Interesting items: lunch with a congressman; abalone dinner; father-son golf class.

Benefit Auction of Wine Experiences

     The 11th Annual Young School Benefit will be held this Saturday (6 February) at Quintessa Winery in Napa Valley starting at 5:30 pm. Much of the action will occur online. Catalogue and proxy bidding forms can be found at the Forever Young Benefit website.
     Founded in 1991, Young School is a private non-profit, non-denominational, Montessori-derived program for children ages 6 through 12 years old. Young School operates as a ‘one-room schoolhouse’ in quarters rented from a church. It follows a ‘tutorial’ approach to education, where children are tasked on their abilities and interests. The School has a 12-1 student-teacher ratio, and is respected for its rigorous academics, complemented by frequent field trips, enrichment in foreign language classes, and music programs, as well as community outreach. Distinctive about The Young School is the fact students spend their recess and P.E. time outside as a group, with all ages interacting equally and enthusiastically. The Young School is pledged to keeping its tuition low to offer an affordable alternative for a classics-based, high teacher-student ratio school.
     The School’s non-profit tax ID number is 68-0338995.

Wines and Experiences on Offer

     There are so many benefit wine auctions these days, the general category can certain not be considered newsworthy. In many instances purchasers are blatantly seeking publicity. Which I suppose is a just reward for paying thousands of dollars to a good cause in exchange for a $50 bottle of rare wine. And, of course, there is the opportunity to rub shoulders with a large gaggle of equally well-heeled individuals.
     What makes the Young School Benefit newsworthy is the creative, and diverse set of wine-related experiences which go on the auction block. To wit:
     – Tasting experiences and wines from Abreu, Araujo, Arietta, Aubert, Bond, Castello di Amorosa, Harlan, Kongsgaard, O’Shaughnessy, Drinkward-Peschon, Phifer Pavitt, Dunn, Outpost, Retro, Turley, Barnett, Cain, Frias, Guillliams, Hollywood & Vine, Juslyn, Peacock, Pride, Schweiger, Sherwin, Stony Hill, Togni, and many other fine vineyards).
     – A trip to Washington D.C. including lunch with Congressman Mike Thompson in the Members’ Dining Room, passes to the House gallery, tours of the Capitol and Supreme Court and accommodations at the Henley Park Hotel and a dinner at BLT Steak.
     – A day of visits to local artisanal food purveyors and dinner at Amy & Jerry Giaqunta’s home, prepared by Deborah Pollack of Local Eden with a dessert finale by Bouchon Bakery’s chef Matt McDonald, co-hosted byAnne-Marie Failla and Ehren Jordan.
     – An abalone dinner in Storybook Mountain Winery’s redwood grove, with abalone freshly caught and prepared by a Young School teacher, complemented by Storybook’s wines.
     – A pheasant hunt with architect Peter Collins and vintner Stu Smith.
     – a yacht trip to a San Francisco Giants game with the co-founders of Alpha Omega, Robin Baggett and Eric Sklar.
     – Several events for children, including a ride in St. Helena’s antique fire truck and a father-son golf class at Napa Valley Country Club.

     Tickets to attend in person are $100/person, only in advance, from the website or by calling (707) 967-9909. The catalogue is also online, and people can proxy-bid from anywhere in the world. Last year the biggest bidder was sitting at home in New Jersey. See also www.BiddingForGood.com.