The Roaring 20th (Auction of Washington Wines)

(Thanks to Chris Nishiwaki for this quick report on Washington State's premier wine auction weekend, which took place August 16-18.)

The Auction of Washington Wines, the annual auction benefiting Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center and the Washington Wine Education Foundation, combines some of my biggest passions and interests: education, the well-being of children, the Washington wine industry--and a good party.

Actually, it was several parties, spread out over several days. In 2007, the auction’s 20th year, events included a casual winemaker’s picnic on Thursday, August 16, a dozen intimate winemaker dinners on Friday, August 17, a 5K run and walk in the morning of Saturday, August 18, and the capper, that evening’s Gala Auction.

At Thursday’s picnic, winemakers roamed the grounds of Chateau Ste. Michelle pouring their wines. Mark Ryan McNeilly of Mark Ryan Winery, Chris Gorman of Gorman Winery, Anna Shafer of aMaurice Cellars, David Merfeld of Northstar, Chris Upchurch of DeLille, and Trey Busch of Walla Walla’s new Sleight of Hand Cellars were among the featured winemakers.

The evening also featured a barrel auction of pre-release barrels from eight Washington wineries: Boudreaux Cellars, Col Solare, Côte Bonneville, DeLille Cellars, Dunham Cellars, K Vintners, L’Ecole No. 41, Long Shadows Vintners, Mark Ryan Winery, Matthews Estate, Northstar, and Va Piano Vineyards.

The post-picnic party at DeLille Cellars in Woodinville, WA has become a tradition during the weekend of festivities. Though it is not an official function of the Auction of Washington Wines, patrons look forward to it with great anticipation. This year’s celebration doubled as the annual meeting for the Zino Society, the wine-centric social and professional networking membership group.

I had the good fortune of working at Children’s Hospital and its affiliate, the University of Washington Medical Center, for three years. I also served on the committee for the Auction of Washington Wines for three years. On Friday all those experiences came full circle as I attended a private winemaker dinner, courtesy of Larry Symonds of Mellon Private Asset Management, at the Medina, WA home of Cameron and Linda Myhrvold. Jonathan Zimmer of Lisa Dupar Catering prepared a series of small plates paired with wines from four Washington wineries: Woodward Canyon, L’Ecole No. 41, Reininger, and Three Rivers.

The Myhrvolds’ relationship with Children’s Hospital is a great example of why the Auction of Washington Wines draws so much support, year after year. One of the Myhrvolds’ daughters was a patient of Dr. Richard Ellenbogen at Children’s Hospital many years ago. That daughter is thriving now, thanks in large part to the care she received from Dr. Ellenbogen and his colleagues at Children’s. So moved were the Myhrvolds that they became supporters of Children’s Hospital and the Auction of Washington Wines. In fact, Cameron Myhrvold co-chaired the auction for two years.

This year, in honor of the auction’s 20th year, the overall theme was “The Roaring 20th." The auction indeed was a roaring success, racking up nearly $2 million in proceeds from all the events. The August 16 barrel auction raised a total of $40,000. At the August 18 gala auction, a new BMW convertible sold for $40,000, and the “fund-a-need” portion alone raised a record $623,000.

The largest auction lot? No, it wasn't wine. It was Super Bowl XLII packages for two couples, which were sold to three winning bidders for a grand total of $85,000. --Chris Nishiwaki