Auction Items
SlowFoodVastWine 2012 Live Auction Highlights
Strasburg “Play”cation – tranquil weekend accommodations in the room of your choice at Victorian–era A.C.Stickley B&B, rated “excellent” by Trip Advisor, with a full sumptuous country breakfasts featuring local eggs and meats as seasonally available, and complimentary wine in the afternoons. While strolling the historical town of Strasburg, enjoy a dinner and dessert for two at Cristina’s Café with their likewise locally-sourced menu. Early one evening take a short drive to Winchester for a rich culinary experience for two at Sona Restaurant using your $50 gift card; discover the rich flavor of North Indian dishes elegantly prepared by chef Shiv Kumar. Then on to the nearby Wayside Theater with your two tickets to for any performance of their 2012-2013 play season. Perfect for a special anniversary or birthday weekend for the two of you!
Courtesy of: A.C. Stickley B & B, Sona Restaurant, Cristina’s Café, Wayside Theater
Fall Farm Feast – Back by popular demand, enjoy a crisp fall evening indulging in a down-home farm feast of sustainable ingredients prepared by local foodie chef, J. Michael Brown for up to 20 couples, held at Briarmead Farm, Front Royal, VA. Savor dinner and award-winning Rappahannock Cellars wines under the stars in an open-air barn while taking in sweeping pastoral vistas. Enjoy hay rides, horseshoes, a roaring bonfire, lake-front strolls and live bluegrass music by The Harris Brothers on this autumn farm experience. Raise your bid number to purchase a place at this memorable evening, to be held Saturday, October 13th, 2012 (rain date, Sunday October 21st)
Value: $75.00 single, $150.00/couple
Courtesy of: Mark & Laura Accettullo of Briarmead Farm, Rappahannock Cellars, Mike Brown, The Harris Brothers
Governor’s Cup Model A Winery Tour – a special weekend package featuring a tour in a vintage Model A of the 2012 Governor’s Cup winners. Enjoy a pampering two night stay at Marriot Ranch B&B in Hume to include delicious full breakfasts each morning. Your Model A chauffer will whisk you off on your winery tour to include stops at Governor’s Cup 2012 medal winning wineries: Glen Manor Vineyards, the Gold Cup winner, Philip Carter Winery, Rappahannock Cellars, and Hume Winery. Begin the celebration with a special package of 5 bottles of wine; a bottle of award winning vintages from each winery.
Courtesy of: Paul Beyers, Model A Chauffer, Philip Carter Winery, Rappahannock Cellars, Glen Manor Vineyards, Hume Winery.
Henry Wingate Still Life Painting –add to (or begin!) your quality art collection with this beautiful still life oil painting that delights in the simple beauty of peaches by highly awarded local artist Henry Wingate.
Value: $ 500.00
Courtesy of: Henry Wingate
Make your escape to Malta A getaway to the hidden gem of the Mediterranean – the island of Malta. Spend up to 7 nights in a charming one-bedroom flat while also enjoying a tour and tasting at Meridiana Wine Estate, owned by the Maltese Ambassador to the United States, Mark Miceli-Farrugia. The founding of Meridiana was accomplished through a partnership with Marchese Piero Antinori, a descendant of the oldest established winemaking family in the world. Before your escape, enjoy an informational discussion about what to do in Malta with your hosts, the Williams’ at Violino’s Ristorante with your $25 gift certificate. Definitely an old-world, sophisticated kind of holiday filled with wine, and a rich history and culture.
Estimated Value: $1,500.00
Courtesy of: Mr. & Mrs. Bill Williams, Violino’s Ristorante
Siesta Weekend, C’ville Style – renowned for its scenic beauty and culture, take a weekend trip to Charlottesville for a delightful two-night stay at Uphill House B & B, including a full English breakfast each morning. On one of your days, take a short drive to enjoy wine tastings at Barboursville Vineyards and Burnley Vineyards. On Sunday visit the King Family Vineyards; tucked at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, King Family Vineyards boasts 360° mountain views, a rural farm setting with pastoral surrounding and award winning wines. Enjoy a private tasting at King Family for up to eight guests, and a Sunday afternoon polo match at on-grounds Roseland Polo. For venturing into town, enjoy a dinner for two with your $150 gift certificate at acclaimed Brookville Restaurant; “a completely local and seasonal” dining experience. Brookville Restaurant’s Chef Harrison Keevil features a menu that changes almost nightly, with a New American cuisine inspired solely by what’s new and fresh at the markets.
