Oct. 15, 1999
Sun Valley Wine Auction Commemorates Ernest Hemingway
By Joseph L'Africain

The 18th annual Sun Valley Wine Auction, held July 22 through 24, commemorated the late Ernest Hemingway, one of the most renowned residents of Idaho's Sun Valley area. The three-day affair celebrated the 100th anniversary of Hemingway's birth while bringing in $672,000 to benefit the cultural and educational programs of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts. Guests enjoyed vintner dinners hosted by Sun Valley residents, as well as a picnic concert at Bigwood Golf Course in Ketchum. Saturday's tasting featured more than 200 wines from 100 wineries, such as Caymus, Domaine Chandon, Far Niente, Hogue and R.H. Phillips. Auctioneers Ursula Hermacinski and David Reynolds performed gavel duties. The top lot, five imperials etched and painted to celebrate Hemingway's love of the sporting life and wine, featured Carmenet Cabernet Sauvignon Dynamite 1997, DeLille Chaleur Estate 1997, Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 1995, Hogue Merlot Columbia Valley 1997 and Pine Ridge Merlot Napa Valley 1986. The lot, valued at $5,000, brought $28,000.

An imperial of Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 1995 went for $26,000, and for $14,000, one bidder took home a Staglin Family Vineyard lot, including a liter bottle of the 1996. Cabernet Sauvignon and a vineyard luncheon prepared by Ken Frank of Napa Valley's La Toque.

Also recognized were the winners of the event's Hemingway writing awards, a contest to see which winery could best describe its auction lot in Hemingway style. Presenters Suzanne Manookian, auction chairman, and Jack Hemingway, son of Ernest, awarded Susan McWilliams, Shafer's writer-in-residence, and Lisa Anderson, of Corus Brands, copies of Hemingway's last work, the newly released fictional memoir "True at First Light" (Simon & Schuster Trade, 1999).

"What makes this event so special is the generosity and enthusiasm of the vintners," said Manookian. "Without their support, we simply would not have the high level of quality this event has become famous for."