"Wines from Around the World" was the theme for the 14th annual wine social and friend-raiser held on September 12th, 2009. This is one of the signature events of the Rebild Upper Midwest Chapter. An even 100 members and guests (a new attendance record) met in downtown Minneapolis to sample wines and share stories while admiring the skyline from the 22nd floor of the building. The party room, which was donated by John and Ester Fesler, looked lovely thanks to the hard work of the decorating committee led by Dennis and Kathryn Johnson.
In recognition of the difficult economy, the organizing committee worked to find eight tasty wines that are available for $10-$12 or less. "It's easy to buy a good bottle of wine if you're willing to spend $50 or $60," said Rebild member Bruce Adomeit. "What we were looking for were enjoyable, yet affordable wines that would pair well with food."
Bolette Andersen, Lewis Clemmens and Bruce Adomeit, branched out to a number of local retailers, and came up with Malbec wines from Argentina and California; Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and Washington; and Pinot Noir from France and California's Central Coast. The evening's greeting wine was a sparkling wine from New Zealand; there was also an excellent cabernet sauvignon from California's Sonoma Valley. Many thanks to Bruce, Bolette and Lewis for the great selections!
Foods from around the world were also featured during the evening including gravad laks, Swedish sausage, Florida shrimp and meatballs in Marinara sauce. Ron Grand, owner of Grand Distributing, again donated an assortment of delicious cheeses.
One of the night's biggest surprises grew up in Belgium. Tony Sandler, who became famous in the United States as half of the singing duo “Sandler and Young”, and whose stage career is in its seventh decade, attended with his wife, Mimi. Tony and Mimi are long-term friends with members Paul and Marlys Lindholm. Near the end of the evening, Tony surprised the Chapter President, Carla Sorensen, by singing her Happy Birthday.
The event included a raffle led by newlywed members, Vicki Gee-Treft and Roger Nielsen. More than 20 donated items were given away during the evening as raffle numbers were drawn between the pouring of each wine. The prizes included a variety of special wines, a weekend timeshare in the Wisconsin Dells, cheese trays, a basket of organic heirloom vegetables and much more!
A rain shower passed over downtown early in the evening, but it quickly stopped, allowing guests to mingle on the building's rooftop deck to enjoy the beautiful view of downtown Minneapolis as summer turned to early fall. By the end of the evening everyone had munched through enough hors d'oeuvres to count as a delicious dinner, settled on which wines were their personal favorites, made new friends and caught up friends they hadn’t seen in awhile. Overall, the evening was a wonderful success!
In recognition of the difficult economy, the organizing committee worked to find eight tasty wines that are available for $10-$12 or less. "It's easy to buy a good bottle of wine if you're willing to spend $50 or $60," said Rebild member Bruce Adomeit. "What we were looking for were enjoyable, yet affordable wines that would pair well with food."
Bolette Andersen, Lewis Clemmens and Bruce Adomeit, branched out to a number of local retailers, and came up with Malbec wines from Argentina and California; Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and Washington; and Pinot Noir from France and California's Central Coast. The evening's greeting wine was a sparkling wine from New Zealand; there was also an excellent cabernet sauvignon from California's Sonoma Valley. Many thanks to Bruce, Bolette and Lewis for the great selections!
One of the night's biggest surprises grew up in Belgium. Tony Sandler, who became famous in the United States as half of the singing duo “Sandler and Young”, and whose stage career is in its seventh decade, attended with his wife, Mimi. Tony and Mimi are long-term friends with members Paul and Marlys Lindholm. Near the end of the evening, Tony surprised the Chapter President, Carla Sorensen, by singing her Happy Birthday.
The event included a raffle led by newlywed members, Vicki Gee-Treft and Roger Nielsen. More than 20 donated items were given away during the evening as raffle numbers were drawn between the pouring of each wine. The prizes included a variety of special wines, a weekend timeshare in the Wisconsin Dells, cheese trays, a basket of organic heirloom vegetables and much more!
A rain shower passed over downtown early in the evening, but it quickly stopped, allowing guests to mingle on the building's rooftop deck to enjoy the beautiful view of downtown Minneapolis as summer turned to early fall. By the end of the evening everyone had munched through enough hors d'oeuvres to count as a delicious dinner, settled on which wines were their personal favorites, made new friends and caught up friends they hadn’t seen in awhile. Overall, the evening was a wonderful success!