasted futures in the massive barrel room that houses the industry's Hall of Famers—a dramatic backdrop for this invitation-only event. Although the most highly prized lot was 60 bottles of 2014 "Old Men" Rutherford Vines Cabernet Sauvignon from cult producer Scarecrow Winery—a whopping $200,000 bid—family-owned Alpha Omega winery from Rutherford offered up five cases of its 2015 Dr. To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon (a blend of Beckstoffer Dr. Crane and Beckstoffer To Kalon vineyards) for $100,000. At the chime of 1 p.m., the bidding began, paddles at the ready. The auction opened with a 60-bottle lot of the 2015 Coombsville-grown Cabernet Sauvignon/Cab Franc from Favia Erickson Winegrowers. Before we knew it, it went for $40,000. But it was the anticipation that led up to the auction that was most thrilling. Meeting winemak - ers and proprietors leaves me star-struck, and Joe Harden, Winemaker for Robert Mondavi Winery. The online auction accounted for 20 percent of the lots sold.