Napa Valley Comes to New York City!

Tuesdays on the BottleBlog, we'll focus on interesting or exciting industry news from here in New Jersey, to the valleys of California, to the vineyards of New Zealand. Today, Senior Wine Manager of the Lawrenceville store talks about the NVVA event he attended last month in New York City.

On January 19th 2011 Taste Napa Valley came to the Manhattan Penthouse on 5th Avenue in NYC to remind us how good our country's wine can be, and how good they are. The event, coordinated by the NVVA (Napa Valley Vintners Association), was the final leg of a four city tour showcasing these wines. Many of the vintners, winemakers and proprietors were on hand to answer questions and provide information about the growing seasons, the upcoming Premiere Napa Valley Auction and, most importantly, their wines. Some of the producers even brought barrel samples of their Premiere Napa Valley Auction lots.

The Premiere Napa Valley Auction is one of the most interesting and special events that occurs within the wine industry. Premiere Napa Valley is a trade-only, one day event consisting of a three hour barrel tasting and a live auction to follow. Restauranteurs, wholesalers and retailers alike flood the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone's downstairs barrel room, tasting as many wines as they possibly can in three hours. The masses are spitting, writing, talking, laughing and evaluating, deciding which of the wineries' lots are worthy of their dollars. The lots range in price starting around $5,000 and can be as much as $60,000. The size of each lot varies, as does the type of wine the producer offers. For instance, Cakebread Cellars is offering a twenty case lot of their 2009 Red Blend consisting mainly of Cabernet Franc (75%). How many of you Cakebread Cabernet and Chardonnay lovers have ever tasted a Cab Franc from them? Conversely, Far Niente is making only a five case lot of a single vineyard Cabernet. Only 60 bottles of the Far Niente Cabernet will be made, and only 240 bottles of the Cakebread will be produced and one bidder gets it all. It is a pretty amazing feeling to be the only retailer or restauranteur in the world who has Cakebread's Cabernet Franc or a single vineyard Cabernet from Far Niente (who does not produce any single vineyard wines because its sister winery, Nickel & Nickel, only produces single vineyard bottlings).

The bottles are numbered from 1 to 60 or, in Cakebread's case, 1 to 240, and each bottle is initialed or autographed by the winemaker. These are truly special wines that are only produced once. The Joseph Phelps barrel sample was my favorite from this tasting. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon from Phelps's famous Backus vineyard and their Las Rocas vineyard in Stag's Leap District (which is one of the primary fruit sources for Insignia). The wine was loaded with black fruits and had terrific complexity and structure. Time will tell whether or not the 2011 Auction wine from Phelps will be better than their Insignia or Backus Cabernet. That is, if you're able to find a bottle of it to taste beside their two top offerings.

By now you must be wondering how can I get my hands on some of these wines. Well have no fear, your friends here at Joe Canal's have you covered. We've attended the Premiere Auction multiple times over the past five years. We currently have very small amounts available from past lots purchased in '04, '05 and '06 vintages, and even a few bottles left from the heralded 2001 vintage. Please inquire about the availability of these wines. They truly are special wines and a piece of our country's amazing wine culture.