NAPLES, Fla. — Paddles up! The Naples Winter Wine Festival auction happens Saturday, aiming to raise millions of dollars for children in Collier County. The 2025 Wine Festival raised a record-breaking $34 million.
The Naples Winter Wine Festival is not just about luxury and rare experiences; it is a significant charity event making a life-changing impact. This year’s festival featured a one-of-a-kind Aston Martin among other exclusive items up for bid.
It takes place under the tent at The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón and is one of the world’s top charity wine auctions.
The “auction lots” that people bid on at the Naples Winter Wine Festival are AMAZING. To give you an idea, in the past, there has been at least one winning bid exceeding $1 million.
WINK News reporter Lauren Halpern is at the event, providing an inside look at this year’s auction and updates throughout the day.
The Naples Children Foundation, the founding organization of the Naples Winter Wine Festival, is also hosting an online auction through Tuesday, February 3, 2026. It allows supporters to bid on over 100 unique wine, food and travel experiences.
John Owen, CEO of Airshare, said, “Flew a lot of the vintners in from Napa a few days ago. We’ll fly them back.”
The festival’s mission has been decades in the making. Jeff Gargiulo, a trustee, said, “On a Sunday afternoon, we gathered behind our house, and we kind of together decided that this would be something we would start.”
Now, it’s one of the most successful charity wine auctions globally.
Anthony Solomon, a sponsor, said, “There’s only one Naples, like it really is incredible.”
Organizers attribute the festival’s growth to what they call “irrational generosity.” Bill Beynon, co-chair, said, “The auction lots have gotten more special, the prices have gotten bigger, and people come together, and we have such a great time doing it.”
The purpose of the event is what keeps participants coming back.
Gargiulo said, “As you know, all the money bid under the tent goes directly to the kids.”
The funds raised support health care, education, and services for vulnerable children in Collier County.
Solomon added, “I mean, really, it’s a commentary on this community that, you know, the care that everybody has here, and the ability to raise that kind of money and have it be so meaningful.”
Gargiulo expressed gratitude, saying, “Thank you, WINK TV and everybody that does what they can do to help the kids. And there are hundreds of thousands of them that have benefited from this event, most of whom we’ll never know, and most they’ll never know us.”
The festival raised $34 million last year alone in conjunction with the Naples Children Foundation.
For more information on the Naples Winter Wine Festival or the Naples Children Foundation, click here.
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