Events

Classic Wines Auction reaps record $3 million for charities

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

LAURA OPPENHEIMER

The Oregonian Staff

Wine drinkers hardly knew Oregon from Alabama in 1982, when a group of Portland do-gooders hosted the first Classic Wines Auction.

Today, Oregon is a flashing dot on any good connoisseur's map. And the auction collected a record $3 million this past weekend for charities that help children and families -- making it a significant Portland fundraiser.

It's fun to watch the event mature along with Oregon's wine industry, organizers say.

"It's grown and changed over time," Heather Martin, the auction's director, says. "The wine industry and their growth has greatly helped."

About 860 people wined and dined Saturday at the $750-a-seat-and-up soiree at the Oregon Convention Center.

One of them bid $115,000 for a 1932 Ford Highboy Roadster; the second-most lucrative lot was a $42,000 Chilean wine adventure. A pair of Smart cars went for $20,000 each; ditto for a pair of Napa Valley getaways hosted by wine icon Peter Mondavi Jr. A "French royalty" wine package of 30 coveted bottles also fetched $20,000.

Money will be divided among five local nonprofits: Metropolitan Family Service, New Avenues for Youth, Friends of the Children Portland, Trillium Family Services and the Clark County YWCA.

Charities helped stage the weeklong wine festivities, which included winemaker dinners at nearly three dozen standout restaurants such as Andina and Wildwood. On Friday, sponsors attended an exclusive dinner at the Portland Art Museum.

Classic Wines has come a long way from its roots.

Board members of Metropolitan Family Service, based in Southeast Portland, launched the auction 26 years ago to support the nonprofit's work: after-school programs, parenting classes, mentoring and more.

At first, supporters donated bottles from their private collections. The auction raised $9,000 the first year and grew steadily during the 1980s and '90s. Jana Richardson, the group's development director, remembers when Classic Wines hit $200,000.

"That was really exciting," she says. "Now look what it's done."

The auction splintered from Metropolitan Family Service in 2004, forming a separate nonprofit. The group added staff, recruited more donors and picked additional beneficiaries.

Proceeds soared, and so did the event's profile. Wine Spectator has named Classic Wines one of the top 10 charity wine auctions nationwide.

As any wine lover can attest, good ideas often ripen with age.

Laura Oppenheimer: 503-294-7669; loppenheimer@news.oregonian.com