Rare wines and exquisite experiences will be on offer in the inaugural Wine Yarra Valley Grand Auction.
The live online auction will run from December 8-18.
Hosted by Wine Yarra Valley, the Grand Auction will donate funds to not-for-profit organisation HICCI, which provides essential support to vulnerable residents of the Yarra Valley including emergency relief, transport assistance and social support, and a weekly community meal ‘Dinner @ Darron’s’.
Winemaker Jayden Ong said the Grand Auction was created by members of the local wine industry to celebrate the achievements of Australia’s premier cool climate region, by giving collectors and passionate wine lovers the chance to access exclusive items, while also contributing to the vital work of HICCI.
“The Wine Yarra Valley Grand Auction is an exciting initiative for our region, sparked by members of the board who want to bring the wine community together over the festive season and celebrate what we do best,” Jayden said.
“We want to reward people who love the wines and the region, by curating some very unique experiences which really can’t be replicated, and some never-before-seen wine collections we’re really thrilled to present.
“Notably, the Grand Auction will provide people with the prospect of attaining what we would otherwise call money-can’t-buy opportunities!”
Jayden said numerous producers from across the Yarra Valley have worked together to assemble a number of attractive collections such as Lot 2 – Magnificent Magnums, which includes rare large format bottles of 1996 Wantirna Estate Amelia, 2013 Yeringberg Shiraz, 2016 Seville Estate Shiraz, 2018 Yarra Yering Dry Red Wine No. 2 and a 2020 Mount Mary Quintet, as well as fantastic experiences like Lot 5 – An Epic Yarra Valley Weekend.
Yarra Yering chief winemaker Sarah Crowe said the enthusiastic generosity of the Yarra Valley wine community to donate auction items for the Grand Auction has been impressive.
“We’ve been able to capture and celebrate our history, the beauty of our region, the incredible wines we make here and our legacy as one of Australia’s top wine destinations,” she said.
“I think we all feel very grateful for the support we’ve received from our loyal customers over the past two years of the pandemic; they’ve really kept our businesses humming along.
“We hope they get involved in this auction to feel like they too can be a part of our history, our community and our regional wine culture.”
Yarra Yering and Jayden Ong Wines will be some of the key attractions of the Epic Yarra Valley Weekend experience, valued at more than $7,500 with bids starting from $3,500.
This epic weekend is inclusive of one night’s vineyard accommodation at the Yarra Yering Homestead, a portfolio tasting at Yarra Yering, a lavish lunch at Jayden Ong Wines, Four Pillars’ Distillers Bench Experience which includes a private audience with Distiller and Founder Cam McKenzie, Sparkling Brunch at Chandon, Antipasto Hamper from Kitchen & Butcher plus all transfers for eight guests.
There are 13 rare and limited auction lots with varying starting bids, ranging from $300 to $3,500, and a number of other wine collections wine lovers can discover here.
The Grand Auction will open on 8 December and run as a silent auction with GalaBid until 18 December 2022 with confirmations for each successful bid awarded before Christmas Day.
Participants can register to monitor and submit bids with the mobile GalaBid App or online here.