Loading ...This year’s Ann Arbor WineFest promises its usual attractions for what Ann Arbor Art Center President and CEO Marsha Chamberlin calls “foodies,” plus an opportunity for everyone to support the Art Center and have a good time.
But the 26th annual event is chartering new territory with the addition of food and wine events that run all weekend.
The charity gala, to be held May 3 at the Ann Arbor Marriott at Eagle Crest, has kept ticket purchasers coming back by offering something different every year, Chamberlin said. Organizers of this year’s event decided to branch out to increase exposure and fundraising capacity, she said. “There’s a finite limit to WineFest as an event. There are only so many people the ballroom can hold.”
WineFest weekend kicks off May 2 with Stars at Your Table, a unique opportunity to enjoy a multi-course dinner with complementary wines in the intimate setting of a local home. Each of the four dinners will be prepared by a renowned chef and winemaker and will include a maximum of 20 guests.
Chef and winemaker pairs include:
- Craig Common, owner and executive chef of The Common Grill in Chelsea, and Fred Fisher, owner of Fisher Vineyards in Santa Rosa, Calif., and WineFest 2008 Honorary Chair.
- Brandt Evans, chef at Blue Canyon Kitchen and Tavern in Cleveland, and Laurence Feraud, owner and winemaker for Domaine du Pegau in France.
- John Sarich, culinary director of Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Wash., and Bob Bertheau, Winemaker, Chateau Ste. Michelle.
- Ted Cizma, executive chef of Grand Traverse Resort Spa near Traverse City, and Lee Lutes, winemaker for Black Star Farms Winery in Suttons Bay.
“These are good chefs and good winemakers,” Chamberlin said. “It might draw people to Ann Arbor from far away. Nobody’s done something like this in this area,” she said. People have done tastings at restaurants, “but to have a chef actually sitting at your table in an intimate setting” is unique, she said. At interview time, there were only two seats left at the Laurence Feraud/Brandt Evans dinner.
WineFest makes up 15 percent of the Art Center’s fundraising, and this year’s fundraising goal is $150,000 for WineFest and the ancillary events, Chamberlin said. Last year, WineFest raised $110,000.
Despite the economy, WineFest continues to be a popular event, Chamberlin said. “People are still attending larger charitable events,” she said. She noted that 50 percent of WineFest ticketholders live in Wayne and Oakland counties. “Ann Arbor is a draw. People love coming here.”
The WineFest gala draws about 600 people each year. The event includes a strolling gourmet dinner, wine tasting, specialty bars and a cigar tent. There are also two wine auctions and a food, travel and leisure auction.
Chamberlin said the Art Center plans to keep expanding WineFest. “We hope to build it into an even more major wine event that will attract people from far away,” she said. Stars at Your Table is definitely in the plans for next year. “The goal next year would be to do no more than four dinners and to a get a different group of chefs.”
(Source: Ann Arbor Business Reviwe by Pamela A. Zinkosky)
