(Wines&Vines) - The Sonoma County Barrel Auction, the second annual trade auction hosted by the Sonoma County Vintners, raised $693,800 on April 29. The total was up more than 50% over last year.

The 75 unique Sonoma County wine lots sold came from 16 of the county’s 17 appellations.

All of the wines were tasted by a group of masters of wine and master sommeliers—and one member of the panel, Evan Goldstein, said they sent some of the barrel lots back to their makers at a tasting in January, though many had been corrected by a second tasting.

Another judge, Liz Thach, the well-known wine business professor from Sonoma State University, added that some lots didn’t even make the cut the second time.

More than 250 members of the licensed wine trade including retail, restaurant and distributor buyers as well as media attended the event at Don and Rhonda Carano’s Vintners Inn.

Most of the lots included five cases, though some included 10 or 20 cases (almost a full barrel).