NAPA—With his trademark black cowboy hat, Pat Stotesbery pours a
glass of Ladera Lone Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon. It's just one of the
wines from his Howell Mountain winery selected for a prestigious
live auction lot during Auction Napa Valley, June 1-4, 2006.
The
owner of Ladera Vineyards, Stotesbery is like many Napa vintners,
just days away from participating in one of the biggest annual
events in the valley. And the excitement is palpable throughout
the region. The auction, in its 25 th year, attracts hundreds
of eager wine enthusiasts to the valley and has raised a
total of $61 million for charitable causes in Napa. Included
in this year's lots are rare and valuable wines, swoon-worthy adventures,
exclusive visits to wineries, and once-in-a-lifetime chances
to meet with celebrity winemakers. All will be auctioned throughout
the weekend, many going for thousands, and even hundreds of thousands
of dollars.
Back at Ladera's caves, Stotesbery—who came to Napa by
way of a Montana ranch--and I taste through several bottles,
including the value-priced Ladera Napa Valley Cabernet, as well as
a barrel sample of the lush 2004 Ladera Howell Mountain Cab, one of
the flagship wines. In the cool, quiet caves, it's the calm before
the storm, as Stotesbery talks about getting ready for the auction. He's
planned an elaborate display for his wines, and hopes that
it will command a high price this year.
He
notes that it is a high honor awarded to be chosen for the
live auction. Only 60 of the more than 120 auction lots are
chosen for the live auction on Saturday night. The remaining
lots are offered electronically through an e-auction, where
bidders can name their price online.
And
being part of the much-watched live auction, where the well-heeled
meet and greet and big business deals are done can be plenty
stressful for a winemaker. Last year, one of the lots that
included his wines sold for $55,000. He says vintners are always
conscious of how much their wines command. He says the purchaser
of his Howell Mountain lot last year ended up becoming a neighboring
vintner the following year. Apparently he liked the wine.
This
year, the Stotesbery's live auction lot, Lot 23, includes
a three liter bottle of 2003 Howell Mountain Cabernet, another
three liter of the lustier, bigger Lone Canyon Cabernet,
as well as a vertical ensemble of Ladera Vineyards Lone Canyon Vineyard
Cabernet Sauvignon from 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002. Paired with
the wine is a six night stay at the Ladera resort in St.
Lucia (not owned by the Stotesberys). The resort was recently named
the best resort in the Caribbean.
"We
were amazed by their generosity," says Stotesbery, of the Ladera
resort's contribution to this year's lot.
Stotesbery,
who is the head of the Howell Mountain Vintner's Association
will also have his wines featured in the Howell Mountain
package—several dozen wines from vintners just in that highly
regarded region. The Howell Mountain lot is available to bidders online
through Auction Napa Valley's e-auction.
Ladera,
which was purchased by the Stotesbery family in 2000, is one
of the oldest wineries in Napa valley, built in 1886, and considered
one of the "ghost wineries" of the region, as it went silent
during Prohibition and was long abandoned. The winery building
has been restored by the family, and continues to use gravity
flow winemaking—allowing the wine to flow naturally from elevated
tanks into barrels—through three stories.
Ladera
produces about 5,000 cases annually, and the wines, primarily
Cabernet Sauvignon, are highly sought out by collectors and
enthusiasts.
