Page 21 - Terroir_2014

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OUTSTANDING WINES
“I still remember when we purchased a Chateau Montelena lot one
year,” muses Knight, “that was 100 percent cabernet franc. They had
never produced a cabernet franc before, and we sold out of this wine very
quickly because of its uniqueness and the pedigree of the winery.” Single-
varietal wines from vineyards acknowledged for blends, and blends from
those better known for their varietal wines. “Another favorite I bid on
was the Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Sunspot Vineyard,” adds Knight.
“This is the main vineyard that the winery uses for their famous Hillside
Select. This was an easy sell because the winery never produces a single-
vineyard cabernet.” Whatever the angle, the results are the same: artisan
wines, handcrafted with equal parts skill and passion. And the proof
can be found on the auction floor, where “every year the average lot
price rises,” observes Knight, who placed the highest bid of the event
to purchase the Scarecrow Wine lot for an astounding $260,000.
Seventy-year old vines from the J.J. Cohn vineyard prompted him to
exclaim: “We were willing to pay what we did for this wine because of
the beautiful expression of its lineage.” This year, the average auction
price per bottle was $283.
Vintners and purchasers alike agree that the quality of the wines
continue to get better. “Premiere Napa Valley certainly challenges the
participating wineries to bring their A-game,” says Pope. In the name of
a good cause, Napa Valley Vintners rise to the occasion, case after case. w
AND NOWA STORY TO ADD TO YOUR OWN CELLAR
“I like the creativity. I like the
fact that different winemakers
work together.”
—Ken Fredrickson, MS Tenzing Wine and Spirits
THE TOP TRADE ACCOUNTS TO ACQUIRE PREMIERE
NAPA VALLEY WINES INCLUDE:
Total Wine & More in Potomac, Maryland; Bounty Hunter
Wine Bar & Smokin’ BBQ in Napa, California; Cliffewood
Wine Syndicate in Little Rock, Arkansas; Wine Library in
Springfield, New Jersey; The Wine House in Los Angeles,
California; Gary’s Wine & Marketplace in Madison, New
Jersey; Nakagawa Wine Company in Tokyo, Japan; Beverage
Warehouse in Los Angeles, California; Yakiniku Hiroshi
in Honolulu, Hawaii; Meritage Wine Market in Encinitas,
California; Zoës Restaurant in Virginia Beach, Virginia; and
H-E-B in San Antonio, Texas.
LEARN MORE ABOUT WHERE YOU CAN PURCHASE
2014 PREMIERE NAPA VALLEY WINES AT
PREMIERENAPAWINES.COM.