"Moulin Rouge" Wine Tasting and Auction Raises Significant Funds for Children's Wishes

(LOS ANGELES) May 6, 2008 - The joie de vivre enveloped guests throughout the evening at the 15th annual Uncork A Wish Wine Tasting and Auction, as lively performers and bidding combined to raise a net total of over $300,000 for the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Saturday night.

Before the official start of the live auction, emcee Harvey Levin welcomed surprise guest Ryan Seacrest, host of American Idol and morning personality on KIIS-FM radio, to auction off two tickets to a taping of American Idol.

After a few minutes of bidding, Seacrest upped the ante with the offer to match a bid of $7,500. Securing that, he then went into the crowd to request another bid of $10,000 and, receiving that, increased his match as well. Harvey Levin then added to the total with $10,000 of his own, bringing the total to $30,000.

"This year's Wine Action was a great success," said Wayne R. Johnson, board chairman of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles. "From the many restaurants and wineries that provided the evening's food and beverage selections, to the celebrities, including Harvey Levin and Ryan Seacrest, who attended to make it a star studded affair, this event had incredible community support, and the result will be our ability to grant hundreds more wishes in years to come."

Winning bids of $25,000 for tickets to a meet-and-greet with Kobe Bryant, and $16,000 for a 1955 Pontiac Chieftain also added to the evening's total. The most precious item in the live auction was a painting created by wish child Blake, age 7, which depicted his wish to pet the dolphins in Hawaii. Blake personally solicited for bids and ended up handing his painting over in exchange for a bid of $7,000.

Over 1,500 guests were ushered into the check-in area by performers twirling colorful hoops and playing French songs on an accordion. Inside the Barker Hangar, which was bathed in red lights for the Moulin Rouge themed soiree, stunning aerial performances by the Silk Sisters and a cabaret/burlesque revue by The Glamazons added thrilling entertainment to the wine tasting and bidding.

The Wine House packed the floor with tables featuring 94 vintners 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.

Celebrity guests took turns serving at the Carving Ice Ciroc Vodka martini bar. Those stepping up to provide guests with a pear or cosmopolitan martini included: Roma Maffia (Nip/Tuck), Gary Anthony Williams and Christian Clemenson (Boston Legal), poker champion Annie Duke, Allison Sweeney (The Biggest Loser and Days of Our Lives), Layla Milani (Deal or No Deal), Navi Rawat (Numb3rs), Ken Davitian (Get Smart and Borat), Kate Linder (The Young and the Restless), and Rob Maschio (Scrubs). Emily Deschanel also stopped by the event to support the Foundation.

The night also featured an array of restaurants offering the opportunity to sample delectable treats, including--tuna pica and braised-beef spring rolls from Asia de Cuba; petit filet mignon sandwiches on sesame roll with mustard mayonnaise from Morton's The Steakhouse; mini 12-hour Kobe sandwiches from Boa Steakhouse; chicken salad and eight-garden vegetable rice from Buddha's Belly; warm crab handroll with seaweed and spicy-tuna handroll in seaweed by Sushi Roku; 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 from Upstairs 2; and heavenly hot dogs provided by Pink's.

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