Over $10,000 was raised at the Fourth Annual HRA Board of Advisors’ Wine Tasting and Silent Auction at DoubleTree Hotel Springfield on February 28th. All event proceeds support HRA student scholarships!

Over 35 wines from various regions of the world were available to sample. Alumnus Matt Bekebrede, owner of Vino Cellars organized the wine and alumnus Brian Inman, General Manager of DoubleTree Hotel, coordinated appetizers to complement the wine and sponsored the event space. All guests receive a Riedel wine glass to keep! Throughout the event guests could bid on silent auction items and pre-purchase wine available at the tasting. A percentage of the pre-purchased wine sales supported student scholarships!

The event concluded with a live auction for a weekend in Napa Valley for two couples. The weekend included accommodations at Old Bridge Cellar’s private cottage and multiple wine tastings including The Hess Collection, Volker Eisele Family Estate, and Materra Cunat Family Vineyards.

A VIP Pre-Tasting Event led by Mike Ward of Ward on Wine, a Certified Sommelier, Certified Specialist of Spirits, and Certified Wine Educator offered a fun and informative tasting on one of the greatest wine regions in all of the world, Napa Valley. Numerous different producers were featured to showcase the different winemaking style and techniques that can be seen in this area.

Because of recent success of this annual event, the Board of Advisors approved at their bi-annual meeting in March to establish an endowed scholarship!

 The date for the 2017 Wine Event is Sunday, February 26, 2017 at the DoubleTree Hotel Springfield. We hope to see you there!