The Naples Winter Wine Festival (NWWF) celebrated its 25th anniversary by raising over $34 million—a record high, beating last year’s total by $1 million—for children’s charities at its annual event on the last weekend in January. The nation’s top-raising charity wine auction gathered around 650 wine lovers under a big tent outside the Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón, to bid on dazzling auction lots, all in support of the Naples Children and Education Foundation (NCEF).
Since 2001, the auction has raised more than $336 million for philanthropy.
This year’s anniversary event was especially noteworthy. “We are thrilled to celebrate the silver anniversary of the Naples Winter Wine Festival with yet another record fundraising performance,” said Lisa Juliano, senior vice president of NWWF and event production. “Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, patrons and sponsors, we will be able to continue our support of dozens of effective charitable programs that are making a profound and sustaining difference in the lives of children in our community.”
Custom Cars, Deluxe Travel and Rare Wines
The Naples event continues to draw some of the top chefs and winemakers from around the world. This year, Chateau Montelena, Colgin, Château Leoville Las Cases, Gaja and Bodegas Terrazas de los Andes were among the wineries who supported the auction. Participating chefs included Emeril Lagasse, Charlie Palmer, Andrew Quinn (of Best of Award of Excellence winner the Noortwyck) and Rogelio Garcia (of Best of Award of Excellence winner Auro).
This year’s 52 lots for the live auction featured one-of-a-kind cars, luxury travel, private concerts and personalized dining experiences—and, of course, outstanding wines. The top lot, which sold for $1.7 million, was a 2025 Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible. The 771-horsepower vehicle, in bespoke trim, was paired with a VIP experience at the Monterey Car Week this August.
Two collective lots each raised $1 million. Forty couples contributed $25,000 for a private acoustic concert and dinner with country music star (and wine lover) Scotty McCreery. Another 40 couples bid $25,000 each for a deluxe meal, prepared by chef Angelo Auriana, at Grand Award winner Bleu Provence.
Many lots combined luxury travel with large-format, rare wines. “The Art of Time with Staglin and Panerai,” which sold twice for a total of $1.6 million, featured a six-night trip to Switzerland hosted by vintners Shari and Garen Staglin and watchmaker Panerai. The winning bidders will also receive a commemorative 6-liter bottle of Staglin Cabernet Sauvignon and engraved Panerai watches.
Winners of other top travel-and-wine lots will enjoy a five-night immersion in Bordeaux’s Right Bank at Château Troplong Mondot, an eight-night journey through the estates of Marchesi Antinori (including double-magnums and magnums of rare Antinori wines), a rare visit to legendary Pomerol estate Pétrus (including a double-magnum of Pétrus 2001) and a six-night experience inspired by the connections between Napa and Bordeaux hosted by Denise Adams, proprietor of Napa’s ADAMVS and Bordeaux’s Château Fonplégade. (That lot also includes a private screening of the documentary Eastbound Westbound.)
25 Years of Supporting Florida Children in Need
This year’s live-auction lots were complemented by a fund-a-need campaign, “Fund the Future,” which raised over $5.8 million for NCEF’s seven strategic initiatives: early learning, healthcare, hunger, mental health, oral health, out-of-school time and vision.
Funds raised by NWWF support close to 90 nonprofit organizations focused on enriching the lives of at-risk and underprivileged children in Collier County, which includes Naples and Marco Island. Over 350,000 local children have been served to date, and 55 percent of children in Collier County are served by NCEF.
Next year’s festival will again take place at the Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón, from Jan. 30–Feb. 1, 2026.
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