Sun Valley Wine Auction

For the first time, Ed and I recently participated in the 35th Annual Sun Valley Wine Auction weekend, held in the mountains of beautiful Sun Valley, Idaho. The event, a fundraiser for the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, brought in almost $1.4 million.

Checking into our hotel, the Knob Hill Inn, we asked for a quiet room. When we looked out of the window in the room, we saw what we wished for: we were facing a very quiet cemetery. Who knew that Ernest Hemingway was buried there? We visited the grave and saw people had left liquor  bottles, hats, and other mementos. Our room and the service at this hotel were terrific, and we'd recommend the hotel to anyone visiting Sun Valley.

To kick off a much-less-quiet weekend, we attended at a magnum pig roast at the gorgeous Flaherty residence (hosted by Tim Flaherty and Rob McGowan), for vineyard owners and winemakers, as well as for major supporters of the Festival. We had a chance to schmooze with both new and old friends, including our Calistoga neighbor Suzanne Phifer Pavitt, proprietor of Phifer Pavitt Wine. We all brought a magnum of our wine, so there was no shortage of great wine to pair with the delicious roasted pig. We were also entertained by Hawaiian hula dancers.

The next evening, we had dinner at the home of our good friend and Ed's Notre Dame University classmate Peter Hendricks, Mayor of Sun Valley. Peter is married to Lisa-Marie Allen, who is a four-time U.S. national figure skating medalist and competed in the 1984 Winter Olympics. She now coaches and judges skating competitions, and whom we finally got to meet. Peter cooked up some great steaks that night.

The Wine Auction Gala finally arrived Friday evening under a tent at Dollar Mountain Lodge, where the bidding for fabulous auction lots proceeded fast and furiously. We had a great dinner and our wine at a table Vineyard {511} sponsored. Lively entertainment was provided by country band Silverado Pick-ups, straight out of Napa Valley, with musicians/winery proprietors like David Duncan of Silver Oak Cellars and Jeff Gargiulo of Gargiulo Vineyards.

The next two days Ed and I poured our wine at tastings for both the trade and attendees, picniced with tapas provided by local restaurants, and ended our stay at a great brunch before heading back to California. We are looking forward to participating in this fun charitable event next summer!