A Charity Wine Auction and Food Fiesta held recently in Martinborough raised $110,000 for Hospice Wairarapa: a new record.
The Martinborough community’s generosity in supporting the Hospice cause is “nothing short of outstanding”, says Martinborough-based organising committee member Dawn McCallum.
“We wanted to put the fun into fund-raising and make a serious dent in the Hospice mortgage, and achieved both ambitions. Many Martinborough people opened their homes to friends from outside the district, and the 150 guests told us they loved the relaxed, interactive ambiance.
Auctioneer Ian Paterson guided some spirited bidding, with the top prize – a personalised wine trip to Portugal – finally won after a tight tussle by a local couple.
“This was the third Wine Auction held for Hospice Wairarapa in Martinborough, raising over $400,000 from this extraordinarily generous small community. The Hospice is an essential regional facility – none of us know when we might need it and few families are untouched by terminal illnesses” Dawn concluded.
Local Martinborough chefs Nick Arnold from Medici, Roger Barrett and Miriam Williams from Providore, Margaret Coney and Julie Beijen from Events Cuisine at Coney Wines, and Jo Crabb from Carême Cooking School joined forces with chefs from Greytown, Featherston and Wellington to create fresh festive fare to complement the colourful Portuguese theme and fine local wines for the evening. Guests relished seeing their food cooked to order at interactive food stations, all matched with leading Martinborough wines.
Escarpment, Burnt Spur, Dry River, Coney Wines, Palliser Estate wines were served with the main courses, and Ata Rangi, Margrain and Muirlea Rise dessert wines rounded out the wine offerings.
