The board members of Vintage Hollywood, the annual wine- and food-tasting event, want as much money as possible to go to this year’s beneficiary, Children’s Action Network, which helps guide foster youth to successful futures. So its members—including two senior producers for The Tonight Show and the owner of Lucques restaurant—set up and break down the tables, plead for donations, and ask winemakers and proprietors to pour their own wines.
The evening under the stars, which will be held on June 13, has attracted such wine lovers and foodies as Courteney Cox, Kyle MacLachlan, and Ben Stiller. Guests mingle and engage with vintners and chefs alike. Board member Arlene Wszalek recalls a guest saying a few years ago, “I am so glad I didn’t go to Grace tonight because [executive chef] Neal Fraser is here!” Another board member, Linda Daly, added, “Mark Peel [executive chef and owner] from Campanile is going to be handing you your little plate of food.”
The board decided to add a Friday-night dinner to thank restaurateurs and winemakers. “It’s like a rehearsal dinner for out-of-town guests,” explains Wszalek. The board members are in charge of food on this evening. “We make pots of chili; we roast potatoes; we have s’mores in the fire pit,” says Daly. Winemakers bring bottles without labels, insisting, “Oh, you have to try this.”
The event—which started in Linda Daly’s backyard and raised $15,000 in 2002—now produces total donations in the low six figures. In addition to Daly and Wszalek, Annie Aft, Mike Alexander, Nancy Boxwell, Gracelyn Brown, Tracie Fiss, Suzanne Goin, and Richard Shephard serve on the board of Vintage Hollywood. Visit vintagehollywood.org or childrensactionnetwork.org.
