Friday, September 11 & Saturday, September 12, 2015 – A Benefit for the Mendocino Coast District Hospital Held on the Breathtaking Mendocino Coast
Featuring A Weekend Of Award-Winning Wine, Spectacular Food, Exquisite Art and Charitable Giving
FORT BRAGG, CA. (August 31, 2015) – Winesong 2015, (www.winesong.org) the charitable wine weekend getaway on the trend setting and spectacular Mendocino Coast, is just two weeks away. Beginning Friday, September 11, Winesong Weekend will kick off with a sold-out Pinot Noir Celebration at Little River Inn produced in partnership with Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association. On Saturday, September 12, guests can stroll through the enchanting Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens while enjoying a spectacular assortment of wine and food from nearly 100 highly acclaimed wineries and up to 50 top-notch Northern California culinary artisans. The glorious wine celebration continues on into the Auction Tents for the always-entertaining main attraction, the Live and Silent Auctions, which is where the much needed funds are raised to benefit the Mendocino Coast District Hospital.
There will be lively bidding for 59 live auction lots featuring spectacular wines from the most prestigious wine producers, rare and hard-to-find vintages, and special vertical and horizontal collections. Original paintings and art from highly acclaimed artists, vacation packages, and custom-made international wine getaway packages share the auction limelight. There is also an exciting and plentiful line-up of items offered in the silent and super silent auction.
Winesong is pleased to present some Hot Lot highlights:
- Lot #6: An Elegant White House Dinner.
White House Chef John Moeller, will prepare a seasonally inspired 6-course dinner inspired by the menus he created at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue/ Dan & Jett Gulbronsen, will roll out the red carpet to their art-filled and spacious Santa Rosa home to make this a glittering black-tie evening.
Chef Moeller is a member of an elite corps of chefs who served in the White House. Serving George H. W. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, and George W. Bush, he prepared très soigné cuisine for the Presidents, the First Families, and their guests including visiting Heads of State.
He is also author of Dining at the White House. In 2014, it garnered two gold awards – Best Cookbook of the Year and Best Celebrity Memoir of the Year. Chef Moeller’s vivid commentary and exquisite cuisine are certain to create a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience.
Dan Gulbronsen, the evening’s host and one of the founders of the Guild of Sommeliers will meticulously match each course with world-class wines from wineries that have been served at the White House.
- Lot #10 The best of Château Palmer over the last 45 years: Château Palmer, in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France is classified as one of fourteen Troisièmes Crus (Third Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. The winning bidder will receive 15 bottles of vintages ranging from 1970-2009 as well as a magnum of the 1990 Palmer.
- Lot #14 ‘Barra-Tuna’: In August 2016, Martha and Charlie Barra offer three nights for three couples at their beautifully appointed Barra Estate Lodge nestled in Redwood Valley. The winner will have the rare opportunity to immerse themselves and guests in Mendocino’s Italian heritage with family grape growers, lunch with the nonnas, Italian varietals, and generations of stories. The centerpiece of this lot is reserved for the Italian way of canning albacore…with Martha Barra guiding the way from roasting the fish, freshly caught by hook and line directly from the boat in Noyo Harbor and delivered from Fort Bragg, to canning in fine Italian olive oil, ready for your pantry. As the San Francisco Chronicle reported by Olivia Wu in her story “You, too, can can the Finest Albacore.” And take home 25 precious jars. There is also a private tour and tasting led by author Heidi Cusick Dickerson. And more!
- Lot #36 Roll out your own barrel of Anderson Valley Pinot Noir: Mendocino’s Anderson Valley is one of California’s top Pinot Noir appellations. Now one winning bidder will receive a barrel’s worth (25 cases) of very special 2015 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, created exclusively for Winesong. The A-team collaboration includes grapes from Ferrington Vineyards, winemaking from Phillip T.G. Baxter of Baxter Vineyards, and accommodations from Guy and Sarah Pacurar at Brewery Gulch Inn. Lemon Fresh Designs will create custom labels. The lot also includes all 750ml bottles, corks, printing, and labeling. Beer & Wine Services, Inc. will review the design to assure pertinent federal Tariff and Trade Bureau (TTB) and California Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) requirements are met.
