One lot alone brought in $340,000: a winemaker dinner featuring cult vintners and acclaimed chef Christopher Kostow at Andy Erickson’s Favia winery. It was the top prize of a night built to bring out the best in the generous guests.
The OLE Health Foundation’s annual Vida OLE! Dinner & Auction raised $2 million on September 19 at Quintessa winery in Rutherford to fund the expansion of OLE Health’s St. Helena health center. The project will nearly double the clinic’s capacity, adding exam rooms, behavioral health consultation spaces and specialty services in downtown St. Helena.
The evening opened with a lively fiesta-themed reception, before guests sat down to dinner by Chef Nash Cognetti of Brindare, featuring Akaushi Wagyu beef tenderloin and a Valrhona chocolate caramel tartlet, paired with wines from Dalla Valle Vineyards and Quintessa. Beyond the top lot, the auction bidding gathered momentum around a trip to Japan hosted by Foundation Board Chair Naoko Dalla Valle and a private party at Pancha’s hosted by Pete Richmond. The Grammy Award-winning Pacific Mambo Orchestra closed the night with Latin dance music for an afterparty under the stars…