7th Annual Wells Fargo Kickoff
ft. Far Niente Family of Wineries & Vineyards
January 30, 2020

Charlotte Wine & Food (CWF) raised over $155,000 setting a new fundraising record at the 7th Annual Wells Fargo Kickoff dinner held at the One Wells Fargo Center on Thursday, January 30. 200 guests started the evening at a cocktail reception featuring EnRoute wines as well as cocktails and bites provided by Charlotte hot-spot Dot Dot Dot and host Chef Michael Bader. The reception was followed by a five-course wine-pairing dinner created by Wells Fargo Executive Dining Room's Chef Michael Bader and friends, featuring the premier wines of Far Niente Family of Wineries & Vineyards as we proudly hosted the star guest of the evening, Bruce Mooers, President of Nickel & Nickel. The night wrapped up with the most spirited of live auctions conducted by pro wine benefit auctioneer, Ursula Hermacinski including a mix of exclusive wine lots and experiences. The top lot of the night was a Japanese Kaiseki cellar dinner featuring donated wines from the private cellar of Advanced Sake Master and Restaurateur, Birdie Yang and his wife, Janine of Baku and Yama Izakaya. Additionally, multiple large format bottles of Far Niente and Nickel & Nickel wines were ever popular - so much so that Bruce Mooers doubled their donation to fulfill demand. With the support of all our generous donors, the auction alone raised over $120,000 for our beneficiaries.

A raffle featuring a luxury vacation from Inspirato helped raise another $5,000 for our beneficiaries and was won by our special celebrity guest, retired Panthers’ player, Jonathan Stewart.

Charlotte Wine & Food would also like to extend special thanks to the evening’s supporting Corporate Sponsors - our title sponsor Wells Fargo, Foreign Cars Charlotte and our additional partners - M Squared Public Relations, The Plaid Penguin, The Wine Vault and last but not least Far Niente Family of Wineries & Vineyards for their partnership.

The Charlotte Wine & Food charity beneficiaries for the 2019-2020 fiscal include GenOne, Mitchell’s Fund, The Learning Collaborative, and The Relatives.