December 15, 1997
Leonetti Cabernet Commands $7,000 A Case at Seattle Charity Auction
By Elizabeth Eilender

Money for the arts was as abundant as the wine at the Seventh Annual PONCHO Wine Auction held on Oct. 18 at the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel in Seattle. The fundraiser netted $358,000 in combined proceeds from its one live and four silent auctions–the highest total ever raised for this event.

PONCHO stands for Patrons of Northwest Civic, Cultural and Charitable Organizations, and it raises money for art organizations in Seattle and other areas of the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Seattle Art Museum among this year's PONCHO beneficiaries.

Charity wine auctioneer David Reynolds of San Francisco took to the podium in front of a black-tie crowd of 350 guests to sell 80 lots of fine wines and wine-related travel packages. The topselling wine item of the evening was a mixed case of Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon that sold for $7,000, more than four times its estimated value, followed by a 14-bottle vertical of Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection, which went for $5,500, more than twice its estimated value.

"People were truly in a bidding frenzy," said PONCHO president Cathi Hatch. "There were a few things that went so far over their [estimated] value early in the auction that they got every one's enthusiasm up."

Among the top-selling single bottles, a jeroboam of Louis Roederer Cristal1988 sold for $3,000, an imperial of Opus One 1981sold for $2,200, a methuselah of Iron Horse Brut Palomino Cuvee 1991 went for $750 and a magnum of Leonetti Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 sold for $500. In all, the live auction raised $249,000.

"I think our patrons have made the connection between supporting the arts in our community and the auction," said Hatch.