'Flash Rounds' coming to Auction Napa Valley

To spice up bidding at Saturday’s Auction Napa Valley, organizers have decided to offer a new “Flash Round.” This group of 10 lots will be auctioned off in a different fashion than the other 40.

The auctioneer will start the bidding at $100,000 with the Flash Lots and go down. The first bidder to raise his or her paddle will win the lot. However, if two bidders raise their paddles at $100,000, then the price will go up.

“We’re always looking for new ways to add to the excitement of the auction and our steering committee this year came up with the Flash Round idea,” said communications director Patsy McGaughy. “They are meant to be just that: Here they are and in a flash they’re gone! These lots also add to the many ways people can participate at all sorts of price points.”

Here’s a peek at some of the top lots across the board - both flash and traditional - expected to create spiraling bids.

Lot 18: The Ultimate Screaming Eagle (traditional lot) - Features: A sole 12-liter bottle of 2012 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. Only one bottling this size is produced each year. Keep in mind that Screaming Eagle is a cult cab that has made headlines in the past. A 6-liter bottle of Screaming Eagle set a world record for the highest price ever paid for a bottle of wine at the 2000 Napa Valley Wine Auction. It sold for $500,000.

Lot 11: Chair’s Lot (traditional lot)- Features: As a tribute to the 35th annual Auction Napa Valley, Opus One is offering a 35-vertical collection of magnums stretching from 1979 to 2013. This lot also comes with a two-week trip to winery estates across the globe, including Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Beaucastel, and Pol Roger.

Lot 21: King and Queen of Clubs (flash lot) - Features: Membership to 11 wine clubs for one year.

Lot 9: Lokoya (traditional lot) - Features: VIP tickets for two couples to the 142nd Kentucky Derby; VIP event at the private home of Barbara Banke, vintner of Lokoya; airfare for four; lodging for two couples at Stonestreet Farm for three nights, and 17 bottles of Lokoya Napa Valley wine.

Lot 30: 365 Reasons to Celebrate Harvest in Napa Valley. (flash lot) - Features: 365 bottles of Napa Valley wine and a Napa Valley Vintners Harvest kick-off party for two couples.