Courtesy of: King Family Vineyards, Brookville Restaurant, Uphill B & B
Bling on the Wine - a Magnum 1.5 liter bottle of Diadema Wine Rosso IGT Supertuscan Vintage 2009 embedded with dozens of Swarovski crystals that spell out the wine’s name, Diadema. Rated 93 Points by Wine Enthusiast, also A Cellar Selection, 91 Points – James Suckling. “The wine’s colour is a deep ruby red with a hint of violet. The nose shows a rich and aromatic medley of spices and fruit. Wild red berries, underbrush, smooth spices, chocolate, roasted coffee and cinchona.”
Value: $250
Courtesy of: John Delmare
Highlights from our upcoming Silent Auction 2012
You are the Whiskey Maker
You always wanted to be a whiskey maker, but had to get a “real” job. Enjoy the life you missed with this comprehensive whiskey making kit, complete with mini-barrel for aging your own whiskey, from Copper Fox Distillery; sip it in class with two crystal whiskey glasses; enjoy a ready-made bottle of award-winning Wasmund’s Single Malt Whiskey (rated 93 points by 2009 International Review of Spirits) while you wait for you own vintage.
Charming Getaway to Little Washington, VA
The delightful town of Little Washington nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains awaits you. First, enjoy dinner for two at the famous and fabulous Inn at Little Washington, where the chef “pays homage to the lawmakers of Classical French Cuisine”, but also “believes in the cuisine of today, healthy, eclectic, imaginative, unrestricted by ethnic boundaries, and always growing.” Follow this culinary ecstasy with a one night stay for two in the Rose Room of the Fairlea Farm Bed and Breakfast, where Virginia charm and beauty surround you.
Picnic and Day at the Farm
Along with a lovely gift basket package, pick up a picnic lunch ($50 gift certificate) at the Apple House in Linden, VA, and head to a fun filled day at Great Country Farms in Bluemont, VA: “U-Pick, U-Laugh, U-Grow” admission. Farm activities include Farm Animal Barnyard, hayrides, u-pick fruits and vegetables (10% off produce), 5 acre farm with mazes, giant slides, and giant jumping pillow. (Gift certificate to Great Country Farms also includes 10% discount on birthday parties.)
Plant Your OwnVictory Garden
Get back to natural with this collection of heirloom, open-pollinated, certified organic seeds from Virginia and the Appalachian Mountains, gardening catalog and home seed-sowing guide from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange; and vegetable plants from Echo Ridge Farm in Winchester, VA. Use your handy garden tote for planting and harvesting.
Lots of Laconiko – The Greeks believed olive oil to be a gift of the gods. You’ll believe it when you taste this aware winning Laconiko extra virgin olive oil from Greece. Enjoy this full case of 12 250ml bottles. It has extremely low acidity (0.8%) and superb smooth flavor. Produced by a fourth generation family of olive oil makers, it won the Gold Prize at the 24th International Fair of Thessaloniki and the Silver Medal at the Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Oil Competition. Enjoy this precious olive oil drizzled on salads, vegetables, pasta, or simply a slice of warm, crusty bread.
Nourish the Ones You Love This gift basket will help you provide the ones you love with the best nutrition. In Virginia, the health benefits of raw milk are available to consumers who enter into cow share agreements with their farmer. With this package, you are given a share in the dairy cow herd and will receive one gallon per week of fresh raw milk from your share of a contented, grass-fed Jersey cow in the Reality Farm herd. Also, enjoy what has become the bible of the current health and nutrition movement, a signed copy of Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, as well as other publications from the Weston Price Foundation. Delivery is available by arrangement with Reality Farm to several areas in Virginia including Reston, Front Royal, Leesburg, Vienna, Manassas, and Falls Church.
