After a difficult year of cobbling together virtual tastings and online auctions, the Nashville Wine Auction is finally back to doing what they do best, bringing together the city’s wine community to help raise funds to fight cancer. Their largest annual fundraiser is l’Eté du Vin, literally “wine summer” in French. Over more than four decades, this series of tastings, dinners and auctions has raised millions of dollars to support local organizations that help in the care of cancer patients and research potential cures.
This being the first post-pandemic l’Ete, the Wine Auction has moved the date to Oct. 23 to allow more time for planning and execution, but this year’s guest of honor will be worth the wait. Here in America, we marvel about the historical nature of anything that’s older than our grandparents, but in the Old World, there are some winemakers who have been practicing their craft for more than half a millennium.
That’s why it’s so exciting that this year’s guest of honor for l’Ete du Vin will be Alessia Antinori, a 26th (!) generation winemaker from Italy whose family business, Marchesa Antinori, has been making and trading wines from the vineyards of Tuscany and Umbria since 1385. The company has been passed from male heir to male heir through the centuries, but Alessia and her sisters Albiera and Allegra represent a sea change in leadership. (And it’s about damned time.)
Antinori will be joined at the Oct. 23 gala at the JW Marriott by Niccolo Maltinti, U.S. brand ambassador for the winery. The event will start at 5:30 p.m. with a silent auction and Antinori wine sampling followed by a seated dinner and the always-spirited live auction beginning at 7. A more intimate Patrons Dinner will take place at the Hermitage Hotel a week before the big event.
Even though l’Ete du Vin has been moved to autumn, the Nashville Wine Auction still has some summer events planned as well. Here are the details for their “Summer of Antinori” series of special wine dinners:
A Taste of Piemonte
Presenting the wines of Prunotto
Friday, July 23, 2021 | Giovanni Ristorante
An Expression of Napa Valley
Featuring Antica wines crafted by Antinori
Friday, August 20, 2021 | E3 Chophouse
Toscana al Fresco
Exploring the wines of Guado al Tasso
Friday, September 10, 2021 | Johnny Haffner’s Porch
Tickets for all the Nashville Wine Auction’s special tastings and events are available on the organization’s web page now.
