There were over 90 vintners who brought their best wines for tasting. Several vintners were represented by the same person, so we only had to bring in 42 people. (that was a relief!)
The event kicked off on Thursday with an intimate Patron Party at the beautiful home in Nichols Hills, of a lead patron for the event. 5 Premier Vintners attended and poured their wines, while Boulevard Steakhouse provided the catering. They served in tapas style, Cajun Tournedos, Crabcakes, Prime Fillet Tips and Mushrooms and Shrimp served on Toast Points. Mouth-watering yumminess.
Friday night was the Gala at Wiley Post Airport. Upon arriving, guests were welcomed by receiving a personal wine glass before entering into a huge tent. Once inside the tent, the guests were able to visit each of the 44 vintner station and taste as little or as much of the wines that suited them. There were several airplanes on display outside the hangar, which were open and available to walk though.
The Silent Auction was also inside the tent. All of the auction items were graciously provided by the attending vintners. Some of the auction items were 2 Magnums of 2006 Barnett Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon; A 3.0L 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon from Titus Vineyards; A bottle of Nickel & Nickel 'Darien' Syrah and A bottle of Far Niente Chardonnay; A 6L bottle of Joullian Sias Cuvee Zinfandel; and from Michael David Winery, a taste of Lodi with a 3.0L bottle of Earthquake Cabernet Sauvignon and a 3.0L bottle of the ubiquitous 7 Deadly Sins.
There were many other Silent Auction items, about 30 total. It was fun to watch people scramble to be the final bidder when it ended at 7:30pm.That is when the doors to the hangar opened and seating for dinner began. The intent was to have a 'WOW' factor once inside. I believe it was accomplished. The dreary hangar was transformed into something spectacular. The main stage was a cross in the center of the room, creating 4 quadrants for tables. Each quad sort of felt like its own party. Each table had a representative from one or two vintners to provide a limitless amount of wine to each guest at the table.
Before dinner, 'Miracle Child', Jake, came on stage and told his story and reminded the guests of the reason for the Gala.
Here is Jake's Bio:
In May of 2003, at the age of six, Jacob was diagnosed with diabetes insipidus, a condition in which the kidneys do not conserve water. This leads to constant thirst and dehydration and if untreated can be life threatening. The number one cause of diabetes insipidus is a problem with the pituitary gland, related to a brain tumor. At the time of diagnosis Jake’s doctors performed an MRI, but it revealed no tumor. Sixteen months later, Jake complained to his mother that he could not see the chalkboard at school. The following day, Jake’s mom took him to have his eyesight checked, and they found that he was blind in his left eye and had lost some vision in his right. As a nurse, and having done much research about diabetes insipidus, Jake’s mom, Cheryl, knew what this meant. Her worst fears were confirmed over the next few days when Jacob was finally diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Jake was immediately sent to Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center for further evaluation. Within the next few days, Jake was diagnosed with a non-germinoma germ cell tumor, which is a very rare form of cancer in children. He was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism and optic nerve damage. Within days of his diagnosis, multiple specialists at Children’s Hospital were involved in his very complicated care, including pediatric neuro-oncology, neurosurgery, endocrinology, intensive care specialists, ophthalmology, and radiation oncology.
Jacob’s mother recalls the treatment process: “The chemotherapy was grueling. Jacob was very sick and would go weeks without a bite of food.” Throughout all of his treatment, Jacob always kept a positive attitude. He never complained or asked “Why me?” He was a shining example of laughter being the best medicine. Even at his sickest, he always had a joke to tell or a smile to give. All of his chemotherapy treatments were done in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), and he quickly became the patient that everyone wanted to take care of. Doctors and nurses alike would come by his bed just to say hello and see how he was doing.
Jacob is 12 years old and has been cancer free for the past three years. Jacob is very outgoing, loving, affectionate, and thoughtful. He enjoys participating in Children’s Miracle Network events and having a chance to talk about his experiences. He has been in the gifted and talented program at his school since he was in second grade. He loves anything that has to do with the weather and he hopes to someday become a meteorologist.
The Live Auction took place during dinner, which was catered by The Petroleum Club. The Auctioneer, April Brown, was from Seattle, and her husband Mike was the emcee. They were both wonderful to work with and kept the energy high throughout the evening.
Some of the Live Auction items included: "Palomino Dream" - a painting by Ryan Cunningham, who was recently recognized as Runner Up for the West Region of New American Painters 2008; An Instant Wine Cellar - several vintners donated a bottle of red and white, and the item totalled over 50 bottles of wine; A Santa Fe Getaway, a trip to attend the Santa Fe Wine and Chili Festival, and a weekend stay at the new Auberge Resort "Encantado"; A Luxury stay at Hotel ZaZa in Dallas during OU vs TX weekend, which included 4 box seat tickets to the game (Let me just throw in here that if I had 'that kind' of money, this item would have been mine!); and a trip for 2 to the 2010 Kentucky Derby and hotel accommodations at a luxury hotel.
"Palomino Dream"
Those were the best items in my opinion, but there were a total of 17 Live Auction items.
The Event concluded on Saturday evening with the All City Tasting Party. Tickets were sold individually and were not limited to the Gala attendees. We had a fantastic turnout, about 550 people. Again, the vintners set up stations all around the bottom floor shell of the new building in my office complex. The shell of a new building sure makes for a fun and exciting venue! To accompany the vintners, 16 local restaurants also participated, serving samples of some of their speciality dishes.
The Featured Cuisine was from: 1492 Latin Cuisine; Avanti Bar and Grill; Bin 73; Blu; Bolero Spanish Grill; Cafe Nova; Deep Fork Grill; Iguana Mexican Grill; Mahogany (am throwing in that I have never been here because it is way out of my price range - so I made certain that I sampled what they were serving, and they had the most delicious Smoked Salmon that I have ever tasted. Ever.); The Mantle, Mexicasa; The Museum Cafe; Paseo Grill; P.F. Chang's; Rococo; and The Wedge Pizzeria.
All in all, it was a fabulous event, but I worked my tail off getting it all to come together. I had some terrific help, but I'm not sure if event planning/producing is my thing.