2/8/10
The High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction has named its Special
Guests of Honor for 2010: Alessia Antinori of Antinori Wine
Estates, Jean-Guillaume Prats of Château Cos d’Estournel and
Amalia and Florencia Palmaz of Palmaz Vineyards. The 18th annual
Wine Auction, “The Allure of Wine: Uncork a Journey,” is
scheduled for March 25–27 and will take place under its
trademark big-top tents in Atlantic Station.
“We are honored to welcome such esteemed special guests to
our 18th annual Wine Auction,” say Wine Auction co-chairs
Michelle Edwards Crosland and Christine Ragland. “With a new
format for this year’s events, we think our success will
continue to draw prominent vintners, chefs and donors. We look
forward to great bidding and benefactor support to ensure
another successful Auction in support of the High’s quality
exhibitions and educational programs.”
Alessia Antinori of Antinori Wine Estates
Special Guest Alessia Antinori has a heritage that boasts
twenty-six generations and more than six-hundred years of
traditional and innovative winemaking in Tuscany and Umbria,
Italy. The Antinori family registered
in the Florentine Vintners’ Guild in 1385, and traces its
tradition of wine-making even further back to 1180. Alessia, a
native of Florence, graduated with a
degree in Viticulture and Oenology from the Department of Food
Science and Technology at the Agrarian University of Milan. For
more than a decade, she has participated in Tignanello harvests
at the family’s estate in the Chianti Classico region and Guado
al Tasso in Bolgheri. Currently, she manages one of her family’s
new estates, Montenisa, located in Franciacorta, which produces
high-quality sparkling wines. Alessia has been part of the
family’s export and sales team since January 2009. She has an
avid interest in fine art and photography and serves on the
International Council of The Museum of Modern Art. For
additional information about the Antinori family visit their
website at www.antinori.it.
Jean-Guillaume Prats of Château Cos d’Estournel
Jean-Guillaume Prats is CEO of Domaines Reybier, which includes
Château Cos d’Estournel and Château Marbuzet (both located in
Saint-Estèphe) as well as a new high-end wine called Goulée.
Jean-Guillaume is the fourth generation to be involved in the
management of Château Cos d’Estournel. His father Bruno, now
retired, was a key figure in the
Bordeaux trade,
managing Cos d’Estournel from 1970 to 1998. Jean-Guillaume’s
grandfather Fernand Ginestet bought the second-growth Saint-Estèphe
château in 1917; he also owned other
Bordeaux
estates including Château Margaux and the large négociant firm
Ginestet. His other grandfather, Jean Prats, was the founder and
president of Saint-Raphael, a major French spirit company at the
time. In 1994 Jean-Guillaume returned to Cos after graduating
from the EuropeanBusinessSchool (Paris) to work with his father. Four years
later, the young executive was president of the estate. Prats is
now a member of the Board of Directors of the Conseil des Crus
Classés en 1855, the Académie du Vin de Bordeaux and the
Commanderie du Bontemps du Médoc et des Graves, de Sauternes et
Barsac. Jean-Guillaume is also a serious tennis player and was
the youngest player ever to play for the French team in an
international match. He was French amateur champion in 1994,
1995, 1996 and 1998. For additional information about Château
Cos-d’Estournel visit their website at
www.estournel.com.
Amalia and Florencia Palmaz of Palmaz Vineyards
Special Guest Amalia Palmaz established Palmaz Vineyards with
her husband Julio to accomplish a shared dream—revive an
important part of Napa’s wine-making heritage. The dream began
many years ago when they first moved to the San Francisco Bay
Area and fell in love with the charm of the NapaValley. Their vision began to take shape
when they learned of an abandoned vineyard and winery at the
foot of
MountGeorge in east Napa. They purchased the property and began
restoring it in 1997. Ever interested in mechanics and
engineering, Dr. Palmaz played an integral role in designing
Palmaz Vineyards’ elaborate gravity flow winery. He now lives in Napa with his family and also maintains an
impressive collection of vintage race cars. As president of
Palmaz Vineyards, Amalia is responsible for the daily management
of the winery and vineyard operation. Julio and their children
are also involved in the family business. Their daughter
Florencia’s interest in food and wine led her to establish three
enterprises with her mother: Haute at Home, GoodHeart Brand
Specialty Foods and GoodHeart SureChef. For additional
information about Palmaz Vinyards visit
www.palmazvineyards.com.
