Nashville Wine Auction Raises More Than $704,000 During 34th Annual l’Eté du Vin to Fight Cancer in Middle Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 26, 2013) – The Nashville Wine Auction is pleased to announce that the 34th Annual l’Eté du Vin, which took place from July 17-20, raised $704,000 to benefit cancer patients in Middle Tennessee.
Featuring the theme, “Pour de France,” the four days of festive events highlighted the most notable wine regions of France, specifically Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux. The three guests of honor, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger (Champagne Taittinger), Martine Saunier (Martine’s Wines) and Nicolas Glumineau (Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande) joined wine enthusiasts on a journey through fine wines, delicious food and an exceptional social atmosphere.
With the addition of the inaugural Pairings: A Food and Wine Celebration, in March, which raised $165,000, the Nashville Wine Auction has currently raised over $869,000 this year. Compared to 2012, that marks a $105,000 increase. And with the upcoming ladies only event, Champagne and Chardonnay, the organization plans to add to this total.
“We are ecstatic about the success of the Nashville Wine Auction,” said Holly Whaley, Executive Director. “By adding Pairings and creating new events during l’Eté du Vin, we broadened the Nashville Wine Auction’s exposure to a new audience of wine and food enthusiasts. We look forward to developing our relationships and raising awareness of our mission to fund the fight against cancer. The total attendance for all events last week was 700 guests, a significant increase from 587 the year before. We’ve raised more money, increased our attendance, and we still have a big event coming on October 3rd!”
The l’Eté du Vin week started with the premiere of Martine Saunier’s film, A Year in Burgundy, at the historic Franklin Theatre. On the next day, guests gathered at the Hillwood Country Club to taste nine different wines from the vintners. The sold out Patrons’ Dinner at The Hermitage Hotel featured the exquisite cuisine of Chefs Sean Brock and Tyler Brown paired with ten premium wines from the guests of honor. The culmination of the weekend, l’Eté du Vin at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel featured 115 Silent and 68 Live lots, auctioned by Fritz Hatton, of Zachys Wine Auctions.
A few notable auction lots included:
- A dinner for ten (10) at the home of Clint Higham with country music artist Jake Owens was auctioned off for $21,000. Dinner will be paired with a collection of wines from Clint’s personal cellar, including some of his favorite 1982 Bordeaux wines.
- Frank and Mary Komorowski’s Burgundy Dinner Dutch lot sold for $3,000 per person for a total of $30,000. This unique collection of burgundy wines included the 1919, 1921, 1923, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1937, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1959 and 1971 vintages.
- A dinner by Sean Brock and Tyler Brown at Husk for 12 with wines from the cellar of Billy Ray Hearn went for $20,000.
- A trip to the best Châteaux in Bordeaux, including at Château Lynch-Bages, Château Margaux, Chateau Palmer, Château Pichon Lalande and Champagne Taittinger sold for $15,000.
- A trip to New York City for six, inclusive of dinner at Babbo with Mario Batali, dinner at Gotham Bar & Grill with Zachys President, Jeff Zacharaia, dinner and wine tasting at Italian Wine Merchants and tickets to The Rachael Ray Show and The Chew sold for $7,500.
This year’s sponsors included: Higham Management, Beaman Automotive Group, Tennessee Oncology, Audi Nashville, Saint Thomas Health, McGraphics, BNY Mellon, UnitedHealthcare, Stites & Harbison PLLC, Gary Musick Productions, Williamson Medical Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Endodontic Associates, PA, Bill Hearn and The Beth & Preston Ingram Foundation, Inc. In addition, over 130 volunteers donated their time and efforts to the organization over the course of the week’s events.
Next year’s l’Eté du Vin will be held on July 24-26, 2014 at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. The Guest of Honor will be Paul Pontallier, winemaker and general manager of Château Margaux, one of the five First Growth Chateaux of Bordeaux.
ABOUT NASHVILLE WINE AUCTION: Established in 1980, the Nashville Wine Auction is the oldest charity wine auction in the country. It has raised over $17 million for organizations whose purpose is directly related to treatment, patient care, and eradication of cancer here in Middle Tennessee. The 2013 list of beneficiaries includes: American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, Pearl Point Cancer Support, Gilda’s Club/Nashville, Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Middle Tennessee, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Saint Thomas Cancer Network, and Williamson Medical Center Foundation.
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