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Cool Temps / Sizzling Bids at Winesong! 2007 |
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The Mendocino Coast weather remained in the cool 60s throughout the day, but the bidding action under the big tent at the 2007 Winesong! charity auction was hot and furious.. When auctioneers DawnMarie Kotsonis and David Reynolds hammered down the final lot, total bids for the day reached $653,000, a 15% increase over 2006.
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Held in the colorful Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens on September 8th, the 23rd annual Winesong!, a benefit for the Mendocino Coast Hospital Foundation, played to a sold-out crowd of 1, 200 wine lovers. A tasting in the 57-acre Gardens featuring new releases from 95 wineries paired with food from over 50 local food purveyors preceded the auctions and set the let’s-have-fun mood.
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Once the 82 lot Live Auction featuring a mix of getaway trips and rare wines from Bordeaux, Rhone Valley, California, Walla Walla and South America got underway, it wasn’t long before the high-rollers heated the place up. |
Lot #9, a mixed case of California cult wines from the mid 1990s— Colgin, Bryant Family, Araujo Eisele, Harlan, Phelps Insignia, Spottswoode and Marcassin—sold quickly for $11,000.
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Reinforcing the notion that California cult wines are still sizzling, a later lot featuring a case of 1997 wines from many of the same producers sold for $13,000. A double magnum of 2005 Grace Family Cabernet continued the cult wine validation process, selling for $8,000. Two bottles of Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon sold for$4,500 and left no doubt. |
| Lots featuring French wines were also hotly contested. A double magnum of 1989 Ch. Mouton-Rothschild sold for $4,500. A super selection of Bordeaux from the fabled 2000 vintage went for $7,500. |
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However, continuing the recent trend, custom-made vacation packages to international wine destinations stole the show. South America’s hot wine destinations—Chile’s Colchagua Valley and Argentina’s Mendoza—ran away from the competition as two bidders, upon hearing that American Airlines would fly two couples Business Class, settled their differences and each agreed to ante up $50,000. |
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A ten-day trip to Portugal and Spain for two was also enhanced during the bidding by an upgrade to Business Class by American Airlines and set a Winesong! single lot record at $62,000.
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| The day’s third top bid at $25,000 was shared by a ten-day trip to South Africa and a seven day stay in Tuscany. The latter was a week in Paradise at the historic Tuscany landmark, Badia a Coltibuono. |
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The fun lot of the day was a wheel (80 lbs) of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, vacche rosse. It went for a top bid of $2,600. |
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The beauty of the venue and the diversity of the auction lots attract people from many parts of the globe. Winesong’s 2007 top five bidders came from Los Angeles, Boca Raton, Toronto, Reno, and Calistoga. |
Live Auction: $615,000
Silent Auction:
38,000
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For further information, contact Carol Joyce, Winesong Coordinator at 707.961.4994.
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