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Bidders vie for Napa Valley's most innovative wines at Sotheby's auction

Published:  28 February, 2022

Bidders from around the world attended the 26th annual Premiere Napa Valley wine auction, conducted by Sotheby’s on Saturday.

Members of the wine trade registered their bids in the room or online, as buyers competed for 109 lots.

Linda Reiff, president and CEO of Napa Valley Vintners said: “We were thankful to be able to connect with so many of our long-time partners in the wine business this week. It was a true homecoming event. We were humbled by the support shown and the incredible passion for our wines and our region.”

The auction included wines from the 2019, 2020 and 2021 vintages, which will make their way to 14 states and six countries.

Debuting at this year’s auction was the much talked about 2020 vintage.

Vintners making a 2020 Premiere Napa Valley red wine were pleased on Saturday as the average price per bottle was $234 proving that demand exists for high quality, excellent wines made in the most difficult of vintages.

Wendy Heilmann, director of wine and spirits, Pebble Beach Resorts said: “I’ve been pleasantly surprised. There have been a lot of big question marks about what kind of quality was going to be coming out given the challenges of the vintage, but they’ve been bright, vibrant, really great quality. I’m excited to have them hit the market.”

Some of the highest selling average bottle prices were those of joint lots by Favia and Hourglass, Buena Vista and Charles Krug and Reynolds Family Winery and Canard coming in at an average of $325 a bottle.

Also impressive was the zeal for white wines in this year’s auction with an average price of $108 per bottle. In addition, winemakers displayed the variety of grapes grown in Napa Valley with lots focused on Malbec, Syrah, Nebbiolo, Riesling and Albariño in the auction.

“It’s really great to see how Napa is doing so many different things and doing them all very well,” said Molly Brooks, wine buyer & director of events at Meritage Wine Market.



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