Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/70679
APRIL NEWS Premiere Napa Valley Reaps $2.4 Million 26 broke records, totaling nearly $2.4 million in sales. Vintners, retailers, restau- rateurs, distributors, brokers and media from across the country and around the world assembled at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena. This year's take exceeded the last by more than 23% during the three-hour live auction. Some 500 trade attendees, representing S 85 retailers, 66 restaurants and 81 distrib- utors/brokers, began the day with a tast- ing of 200 offerings and lunch in the CIA's teaching school. Wholesale buyer Gary Fisch of Gary's Representing Nakagawa Wine Co. (Tokyo), Anthony Zaloom receives a standing ovation for biding $125,000 on a Scarecrow Wine lot. Wine and Marketplace remained the auc- tion's top bidder, capturing 300 cases from 32 producers, spending more than a half- million dollars this year. Prior to placing his bids, Fisch secured buyers who agreed to purchase 99% of his catch. winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keyword "Premiere." t. Helena, Calif.—The Napa Valley Vintners' (NVV) 15th annual wine futures auction to the trade held Feb. Fisch acquired top-grossing lots from 500-case Ovid Napa Valley, 75,000-case Duckhorn Vineyards and 325,000-case Robert Mondavi Winery, as well as the chair's lot from Honig Vineyards and Winery. This iteration was Fisch's 14th time at PNV. He visits Napa one week pri- or to the auction, using the auction cata- logue to pinpoint producers participating for the first time and those with whom he has never had a buying relationship. Fisch told Wines & Vines that behind his record-breaking purchase was "a great track record. Two years ago our guests ac- tually started tasting the premium wines they bought in previous years and it led to more purchases." Fisch cautioned that this doesn't neces- sarily mean customers will always pony up this much for wine. "If an offering is truly unique, they may be more inclined," he advised. Most of Fisch's buyers make purchases like this only once a year, from defined budgets categorized into daily drinking and premier wines. Fisch's clients typically spend between $25 and $40 for their daily wines, and an average of $130 for premium PNV wines. "They're buying this because it's truly special and unique." —Kerry Kirkham HOW TO GET YOUR TANKS & BARRELS Tank Cleaner for vats up to 100' (30 m) in dia. Choose from flow-through and low-flow versions TankJet® 360 CLEANER IN LESS TIME Downtime for tank, barrel and vat cleaning can significantly impact production levels. Our recently expanded tank cleaning product line includes dozens of solutions that reduce cleaning time and return tanks and barrels to service more quickly without compromising cleaning quality. TankJet 80 Tank Cleaner for tanks and fermenters up to 50' (15.2 m) in dia. TankJet 23240 Whether you need high-impact cleaning of large vats or gentle rinsing of small barrels, our local sales engineers will help you find the tank cleaner or nozzle that provides the exact performance you need. Ask about free on-site evaluations, trial programs and lease options. Nozzle for rinsing barrels up to 3' (0.9) in dia. Learn more today: 1-800-95-SPRAY or www.tankjet.com Experts in Spray Technology Spray Nozzles Spray Control Spray Analysis Spray Fabrication Wines & Vines APRiL 2011 21 JASON TINACCI