When spring gala season reaches full crescendo, few evenings ship the form of multisensory bacchanal because the Houston Symphony’s Wine Dinner and Collector’s Public sale. On Could 2, a sold-out crowd of 365 fashionable visitors made a grand entrance at Jesse H. Jones Corridor for the Performing Arts, the place advantageous wine, lavish décor, and a five-course feast awaited.
A revelry worthy of Dionysus himself. In black-tie, after all.
Main the cost have been Elia and Michael Gabbanelli, gala chairs and proud heirs of the famed Gabbanelli accordion household — a becoming contact of musical lineage. They have been joined by Jack Matzer, whose stewardship of the collector’s public sale helped orchestrate the night’s finale: Greater than $900,000 raised for the symphony’s Training and Neighborhood Engagement initiatives, which deliver music to varsities, hospitals, and underserved venues.
The lobby buzzed with vitality as visitors in all their finery sipped champagne and circled the silent public sale, eyes gleaming on the fabulousness of oenophilic riches. Standout tons included six classic bottles of Pink Bordeaux, two bottles of 1982 Château Margaux (sure, the unicorn classic), and a week-long Tuscan getaway for these dreaming of winery vistas and sun-drenched serenity. Bidding was brisk and centered — a couple of visitor regarded able to conduct their very own blind tasting proper on the spot.
On the dinner hour, the scene shifted dramatically as visitors have been ushered onto the Jones Corridor stage, reworked by The Occasions Firm into a luxurious Roman mirage. Towering candelabras topped with coral and ruby blooms stood sentry over lace-red linens strewn with votives, pomegranates, and overflowing grapes. 4 statues, wreathed in greenery, added a mythic aptitude—as if Bacchus himself may come out to pour the following glass. And the following.
But it surely wasn’t simply concerning the wine. Culinary star chef Danny Hint of Potente crafted an formidable five-course menu that married magnificence and indulgence. A standout starter of heirloom tomato and whipped burrata with cucumber ribbons gave option to Potente’s signature black truffle pasta, then diver scallops with candy corn risotto and a show-stealing veal perigeux with goat cheese polenta. Dessert? A double chocolate cake kissed with Chambord and topped with caramel crunch pearls.
Wine pairings, curated by John and Lindy Rydman and Lisa Rydman Lindsey of Spec’s Wines, have been launched by grasp sommelier Steven McDonald, the Pappas Bros. Steakhouse wine skilled who earned the sommelier award on the 2024 Michelin Information Texas ceremony. Company clinked, tasted, nodded in approval — oenophiles united in appreciation.
Amongst these noticed within the fashionable crowd have been Ann and Jonathan Ayre, Betty and Jesse Tutor, Janet Clark, Gary Ginstling and Margaret Lederer, Joan and Robert Duff, Margaret Alkek Williams, Barbara Burger, Lydia Gold, Quentin and Aerin Smith, Hallie Vanderhider and Bobby Dees, Vicki West and Ralph Burch, Mary Lynn Marks, Bob Weiner, Robert Sakowitz, David Peavy and Stephen McCauley, Aggie Foster and Steve Simon, Virginia Clark, Brigette Kalai, Farida Abjani, Jennifer and Scott Allison, Carey Kirkpatrick, Ken and Mady Kades, and Sippi and Ajay Khurana.
