Press Room
The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art Pressroom is for use by the working press. Here, you will find the Memphis Wine & Food Series press releases and images available for media reproduction. For additional press information, or if you would like to be added to our press list, please call 901.544.6208 or send inquiries to pr@brooksmuseum.org.
The brooks announces 2011 wine season--rebranded "Memphis wine & food series" is premier event for memphis and mid-south
- --Silver Oak named featured vintner for 2011 season
- --Grand Auction slated for May 7, 2011
- --Premier fund-raising event has contributed nearly $5M to Memphis Brooks Museum of Art over the past 18 years
- --Special guests to include Silver Oak winemaker Daniel Baron and wine painter Thomas Arvid
Memphis, TN (October 5, 2010) – The development team at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art has renamed The Art of Good Taste as The Memphis Wine & Food Series. This rebranding positions The Memphis Wine & Food Series as a nationally recognized event, one that, for the last 18 years, has brought first-class vintners and chefs to a truly unique setting – the oldest and largest encyclopedic art museum in the state of Tennessee.
For nearly two decades, The Art of Good Taste wine auction season has served as the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art’s foremost fundraiser. In 2010, the series, a salute to the wine, cuisine, and art of Italy presented in conjunction with the Brooks’ blockbuster exhibition Venice in the Age of Canaletto, set a new precedent by raising nearly $400,000 for the museum’s educational programs, traveling exhibitions and ever-expanding permanent collection.
“While we’re still all about ‘The Art of Good Taste,’ The Memphis Wine & Food Series is much more descriptive of the multiple events that comprise the Brooks’ wine season, which brings together more than 1000 wine and food lovers annually,” says Lindsey Hedgepeth, Development Associate for Fund-raising Events at the Brooks.
The Memphis Wine & Food Series’ featured vintner for 2011 is Silver Oak Cellars. The wine making operation, which was established in the early 1970s, has wineries in Napa Valley and Sonoma. Silver Oak’s Cabernet Sauvignon was recently voted #1 in Wine & Spirits’ 20th annual restaurant poll.
The 2011 Memphis Wine & Food Series will kick off with a dinner and live auction at Flemings Prime Steakhouse in late February. The date and featured vintner for the event, an annual sell-out, will be released in late 2010.
“Silver Oak sponsored the 2010 Flemings Dinner to benefit the Brooks Art Museum, due to the outreach from our friend Frank Muscari," explains Charlie Campbell, Silver Oak Cellars’ Director of National Sales. “After experiencing that first-class wine event, and seeing the wonderful things that the Brooks is doing in the community, I knew that this was one wine series that Silver Oak needed to get fully behind. Much like Art, our wine is a personal experience, meant to be savored with friends and family. Silver Oak and Twomey Cellars hopes to elevate that experience by sponsoring The Art of Good Taste in 2011."
On Friday, April 15, 2011, The Memphis Wine & Food Series will present Brooks Uncorked, which is slated to include more than 50 wines, appetizers and entrees from a variety of Memphis restaurants, a silent auction, and live entertainment from Memphis’ favorite DJ, Robert Raiford.
Silver Oak winemaker Daniel Baron and Atlanta-based wine painter Thomas Arvid will travel to Memphis for the Patrons Dinner & Grand Auction on May 6 and 7, 2011. The Patrons Dinner will include a five-course meal prepared by celebrity chefs in addition to the Brooks’ executive chef Wally Joe and chef de cuisine Andrew Adams, a live auction, and musical entertainment. The Grand Auction, which is held under the tent on the Brooks’ plaza, will feature wine auction lots from the world’s most prestigious cellars, exclusive trips, tastings, dinners, artwork and jewelry.
SWEET SUCCESS!
The 2010 Art of Good Taste series celebrated La Dolce Vita with Italian wine, winemakers, and celebrity chefs to raise an estimated $375,000 for the museum. Co-chairs Frank Muscari and Mark Parker once again did an outstanding job of bringing together the most attractive donations and generous patrons for a truly memorable wine season.
From the kick off at Fleming’s in February to the wrap up under the tent at the Grand Auction, these dazzling events raised funds that will help us continue offering dynamic educational programs, traveling exhibitions, and meaningful art experiences for Brooks’ visitors of all ages. We are especially grateful to our sponsors, including Delta Wholesale for helping us bring some of the finest winemakers in Italy to Memphis.
Don’t miss next year’s events May 6 & 7 where we’ll celebrate our 2011 featured vintner, the esteemed Silver Oak Cellars.
2010 CO-CHAIRS HONORED
Mark Parker and Frank Muscari
Our 2009 and 2010 Co-Chairmen, Mark Parker and Frank Muscari, were honored as "Volunteers of the Year" at an awards ceremony held at the Brooks in June. Congrats guys and thank you for all of your hard work!
The Brooks’ 2010 Art of Good Taste Season Celebrates "La Dolce Vita"
This spring, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will launch its most ambitious wine auction season to date. The Art of Good Taste 2010 salutes the wine, cuisine, and art of Italy as we celebrate “La Dolce Vita” by welcoming some of the country’s finest vintners to Memphis to participate in the events. The Italian-inspired events are a perfect compliment to the museum’s blockbuster exhibition Venice in the Age of Caneletto, on view February 14 – May 10.
Now entering its 17th year, this perennially popular wine auction series continues to attract renowned chefs and prominent international vintners. The Brooks is proud to announce that an unprecedented number of vintners will travel from Italy to be featured during The Art of Good Taste series. Guests will experience an exciting array of offerings from multiple regions, including the wineries: Badia a Coltibuono (Chianti), La Valentina (Montepulciano), Tenuta Sant'Antonio (Amarone), Lageder (Alto Adige), Marco Felluga (Collio), Vietti (Piedmont-Barolo), and Casanova di Neri (Montalcino, Brunello).
The museum is also pleased to welcome celebrity chef and author Lidia Bastianich; award-winning chef Ken Vedrinksi of Charleston’s Sienna Restaurant; and Marc Orfaly, Executive Chef of Pigalle in Boston; who will work in concert with Brushmark Executive Chef Wally Joe and Chef de Cuisine Andrew Adams.
As the premiere fund-raising event for the Brooks, The Art of Good Taste has contributed over $2.5 million towards the museum’s educational programming, traveling exhibitions, and ever-expanding permanent collection. Over the years, The Art of Good Taste has grown from a single wine auction to four main events: the Fleming’s Wine Dinner, Brooks Uncorked, the Patrons Dinner, and the Grand Auction. In addition, the museum will also present four Warm Up to Italian Wine classes, featuring four pours of Italian wines as well as palate cleansing cheeses, as a chance for patrons to brush up on their vino knowledge before the big events.
THE EVENTS
Get full details on the individual events.
MEDIA CONTACT
Members of the media can get a complimentary pass to any of these exciting and newsworthy events. Please contact Andria Lisle, Public Relations Manager, for more information at (901)544-6208 or pr@brooksmuseum.org. We appreciate your support of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
PRESS ARCHIVE
Art of Good Taste 2010 Season celebrates La Dolce Vita
Art of Good Taste 2009 Season Wrap Up
Art of Good Taste 2009 Season is Announced