ATLANTA, May 8, 2023 — Celebrating its 31st year, the High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction (March 22-25, 2023) raised more than $2.8 million to support the Museum’s special exhibitions and educational and public programs. The Vintners’ Reception and Live Auction on March 25 welcomed nearly 1,000 attendees, and more than 3,000 guests participated in other events throughout the week. The 2024 Wine Auction will return to the tents at Atlantic Station March 20-23.
Audra Dial and Sandy Moon co-chaired this year’s Wine Auction, helping to create fantastic events that celebrated art, wine and friends, including tasting seminars, the High Revelry evening soiree, Friday’s Uncorked! gala, Winemaker Dinners, Ladies and Gents luncheons, silent and live auctions, and the Vintners’ Reception.
“Due to our community’s continued generosity, this year’s Auction was another resounding and inspiring success,” said Rand Suffolk, Nancy and Holcombe T. Green, Jr., director of the High. “We’re incredibly grateful to all who participate, sponsor and volunteer in support of our efforts to provide essential programs and exceptional exhibitions for Atlanta.”
This year’s Special Guest of Honor was Sam Lando of LANDO Wines, a longtime supporter who began attending the Wine Auction with his own label in 2014. The Special Guest Chefs were SONAT Hospitality Group’s Duane Nutter and Reginald Washington, who will soon open the Southern National restaurant in Atlanta’s historic Summerhill neighborhood.
The Auction on March 25, facilitated by John Curley of John Curley Auctions, featured 44 live lots and 55 silent lots, while the Uncorked! gala the day prior featured 18 silent lots. Lots included custom dinners with renowned chefs, exclusive access to a variety of wines and luxurious trips to world-class vineyards across the globe. The Museum raised approximately $1.5 million through the live and silent auctions and collected approximately $75,000 from the 18th annual Dick Denny Paddle Raise, which supports arts education and the High’s Art Access program.
The top live auction lot, “An Evening to Remember ‘The Past, Present and Future – the Wine/Dinner/Music event of the year!’” raised $176,000. Winning bidders will join Sam Lando and Chef Kevin Rathbun for a memorable evening with Lando’s closest industry friends providing their absolute best food and wine — from the past, present and future. Donated by Hill Town Tours, “Buongiorno, Toscana!” raised $132,000, with three couples each paying $44,000. Winners of this lot will receive a weeklong stay in a Tuscan countryside private villa where they will experience custom wine tours and carefully crafted dinners. Rounding out the top lots was “Sunday Soiree!” which raised $60,000. Winning couples will be invited to Kelly and Rod Westmoreland’s home for a dinner party later this year, including wine from Cruse Wine Co. and Hirsch Vineyards and food prepared by Chef Piero Premoli of Pricci.
The 2023 Wine Auction was made possible with support from Presenting Sponsor Delta Air Lines, Inc. and Grand Cru Sponsor Merrill-Westmoreland Group Private Wealth Management. The Uncorked! gala on March 24 was made possible with support from Kilpatrick Townsend. All other sponsors and benefactors are listed on the Wine Auction website at www.highmuseum.org.
High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction
Founded in 1993, the High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction is the largest fundraising event for the High Museum of Art. The Wine Auction is the top charity fundraising event in Atlanta and the number one charity wine auction benefiting the arts. Proceeds generated by the Auction, which have amounted to nearly $37 million over the last 31 years, provide a significant source of funding for the Museum’s exhibitions and educational programs. Proceeds help to make possible special exhibitions and partnerships. The Auction also provides funds for dynamic youth education programs, which draw more than 35,000 schoolchildren to the High each year. For more information, visit www.highmuseumwine.org.
About the High Museum of Art
Located in the heart of Atlanta, the High Museum of Art connects with audiences from across the Southeast and around the world through its distinguished collection, dynamic schedule of special exhibitions and engaging community-focused programs. Housed within facilities designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Richard Meier and Renzo Piano, the High features a collection of more than 19,000 works of art, including an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American fine and decorative arts; major holdings of photography and folk and self-taught work, especially that of artists from the American South; burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, including paintings, sculpture, new media and design; a growing collection of African art, with work dating from prehistory through the present; and significant holdings of European paintings and works on paper. The High is dedicated to reflecting the diversity of its communities and offering a variety of exhibitions and educational programs that engage visitors with the world of art, the lives of artists and the creative process. For more information about the High, visit www.high.org.
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Media contacts:
Marci Tate Davis
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404-733-4423