On Saturday, May 4th the Texas Wine Auction Foundation held its third annual Texas Wine Auction gala at the beautiful Carter Creek Winery Resort & Spa in Johnson City. I was fortunate enough to attend the very first Texas Wine Auction back in 2022 and was thrilled at the opportunity to attend the sold-out event this year.
The Texas Wine Auction Foundation works in coordination with various agencies to identify the needs of the community and the initiatives that will support a healthier hospitality industry for the hardworking employees who do so much to grow the Texas wine industry. The Texas wine industry generates over $20 billion in economic value to the state of Texas and is ranked among the top five wine-producing states in the US. Since 2022, the Texas Wine Auction Foundation has raised over $500,000 that has been used to celebrate and elevate the Texas wine industry and hospitality workers.
Live music by The Texas Moaners kicked off the evening and guests were treated to passed appetizers by Feast & Merriment while checking in for the event. As guests made their way to the silent auction area, they were treated to some of the best Texas wines and had an opportunity to view and secretly bid on the vast selection of items available. Prior to the live auction event, I had an opportunity to speak with Jane Pope, RN and CEO of Create Healthy Foundation, the presenting sponsor this year. Jane shared just what this cause means to her personally and how she got involved.
“Well, I love the passion of this first. And I love that our organization invests in population health, and we have invested in the health of the hospitality workers. We’ve already seen a difference in the cardiovascular health, I just looked at some data around weight loss. So that means a lot to me personally, because it’s about our future generations and taking care of our health and prevention. And so, I’m very excited to be here”. – Jane Pope, RN and CEO of Create Healthy Foundation
The silent and live auction items ranged from bottles of wine and unique tasting experiences to dinners and amazing overnight stays. Two of the most unique live auction items were a trip to the Texas High Plains in a private airplane with Chris Brundrett, Owner of William Chris Wine Co. to harvest grapes and an impressive 15L format of wine commemorating the event. The large format of wine brought in an equally impressive price of $14,000!
Thank you, Dr. Amit Dhingra, PHD and Head of Horticultural Sciences with Texas A & M, for pouring up samples of the very special wine prior to the auction. For those not into the auction action, there was also a bottle pull available.
Dr. Amit Dhingra pouring wine
Attendance was up by over 50% this year and included guests from all over Texas and as far as Japan. The event raised over $215,000, not including additional grant monies received outside of the auction event, which represented an impressive 25% plus growth over last year. William Chris Vineyards, Becker Vineyards, Robert Clay Vineyards, and High Gun Morris Ranch were among the top sponsors of over 35 Texas wineries that participated.
The saying “Things are always bigger and better in Texas” fit this event like a custom pair of cowboy boots! There was no shortage of wine, food, and fun on hand to celebrate and elevate a good cause. Large platters of food were served family style, which created a sense of togetherness and highlighted the skills of the individual chefs. Chef Austin Simmons of Tris, located in The Woodlands, TX, Chef Mike Hall of Hill & Vine, and Chef Sheldon Jolley of Chase’s Place in Fredericksburg, TX did such an amazing job cooking up all the crowd-pleasing specialties. While all the dishes were delicious, my personal favorite was the tri-tip beef prepared by Chef Austin Simmons of Tris.
Thank you to the many volunteers, sponsors, and guests who passionately believe in the need for a sustainable Texas wine community. They made the fantastic evening of fun and fellowship possible.
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