The 9th Annual

Westchester Wine Experience

Presented by

  Rotary Club of Pleasantville  

Benefiting Local Charities

 

 

Saturday, March 14, 2009

(1:00pm to 4:00pm)

at

Pace University (Pleasantville Campus)

The Kessell Student Center

Tickets:  In Advance:   $45.00

               At the Door    $50.00

 

for ticket information call 914 310-0739

 

This year's event promises to be another sparkling success,

Thanks in advance to this year's sponsors:

                Prospero's Winery,   WFAS-AM,   WFAS-FM,   Westchester Magazine,  Mahopac National Bank

and to our participating

 

RESTAURANTS/CATERERS

WINERIES

 

Bisou Patisserie & Cafe, Pleasantville
Bollywood Bistr0

Cheese Warehouse

Crabtree Kittle House- Chappaqua
Dockside Pub – Mahopac
Eagle Coffee International - Carmel

Grappolo -Chappaqua

Haven - Pleasantville

Ironhorse Grill - Pleasantville

Jack and Dyl's -Tarrytown

John Michael @ Purdys Homestead

Lexington Square Cafe - Mt. Kisco

Longfords Ice Cream
MacMenamin's Grill - New Rochelle

 Main Street Sweets-Tarrytown
Mediterraneo - Pleasantville

Peter Pratts Inn - Yorktown Heights
Riviera Restaurant - Pleasantville

Strega - Pleasantville

The North End, White Plains

Umami Cafe - Croton-on-Hudson
Watercolor Cafe-Larchmont

 

 

 

 

Allied Importers

Banfi

Captain Lawrence Brewery

Click Wine Group

Cumulus Wines

WJ Deutsch

Dr. Frank Wines

Don Sebastiani and Sons

DFV Wines

Fedway Imports

Frances Ford Coppola Presents

Fredrick Wildman

Herron Hill

Icon Estates

J Lohr

Mendocino Wine Co.

Michael Shaw

Mionetto USA

 Millbrook Vineyards

Monarchia Matt International

Palm Bay International

Prospero Winery

Rad Grapes 

Sherbrooke Cellars

Vineyard Brand

Vias Wines

Wine Bow

 

   
Wine festival raises money for charity
(Original publication: March 25, 2007)
PLEASANTVILLE - Hundreds of people found a good incentive to sip wine in the early afternoon yesterday - charity.

Friends and couples milled around the Kessel Campus Center at Pace University, sampling some 200 wines and an array of foods from local restaurants at the fundraising Westchester Wine Experience. The Pleasantville Rotary Club, which sponsored the event, will use the proceeds to provide relief to poor families in other parts of the world.

For Michele Camardella of West Harrison, that made the wine tastings even more enjoyable.

"It's a good cause. You don't mind spending the money," said Camardella, 39, who was sipping a glass of pinot noir and sampling a serving of clams casino.

Camardella and friend Tricia Murphy of Yonkers were pleased to discover new restaurants in the area, especially ones that featured live music, and to learn about wines from Germany, Chile and other countries.

"The selection of wines is fantastic," said Murphy, a 38-year-old sales analyst, who was sipping a chardonnay from Italy.

Vendors at the event educated ticketholders about grapes, grape blends and food pairings. Art Prudhomme, a sales representative from the distributor Southern Wine & Spirits of New York Inc., said he benefits from the interaction with wine drinkers.

"They're asking questions and giving me feedback on the way," he said. "It teaches me what the consumer is looking for."

The wine distributors, wineries and local restaurants all donate their time and their products to the event. Pace University donated the space for the Wine Experience.

Revenue came from the audience, estimated at 600 people, who paid $45 or $50 to get into the Westchester Wine Experience.

In past years, the Pleasantville Rotary Club has raised money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation and for local ambulance corps and has paid to provide lunch at high schools in South Africa.

The Rotary Club "hit the jackpot" when it launched the wine festival seven years ago, said Janet Di Benedetto, a club member and former Rotary district governor who helped organize the event. The public seems to have grown more interested in drinking and learning about wine in recent years, she said.

"We have pancake breakfasts. We sell oranges and grapefruits in autumn. But this is our big one," said Di Benedetto.