A Glass of Wine and a Good Book…
What could be better than a good mystery novel and a glass of wine? Enjoy this copy of Ellen Crosby’s novel, The Riesling Retribution: a Wine Country Mystery, and two bottles of wine from Fox Run Vineyards (Penn Yan, NY).
Wine and Friends
Invite some friends to a deluxe wine tasting at the Barrel Oak Winery in Delaplane, VA. Package for six includes full wine tasting, two artisanal cheese plates, and two complimentary bottles of wine. Also enjoy five free tasting cards and your six wine glasses and two sets of wine charms from Wine Trail Traveler,
A “Stay”cation is Just the Thing…With the price of gas escalating, take a vacation close to home. Surrounded by majestic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Covington River near Little Washington, VA, enjoy a two night stay in the rustic, fully furnished “silo” apartment on the two hundred acre Reality Farm. Have dinner at the Griffin Tavern ($25- gift card) in nearby Flint Hill, VA. The owner of Gadino Cellars will take you on a tour and tasting for eight people. Also includes 7 complimentary tasting cards, each good for 2 tastings at Gadino Cellars.
Cheese and Chutney
Chutney is an Indian condiment made from fruits and spices to be savored in all kinds of dishes and as a topping for cheeses. Enjoy two gift boxes of assorted all-natural chutney from the Virginia Chutney Company paired with a delicious generous selection of grass-fed cow’s milk cheeses from Oak Spring Dairy.
Something Awesome for Kids
This is a wonderful kids’ package: have your kids put on their aprons for this dynamic cooking class for children offered by Cookology in Dulles, VA (the $100 gift card will admit four children); a $25 gift card to Moo Thru Creamery for delicious homemade ice cream from grass-fed dairy cows and a certificate for one half price session at Belle Meade Day Camp in Sperryville, VA.
Go out to eat? Or cook at home…that is the question!
This package will make both answers easier. Eat out with this gift certificate for two to the Grandale Farm Restaurant (Purcellville, VA) from the Farm to Fork Menu; or eat in, using Deborah Krasner’s cookbook, Good Meat: The Complete Guide to Sourcing and Cooking Sustainable Meat.
Handworked calligraphy and stationary
For that special event, Annie Lloyd’s stunning Pretty Mail Calligraphy will add a touch of class. Annie’s loose and elegant style with graceful lines and beautiful symmetry and her personalized service will help you create a one-of-a-kind invitations for your wedding, anniversary party, birth announcement or other important event; includes up to 150 invitations.
Chocolate + coffee = happiness
This tray of delectable chocolate covered heart beats from Twin Hearts Bakery are cakes loaded with fruit and nuts but surprisingly have no flour. Terrific locally-roasted and small-batch coffee from Lucas Roasting Company,LLC; enjoy in these gorgeous mugs from Rappahannock Cellars.
Love wine tasting?
Here’s a chance to visit two wineries inspired by Chris Pearmund, the “idea guy” in the Virginia wine industry. Pearmund Cellars was recently voted “Favorite Virginia Winery: People’s Choice!” The Winery at LaGrange with vintage since 2005 has already stocked up on awards. From Pearmund Cellars, three certificates for a complimentary wine tasting for two (Broad Run, VA); from The Winery at La Grange, five tasting cards for two each (Haymarket, VA).
Joel Salatin: the innovative traditional farmer…
This collection of six autographed books from the guru of holistic methods of animal husbandry, Joel Salatin , will tell you about pastured grass-farming, “salad bar” beef, getting started in your own farming venture, and farm-friendly foods. Also enjoy x dozen free-range “Eggmobile” eggs from Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm.
“If you want to know what good food is, as a rule of thumb, whatever was available in 1900 is probably okay.” – Joel Salatin
Round of golf anyone?
The perfect gift basket for the golf lover: a round of golf for two players and an 18-hole golf cart at the Shenandoah Valley Golf Club; ranked by Golf Digest as one of the top ten golf courses to play in VA. follow with a victory cigar and cold locally-brewed beer; close the day with dinner at nearby Joe’s Steakhouse (Front Royal, VA, a $50 gift card).
