Wine Auction Will Benefit Santa Monica-Malibu Schools

SANTA MONICA, CA – The Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation (SMMEF) is hosting its third annual Santa Monica-Malibu Wine Auction on Sunday, May 6 at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, the hotel sponsoring the event.

Guests will sample tastings from more than 30 wine and food vendors at the event, which will raise funds for all Santa Monica and Malibu public schools. The evening will also feature exciting live and silent auctions, dessert tastings and dancing.

“We invite all parents and community members to this incredible celebration of wine, food and
our schools,” said David Vukadinovich, President of the SMMEF Board of Directors. “It’s
an extraordinary evening of top-notch tasting and auctions, all to raise funds for arts, STEM,
instructional aides, and more for our students.”

The first two wine auctions raised a combined $374,000 for local schools. All proceeds from the
event benefit the SMMEF, which funds programs at every school in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, according to the press release. Staff and programs funded by the Education Foundation include arts
education for the district’s 4,900 elementary students, 87 instructional assistants, and enrichment grants for all 16 schools in the district. Most schools decide to use these grants to provide STEM programs, expanded arts curriculum, or student wellness programs, according to the press release.

Santa Monica Wine Auction 2017 from Santa Monica-Malibu Ed. Fdn. on Vimeo.

Wine, beer and spirit tastings include The Wine House, Bonaccorsi Wine Company, Carlisle Winery & Vineyards, Domaine de la Cote, Dragonette, Empress 1908 Gin, Far Niente Winery, Folk Machine, Foxen, Margerum, Nomadica Wine, Orin Swift, Pali Wine Co., Prisoner, Revel Wine, Sandhi, Stolpman and Three Weavers.

The event’s wine auction lots will include wines from some of the above, plus Hourglass, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Sine Qua Non, Aonair, Gaja, Caymus Vineyards, Kistler, JM Cellars, Betz Family Winery, Duckhorn Vineyards, Delille Cellars, Vueve Clicquot, Justin, Frank Family Vineyards, The Ojai Vineyard, Turley Wine Cellars, Bonaccorsi Wine Company, Upchurch Vineyard, Epoch Estate, Arrow & Branch and much more.

The event is presented by Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows/MSD Capital, Kaiser Permanente and Santa Monica Place/Macerich, but many other local businesses are sponsoring the event through the Education Foundation's Corporate Partner program. The local businesses include Cedars-Sinai; Edison International; FreeAssociates; Harding Larmore Kutcher & Kozal, LLP; OneWest Bank; Pacific Park; Pence Hathorn Silver; Saint John’s Health Center Affiliation Endowment Fund; Stifel; UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica; DLR Group; Gelson's Markets; Keygent LLC; and Khedr Management Company.

Tickets range from $150-225. For full details about the event and to purchase tickets, visit smmwineauction.org.

Photo and video courtesy of the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation