(WEST BEND, WI) The Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) in West Bend is hosting an inaugural wine tasting and auction event, Vintage MOWA 2014, Saturday, September 20, 2014, 6:00–10:00. The biennial event is slated to be MOWA’s largest fundraiser of the year and will be held in the opposite years of MOWA’s very successful The Art Ball that debuted in 2013. Open to the public, the funds generated by Vintage MOWA will support the museum’s exhibition and educational programming.
The event will highlight tastings of 60 premium wines from around the US, courtesy of the following wine distributors: River City Distributing – Cuvee Wine Merchants, Prestige Wines, AVA, The Winebow Group, and Purple Feet Wines. Attendees will also have an opportunity to bid on an array of rare wines in an exciting live auction at 7:30 and a selection of wine-themed items in a silent auction. The evening will be punctuated with culinary delights by local-favorite Timmer’s Restaurant, vintage fashions, and interludes of swing music from The Mark Martin Jazz Triptych.
The live wine auction boasts several wines that are impressive because of their extreme limited availability. A few notable features include a Colgin Box containing three bottles from their vintages, a Caymus Vertical, 1979, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 SS, 86 SS, 87, 88 SS, 89, 2012 40th Anniversary; and a 6L Altamura Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 1997.
“We’re so excited to host this first-year wine event at MOWA,” says Laurie Winters, MOWA Executive Director | CEO. “We really think that with the exceptional assortment of wines for tasting, paired with the phenomenal wines that will be auctioned off, that this is sure to become the premier wine event in the State. What better way to support MOWA and all the meaningful things that we are doing here than to enjoy a fine wine experience amidst the best of Wisconsin art?”
Also highlighting the evening will be the announcement of the first winner of the Artist-in-Residence Program in Luxembourg. The Program will send one deserving Wisconsin artist to Bourglinster Castle in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg for a 3-month residency. Sponsored by Ansay Development Corporation (ADC) and supported by the Ministry of Culture in Luxembourg and the Luxembourg American Cultural Society, this is the first artist-in-residence opportunity offered through MOWA for Wisconsin artists.
“The announcement of the winner of this first-year residency is really what events like Vintage MOWA are all about,” says Winters. “It’s a celebration of the amazing artistic talent right here in Wisconsin and how MOWA is focused on creating a petri dish of opportunity for Wisconsin artists.” As part of the announcement of the winning artist and MOWA’s newfound relationship with Luxembourg, a selection of Luxembourg wines will be available for tasting, compliments of Ansay Development Corporation.
For more information about Vintage MOWA 2014, including a preview of the live wine auction highlights or to make a reservation, call 262.247.2271 or visit wisconsinart.org/vintagemowa.
Vintage MOWA 2014 is generously sponsored by Allan C. Kieckhafer Charitable Fund, Godfrey & Kahn, Ansay & Associates, Ansay Development Corporation, Johnson Bank, and Pick Heaters Inc. Additional support is provided by Jeff’s Spirits on Main, Clothes Clinic, Ohlsson Model Management, and Burke Candy & Ingredients. All proceeds benefit MOWA.
