“(Perry) is not participating because we’re paying her the big bucks,” Munson added. “She’s participating because of the very real philanthropic benefits.” Adding to the weekend’s celebrity draw, chef Ayesha Curry, who last year offered a live lot for the auction through her Napa brand Domaine Curry, will play a more front-and-center role this year, providing Saturday’s after-auction dinner alongside other chefs from the Michael Mina family. More music – not from Perry – will follow the auction and dinner. The inclusion of Perry and Curry this year may help lure potential bidders away from contending high-profile wine auctions like the Naples Winter Wine Festival or the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. “It’s a crowd that is used to a lot from us,” Munson said. “There’s a lot of competition out there.” Even with Perry headlining, ticket prices have not gone up this year, Munson added. They went on sale Monday. Also on the weekend’s program is the Friday Barrel Auction at the newly renovated Louis Martini winery. The winery’s namesake owner Louis Martini was one of the NVV’s founding members. At $500 per person, the barrel auction is the lowest-priced event of the weekend and tends to draw the largest crowds.<doc-sep>Auction Napa Valley, the annual charity event held by the Napa Valley Vintners trade association, tends to attract a well-heeled crowd. Tickets to the live auction begin at $2,000 and top out at $10,000 per person. This year, it looks like the NVV is making a conscious effort to attract a younger — though not any less well-heeled — crowd. On Monday it announced that pop music star Katy Perry and food media star (and new Napa vintner) Ayesha Curry would be headlining the 2019 Auction, to be held at Meadowood on June 1. Could Perry and Curry represent a bid to appeal to Millennials, a group that the Napa wine industry has struggled to reach? Perry will kick off the live bidding on Saturday with a musical set on the Meadowood grounds. Curry, who owns the International Smoke chain of restaurants and launched a Napa Cabernet label last year, will be cooking the post-auction dinner alongside other chefs from the Michael Mina Group. No word yet on the menu, but barbecue seems like a good bet. (Watch a 2017 interview I recorded with Curry from BottleRock Napa Valley.) Now in its 39th year, Auction Napa Valley is a display of extravagant charitable giving in the name of luxury wine experiences. Last year, for instance, a lot donated by Opus One winery — which included four six-liter bottles of Opus back to 1979, plus a trip to France culminating in a masquerade ball at the Palace of Versailles — sold twice, for $1.4 million total. In 2016, two bidders paid a combined $840,000 for an auction lot that included a private jet trip to the Academy Awards with Raymond Vineyards owner Jean-Charles Boisset. Erik Castro / Special To The Chronicle 2012 That same year, the auction raised a record $18.7 million. Proceeds always go to local Napa Valley charities that benefit children and health care. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Perry and Curry are certainly not the first celebrity guests of Auction Napa Valley, but they suggest the event could be moving in a new, more youth-oriented direction. Musicians Leon Bridges, John Legend, Lyle Lovett and the Bangles have all performed in past years. Oprah Winfrey, Jay Leno, Robin Williams and Perry’s American Idol colleague Ryan Seacrest have made appearances, too. In 2001, Robert Mondavi dressed up as Vanna White for a special “Spin the Bottle” fund raiser, but that’s a different story. Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicle’s wine critic. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob<doc-sep>
Text size Bidding at the Auction Napa Valley will start with a bang. “Firework” singer Katy Perry will kick off Saturday’s Live Auction Celebration at the 39th annual auction, taking place May 30 through June 2 at Meadowood Napa Valley. The Auction Napa Valley, the American Wine benefits education and healthcare initiatives in Napa Valley. The highlights of the weekend auction lots include exotic travel opportunities, one-of-a-kind experiences, and, of course, some of the area’s finest wines. The event is the only single-case auction, including at least 100 or more lots of tasting wine straight from the barrel. Ayesha Curry, host of Ayesha's Homemade on Food Network and owner of the International Smoke restaurant chain, will also be attending the event. She and other chefs will create a feast after the bidding, cooking over open flames. Curry, who is married to the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, is set to join chefs from the award-winning Michael Mina Group, who will be behind the post-auction dinner. The live auction begins in the afternoon, and is followed by dinner and dancing. An afterparty begins at 9 p.m. Other highlights include an e-auction that begins Wednesday, May 29, the Napa Valley Barrel Auction at Louis M. Martini Winery on Friday, a series of vintner parties throughout the event, and a farewell brunch at Wheeler Farms in St. Helena. Tickets for Saturday’s celebration begin at $2,000, with VIP packages available for $20,000 a couple. Tickets are available on the event website. The event is hosted by the Napa Valley Vintners. The nonprofit association has raised more than $185 million through the auction, according to the organization. Curry and Perry were not immediately available for comment.