Are wine sales decreasing? Perhaps, but the mood surrounding charity wine auctions remains festive. Here are three respected events that have posted robust results at the most recent charity wine auctions, all of which are worthy of your attention. Beaune, in France’s heart of Burgundy, and Napa, smack in the middle of California’s famous winegrowing region, may come as no surprise, but how about Naples, Florida? Hold on to your hats … or rather, your corkscrews.
The Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction
The oldest and most famous charity wine auction in the world, the Hospices de Beaune, first hit the gavel on a charity sale 162 years ago. Celebrating the Trois Glorieuses weekend of festivities, the medieval town holds three events marking the end of the wine growing cycle in addition to tastings, concerts, parades, and a half marathon.
In 1859, an evening gathering of philanthropic oenophiles placed bids on wine à la bougie, by candlelight, to raise funds for the Hôpital de Beaune. The sale went to the last bid before the candles burned out. That tradition continues today, but only for the charity barrel, Pièce de Charité.
On the third Sunday in November, the Hospices de Beaune auction puts up a single current vintage each year en primeur, or as futures, for bids. Recently vinified by Ludivine Griveau in the Domaine des Hospices winery, this young wine that is only a few weeks old has not yet displayed its potential. Bidders are invited to a tasting event to decide whether, and how much, to bid.
At the December 2023 event, $27.4 million was raised at the 163rd sale to benefit Hospices Civils de Beaune’s 600 years of operation, second only to 2022’s $32 million. The funds will assist the hospital in medical research on aging and longevity, along with modernization and construction of new buildings for the charity hospitals.
The Napa Valley Barrel Auction
Friday, May 31, 2024 kicks off the annual Napa Valley Barrel Auction with a sampling of small-production barrel samples from Napa Valley’s boutique wineries. A weekend of wine, food, wine tastings, vintner dinners, and a string of associated festivities.
The Collective Napa Valley organization is a philanthropic program pairing social events with fundraising in a philanthropic effort to improve the lives of children. The 2023 raised $3.8 million which went to SHINE Napa Valley, helping Napa County’s mental health organizations and schools address chronic sadness in elementary and secondary school children.
The Auction Napa Valley wine dinner to be held this year at Far Niente will put guests shoulder-to-shoulder with local winery owners, wine experts, and cuisine from highly acclaimed chefs. Dancing, late-night noshes, and a few surprises are in store for those in attendance.
All wine is sold while still in the barrel. After the sale, buyers hand the remainder of the process to the winemakers who oversee maturation and bottling at optimal times. Each lot is a single half-barrel of wine that is divided into ten single-case offerings. The top ten bids on the list win a 12-bottle case drawn at varying increments.
The Naples Winter Wine Festival
The wine auction you haven’t heard quite so much about, but is a big one in terms of philanthropic intent, raising $33 million at its most recent edition held the last weekend in January, 2024, is the Naples Winter Wine Festival. The funds go to benefit at-risk and underprivileged children in Collier County. All told, the festival has raised close to $302 million since the first auction in 2001, serving more than 300,000 children. This year, 650 guests attended.
This year’s schedule began with a pre-function Thursday, a wine tasting and luncheon for 40 guests at The Wine Cellar in Naples, followed by a kickoff dinner honoring vintner Véronique Boss-Drouhin of Oregon’s Domaine Drouhin and Burgundy’s Maison Joseph Drouhin. A Meet the Kids Day tour and luncheon on Friday morning, a tour of the Lot Room Friday afternoon, and vintner dinners on Friday evening kept guests busy.
The big event on Saturday evening, held at the Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburon, featured the live auction followed by a Wine Down dancing and music celebration. Sunday, a celebration brunch at the Ritz-Carlton capped the weekend.
There are also some well regarded charity wine auctions in Cape Town, South Africa, Atlanta, GA, Destin, FL, Sonoma, CA, and Sun Valley, ID, to name a few, and many more online and for-profit auctions. If you like wine and would like to do some good with your purchase, a trip to Naples, Florida, not Italy, might be a good place to start.