Big Steaks & Big Cabs

Every year we donate an auction item to the Taste of Howell Mountain fundraiser.

This is what the promotional ad for the event looked like for last year:

And, as the last lines notes:  All proceeds benefit the Howell Mountain Elementary School.

Prior to last year, our auction lots were typically dinners for 20 - 24, served in the cellar.

But last year, we  decided to offer a more intimate experience:

The winning bid came from Lorna Wood & Bob Long.  The date agreed upon was April 16^th, 2011.  Their group of 7 folks arrived at the winery right on time and we transported them to a new deck I built on the hillside above Piña Vineyard Management. 

 The deck site was chosen because of the extraordinary views.  This was the first “official” use of the deck that is not yet even completed.

In the above picture, Davie is pointing out points of interest to the group.

One point of interest is the group of trees & buildings just over the folks in the picture.  That is Plumpjack Winery.

In the enlarged picture above, is the home we grew up in until 1962. 

More info on that is shared in another one of my posts.

Larry grilled sausages and served Piña Cellars Chardonnay.  We stayed for the better part of an hour before returning to the winery. 

Once back at the winery, Davie & I explained the rules of the game & officiated while our guests played Bocce.

We had planned to eat in the cellar, but at Lorna’s request, we set up for dinner under the trees above the bocce court.

As the bocce games continued, John put the steaks & veggies on the grill.

Eventually, we sat down to dinner.

All agreed that it was a perfect evening for dining outside.

 

And the dinner received much praise.

Leslie Burma, Jackie Rubin & Javier Cardieo helped with all aspects of the dinner.

There were many toasts (that’s Bob & Lorna) celebrating our good fortune.

Dessert was served with our (soon to be released)

Late Harvest Chardonnay, as the sun set.

The following week, we received a very kind & gracious note from Lorna Wood:

Larry,

We all want to thank you and your brothers very much for the fabulous time we had last weekend.  Sharing your "mountain" with us, the view, the history, the stories were all tremendous; but then teaching us bocce and cooking up a awesome dinner to have with your first class wines were the creme de la creme.  It was an event we all will remember and will be hard to top!

I attached some pictures for your album.  Thanks again - we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Lorna Wood, Bob Long, Erika Vogler, Mel and Rosemary Gafner, & Bob and Jan Polichino

We intend to offer the same auction item at this year’s Taste of Howell Mountain, for those of you that might be interested.

As the event gets closer, you will be able to get more information and see the auction lots listed here:

http://www.howellmountain.org/

You need not be present to win!

If you want to bid on an auction lot, but cannot attend, please contact:

Claudia J. Chittim

Executive Director

Howell Mountain Vintners & Growers Assoc.

2260 First Avenue

Napa, Ca 94558

707-252-6229 – phone 

Email: claudiachittim@gmail.com

Above picture created by Leslie Burma

Auction lot dinner with a Cornhole tournament

To go to the Howell Mountain Vintners & Growers Association website, please click on this:

http://www.howellmountain.org/events.html

For the past several years, we have donated a dinner for 12, with games, to the live auction noted above.  When our guests arrive, they are treated to a variety of Piña Napa Valley wines as they socialize right in our winery cellar/tasting room. Then, they are served dinner right in our winery cellar/tasting room. Once dinner is over, the tables are cleared and we have a Cornhole Tournament right in our winery cellar/tasting room, as the dessert bar is brought out.

The Cornhole Tournaments have become a regular activity at many of our events. 

I've described the game and talked about it in 2 previous posts:

Cornhole Craze Expanding West!

http://pinanapavalley.blogspot.com/2009/08/cornhole-craze-expanding-west.html

AND

“We’re here for a good time”

http://pinanapavalley.blogspot.com/2009/08/were-here-for-good-time.html

We held the latest Auction lot dinner and Cornhole tournament on Saturday, May 22, 2010.  We must be doing something right, because many of the folks that contributed to the purchase of this auction lot, have been involved for the last 3 years. 

This is what this year's group looked like:

They are diverse, fun loving group with a common thread;

The Oakland Police Department.

The Cornhole Tournament winner this year was Gordy.

Not that he's competitive, but Kyle, last year's winner spent several minutes checking my math on the scoresheet after placing third.

And even though much wine was consumed,

we were not concerned when this group headed home.

Because these two gentlemen (James & Erik) loaded them all into their Escalade limos for the ride home.

James, the business owner, was formerly with the Oakland PD.

We thank them all for supporting the auction that benefits the

Howell Mountain Elementary School.

“We’re here for a good time”

Gary & Martha Weeck

Martha raised her glass for a toast and said:
“We’re not here for a long time”
And the rest of the group chimed in and helped her finish the toast with:
“We’re here for a good time”

It was obviously a toast they had shared many times.

* * * * *

Gary & Martha Weeck were the high bidders for an auction lot we donated to the Taste of Howell Mountain event of two years ago. Gary & Martha were supposed to have coordinated an event date with us prior to 2009, but life got in the way. Martha was diagnosed with cancer last year. I emailed Martha asking about the toast and the illness. This was her reply:

Ranndy
…
You have my toast right. I have been saying it for years but now having fought through cancer it means so much more. I am in remission and I am okay talking about it. It is still with me and I can't taste all wines yet but it is getting better. We all had such a good time thank you all.

Best regards, Martha

Gary & Martha invited 12 of their friends to our dinner, wine tasting & games event. They were a fun group that works hard & plays hard. It was the second time they had the high bid on our auction lot.

Sippin & Chattin before dinner And these great eats were planned & prepared by Katherine (Pina) Capponi,
with some help from husband Dave & Dad (Larry)

Dinner in the cellar… And then the games began.

The game I am referring to is affectionately called

Bastard Cornhole (See earlier blog for details).

And when the last bag had been thrown, we returned to the cellar...

where Kyle Thomas was declared the Champion.

He won a signed magnum of PIÑA

that was immediately commandeered by his lovely wife Monica.

And a good time was had by all.