Members of the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance take wine very seriously. Their annual auction? Not so much.
It’s the event that redefined wine auctions, putting a premium on informal fun. Pretension was sent back to Napa. Irreverence became as prized as a 98 from the Wine Spectator. Hushed veneration was replaced by humor, skits and costumes.
Shirts were un-stuffed, sometimes literally. It became hard to tell what was louder, the laughter or the clothes.
In short, and usually in shorts, the participants acted younger than the wine they were serving.
It was enough to make Robert Parker choke on one of his puffs.
Many of the country’s most successful wine auctions have adopted the looser, casual attitude. But the 18th annual Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction still has a few tricks up its (short, designer) sleeve.
As usual, an annual theme – this year, “Endless Sonoma,” a vamp on the old surf movie – guides the action. Another tradition, the annual poster, is seen here for the first time in print. Photography is by Ron Zak, who’s been shooting the poster since before an alien arrived one year and demanded “Take Me to Your Liter.”
With the surfing theme in place, guests should be prepared for every conceivable pun regarding sea, sand and surfing. Still, at $500 a seat, it’s no day at the beach.
Food at Cline Cellars will be plentiful, as will the wine, with each table hosted by a winemaker or grower. A team of Sonoma County’s most renowned chefs will prepare a multi-course meal that makes “eating it” a welcome proposition.
The auction is part of the Sonoma County Wine Weekend that includes the Taste of Sonoma at MacMurray Ranch and a series of winemaker lunches and dinners.
SonomaWineCountryWeekend.com
