Wine Spectator Parties Kick Off Napa Auction

The magazine's annual bring-your-own-magnum events bring out the best of Sonoma and Napa.

Daniel Sogg
Posted: June 7, 2004

Wine Spectator's annual Bring Your Own Magnum parties, which took place in Sonoma last Tuesday and in Napa last Wednesday, herald the start of the four-day Napa Valley Wine Auction.

Both parties featured a remarkable gathering of the industry's most respected and influential players. In Sonoma, about 300 vintners and winery executives gathered at the Hotel Healdsburg and adjacent Dry Creek Kitchen. Among the prominent guests were Barbara Banke, co-owner of Kendall-Jackson, Matt and Gina Gallo, and Bob Cabral, winemaker at Williams-Selyem.

Every year, the BYOM theme ensures a vast assortment of wines that reflect the regions' diversity. Sonoma vintners turned up with choice offerings of Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Cabernet, such as the 1997 E. & J. Gallo Northern Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2002 Novy Zinfandel Russian River Valley Carlisle Vineyard and the 2002 Seghesio Zinfandel Sonoma County Old Vine.

A delightful breeze refreshed guests as they chatted, danced to a rock and blues band and munched on dishes such as lobster salad, oysters on the half shell and grilled lamb prepared by chef Charlie Palmer, owner of Dry Creek Kitchen. And while great food and wine shared with good friends makes for an outstanding night, a recent improvement in wine sales also buoyed the mood. "It seems to be bouncing back quicker than everyone expected," said Mick Schroeter, vice president and winemaker at Geyser Peak Winery in Alexander Valley. "I guess a couple of short harvests [in 2002 and 2003] helped."

Barbara Banke also noted an uptick. "It's improved dramatically. The higher-end wines are doing better," she said. "A lot of the surplus has dried up. The problem has been more at the low end."

Wednesday's party at Tra Vigne Restaurant in St. Helena couldn't have been scripted better. One thousand guests, including Tim Mondavi, Beringer winemaker Ed Sbragia and Bill Harlan, owner of Meadowood and Harlan Estate, enjoyed perfect weather and the chance to renew camaraderie with colleagues seen too rarely.

"It's a big reunion every year," said Tom Rinaldi, winemaker for Provenance Vineyards in Rutherford. "Certain people you see just flood you with memories from the last 20 years."

As always, the Napa magnum party features a simply outrageous selection of wines. Even jaded industry veterans are hard-pressed to choose between stunners such as the 1999 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2001 Paloma Merlot and the 2001 Shafer 25th Anniversary Sunspot Cabernet Sauvignon. Whenever possible, the preferred option is to secure a taste of each, sampled with selections from the Tra Vigne kitchen that included thin-crust gourmet pizzas, milk-braised pork shoulder and risotto with corn and morels.

As is the case in Sonoma, Napa producers are cautiously optimistic about business prospects after two difficult years. "Everything is picking up all over," said Doug Shafer of Shafer Vineyards.

"People are feeling better now than they have for a while," said Calvin Sidhu, CEO of Freemark Abbey.

For many of the party guests, auction week can be a four-day nonstop whirlwind. So the Wine Spectator magnum fete represents their only chance to relax and take a deep breath before plunging in. "The Spectator party gets us going," Rinaldi said. "You have to pace yourself."