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The Napa Valley Vintners Association has appointed Sotheby's as its new auction partner. It is the first time that Sotheby's is partnering with a wine region. The aim is to bring consumers and collectors into personal contact with the wineries and their wines in addition to the auctions. Most of the wineries in Napa Valley are small and family-run - 65 percent of them produce less than 5,000 cases per year.
Although only four percent of California's grape crop comes from Napa Valley, the region accounts for 30 percent of the value of all California wines. Sotheby's is responding to the increasing demand and sales of Napa wines with this move: sales have increased 250 percent in number of bottles and 500 percent in value since 2010. Last year alone, these figures increased by 65 and 25 percent, respectively.
(al / Source: Napa Valley Vintners; Photo: Napavintners.com Alexander Rubin)