EVENT
Wine and Dine
WINE AND DINE
Benefiting Special Olympics Greater Memphis
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AU G U S T 2 012
Ben, Elizabeth and John Summer
Nikki Dildine and Ashley McCormick
RSVP
12
hose competing in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games will start making headlines at the end of July, but another group of athletes already heating up the summer were those involved in the Special Olympics Greater Memphis chapter’s Wine and Dine. These athletes warmly welcomed 275 partygoers to the Tower Center by introducing themselves and handing out programs detailing the benefit’s 18 wines and 11 hors d’oeuvre options. Having the nonprofit’s members onsite proved a nice touch for guests new to the organization. Special Olympics Greater Memphis director Lisa Taylor urged, “You need to come meet the athletes—their smiles are contagious.” First-time guest Tiffany Brimhall added, “I really enjoyed the opportunity to interact with all of the athletes, and it was cool to see each of their pictures on the wall.” Good spirits abounded as guests traversed the room to sample tastings from some of the city’s favorite chefs and to savor refreshing wine varietals hand-selected by the staff of Kirby Wines & Liquors. One gentleman donning a smart bowtie noted, “The reds are particularly good tonight,” to which several other attendees agreed, many singling out the 2007 Twomey merlot and the 2006 CADE Cuvee cabernet sauvignon as their favorites. A man standing near the “Very Berry” cheesecake bites, which were whipped up with hand-picked Tennessee blackberries by Ginger Honshell of Gingerly Baked, offered to another guest, “The Segura Viudas rosé would go great with that.” Speaking of berries, Chef Ryan Trimm of Sweet Grass, who helped organize the Wine and Dine chefs, also jumped on the chance to use in-season berries by serving a rib roast of beef with kim chee and black raspberry gastrique. Whites had their fair share of fans as well, and, of course, their clean flavors nicely complemented seafood offerings, including smoked salmon rillettes on potato wafers with crème fraîche and caviar (by Daniel Studdard of the Tower Center and Wade & Company) and Cioppino (a seafood stew from Sabine Bachmann of Fratelli’s). Sofia Blanc de Blancs and the 2011 Kung Fu Girl riesling were other whites that turned up in many a glass, and they also found their way into several gift baskets, which could be won by purchasing one raffle ticket for $25 or five for $100. These weren’t any ordinary gift baskets either, as each of the six were valued at several hundred dollars. For example, the “Pamper Basket” contained $600 worth of skincare products/services, wine, hair services, a mani/pedi, an aerator pourer and Dinstuhl’s chocolates. The musical duo of Earth Bass and Sky Guitar (Bob Buckley on bass and Ed Finney on guitar) added to the cool ambiance of the second annual Wine and Dine, estimated to have made more than $15,000 to help support all the local programs Special Olympics provides to its athletes at no cost. See all the party photos at rsvpmagazine.com Password: RSVP
Greg and Jennifer Knox
Story by Leah Fitzpatrick Photos by Baxter Buck
Tangela Walker and Vincent Coleman
Judy and Jim Baker
Tomi Beckemeyer and Ellen Faust
Don Taylor and Lisa Taylor
Laura Taylor Peacock, Melissa Taylor Goggans and Julie Taylor Miller
Melanie Towery Prevost and Julien Prevost