St. Helena, Calif.

Hinsdale Cellars’ insiders were on site for last Saturday’s 11th Annual Premiere Napa Valley barrel auction, which set another record by surpassing $2.6 million in bids in a single — albeit showery — afternoon.

Our delegation was comprised of: head trip organizer Troy Clements, president of Chicago-area Pure Wine Co., one of the midwest’s most important distributors; HinsdaleCellars.com co-founder Sean Chaudhry, proprietor of two highly regarded wine retail locations in the western suburbs of Chicago; and HinsdaleCellars.com Advisory Board member Bryan Freel, a collector and connoisseur. In addition to the auction, they attended a number of private events surrounding the 2007 Premiere Napa Valley gathering.

Steve Woodward in Lompoc, Calif.

The non-descript facility where coveted Sea Smoke Pinot Noirs are produced in Santa Barbara County was abuzz with activity when we arrived after a vineyard tour with general manager Victor Gallegos. Inside, winemaker Kris Curran (see photo under full post) supervised as 2005 Botella was bottled in preparation for its release later this year.

We barrel tasted all three 2005 releases — Botella, Southing and Ten. The layers of foggy “sea smoke” that roll in daily off the Pacific have worked their magic again.

Then we were off to lunch at the bustling Sissy’s, where sandwiches are supreme.

To acquire the supreme 2005 Southing, visit us online or call us (866.543.2006). 

We were fortunate to hear about a guy in St. Louis, Marc Lazar, as we awaited the birth last summer of HinsdaleCellars.com. A member of our Advisory Board advised us (that’s what they’re supposed to do, no?) that Lazar’s Cellar Advisors, specializing in collection management, was attracting positive attention from high-end consumers.

Lazar (at left) has written eloquently under our Vintelligence banner ever since, and he also opened our eyes to the landmark debut of CellarSensor technology, which we reported on a few weeks ago as we introduced our site’s readers to innovator Chris Womack.

This week, there is more news from Cellar Advisors to share. Cellar – Private Wine Storage, the sister company to Cellar Advisors, recently opened a new facility in St. Louis designed to house private collections in an environment specifically tailored to the long-term care of fine wines.