Big Crowd Opens That Bottle
March 15, 2010
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| Lee Freeman, DDS, presents the traditional Open That Bottle Night toast. And below, Bob Dias holds two of the many wines auctioned off during the event. |
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Nearly 300 sponsors and guests of the Solano Wine & Food Jubilee filled the Green Valley conference center of NorthBay Healthcare for a kickoff dinner and auction on Saturday, March 13.
Each year, prior to the Jubilee, the sponsors and donors share food and wine at Open That Bottle Night. A four-course meal is paired with local wines and presented by the local winemakers who created them.
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Open That Bottle slide show |
The evening concluded with a 12-item live auction - featuring vacations to such places as Tahoe, Cabo San Lucas and even the Philippines - that raised another $34,300 for NorthBay Hospice & Bereavement, the beneficiary of the Jubilee.
Last year, NorthBay offered hospice patients nearly 19,000 hours of compassionate care.
Executive Chef Peter Garcia presented the dinner menu, which included roasted Alaska halibut with saffron infused rice, as well as a beef tenderloin with Maytag blue cheese demi glace. Featured wines were provided by Mangels Vineyards of Green Valley in collaboration with Wooden Valley Winery, Berryessa Gap, Koch Vineyards and Rock Wall Wine Co.
"It was a great evening, wonderful food and sumptuous wines," observed Wayne Senalik, master of ceremony and chairman of the Food & Wine Jubilee Committee. "And in the end, we raised much-needed support for families who need hospice care."
Tickets are now available for the Jubilee, which opens at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 23, in the big tent at the Nut Tree Complex in Vacaville. Tickets, for those ages 21 and over, must be purchased in advance and are $75 each.
To purchase tickets, call (707) 646-3133, or go online at www.wineandfoodjubilee.org.
