2/15/2016 – St. Helena, CA – More than 700 top wine professionals from around the world are gathering in Napa Valley this week for the 20th annual Premiere Napa Valley barrel tasting and futures auction and related wine education events and activities. Organized by the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) nonprofit trade association, the week is often referred to as the best week of the year in Napa Valley for wine professionals.
“We can’t wait to roll out the red carpet for our guests, meet new friends and rekindle relationships with our trade and media partners,” said Doug Shafer, president of Shafer Vineyards and 2016 Premiere Napa Valley Steering Committee Chair. “The connections we make during Premiere Week create lasting impressions and build relationships that help us extend the Napa Valley story far and wide for years to come.”
Although the February 20 Premiere Napa Valley event sold out in January, the NVV is introducing the new E-Premiere Napa Valley Online Auction, featuring 25 of the unique Premiere wines up for bid online, making them available for the first time to registered wine trade anywhere in the world who are not able to attend the event.
Other Premiere Napa Valley Week activities include:
The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa Valley
Leading the way in forums focused on the art and craft of writing about wine, The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers draws distinguished faculty, speakers and up-and-coming writing fellows from around the world. This year’s highly regarded roster of presenters includes renowned British writer and wine expert Hugh Johnson, Town & Country’s wine editor Jay McInerney and The New York Times wine editor Eric Asimov, among many others. In total, more than 50 significant wine communicators will be in Napa Valley for the four day program, which is organized by the NVV, Meadowood Napa Valley and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone.
Sommelier Napa Valley
The NVV’s Sommelier Napa Valley program connects 26 influential sommeliers from around the world with the diversity of the Napa Valley region and its wines. Topics include Napa Valley’s diverse soils and unique terrain, unexpected wines of Napa Valley, next generation winemakers, sensory analysis, seminars on the sommelier profession and more.
The Vintage Perspective Tasting
Open to qualified members of the wine trade and media, this walk-around, blind tasting will allow influencers to form their own opinions of the of 2011, 2012 and 2013 vintages of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as library selections of different wine varieties from the 1996, 2001 and 2006 vintages. New this year is the chance for participants to learn about the winemaking process by tasting through a series of winemaking trials.
Premiere Napa Valley Preview Parties
Scores of wineries will offer a warm welcome to guests throughout the week with tastings of current releases, library selections and barrel samples of the Premiere Napa Valley wines to be offered during the auction. Tastings are often created around themes of nested Napa Valley appellations, various wine varieties and family-owned wineries.
Local Restaurant Wine Promotion
Both locals and visitors can get in on the excitement of the week by visiting more than 30 noted area restaurants featuring special Napa Valley wines, including some Premiere Napa Valley wines, by the glass and in flights.
20th Annual Premiere Napa Valley Barrel Tasting and Live Auction
The crescendo of the week will showcase 225 of the most limited production fine wines in the world. Renowned Napa Valley winemakers craft unique wines for the Premiere Napa Valley label in micro-lots as few as 60 bottles and never more than 240 bottles. Each wine is sold to only one bidder and every bottle is hand-signed and individually numbered by the winemaker. Proceeds support the NVV’s mission to promote, protect and enhance the Napa Valley appellation.
For more information about the portfolio of Premiere Napa Valley wines, to place absentee bids or register for the E-Premiere Napa Valley Online Auction (for qualified members of the wine trade), or to follow the action as it unfolds, visit premierenapawines.com. To join what promises to be a dynamic social media conversation throughout the week, follow #PNV16.
About the Napa Valley Vintners
The Napa Valley Vintners nonprofit trade association has been cultivating excellence since 1944 by inspiring its more than 525 members to consistently produce wines of the highest quality, to provide environmental leadership and to care for the extraordinary place they call home. Learn more at napavintners.com.
