If the rush for tickets for its relatively new community event is any indication, Auction Napa Valley 2007 should be a wall-to-wall sell-out.

Four days after going on sale last week, Taste Napa Valley — the fundraising event’s community-styled pre-auction midday party — was a virtual sell-out, even though tickets cost more than last year.

Chaired by the Joseph Phelps Vineyards family of Joe Phelps, Bill Phelps, Tom Shelton and Craig Williams, the annual auction stretches over four days, June 7-10, and has lots of new wrinkles.

Billed “The American Classic,” this year’s event incorporates new events and  a return to some of the attributes for which it is known, noted co-chair Bill Phelps.

Phelps said the main event will return to an open-air tent on the fairway at Meadowood Resort, with the live auction woven into a gala dinner prepared by a team of Napa Valley chefs.

The auction’s centerpiece will kick off at 5 p.m. June 9 with a reception catered by chef and TV cooking show host Michael Chiarello. The auction will be introduced by Bay Area comedian Dana Carvey, the Marin County resident best known for his “Saturday Night Live” skits as Church Lady and his Garth Algar role in “Wayne’s World.”

“We expect Dana will stick around to help us segue into the first auction lots,” Phelps added.

Some 200 bidders, vintners, guests and media will be seated at dinner tables this year, Phelps advised. “A vintner is assigned to each table and will be pouring his or her wine (for table guests) from a three liter bottle.”

The auction dinner will be prepared by the culinary team  of Richard Reddington (Redd), Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani (Terra), Vincent Nattress (Meadowood Resort) and well known valley chefs Sarah Scott and Peter Hall.

The evening will conclude with dancing to the music of a live band.

New events

Auction festivities kick off  June 7 with “Auction Eve,” two dozen parties hosted by Napa Valley Vintners.

Also new this year are Saturday daytime hospitalities, casual celebrations at wineries and the homes of member vintners.

A farewell reception at Trinchero Family Estates is also a new event this year, scheduled to take place midday June 10.

Returning favorites

Taste Napa Valley is scheduled at Trinchero Family Estates June 8. Some 90 local chefs, caterers and food vendors will be on hand, along with member vintners, pairing food and wine for this alfresco celebration that also allows paddle holders to inspect live auction lots as well as place bids in the popular barrel auction (100 barrel lots are anticipated this year) and e-auction. This year the barrel auction will both open and close at this event.

A tradition of Auction Napa Valley, the Friday night hospitality events will allow full package holders to take part in intimate dinner parties with winemakers at their homes and wineries.

Ticket packages

The price for the full package this year has been reduced by one-third of what bidders paid the past two years.

“We felt this was an opportunity to bring pricing back to the level where it’s historically been,” said Phelps. “It was set at $7,500 for the 25th anniversary and kept at that level last year. We felt returning it to the former level was justified. And we’ve added a second package that includes just about everything except the live auction.”

Cost of the Classic Package is $5,000 per couple, or $2,500 per person, which includes one bidding paddle and invitations to all events.

The price tag of the new All American Day Package is $2,000 per couple, or $1,000 per person, which includes invitations to Thursday’s kickoff parties, Friday and Saturday hospitality events, the Sunday farewell reception, bidding numbers for the barrel and E-auctions and tickets for Friday’s Taste Napa Valley.

To register for either package, go tot www.napavintners.com.

Praise and promise

No goals have been set for this year’s bidding totals, said Phelps, other than one for conducting “another successful auction. We at Joseph Phelps Vineyards are very excited to be participating in the event. And we are very grateful to our sponsors, especially Trinchero Family Estates for hosting both Friday and Sunday events.”