Wine Gala Sumptuous Success

Wine, elegance and altruism blended beautifully at the 22nd Annual Mobile Meals of Toledo Wine Gala held Saturday, November 7, at the Stranahan Great Hall. Tastings were offered of 89 different wines, a sumptuous meal was served and awesome auctions entertained the crowd.

The charity, of course, is a most worthy one. Not only is this a sensational evening of wine and Mobile Meals home-delivered meal program is designed to enable the elderly, ill, disabled, homebound, the convalescing and all those who need assistance with diet and meal preparation to remain in their own homes and retain the dignity and independence they treasure. More than 600 clients are served daily and more than 500,000 meals are delivered annually.

To give you a flavor of the event, here is a list of each of the distributors participating along with two of the wines they provided (most provided six):

• 55 Degrees: Ormond Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot and La Fiorita Rosso Laurus, Montalcino.
• Berman Wines: Hayman & Hill Interchange White and Genesis Syrah.
• Bowling Green Beverage: Guntrum “Firewine” Kabinett and Schild Estate Shiraz.
• Cutting Edge Selections: 2006 Foxen  Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley, CA, and 2002 Eyrie Reserve Pinot , Willamette Valley, OR.
•     DJP Selections: 2005 Five Star Cellars “Stellar” Red Bordeaux Blend and 2006 DASH “Icicles” Riesling Ice Wine.
• European Wine Imports: La Fleur Mondesir Bergerac Rose and 2005 Chateau Vergnes-Beaulieu.
• Glazers: Lost Angel Mischief and Volteo Tempranillo.
• Heidelberg: Folie a deux Zinfandel and Napa Cellars Merlot.
• Natural States Wines: Ledgewood Creek Three Clone Chardonnay and Willow Glen Port.
• Solera: 2008 Kiona Riesling, WA, and 2006 Zaca Mesa Z Cuvee, CA.
• Tramonte and Sons Inc.: Maryhill Winemaker’s Red Blend and Castillo de Monseran Garnacha.
• Vanguard Wines: Joel Gott Relative Red Blend and Joel Gott Dillian Ranch Zinfandel.
• Vintage Wines: Lucien Albrecht Pinot Blanc, Alsace, and Ravenswood Teldeschi Vineyard Zinfandel.
• Wine Trends: Pillar Box Red and Valentin Bianchi Famiglia Malbec.
• Wines LLC: 2007 Taft Street Winery Russian River Chardonnay, Sonoma, and 2008 Ascheri Moscato d’Asti, DOCG, Piedmont, Italy.

The dinner menu featured a one-half apricot glazed Cornish game hen with a sliced pork tenderloin served with a medley of sweet potatoes, butternut squash and onions. Table wine was 2008 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc Viognier and 2005 Heavyweight Red Cabernet Sauvignon.
The live auction included an eye-popping assortment of wines. One lot of “sensational Cabernet Sauvignons” included a 1975 Sonoma Vineyards Alexander’s Crown, a 1990 Sterling Vineyards Diamond Mount Ranch and 10 other prized bottles.

The pinnacle of the auction was the featured lot, which included three bottles: 2001 Chateau Latour, 2001 Chateau Lafite Rothschild and 2001 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The wines, valued at $1,650, were donated by Bob Bennett and Holly Jensen.For those with somewhat

more modest budgets, there was a plethora of silent auction items.

Congratulations to Honorary Chair John Graham, General Chair Dr. Joanie Barrett, Executive Director Maureen Stevens, Associate Executive Director Carolyn Fox and all the volunteers, staff and sponsors who contributed to this outstanding success.

TOP PHOTO – Ryan Roos and Erika Heindorff enjoying the Gala.
BOTTOM PHOTO – Executive Director Maureen Stevens and the featured live auction wine lot.

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