The New York International Wine Auction is an established premier wine event. NYIWA attracts afficionados from all over the U.S. and beyond to the award-winning Turning Stone Resort • Casino in Verona, NY.
All proceeds from the event support the Herkimer ARC's mission to enable people with disabilities and others in our community to achieve full potential and enriched lives.
Winemaker Mike Smith of Myriad Cellars & Quivet Cellars is a true purist in choosing vineyards, and aging and developing artisan wines. He talks about how he follows his simple philosophy: creating the most natural and expressive wines California can offer. He obtains fruit from the Napa Valley and Sonoma County, and believes the extra expense of using rare French Oak for aging is well worth the superb results—subtlety not achievable with lesser methods.
Myriad's fruit is purchased from the prestigious Spring Mountain District above Napa Valley. Wines produced from this vineyard express intense and concentrated flavors coupled with polished mountain tannins. Dark, firm, rich and structured. Their wines age gracefully, producing more overall complexity and balance. Quivet Cellars produces very limited quantities of handcrafted boutique Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah by selecting specific rows of fruit from Spring Mountain, Kenefick Ranch and Las Madres Vineyard. The premium fruit is uniquely crushed, aged in rare French Oak and masterfully blended.
Mike samples and discusses those results for us: several of his 2009 vintage Syrahs among those they have generously made available to the New York International Wine Auction, a great event for a great cause.
Since the early 1970s, Schweiger Vineyards has occupied a unique property at the top of Spring Mountain Road above Napa Valley known for its long history of prime viticulture. The rich, deep volcanic soils and unique microclimates are particularly favorable for Cabernet Sauvignon and other classic varietals. In the 1980s the vineyard that pioneered sustainable farming began producing and selling their renowned fruit.
For years, the Schweigers sold to the highly regarded Joe Cafaro, ZD, Newton and Stags Leap wineries. In 1994, Schweiger Vineyards became a bonded winery. The family began bottling under their own label, and under the direction of founder Fred Schweiger's son, Andrew, who learned his trade and honed his craft at several of the industry's top wineries. Since 1999 the family has been using 100 percent of their estate fruit for Schweiger Vineyards wine. Today, 35 acres of vineyards produce about 5,000 cases each year. The primary varietals continue to be Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, with micro-blocks of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, and Petite Sirah.
The family is proud to support the New York International Wine Auction, a great event for a great cause. Their generosity is a strong part of their family traditions.
One of our favorite places to visit is the Papapietro Perry Winery in California. They’ve been a supporter of the New York International Wine Auction each year since 2008. In fact, their 2006 Papapietro Perry Winery, Russian River Valley, Leras Family Vineyards Pinot Noir was featured as a dinner wine for the 2008 auction. They are supporting us again this year with a 2007 Papapietro Perry Winery Pinot Noir produced from their Mendocino County, Anderson Valley, Charles Vineyard source.
Co-owner and winemaker Ben Papapietro explains what makes this bottle so special. Their attention to detail and superb instincts have brought the Papapietro Perry Winery worldwide acclaim. The stock for this Pinot Noir is sourced from Charles Vineyard, located in the Southeast part of Boonville along the Anderson Creek in the Anderson Valley in Mendocino County. What makes this an ideal location for Pinot Noir is its location; the Anderson Valley opens to the ocean so the cool coastal weather influences can cause as much as 50-degree fluctuations in temperature in a single day. The vineyard is meticulously tended and contains clones 114, 115, 777 and Pommard on three different rootstocks. The 2007 growing season was one of best in years. This vintage promises to go down in history as providing some of the best wines that Papapietro Perry Winery has ever produced.
Thanks to Papapietro Perry Winery for their generosity, and another fine choice for NYIWA.
