"Columbia Crest On Top of the World" Lot One of the Top-Selling at the Auction of Washington Wines

Columbia Crest Winery’s "No. 1 Wine" Auction Lots Raise More Than $17,000 for Charity

Columbia Crest winery, producer of the 2009 Wine Spectator No. 1 Wine in the World, celebrated another milestone during the 23rd annual Auction of Washington Wines (August 21) when the "Columbia Crest On Top of the World" auction lot raised $14,000 to become one of the event’s top-selling lots for 2010. The 2010 Auction of Washington Wines raised $1.4 million for uncompensated care at Seattle Children’s Hospital and the Washington Wine Education Foundation.

The center piece of the "Columbia Crest On Top of the World" auction lot was one of the precious few etched and hand-painted three-liters of Columbia Crest 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which was the first Washington wine to be named the number one wine in the world by Wine Spectator in 2009. The lot also included a chartered plane for six guests from Seattle to the vineyards at Columbia Crest for a private tour and tasting. The group will then return to Seattle for an opulent dinner at the Space Needle featuring Columbia Crest’s highly-acclaimed Reserve wines, a few new vintages, and some gems from the cellar. Additionally, the winner received two full weekend packages to Wine Spectator’s New World Wine Experience in Las Vegas where Columbia Crest will present the No. 1 wine at the Top 10 tasting.

The same day, on the other side of the state, Columbia Crest winery celebrated the release of the 2007 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon with a day of great food, wine and music at the winery. The event also featured three special silent auction lots, a six-vintage vertical box set of the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon including the 2005 vintage, a single bottle of the 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and a VIP winery experience featuring the winery’s Reserve wines. All of the event proceeds from ticket sales and the silent auction lots, which totaled more than $3,400, were donated to the Walter Clore Wine & Culinary Center in Prosser. Named after the late Dr. Walter J. Clore, “Father of the Washington Wine Industry”, the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center will actively promote the quality and diversity of Washington state wine and food products.

Founded in 1983, Columbia Crest has grown from a small winery in a relatively unknown wine region to one of the most significant wineries in the U.S. and a major force behind Washington state’s emergence as a world class wine region. In 2009, Wine Spectator magazine named the Columbia Crest 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon the No. 1 Wine in the World on its Top 100 list, the first time a wine from Washington state has received the ranking. The wine was selected from more than 17,000 wines tasted by editors throughout the year. Over the past 12 years, 15 Columbia Crest wines have been named to the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list. More information about the winery can be found at columbia-crest.com.

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For further information:
Erin Shane
425/415.3696
erin.shane@smwe.com