Scaled-down Napa charity auction raises $5.7M

ST. HELENA, Calif. (AP) — The Napa Valley wine auction, an annual barometer of bling, scaled down this year with no celebrities, lowered expectations and a final tally of about $5.7 million, a little more than half the take last year.

But that was just fine with organizers.

"Everyone is thrilled," Terry Hall, spokesman for the Napa Valley Vintners which puts on the annual event, said Monday. "In this economy, we are happy to be able to continue to support the non-profits in Napa County."

Historically, recessions have slowed giving, although not precipitously, said Patrick Rooney, executive director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. A study looking at several decades of philanthropy showed that in years where there was any amount of recession, giving fell by 1 percent adjusted for inflation, and in years where there were eight or more months of recession, giving fell by nearly 3 percent, he said.

But wine auctions may face a stiffer challenge.

"Philanthropy is clearly a discretionary good and wine is discretionary," he said.

The Naples Winter Wine Festival in Florida, which features a lot of Napa Valley wines, brought in a little over $5 million this year, a sharp drop from the $14 million raised in 2008.

In the Napa Valley, organizers tried to streamline their approach.

"We spent less money on graphics and the catalog was a little less lush, the invitation was a little less lush," said Hall. "We reached out to all of our partners in terms of people who supply things and asked them to reduce their costs."

Last year featured Jay Leno as headliner; Oprah was among attendees.

This year, the unofficial master of ceremonies was Kevin Zraly, creator of the "Windows on the World" wine course.

About 800 people showed up for the event, which ran Thursday-Sunday with the Saturday night live auction as a centerpiece. The event, which has given away $85 million to regional health care, youth and housing nonprofit programs in its 28-year history, aims to turn over more than 90 percent of revenue raised to charity.

Kimberly Jackson, who was among the crowds who strolled past tables loaded with fine food and wines at a Friday event held at the Robert Mondavi Winery, noted the new mood.

"It's still upbeat and positive, but it's not quite as over the top. It's more about old school Napa Valley. It's not quite so glitzy," said Jackson, of the Napa Valley boutique Jax Winery. "It's a nice change."

Still, there was plenty of glamor to go around, with well-dressed auction-goers spending serious money.

The top lot of the event came from vintner Piero Antinori, who offered to host winning bidders at his family's Napa Valley and Tuscany estates. In all, three couples bid for a total of $1.1 million.

The second-highest lot from vintners Garen Staglin and Larry Hyde, featuring a tour of Burgundy among other things, went for $400,000.

Janet Trefethen, whose family chaired the auction, said in a statement announcing auction results that no one expected to break records this year.

But, she said, "every dollar raised this weekend is one more than we had before for these organizations that need help."

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On the Net: http://www.napavintners.com

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