A Weekend for the Oenophile’s Bucket List

I was surprised when I learned that Naples, Florida was home to a prestigious international wine festival. Traditional grape varietals, such as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, don’t grow well in the warm, humid climate, so it’s not exactly Bordeaux or Tuscany.

But what this sunny seaside city does have is an abundance of wealthy, wine-savvy residents. They convene for one weekend each winter to sip top-caliber vintages with the winemakers themselves as they raise millions of dollars for local charities.

The best global producers (think Piero Antinori, Saskia de Rothschild and Olivier Krug) are present. I recently experienced this mingling of wine, food and philanthropy. If you’re serious about wine, it’s an unprecedented opportunity to spend the weekend rubbing shoulders with blue chip vintners in a swanky setting. Get ready to dive into a wino weekend splurge that would turn Bacchus green with envy.

Get Your Bearings

Naples is located on Florida’s Gulf Coast, 30 minutes from Southwest Florida International Airport. It’s home to a large population of affluent snowbirds, many with Midwestern roots. The sandy beaches are glorious, and the hefty cultural calendar is supported by the city’s well-heeled residents.

Ground Zero: The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort

Most Naples Wine Festival events take place at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort. If you’re coming from out-of-town, this posh hotel is the obvious crash pad. The vintners even stay here, which adds up to a hotbed of wine-focused casual conversation in the elevator and by the morning coffee service. I spent every free second by the gorgeous salt-water pool and got to chit-chat with several winemakers in the hot tub.

Accommodations here are first class with opulent, marble bathrooms, chic, curated furnishings and a view of the golf course. Needless to say, service was first-rate.

Drinking for a Good Cause

There’s a wine tasting lunch on Thursday but for most attendees, the kickoff is Friday morning with a Meet the Kids Day. You’ll be escorted to a nearby venue to meet youngsters who have benefited from festival proceeds. Some of the younger children are adorably dressed in the costume of the career they want to have when they grow up.

Looking around Naples, it’s hard to imagine that pockets of poverty exist, but they do.
The festival’s charitable arm has impacted dozens of nonprofits in the community. The reach is wide and includes mental health programs, early childhood education and grief counseling. I spoke with an autistic teen who had been positively impacted by a therapeutic horseback riding program and a young Haitian-born woman who had recently graduated from Columbia University with the assistance of numerous programs supported by the festival.

Dine with the Elite

Get ready to hobnob your heart out. On Friday evening, you’ll be chauffeured to an intimate dinner held at the private home of a trustee. Festivalgoers are randomly assigned to one of several dozen homes, with fabulous food, wine and décor being the unifying factors. Each dinner pairs a celebrated chef with at least one world-renowned vintner. Chefs fly in for the occasion and include Thomas Keller, Emeril Lagasse and Charlie Palmer.

My dinner was held under the moonlight in the fragrant garden of a magnificent estate. The two vintners, the charismatic Italian Marilisa Allegrini and famed French producer Alfred Tesseron, President of Château Pontet-Canet, stole the evening. Their wines were paired with a mouth-watering, multi-course menu cooked by Chef Ashley Christensen of Poole’s Diner in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her risotto cakes and Wagyu short ribs were standouts. We drank many esteemed wines; the dry red 2015 Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG was one of my favorite pours, offering nuanced herbal notes and hints of fresh pepper.

I didn’t know a soul, but my gracious hostess and the 20 or so guests were all very welcoming. I was able to converse at length with both vintners. I chatted with Monsieur Tesseron about his family’s fabled cognac, which I had the good fortune to sample. Marilisa Allegrini passionately promotes not only her family’s wine but all wine from the Valpolicella area.

After the meal, guests and vintners danced as the band played retro pop hits late into the night.

Raise Your Paddle for Charity

The live auction takes place on Saturday afternoon at the Ritz-Carlton. First, there’s a casual lunch where chefs from select Ritz Carlton properties around the world prepare delectable tidbits and noshes. As you’d expect, the wine flows so freely you could practically bathe in it. A big surprise, Kool & The Gang performed this year!

Once the auction started, it became crystal clear that festivalgoers have very deep pockets, with several of the 61 auction lots going for over a million dollars.

Auction lots featured wines from the most revered vineyards across the globe paired with out-of-this-world experiences, including a tennis lesson with John McEnroe, a Mediterranean cruise aboard a super yacht and a customized Bentley.

Watching the paddles being raised during energetic bidding wars provided nail-biting fun. What might appear to be an ostentatious display of wealth and one-upmanship takes on a different light when you realize the millions of dollars are all going to charity.

The Wine Down

After the auction, guests danced the night away to live music on the lawn of the Ritz-Carlton. Bonfires and a buffet of down-home barbeque favorites added a casual note.

Brunch

Sunday morning’s brunch at the Ritz-Carlton is the grand finale. It gave me the opportunity to speak with several producers, including the great Tuscan wine authority Piero Antinori. He told me he continues to attend the Naples Wine Festival because of the positive impact it has on the community. Many of his esteemed colleagues journey here from around the world each year for the same reason.

It Costs A Pretty Penny

A long weekend at the Naples Winter Wine Festival doesn’t come cheap. The price tag per couple is a jaw-dropping $12,500, inclusive of all events. Keep in mind that charity is at the heart of this festival. Since the festival’s inception in 2001, over 212 million dollars have been raised. Every penny goes directly to local charities that focus on improving the health and education of the county’s youth.

Sip and Savor

I drank exceptional wine at the festival, including several rare bottles from the Domaines Barons de Rothschild. The deep-purple 2009 Château Pontet-Canet made from biodynamic grapes had a complex nose of black currant with a smidge of violet that swept me off my feet. Several Cabs from Gargiulo Vineyards in Napa were noteworthy.

These wines were spectacular but it’s the personal connection with the world’s great wine producers coupled with witnessing the community’s overwhelming generosity that made this once-in-a-lifetime trip worth the big price tag.