- Lot #37 Ultimate Lighthouse Getaways: Six guests are invited to stay at two spectacular lighthouses! The Point Arena Lighthouse will host a two-night mid-week stay in the Assistant Keeper’s Lodge. Included is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dine on top of the lighthouse in the Lantern Room. With 360-degree views, dinner will be magnificent with a chef-prepared menu created and supervised by Pauline Zamboni. The Point Cabrillo Lighthouse near Caspar invites the winner and guests to enjoy a two-night mid-week stay at the Assistant Lightkeeper’s House. Situated on headlands, the Assistant Lightkeeper’s House ranks among the most memorable places to stay on the Mendocino Coast. During the stay the group will be treated to a special in-house dinner prepared by Chef Shannon Hughes. More exciting extras are included in this package.
A Pinot Noir Celebration: Meet the Winemakers
Friday, September 11, 2015 | 1pm to 4pm
This illustrious event features Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley and tastes of Little River Inn’s finest culinary offerings. The focus of this celebration is to provide an exclusive opportunity to talk wine with the winemakers themselves in an intimate setting. Evaluate new wines and learn how classic Pinot Noir improves with age. Savor these lush and elegant wines while you meet and mingle with the winemakers at a seaside setting overlooking the spectacular Pacific Coast.
Wine & Food Tasting in the Gardens
Saturday, September 12, 2015 | 11am to 2pm
Each year, in order to offer a wide array of wines, Winesong invites highly acclaimed world-class wineries to preview their new vintages. Previous wineries have included producers coming from such diverse regions as Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma, the Central Coast, Sierra Foothills, Oregon, Washington State, Italy, Chile and South Africa, the tasting is truly world-class and unprecedented in its sheer diversity. No more than 50 fine restaurants and food purveyors from Northern California provide a wonderful variety of culinary fare. Wine & food enthusiasts can stroll through the botanical garden paths along the bluffs overlooking the majestic Mendocino Coast while sampling this bountiful fare and enjoying performances of musical ensembles throughout the gardens playing a variety of styles including jazz, folk, classical, zydeco and more!
Silent & Live Auctions
Saturday, September 12, 2015 | Silent: 11am to 4pm Live: 2pm-5pm
The centerpiece of Winesong Weekend is the Charity Auction, featuring both a silent and live auction. VIP guests come from all over the country and parts of the world, year after year to participate with a chance to win some highly coveted auction lots while enjoying a full service, catered lunch. Excitement builds in the Auction Tents with lively bidding for 59 live auction lots, featuring spectacular wines from the world’s most prestigious wine producers, rare vintages, large format bottles plus special vertical and horizontal collections. Other auction highlights include an all-access VIP package to the 2016 Newport Jazz Festival, dinner with a White House Chef (who served under three presidents), a culinary getaway in the recently restored coastal treasure, the Albion Schoolhouse, and a stay at the Mendocino Coasts newest luxury destination, the Inn at Newport Ranch. And there are spectacular packages to Tuscany, South Africa, France, and the Caribbean.
For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.winesong.org or call (707) 961-4688.
o Auction Reserve Tickets with assigned seating under the auction tent and catered lunch, and access to wine and food tasting: $250.00
o General Admission Tickets with festival seating at auction and access to wine and food tasting: $150.00
o General Admission Tickets for A Pinot Noir Celebration: SOLD OUT!
Winesong is pleased to welcome several new sponsors this year. In addition to Celebrity Cruises promoting their luxury services through their “The Grass is Greener” campaign, Anolon Cookware and Bakeware and JetBlue are both sponsors and Live Auction contributors. Locally, North Coast Brewing Company is not only sponsoring Winesong but also donating the VIP getaway to the 2016 Newport Jazz Festival. Other sponsors include Safeway, Mendo Lake Credit Union, MCDH Physicians, New Trend Wireless, Little River Inn, The Coast FM, CalStar, Geo Aggregates, Mendocino Winegrowers Inc, Savings Bank of Mendocino, and longtime sponsor Harvest Market.
Winesong is produced by the Mendocino Coast Hospital Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for the Mendocino Coast District Hospital. Its mission is to help the small rural Hospital provide the best possible medical care to residents as well as the many visitors to the Mendocino Coast. Winesong proceeds have enabled the Hospital to purchase chemotherapy equipment, portable ultrasound machines for the Emergency Room as well as a state-of-the-art Diagnostic Imaging Center, and most recently, Cardiology Equipment.
