Destin Charity Wine Auction raises more than $800,000

This year’s third annual Destin Charity Wine Auction raised more than $800,000, making the 2008 Wine and Dine in Paradise event the most successful to date.

      “This year’s event was a resounding success,” Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation Executive Director Todd Vucovich said in a press release.

      “We doubled our patron attendance from last year, and I am especially proud and honored by the tremendous showing of generosity by our celebrity vintners and chefs, as well as attendees who came from across the country and from our community to support our worthy charities.”

      Gross receipts for the fiscal year were about $825,000, Vucovich said. That was short of the $1 million goal organizers had hoped for. Still, about 65 percent of the proceeds will go to four charities.

      They are:

      - Children in Crisis Inc., which is building a Children’s Neighborhood in Fort Walton Beach. The complex includes an emergency shelter, four foster homes, and a neighborhood and recreation center.

      - Ronald McDonald House of Northwest Florida, which is building a facility in Pensacola.

      - Lighthouse Family Retreat, which will provide vacations for families of children being treated for cancer.

      - The Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation and its All Kinds of Art Program, which brings art to disadvantaged and at-risk children in public schools.

      “We hope to be presenting checks by the end of May,” Vucovich said.

      Garen and Shari Staglin of Staglin Family Vineyard in California were the honorary chairpersons. More than 450 patrons, philanthropists, world-class chefs and celebrity vintners participated in patron dinners in private homes and weekend events at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort.

      The auction’s top bid was $30,000. It went for a lot featuring multiple days of lunches, tours and dinners for eight people hosted by California vintners Dan Kosta (Kosta-Browne), Bob Cabral (Williams Selyem), Julianna Martinelli (Martinelli) and John Holdredge (Holdredge Cellars), along with large format offerings of those vintners’ wines.

      Next year’s events are scheduled for April 23 through April 25. For more information, contact the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation at 650-3732 or go to www.DestinCharityWineAuction.org.