The Winery The Directors of Howell Mountain of California

Josh Jensen was famed for producing elegant, silky Pinot Noirs at Calera Wine Company on the Central Coast.  Leading wine critic Robert Parker Jr once described Calera – the company that Jensen founded in 1971 – as ‘California’s Romanée-Conti.’ Jensen completed undergraduate studies at Yale, but his love of fine wine blossomed while completing an MA in social anthropology at Oxford University in the UK. He was a key member of the rowing crew at both universities, but he still found time to devel ...

Described as a ‘year-round engagement and philanthropy programme’, Collective Napa Valley is the culmination of work to replace the annual Auction Napa Valley event that first started in 1981. The new programme was launched on Monday (10 September), with trade body Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) encouraging wine enthusiasts to sign up. While keeping a philanthropic principle, the new Collective programme is intended to reach a wider group of wine lovers – from high-end collectors to new drinke ...

The auction featured more than 1,000 lots made up exclusively of Scotch whisky. The company gave a combined estimate in the region of $1.5m in the build-up to the event, so it exceeded expectations by more than 66%. The top three lots went to The Macallan, whose enduring popularity shows no signs of waning any time soon. The most expensive lot was The Macallan Millennium Decanter 50 Year Old from 1949, which sold for $40,000. A case of six bottles of Macallan 30 Year Old in their original wooden ...