Glimpses of bright blue sky after a week of rain and bone-chilling cold provided a fitting backdrop for the Napa Valley Vintners’ annual trade auction on Saturday, Feb. 21.

More than 1,000 restaurateurs and wine retailers traveled to Napa Valley from 25 states and 12 countries to bid on Premiere Napa Valley’s one-of-a-kind lots and get a first taste of the 2024 vintage, which made its debut this year.

The support from the trade, amid concerns of a downturn in the industry, not only boosted spirits, it raised a tidy $3 million, the Vintners announced.

The trade-only auction included 181 small lots of wines, each 60 to 240 bottles, made especially for Premiere.

“There is joy here,” said vintner Paula Kornell, pouring tastes of her sparkling wine as guests packed into the Barrel Room at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, the traditional site for Premiere.

“There is an extra spark today,” Kornell said. “People are happy to be here.”

It was the 30th year for Premiere, which launched in 1997 to “preserve and protect” Napa Valley wines, according to Napa Valley Vintners CEO Linda Reiff.

The idea was to invite members of the trade to the valley in the quiet winter months and give winemakers the opportunity to craft unique lots, some of them adventurous, collaborative efforts between winemakers.

“When our group created Premiere, we had a very keen view far beyond our own horizons,” Reiff said. “We literally talked about 100 years-plus. We were building something that would ride the ups and downs over the years.”

Funds raised through Premiere support the local industry, while fundraising through Auction Napa Valley, open to wine enthusiasts around the world, raises millions the Vintners give back to the community at large.

“There is nothing quite like it,” said Josh Phelps, Grounded Wine Co. owner and winemaker, who co-chaired the Premiere auction along with his father, Chris Phelps. “It is truly the best week in Napa Valley because it brings our friends and partners together.”

Chris Phelps, consulting winemaker for Grounded Wine and Chris Phelps Wines, agreed.

“There is always a buzz of unified purpose and focus at Premiere,” he added. “We gather to share each other’s successes and to exchange ideas. It feels like we’re all part of one big family.”

The week leading up to the auction included 25 tasting parties around the valley, beginning with the steering committee’s “all-star tasting.” The tastings all featured multiple wineries, with themes such as “Sips with a Purpose,” featuring members of the International Wineries for Climate Action.

While 129 of the Premiere lots were Cabernet Sauvignon, other varieties headlined tastings such as “A Petite Sirah Breakfast at Robert Biale Winery” and “Everything but Cab, Paired with a Mexican Breakfast,” a collaboration of Ghost Block Estate Wines, The Vice and Truchard Vineyards.

At the main event Saturday, guests were greeted with pulsing music, glittering gold pompoms — and a lot of wine at a morning Grand Tasting of the auction lots.

Debra Beresini from Black Dog Ranch and Beresini Vineyards, who worked in the tech industry before marrying a winemaker, said she has learned that “the spirit (at Premiere) is more collaborative than competitive, so it’s just fun to get together, share ideas and stories.”

Some attendees, like Beresini, were there for the first time, to get a sense of the event where she and her husband will be pouring their wines next year.

Zachary Dortenzio, director of food and beverage service at Alila Napa Valley restaurant in St. Helena, attended Saturday to get to know the 2024 vintage, about which wine critic James Suckling, also in attendance, waxed enthusiastic.

“2024 follows 2023 in a beautiful way, with the same balance and drinkability but a touch more fruit. I think we’ll be talking about these two vintages for years, the way we still talk about 2018 and 2019,” Suckling said.

Napa County Supervisor Amber Manfree also attended for the first time, alongside U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, a longtime supporter.

“This is really heartening,” Thompson said at the lunch served by Culinary Institute chefs before the afternoon auction began. “People are excited. And the wine is fabulous, of course. It’s all a good sign.”

By then, members of the trade had their lists of favorite lots.

Mike Lowther from Nos Caves Vin in Houston, Texas, sported a “past successful bidder” button and was ready to bid. “There’s no way I tasted all 180 lots,” he admitted. “But I had my eye on some, and I taste them several times and narrowed it to four. Now, there’s two.”

Which ones they were, he wouldn’t say, but he did share a secret to winning. “I don’t wait to only bid on the one I want.”

During the three-hour auction, the Barrel Room continued to hum with activity, as friends found one another to catch up, and wine continued to flow. Additional bidders join online.

The day’s top lots for red wine included a collaborative lot from “the Diamond Mountain Five,” Davies Vineyards, Diamond Creek, Diamond Mountain Vineyard, Dyer Vineyard and Lokoya, along with lots from Robert Mondavi Winery, Shafer Vineyards, JCB by Jean-Charles Boisset, Quintessa, Silver Oak, Alpha Omega, Pym-Rae, Fairchild Napa Valley, Revana Family Vineyard and Reynolds Family Winery.

The top white wines were Hudson, Schramsberg Vineyards, Chandon, Paula Kornell Sparkling Wine and Lail Vineyards.

“We’re grateful to every trade partner who came out, who raised a paddle and who continues to believe in Napa Valley,” Josh Phelps said after the event.

“The wine business is going to be around for a long time,” said Doug Shafer, whose father founded Shafer Vineyards in 1972. “And this proves it.”