Wölffer Estate Winery
 FROM TOP: Roman Roth; Linda Filardi, East End Hospice president and CEO Priscilla A. Ruffin and Betsy Rowe at Summer Gala |
THE FUTURE OF the Long Island wine region is a popular topic among my industry friends. A few years ago, a group of us had an idea: What if we had a serious wine auction, something that could one day be as important to our community of vineyards as the Auction Napa Valley is in California, or the Hospice de Beaune is in France?
The idea for the first-ever auction of Long Island wines has become a reality. I am chair of Harvest: Wine Auction and Celebration of Long Island’s East End, to be held September 24 and 25. Presented by Wine Spectator and organized by the Long Island Merlot Alliance and Long Island Wine Council, this annual event will establish Long Island on the world wine map. It will also raise money for East End Hospice and the Peconic Land Trust, which helps keep working farms in production and preserves our agricultural heritage.
The event includes exclusive vintner dinners at private homes, stimulating wine salon programs, a walk-around tasting of Long Island wine and seasonal fare, and a gala dinner by award-winning chefs Gerry Hayden and Claudia Fleming, of The North Fork Table & Inn, and Keith Luce, from Jedediah Hawkins Inn. The live auction, during dinner, will be extraordinary: Morrell & Company Fine Wine Auctions and Zachys Wine Auctions will auction off unforgettable wine-and-experience lots, half-barrel quantities of world-class Merlot and a few terrific surprises as well. I’m proud to be part of an event that raises the profile of our elegant wines. If you believe in local wine, and the work of East End Hospice and the Peconic Land Trust, don’t miss Harvest. It’s an idea whose time has come. harvesteastend.com
