In 2007, three wine enthusiasts sat together sharing a lovely bottle of 1982 Chateau Margaux. They were ruminating about the likelihood of supporters of the arts and lovers of great wine coming together, and contemplated planning such a meeting to benefit the arts. Letting their imaginations soar, the three envisioned a sumptuous dinner in a beautiful setting, extraordinary wine tastings, roaming sommeliers, and both a live and silent auction with an enticing assortment of coveted wines and other auction items, including one-of-a-kind experiences and fabulous jeweled gifts. It sounded like something they had always wanted to attend.
From this conversation, Pacific Coast Wine Festival was born, and in 2008, the first Pacific Coast Wine Festival took place at the Pacific Club in Orange County. This first year was successful, but a lot of work and a great education for the festival committee! The response was overwhelming, and the committee was encouraged to prepare for a bigger response the second year. Outgrowing the capacity of its fabulous first home, the festival was moved to the five-diamond Island Hotel’s ballroom in 2009, its current home. In the second year, the festival netted $125,000 for arts education.
Limited to just 300 attendees with a passion for wine and/or charitable giving, the evening has attracted the participation of some of the finest food and wine aficionados in Orange County, and wineries from around the world. This is largely due to the work done by co-founders Mike Kerr, Fred Salter and Valerie Van de Zilver who are each tireless in their dedication to make this a world-class festival. Their campaign to bring the best and most interesting wine players to the festival involves long days on the phone as well as on e-mail. They also travel to the wine country often to share their passion with wine makers and to persuade top producers to participate. “It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!” says Mike Kerr with a grin, sipping a glass of “M” in the private tasting room of the Folio group.
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