A six litre bottle of The Setting Wines 2019 Glass Slipper Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon has become the most expensive wine ever sold, going for a whopping US$1 million at auction.
A man named Don Steiner bought the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon at a charity auction in New Orleans on 6 November. No other details about the bottle’s highest bidder have been revealed.
Jesse Katz, a Healdsburg winemaker, is responsible for the bottle’s contents. Katz founded The Setting Wines in 2014 with two friends, Jeff Cova and Noah McMahon. Now 36, Katz also produces estate wines for Montage Healdsburg. He also is the founder of Aperture Cellars and Devil Proof wine labels and recently built Aperture Estate, according to Sonoma Magazine where this story was first reported.
Grapes for the wine were sourced from Napa’s Coombsville area, where the Glass Slipper Vineyard resides. While the sole six litre bottling of the Cabernet Sauvignon sold for US$1 million, a 750ml bottle will go for a more humble $185. However, only 900 bottles of the 2019 vintage were ever produced, suggesting it may be hard to get your hands on.
The auction which saw the bottle’s sale was held to raise money for celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse’s foundation. Upwards of US$3.75 million was raised at the New Orleans auction, supporting the charity in its pledge to create opportunities to mentor young people in culinary, nutrition and arts education.
“It is such an honour to have set the world record for most expensive single bottle of wine ever sold and raise $1 million for a cause that is so close to my heart,” said Katz in a written statement, according to Sonoma Magazine. “Knowing how many children’s lives will be changed for the better by this single bottle is a joyful reminder of why we founded The Setting Wines. I’m still pinching myself.”
In other news, a couple has seemingly pulled off a famous wine heist after stealing dozens of bottles of astronomically expensive wines, including a famous bottle of 1806 Château d’Yquem, from Atrio – a two Michelin-starred restaurant in Caceres, Spain. Read more on that here.