It was a recipe for lower prices. Yet this year's average bottle price of $227 was the highest in several years: below the peak of $286 reached in 2015, but a step up on the $215 average raised in mid-February 2020 when the pandemic wasn't yet on anyone's minds. Moreover, while 140 of the 149 lots were sold domestically, the two most expensive lots, and three of the top six, were bought by UK merchants. "We were blown away. It was just such an incredible day," said Teresa Wall, Napa Valley Vintners senior director of marketing communications. Also, that $227 is an average wholesale price. The 11,760 bottles of wine auctioned off Saturday will have bigger price tags when they are released to the general public.