My Latest in Wine Business Monthly:
Auction of Washington State Wines Private Barrel Auction Raises $300k for Charity
Benefits Seattle Children’s and Washington State University (WSU) Viticulture and Enology Program
Auctioneer Ursula Hermacinski and Steve Warner, President of Washington State Wines, Washington State Wines Private Barrel Auction 2019.©L.M. Archer
by L.M. Archer
Woodinville, Wash., – It’s good to be a premium winemaker in Washington state. On August 15, Auction of Washington State Wines Private Barrel Auction raised $300,000 at Novelty Hill-Januik Winery to benefit Seattle Children’s and Washington State University (WSU) Viticulture and Enology Program.
Part of the three-day Auction of Washington Wines (AWW) program, the Private Barrel Auction provides wine trade, collectors and industry members the opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind Washington state prestige wines unavailable elsewhere. Auctioneer Ursula Hermacinski gaveled with gusto, with a little assistance from Steve Warner, President of Washington State Wine. Now in its fifth year, over forty Washington state wineries from Walla Walla to Woodinville offered up their best lots, blends and barrels.
“I think that this is a really unique style of auction,” says Private Barrel Auction Executive Director Jamie Peha. “It follows in the footsteps of Premiere Napa Valley, the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Auction, and the Sonoma County Barrel Auction. We’re all looking for the same audience, which is the trade who want to buy something unique for their top clients. And we’re also trying to raise the acclaim of Washington wine across the country.”
Peha upped the auction ante this year by introducing new ‘Barrel Series’ and ‘Vintner’s Blend’ lots. Barrel Series #1 synced wunderkind sommelier-turned-winemaker Jeff Lindsay-Thorsen of W.T. Vintners (with growers Dick and Luanne Boushey. The partnership produced a single barrel of 2018 Syrah from Boushey Birdhouse Block and Grand Côte, two cool-climate sites. Jeff Lindsay-Thorsen said Barrel Series #1 “defies logic,” made with about 85% whole cluster, foot-trodden, followed by spontaneous fermentation and malo, then aged in neutral barrique. “We actually blended this lot after pressing,” he says, “So it’s been together since day one. It’s not even born yet – it’s got a long way to go in it’s evolution, but I’m really excited for its future.” READ MORE HERE.
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