The annual Premiere Napa Valley (PNV) wine auction, organized by the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV), raised $3 million Feb. 21 by selling specialized barrel lots assembled by many of the valley’s top winemakers for trade members. The event has become a top Napa event by offering a preview of upcoming vintages. Proceeds will support NVV’s various promotional and educational initiatives.
This year’s auction was co-chaired by the father-son vintner team of Chris and Josh Phelps. “It was amazing to see everyone come together and create an exciting atmosphere for our trade partners who traveled to support the auction,” Josh Phelps, Grounded Wine Co. owner and winemaker, told Wine Spectator. “The vintners brought the energy into all of the PNV events this past week.”
A Collaboration and Reunion
The auction itself culminates a three day marathon of themed tastings hosted at over two dozen wineries throughout the valley, during which Napa vintners preview some of their not-yet-released wines for the commercial market.
Started 30 years ago by NVV, PNV invites winery members to create a wine specifically for the auction. Some vintners select a particular lot to bottle separately, apart from their commercial production. There are also collaborative lots, such as one from Dakota Shy and the Detert Family and another from Markham and Textbook.
“There isn’t another opportunity like this to taste hundreds of one-of-a-kind wines side by side with the winemakers and owners of iconic estates,” said Avery Heelan, winemaker at Larkmead Cellars. “This year at Premiere we poured an old vine selection of Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2024 vintage.”
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The auction featured 181 lots exclusively to more than 1,000 trade members. Bidding was held at Greystone at the Culinary Institute of America. The top red wine lot was from Duckhorn, which sold for $58,000 for 20 cases. Other top red lots included a collaboration between Davies, Diamond Creek, Diamond Mountain Vineyard, Dyer Vineyard and Lokoya, along with lots from Robert Mondavi Winery, Shafer, Quintessa, Silver Oak and Revana. White and sparkling wines were also on offer, including bottlings from Hudson, Schramsberg, Chandon, Paula Kornell and Lail.
2024 Vintage Debut
The event serves as a de facto introduction to an upcoming vintage, similarly to Burgundy’s Hospices de Beaune. This year’s PNV auction featured 159 lots from the 2024 vintage, with most of the lots still aging. The event marked the first time that trade could sample the 2024 vintage en masse.
“Our 2024 wines are already so generous and aromatically expansive,” said Heelan. “PNV is always so exciting to have a first chance to share the upcoming vintage.”
Coming after a hot 2022 and cool 2023, the 2024 vintage was spared heat spikes or other weather anomalies. “After a couple of anxiety fueled vintages, 2024 was much more even keel. [It] was a stereotypically consistent vintage from a Napa Valley perspective,” said Josh Widaman, winemaker for Pine Ridge’s Napa Valley estate. “Premiere Napa Valley was a great reflection of this vintage. This was a vintage that had the richness and boisterousness.”
The next PNV event and auction will take place Feb. 24-27, 2027.
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