Battle of the Pinot Noirs
Dec 06, 2005
About the Event
To view photos of this event, please click here.
To view the menu from this event, please click here.
On December 6, 2005, University Settlement hosted Battle of the Pinot Noirs: America vs. France,
an exclusive wine dinner featuring flights of extraordinary American
and French wines. The evening began with a champagne reception, after
which guests enjoyed flights of fine wines expertly paired with each of
the five gourmet courses. The pairings provided an excellent
opportunity to judge how competitive the up and coming U.S.-based West
Coast winemakers are with their counterparts in Burgundy.
University Settlement Board Members Jeffrey C. Cohen (Managing Director, Banc of America Securities) and James K. Finkel (CEO, Dynamic Credit Partners, LLC) chaired the event.
Bank of America was the lead sponsor. Tables were sponsored by Bear Stearns; Guggenheim Partners; Kingdon Capital Management, LLC; Merrill Lynch; Marathon Asset Management; and Taberna Capital Management, LLC.
An exceptional group of special guests were in attendance, including Eric Asimov, Chief Wine Critic, The New York Times; Gloria Maroti Frazee, Wine Spectator; John Gilman, Bentley Wine;
Rob Kaufelt, Proprietor, Murray's Cheese; Jean Luc Le Dû, Proprietor, Le Dû's Wines; Olivier Masmondet, Director of Sales, Maison Louis Jadot and Maître Sommelier de France; Dr. Sheldon Rabin, private collector;
Brian Robinson, Robinson Wine Consulting; W.R. Tish, wineforall.com; and Rick Weissman, funwithwine.com. These experts served as table hosts, offering their extensive knowledge of wine throughout dinner.
In addition, the evening featured a live auction of fine wines commandeered by John Kapon, President and Auction Director, Acker Merrall&Condit.
