The annual ‘CELLARbration’ wine tasting fundraising event for the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer, is set for Thursday at the Feed Co. Table & Tavern in Chattanooga.
The CELLARbration will be held from 6-9 p.m. Tickets are $40 and only 100 will be sold for this event that turns a night of wine tasting into a competition, with the added benefit of helping the Chattanooga-based foundation and its mission to erase the effects of pediatric cancer on young patients and their family members.
In addition to the FEED Co. Table & Tavern (201 W. Main St.) as presenter and host, event sponsors include local businesses the Chili Pepper Ranch, Athens Distributing Company Chattanooga, Brewer Media, CityScope Magazine and HealthScope Magazine.
Here is a rundown of the wine-tasting competition format:
A “Team” will consist of one or two people, with each team bringing three bottles of the same red wine to the event. Two bottles will be covered and numbered for the tasting. The third bottle will go into the "Cellar." The cellar, already stocked with wine valued at $500, will grow in value as each team adds its third bottle.
Guests will enjoy the wines and hors d'oeuvres provided by The FEED Co. Table & Tavern and Chili Pepper Ranch, while voting for their favorite wine. At the end of the night, the team whose wine wins the popular vote will go home with the entire cellar of wine that will likely approach $1,500 in value.
This year’s CELLARbration features some “twists” to the wine-tasting competition. Teams can purchase a “plonk” – a “less-desirable” wine – to help their chances of winning. Plonks will be sold for $20 with each purchase giving a team one vote. There will be a maximum of three plonk purchases.
There will also be a silent auction throughout the evening to benefit the Austin Hatcher Foundation. The silent auction will have approximately 30 items ranging from vacations to beauty products, sports/auto racing packages, wine baskets and more.
CELLARbration tickets can be purchased online at www.hatcherfoundation.org/cellarbration
“CELLARbration is always a fun event with a gratifying response from the community,” said Austin Hatcher Foundation President Amy Jo Osborn. “We look forward to a successful event that will help us kick off our 2018 fundraising initiative calendar.”