2010 HighMuseumAtlanta Wine Auction
The 2010 Wine Auction, organized by co-chairs Michelle Edwards
Crosland and Christine Ragland, will include a change in events.
The Benefactor Party will be a special evening at the High
called The Allure Party, held the weekend before the auction.
This event includes a preview of “The Allure of the Automobile”
on Saturday, March 20. Week-of festivities include The Artist
Dinner with Thomas Arvid on Wednesday, March 24, and the Trade
Tasting and new in-restaurant Dine Around Dinners on Thursday,
March 25. Events on Friday, March 26, include the new Vintners’
Cup golf tournament at East Lake Golf Club, Premier Tasting
Seminars and the ever-popular in-home Winemaker Dinners.
Saturday, March 27, features the Vintners’ Reception and Live
Auction. Teaming up to wield the gavel for the Live Auction are
esteemed wine auctioneers Michael Davis and Leah Hammer of Hart
Davis Hart Wine Co., Chicago. For more information about
specific events, visit
www.atlanta-wineauction.org.
The 2010 High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction is
made possible through the generous support of the exclusive
Presenting Sponsor, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Premier
Corporate Sponsors include Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine,
Geographics, KPMG and Wells Fargo Private Bank. The Allure
Party Sponsors are Wilmington Trust, Jim Ellis Porsche and
Hennessy Porsche North Atlanta. Atlantic Station is the Site
Sponsor. Delta Air Lines is the Official Airline Sponsor. Select
Corporate Sponsors include The Atlantan; Four Seasons Hotel, Atlanta; A Legendary Event; Restaurant Forum;
Sherlock’s Wine Merchant; The Wine Room at The St. Regis Atlanta
and Tony Brewer & Company.
HighMuseumAtlanta Wine Auction
Founded in 1993, the High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction is the
largest fundraising event for the
High Museum of Art. The Wine Auction
is the top charity fundraising event in Atlanta, ranked the
fourth largest charity wine auction in the United States by Wine
Spectator and the number-one charity wine auction benefiting the
arts. The funds generated by the Wine Auction, which amount to
more than $15 million over the last 17 years, are a significant
contribution to the Museum’s acquisitions, exhibitions and
educational programming. Proceeds help to make possible special
exhibitions and partnerships such as the upcoming multi-year,
multi-exhibition partnership between the High and The Museum of
Modern Art, and it also provides funds for dynamic youth
education programs that draw thousands of schoolchildren to the
High each year. For more information about the Wine Auction,
please visit
www.atlanta-wineauction.org.
HighMuseum of Art
The High Museum of Art,
founded in 1905 as the Atlanta Art Association, is the leading
art museum in the southeastern United States.
With more than 12,000 works of art in its permanent collection,
the High Museum of Art
has an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American
and decorative art; significant holdings of European paintings;
a growing collection of African American art; and burgeoning
collections of modern and contemporary art, photography and
African art. The High is also dedicated to supporting and
collecting works by Southern artists and is distinguished as the
only major museum in North America
to have a curatorial department specifically devoted to the
field of folk and self-taught art. The High’s media arts
department produces acclaimed annual film series and festivals
of foreign, independent and classic cinema. In November 2005,
the High opened three new buildings by architect Renzo Piano
that more than doubled the Museum’s size, creating a vibrant
“village for the arts” at the WoodruffArtsCenter in midtown
Atlanta. For
more information about the High, please visit
www.High.org.
The WoodruffArtsCenter
The WoodruffArtsCenter is ranked among the top four arts
centers in the nation. The Woodruff is unique in that it
combines four visual and performing arts divisions on one campus
as one not-for-profit organization. Opened in 1968, the WoodruffArtsCenter is home to the
Alliance Theatre, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the High Museum of Art and Young Audiences. To learn more
about the WoodruffArtsCenter, please visit
www.woodruffcenter.org.
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