How big is the Chesapeake Bay Wine Classic Foundation Grand Auction? Well, 720 people attended this year’s event, which was held, as it is every year, on the sprawling front lawn of Robert M. and Eleanor Stanton’s home, which is wedged beautifully between the exclusive Bayville Golf Club and stunning marshland on the Lynnhaven River. Over the course a glorious afternoon, the crowd bid on more than 350 wine and wine-related travel lots, comprising more than 2,000 bottles of vino—most of it donated by wineries (including many from the west coast), distributors, individuals and sundry sponsors—and all of it exceptional.
According to Michael Glassman, a retired attorney who has been president of the Chesapeake Bay Wine Foundation for two years, this year’s Grand Auction generated about $435,000 in revenues. Throw in money donated by sponsors (and this event has scores of them), ticket sales and a Vintner of the Year dinner the night before and Glassman says the total gross this year was about $710,000. “We’re very pleased,” he told me. “It is among our best results to date—and in the context of today’s economy it demonstrates the affection people have for the event.”
And why shouldn’t they? The CBWCF supports a number of worthwhile organizations in Hampton Roads—Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Horizons Hampton Roads, I Need a Lighthouse Foundation, Seton Youth Shelters, St. Mary’s Home for Disabled Children, among others—but the lion’s share of the revenues goes to the ACCESS Foundation, which through offering scholarships, securing scholarships, counseling, SAT preparation and other efforts has helped some 70,000 students obtain higher education over the last 22 years.
And if the charitable aspect of the event weren’t enough, the Grand Auction is one fine party. For starters, the guests sipped champagne and premium wine under a massive white structure (think typical white party tent—but warehouse size) as they strolled around trying a splendid selection of food from seven outstanding Hampton Roads restaurants—among them, Sonoma Wine Bar & Bistro, Todd Jurich’s Bistro, The Blue Point, Burton’s Grill, Cobalt Grille, Steinhilber’s Thalia Acres Inn, along with Distinctive Gourmet and Just Cupcakes—making bids on numerous wine lots at a silent auction and specialty wine lots in the so-called Collector’s Corner.
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