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— The Napa Valley wine auction, an annual assembly of the affluent, scaled down the glitz and raised a little more than half of last year's total for charity. But the $5.7 million take was just fine with organizers.
"Everyone is thrilled," Napa Valley Vintners spokesman Terry Hall said Monday. "In this economy, we are happy to be able to continue to support the nonprofits in Napa County."
The vintners' organization, which sponsors the auction, decided this year 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," Hall said. "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 Winfrey was among attendees.
This year, the unofficial master of ceremonies was Kevin Zraly, creator of the "Windows on the World" wine course.
"It's still upbeat and positive, but it's not quite as over the top," said Kimberly Jackson, strolling past tables of fine food and wines at a Friday event held at the Robert Mondavi Winery. "It's more about old school Napa Valley. It's a nice change."
About 800 people came to the four-day event. It aims to turn over more than 90 percent of revenue to charity. The auction has donated $85 million to regional health care, youth and housing nonprofit programs in its 28-year history.
The top lot of the live auction 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 a total of $1.1 million.
The second-highest lot from vintners Garen Staglin and Larry Hyde, featuring a tour of Burgundy, 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 "every dollar raised this weekend is one more than we had before for these organizations that need help," she said.
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On the Net: http://www.napavintners.com
