FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Telluride Wine Festival boosts charity wine auction
TELLURIDE, Colo. (June 1, 2006) — On a continuing mission to help worthy causes, organizers of the 25th annual Telluride Wine Festival, June 22-25, are raising the bar.
This year, the longest-running festival of its kind in the Rocky Mountains is counting on one of the nation’s preeminent charity wine auctioneer, Tom DiNardo of DiNardo & Lord Auctioneers, to work wine collectors into a record-setting frenzy, with proceeds going to local charities.
Tickets are available online at www.telluridewinefestival.com or by calling (970) 728-3178.
“It’s a tremendous honor and privilege to be involved with Colorado’s most scenic and revered wine and culinary event,” says DiNardo, who boasts of five world records for proceeds generated at charity wine auctions. “I look forward to working amid the sheer beauty of Telluride and selling rare wines and lifestyle experiences to some of the world’s top bidders — people who truly appreciate the finer things in life.”
The Telluride Wine Festival, known for its refined educational opportunities, is a unique experience. Held in the historic town of Telluride, high in the San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado amid stunning views of snowcapped peaks soaring to more than 14,000 feet above sea level, the four-day event features more than six dozen wineries from around the world pouring their finest at venues throughout town, as well as in Mountain Village, just a gondola ride away.
The list of wines, culinary items and travel packages to be auctioned during this year’s Telluride Wine Festival includes:
• The 2004 Estate Cuvee Staircase — a bottle, a magnum and a double-magnum of Stephan Asseo’s signature Syrah /Cabernet Sauvignon “Paso blend” — from L’Aventure Winery.
• A 6 -liter bottle of 2002 Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, from Raymond Vineyards, signed by the winemaker.
• A 5-liter bottle of Baron de Ley Reserva 2000 from Frederick Wildman and Sons.
• A 3-liter bottle of 2002 Kenwood Vineyards 'Jack London Vineyard' Cabernet Sauvignon, donated by Heck Estates.
• Seven nights’ stay in Paris, donated by Passionate for Paris.
• Two nights’ stay at Long Meadow Ranch, in the Mayacamas Mountains of California, high above the Napa Valley.
Bidding begins on Thursday evening, June 22, with a live auction during the Opening Night Celebration for Winemakers and Patrons; a silent auction follows on Friday afternoon, June 23, at the festival’s Grand Tasting.
Then comes the grand finale, Saturday evening, June 24, during the Patron’s Gala Dinner and Annual Auction — another live auction with dozens of items, including the festival’s official artwork this year, a painting created by Sally Strand, a native Coloradoan.
Based in Washington, DiNardo is a true entrepreneur and veteran fundraising auctioneer. He founded DiNardo & Lord Auctioneers in 1993, and since then he’s pioneered his niche in charity wine auctions — a phenomenon he calls “the hottest thing going in the auction business.” His work for fundraising auctions, on average, has resulted in average revenue increases of up to 50 percent, he says.
DiNardo says he’s hotter than ever this year:
• In January, DiNardo set a new record at the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers’ annual Winemaker’s Dinner in San Francisco.
• In February, at the 2006 Culinary, Wine & Ski Classic in Park City, Utah, where organizers were hoping to earn as much as $35,000, DiNardo drummed up more than $140,000.
• In April, DiNardo helped another charitable event in Colorado, the Taste of Vail wine and culinary festival, raise its gross auctions proceeds more than 62 percent over last year and nearly 50 percent more than that festival’s previous high, set in 2004.
• And in May, DiNardo helped raise more than $1.4 million for cystic fibrosis research and treatment during the 17th annual California Winemasters event, held at Hollywood's Paramount Studios.
“I’ve been doing fundraising auctions since the beginning,” says DiNardo, who helped generate $30,000 in net profit with wine auction revenues for the Telluride Wine Festival in 2004. “DiNardo & Lord Auctioneers is ranked among the top four fundraising auction firms in the country. I’ve established myself in fundraising wine auctions selling some of the rarest vintages and most impressive-tasting wines from around the world.
“This year,” DiNardo says, “we’re going to take the Telluride Wine Festival to a whole new level.”
Before entering into his chosen craft of auctioneering, DiNardo worked in the wine industry of California and Washington, gaining tremendous expertise in wine and developing what he calls a heartfelt “reverence for the grape.” He’s a sommelier candidate with the International Sommeliers Guild; a freelance writer for Wine Adventures and Wine Enthusiast magazines; a regular contributor to WineSquire.com, AuctionZip.com, and GlobalAuctionGuide.com; a featured contract auctioneer for Chicago-based ERI wine auction gallery; and a certified appraiser.
The Telluride Wine Festival, a non-profit 501 (c) 4 corporation, is funded, in part, by a grant from Town of Telluride Commission on Arts and Special Events and the Town of Mountain Village. Proceeds from the festival go to the Telluride Medical Capitol Fund and other local charities.
For more information on the 25th annual Telluride Wine Festival, visit www.telluridewinefestival.com or call (970) 728-3178.
For more information on DiNardo & Lord Auctioneers, visit www.DiNardoandLordAuctioneers.com, or call (888) 503-0828.
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Media contact:
Stephen Lloyd Wood, media liaison
(970) 949-9774
press@telluridewinefestival.com
www.telluridewinefestival.com
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