Wine auction raises $600K

PIXAR'S JOHN LASSETER mugs with Greg Crakow of Walnut Creek, who paid $600 for the foam Spam hat worn by auctioneer Fritz Hatton.

Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune

Inspired by the theme, "Sonoma Homecoming," they wore Elvis wigs and prom dresses, letter jackets and cheerleading skirts and they sang, danced and cheered the audience of 500 at the 19th annual Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction into coughing up more than $600,000 for county charities.

They included the irrepressible Benziger and Bundschu clans and the always glamorous Ladies of Magnum Force.

Altogether, with the totals from the MacMurray Ranch's Taste of Sonoma, a multitude of winemaker dinners, lunches and parties, this year's Sonoma Wine Country Weekend raised more than $1.4 million, more than $100,000 above last year's take.

The biggest auction lot during Sunday's bash at Cline Cellars was the Benziger Family Prom Party, purchased by multiple bidders for $62,500 at $500 a person and to be held in July 2012.

The biggest single-buyer auction lot was a "Field Trip" for 10 to the soon-to-open Lasseter Family Winery, featuring a pond-side dinner prepared by La Folie chef Roland Passot, along with expected surprises from the Pixar creative library and entertainment by Chris Isaac. The lot was purchased for $40,000 by long-time auction patron Greg Windisch of Trilogy Glass & Packaging.

The Fund-A-Need bidding, to equally benefit the Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation and the Redwood Empire Food Bank, topped $140,000, and the Magnum Force lot, comprised of a 60-bottle collection of magnum bottles, brought in $22,000. Magnum Force, again choreographed by Suzy Fridell, included for the first time men among the ranks of provocatively-clad women, who performed a wild version of the 1950s hand-jive craze.

Auctioneer for the event was Fritz Hatton, who periodically wore a foam-Spam can on his head. At the end of the days bidding, the Spam hat itself was spontaneously put up for bidding and it brought $600 from Greg Crakow of Walnut Creek.

Bidding on the 32 auction lots did not end until close to 6 p.m. and once the auction was over, a large number of guests retired to the adjacent "Glass Reunion Wine Bar" for additional sipping and nibbling.

Produced in partnership by the Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance and the Sonoma County Vintners, the Wine Country Weekend's activities involved more than 200 wineries, grape growers and chefs. To date the event has raised more than $10 million for charitable causes.

But the opportunity for participating in the auction isn't over, as a silent auction, with lots viewable online, will continue until midnight on Sept. 9. Auction items available online include countless wine packages, winery visits, gourmet dinners, a "Double Date Night" in Sonoma Valley, Infineon Raceway tickets, a health club membership, a Swedish massage, a cooking class and 10 nights in China.