Wines in the Wild annual event to be held at Bailey Homestead Preserve
SCCF is offering the community an opportunity to explore Bailey Homestead Preserve, all while enjoying wine and hors d’oeuvres.
“This will be an opportunity for people to see the property,” Wines in the Wild Co-Chair Linda Uhler said.
The event began nine years ago after SCCF started looking to do a fundraiser.
“My husband and I owned a wine store and Tom is a wine lover. Some how we came up with the concept and off we went,” Uhler said.
The event, which offers something new every year, has grown since its inception.
For the first time, the SCCF event will be held at Bailey Homestead Preserve, 1300 Periwinkle Way, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5.
“This is one of the first events of the season,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity for people to see their friends and neighbors that have been gone for the summer.”
Tickets are $75 per person in advance, $85 at the door. Uhler urges individuals to purchase tickets ahead of time by calling (239) 472-2329, so they can plan for the appropriate amount of food and wine.
The event will feature six wine stations – three white and three red – all having a connection to the environment either in the way the grapes grow, or the pretty flower or bird on the bottle’s label.
“We are looking for value and quality. Tom has never used the same ones twice,” Uhler said of the wines offered.
Leslie Adams Catering will provide food, which will circle the six wine stations.
As attendees enter the event they will be given a wine glass. Uhler said they will have the opportunity to visit each station gracing the main part of the Homestead. Each of the six stations will either have a current, or former SCCF board member, or someone from the senior staff, manning the table.
“As you move from station to station, you get to see different people. You get to socialize six different times,” Uhler said.
Each of the stations will also afford attendees the opportunity to learn about the preserve through the information provided. Uhler said two of the stations include the windmill and honey house.
Wines in the Wild will also offer attendees the opportunity to participate in an auction revolving around the event’s theme, Celebrating Our Good Nature. She said some of the items celebrate the islands through such unique experiences as sunset cruises, fishing and birding trips and a hoedown at The Community House. Other auction items are food and wine related.
Bank of the Islands is the presenting sponsor of the 2016 Wines in the Wild. The wine sponsors are Richard, Calli and Mead Johnson.
“We appreciate the partnership, which the bank has had with Wines in the Wild over the years,” said Tom and Linda Uhler in a prepared statement. “This event would not be nearly as successful without their support. Thanks to the Roepstorffs and the entire Bank of the Islands staff.”
The money raised during Wines in the Wild will go towards SCCF’s programs. The organization offers environmental education, land acquisition, landscaping for wildlife, marine research, nature resource policy, sea turtle conservation and wildlife habitat management.
For more information about SCCF, visit www.blog.sccf.org.