Nashville Wine Auction’s l’Eté du Vin Raises More Than $2 Million for the Second Time in a Year

Though the Nashville Wine Auction met just nine months before for its previous auction — after last year’s event had been postponed due to the pandemic — the nonprofit came together once again this July for the 43rd l’Eté du Vin dinner and auction with the theme of Bubbles & Burgundy. 

Co-chairs Christie Wilson, Chase Cole, and Cindee and Michael Gold welcomed this year’s Guests of Honor: Christian Clerget, Justine Clerget and Christophe Prieux, who represented the featured wines from Domaine Christian Y.Clerget, Champagne Gardet and Domaine Alain and Christiane Patriarche.

Guests mingled around the auction lots while enjoying hors d’oeuvres from JW Marriott Executive Chef Simon Bowker. Cakebread Cellars, Caymus Vineyards and Caymus-Suisun poured tastes of their wines. While the samples flowed during the reception, the dinner itself upheld a l’Eté du Vin tradition of BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle). Wine enthusiasts carefully carted coolers and pulled luggage full of their prized vintages to their tables, where Chef Simon prepared an incredible meal of filet mignon foie gras with a Burgundy demi-glace, haricot verts and truffled whipped potatoes.

Between courses, the legendary wine auctioneer Fritz Hatton led the always-lively and often-cutthroat live auction. Among the top auction items were an exclusive dinner for eight couples donated by Bryant Estate, Kistler Vineyards, Old Rip Van Winkle and Halls Chophouse, which sold for $80,000, and a South Africa wine and wildlife experience, which sold twice for a combined $140,000.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have back-to-back l’Eté du Vin events that each raise $900,000 over our previous watermark 2018 event,” exclaimed President and CEO Loren Chumley. After the plates had been cleared, the bids were finalized and the paddles lay still, the Nashville Wine Auction raised more than $2.1 million to help fund the fight against cancer for the second time in less than a year.