15th Annual Uncork A Wish Wine Tasting & Auction

(LOS ANGELES) April 1, 2008 - Local wine enthusiasts will once again have the opportunity to experience a festive evening of fine wines at the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles' 15th annual Uncork A Wish Wine Tasting and Auction. This year's event, on Saturday, May 3, 2008 at 6:30 p.m., is designed to evoke the joie de vivre of the Belle Époque as Santa Monica's Barker Hangar is transformed into a world of elegance for a Moulin Rouge themed soirée. Tickets can be purchased for $150.

The Barker Hangar is located at 3021 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, Calif. 90405.
Map to Barker Hangar

Tastings will be offered by the 75 vintners brought together by The Wine House including Qupe, Grgich Hills, Kenwood, Laetitia, Laurent Perrier, Domaine Droughin, Grahams Port, La Jota Vineyards, Piper Heidsieck, Wild Earth, Stags Leap Wine Cellars, and Schramsburg .

Carving Ice will once again be creating a visual centerpiece for the event with a martini bar created entirely out of ice and staffed by celebrity bartenders from television and movies. Carving Ice will also be featuring the Uncork A Wish debut of the AquaSermo -- which is millions of tiny illuminated droplets cascading to the ground forming an image in mid-air.

Spectacular Food and Wine

Uncork A Wish Wine Tasting and Auction will also feature an array of restaurants offering the opportunity to sample delectable treats:

• Acadie Crepes: sweet nutella crepes and savory crepes mozzarella tomato basil
• Asia de Cuba: tuna pica and braised beef spring rolls
• Bar Pintxo: assorted tapas
• Boa Steakhouse: mini 12 hour Kobe sandwiches
• Buddha's Belly: Buddha's chicken salad and eight garden vegetable rice from
• Locanda del Lago: Pizzoccheri - Lake Como specialty - whole wheat pappardelle tossed with roasted garlic, fried sage, yukon potatoes and braised savory cabbage in bitto cheese fondue
• Morton's The Steakhouse: petite filet mignon sandwiches on sesame roll with mustard mayonnaise
• Provisions: wild mushroom & fontina risotto bites/horseradish crème fraiche, jalepeno jack polenta cakes/ chorizo, manchego & red onion/oran, pistachio and black olive biscotti
• San Gennaro Café: butternut squash ravioli w/creamy walnut sauce and stuffed mushrooms with piccata sauce
• Sushi Roku: warm crab handroll with seaweed & spicy tuna handroll in seaweed
• Takami Sushi & Robata, Elevate Lounge: spicy tuna on crispy rice, tuna tataki, tori tatsuta-age (Japanese fried chicken), sushi/rolls
• Upstairs 2: duck confit flatbread with mozzarella, dried tomato, wild mushroom ragout and - wild arugula, raddichio, and bibb lettuce salad with sliced grapes, pine nuts, white grape reduction

Additional tasty delights from Big Island Candies, Café del Rey, The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. Citrus at Social, Chunkomunko Cheese Cakes, Paperfish, Pink's Hot Dogs, Tokyo Table, and Violet's Cakes.

Buy your tickets online for $150

Named as one of the top 10 best "Food, Wine, and Hospitality Events" in Southern California in BizBash Magazine's "Top 100 Annual Events in Southern California" list, the extraordinary evening will feature renowned wineries, remarkable restaurants, priceless auction items and experiences along with celebrity entertainment.

Attended by over 1,500 people each year, the night benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles and the wishes it fulfills for children across Los Angeles County who have been diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions.

More Information / Buy Tickets

Live Auction

The highlight of the evening will be the silent and live auction packages featuring fine wines, exquisite artwork, vacation packages, sports and entertainment memorabilia, a Thermador Professional Series built in wall oven featuring a one-of-a-kind diamond-encrusted chronometer, and one-of-a-kind experiences, such as a walk-on role during the hit television program Scrubs.

Holding its place amongst all the glamour of the evening will be a fully-restored 1955 Pontiac Chieftain. Donated by a long-time foundation supporter, the vehicle will be displayed in the hangar during the evening before being sold to the highest bidder during the live auction.

Guests will have the opportunity to admire the craftsmanship featured with this two-tone, dark and seafoam green, automatic 4-door vintage sedan. From the restored chrome and the redone leather upholstery to the 4.7 liter V8 original engine under the hood, rebuilt to the manufacturer's specifications, there is sure to be more than a few guests dueling for the title of this sleek classic during the auction. The live auction will be hosted this year by television producer, lawyer, celebrity reporter and former local legal analyst Harvey Levin and entertainment will be provided by the Glamazons.

Event Sponsors

Sponsors for this year's event include: TMC Enterprises, American Airlines, AON Construction Services Group, Time Warner Cable, Jacqueline M. Glass Family, Wells Fargo, Carving Ice, Captivate Network, Hornberg Jaguar-Santa Monica, The Wine House, Classic Party Rentals, Charter Communications, Pacific Wine and Spirits, and Angeleno Magazine.