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JULY NEWS Napa Auction Raises $7.6 million N Trips to Africa, London, Paris and Tuscany attract big bids apa, Calif.—Enjoying perfect weather after last year's unprec- edented downpour, the Napa Val- ley Vintners' 32nd Auction Napa Valley raised an unofficial tally of $6.1 million for charity from its live auction plus $1.5 million from the barrel auction. The 2011 e-auction raised $358,000. The 2011 total was $7.3 million. The live auction occurred the day after the biggest drop in the stock market this year (274 points), and that may have damped bid- ding, as the auction started out slowly but then gained momentum with impressive bids for many of the later items. The top single bid for a conventional lot was $460,000 by Barbara Banke, owner of Jackson Family Farms including Kendall- Jackson, which owns numerous wineries and vineyards in Napa Valley. Banke's bid was for a trip to London to attend a con- cert for her and friends by Lady Antebel- lum, a popular country-pop group, and a Barbara Banke wins the Lady Antebellum lot at Auction Napa valley. Cherokee_Nov05.qxt 9/19/05 10:52 AM Page 1 private concert in Napa Valley with many local vintners. Like all lots, it also included significant amounts of renowned wine—in this case 3-liter bottles. The largest total conventional lot oc- curred when the Chappellet family, which chaired the auction this year, doubled its offer of a safari trip to Africa; so two bid- ders each donated $360,000 for a total of $720,000. The buzz for the safari was un- doubtedly fueled by the appearance of a cheetah at the event; two 5-week-old jag- uar cubs attracted much attention, too. Other large bids included $280,000 for a trip to New York, Paris and Bordeaux, including visits at leg- endary chateaux, do- nated by Darioush and Shapar Khaledi of Darioush Winery. A trip to Tuscany with the Antinori family, which owns Antica in the Napa Valley's Atlas Peak AVA, fetched a bid of $300,000. Bidders donated about $1.2 million to the final lot, a Fund A Need donation. Six bidders donated $100,000 each, and one gave $120,000. —Paul Franson winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keywords "Auction safari." hauling precious cargo • 24 hour dispatch • Competitive rates • Personalized Service • Radio/Cell phone equipped • State-of-the-art equipment • Maximum payload capacity • Over 30 years in operation • References available • Fleet of over 200 trucks including Wine Tanks and Dry Freight Vans CHEROKEE FREIGHT LINES 5463 Cherokee Road • Stockton, CA 95215 Telephone: 209.931.3570 • or visit our website:www.gocfl.com 18 Wines & Vines JULY 2012 JASON TINACCI