THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409220064
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: HUMBLE STEWARD
SOURCE: JIM RAPER
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
THE LOTS to be auctioned at the fourth annual Chesapeake Bay Wine Classic include many wines that are rare and expensive. But by rhapsodizing about such extraordinary offerings I risk spreading a wrong impression of the Wine Classic on Oct. 8 and 9.
Banish from your mind the picture of men and women in formal dress going soberly about the business of wine snobbery.
Instead, imagine casually dressed folks having a jolly fine party under a tent. That describes the Wine Classic auction, which will be Saturday (Oct. 8).
Also picture a buzzing ballroom full of folks, many of whom are wine novices, being guided by experts through an afternoon of wine tastings. That describes the Wine Classic tasting, which will be Sunday (Oct. 9).
Tickets for each day - $40 for a gallery seat at the auction and $20 for the afternoon of tastings and seminars - don't seem expensive when we consider the array of foods and wines that will be served.
The Wine Classic also is a wise investment for anyone who has considered enrolling in a wine-appreciation course. Taken together, the auction and tasting compose the most effective short course in wine appreciation offered in southeastern Virginia.
Everyone interested in wine - even those who aren't prepared to bid $2,500 for a case of Chateau Latour 1990 - have good cause to turn out for the Classic.
Quite a few of the auction lots are valued at $100 or less.
A three-liter bottle of Joseph Drouhin LaForet Chardonnay ($60 value) is an example of a lot that might interest connoisseur and novice alike. The three-liter bottle of Sutter Home 1990 Zinfandel Reserve ($75) should be popular because this red is ageworthy and powerful, yet easy-to-like. And any wine lover would be tempted by a lot of four consecutive vintages of a fine Napa Valley cabernet - the DeMoor Vineyard of 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 (four regular-sized .750-liter bottles, $90 value).
Selections of consecutive vintages and the large bottles such as the three-liter size are not typically available at retail shops, and their rarity makes them especially sought after.
A second tier of somewhat grander wines should have wide appeal to bidders, as well.
Anyone planning a wedding, milestone anniversary or New Year's Eve party might go for the Veuve Clicquot 1983 Vintage Reserve Champagne in a three-liter jereboam ($400) or Perrier-Jouet 1988 Vintage Prestige Cuvee Champagne jereboam ($270).
Collectors might be interested in the sought-after Merryvale 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley in the three-liter bottle ($150), a regular-sized bottle of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1984 Cask 23 Cabernet Sauvignon ($100), or a regular-sized bottle of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1970 ($200).
A sleeper among the lots is a case of Chateau De Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 1983 ($540), a very nice wine that just might go for a reasonable price.
Those interested in Virginia wines will be delighted by several lots of red wines from vintages as far back as the early 1980s when the state's wine industry was in its infancy. For instance, one lot will include two three-liter bottles of Barboursville Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, one from the 1983 vintage and the other from the 1985 vintage ($200).
And, finally, there are the big-ticket lots.
How about a six-bottle case of Morey 1991 Le Montrachet ($1,650), which is one of the world's great white wines? Or the case of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild 1982 ($2,400) or Chateau Margaux 1982 ($2,000)? All of the best Medoc reds are represented among the 100-plus lots, as are Chateau Petrus and Chateau D'Yquem. There is even one regular-sized bottle of Heitz 1974 Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Napa Valley ($300), which ranks among the best domestic reds ever produced.
There are auction lots, as well, of restaurant dinners, vacations, food baskets and wine paraphernalia. The Napa Valley Extravaganza Vacation may be the lot that goes for the highest price of all.
The auction will be on the lawn of Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Stanton's Bayville Farms home in Virginia Beach. Food and wine will be available to ticketholders beginning at 1 p.m., and the auction begins at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets for gallery seating are $40; table seating costs $75 per person.
The tasting on Sunday at the Norfolk Marriott from 1 to 5 will include a lecture by Gene Ford of Seattle, author of ``The French Paradox: Drinking for Health.''
Proceeds from the Wine Classic go to public broadcasting in Hampton Roads. For ticket information, check local wine shops or call WHRO at 489-9476 or 881-9476. MEMO: Send questions or comments to: The Humble Steward, Sunday Flavor, The
Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk,
Va. 23510. If possible, give complete label information when naming
wines, and list the vintage year. Please include your name and phone
number. by CNB