Naples Winter Wine Festival Ranks #1 Again on Wine Spectator’s List of Top Charity Wine Auctions

Naples, FL – March 21, 2017 – The Naples Winter Wine Festival has once again topped Wine Spectator Magazine’s list of the highest-earning charity wine auctions in the country, marking the 11^th time the Festival has earned this illustrious title since its inception in 2001. This honor goes to the 2016 Festival, which raised nearly $10.5 million under the live auction tent (excluding Fund a Need, which garnered $625,000 in live donations for the Naples Children & Education Foundation’s Early Learning Initiative).

“It is particularly rewarding to earn the top spot because it signifies another year of great impact for kids in Collier County,” said 2016 Festival co-chair Sandi Moran. “The continued success of the Naples Winter Wine Festival has really been a team effort—our wonderful group of Trustees, vintners, chefs, sommeliers, staff and volunteers all work together to make the event as unique and exciting as possible, and to drive home how important the auction is to our community.”

Top lots at the 2016 Naples Winter Wine Festival included the first Rolls-Royce Dawn to be delivered in the United States, which sold for $750,000. Three separate bidders won VIP access to Napa Valley’s BottleRock music festival, two bespoke guitars and three double magnums of coveted Gargiulo wines, totaling $720,000. One hundred percent of the funds raised under the tent goes directly to providing underserved and at-risk children in Collier County with critical health and education services.

Since 2001, the Festival has raised more than $161 million for its founding organization, the Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF), which has awarded grants to more than 45 non-profit organizations that have impacted the lives of over 200,000 children.

About the Naples Winter Wine Festival

The Naples Winter Wine Festival is the most successful international charity wine auction in the world, bringing together renowned vintners and chefs with wine enthusiasts and philanthropists for a three-day Festival that raises millions of dollars for underprivileged and at-risk children. Every dollar raised under the tent funds the Festival’s founding organization, the Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF), whose annual grants and strategic initiatives have provided more than 200,000 children with the services and resources they need to excel.  For more information, please visit Napleswinefestival.com.