Philbrook Wine Experience Returns In April

March 22, 2018 (Tulsa, Okla.) Led by Co-Chairs Wendy and Gentner Drummond, the 2018 Philbrook Wine Experience is on pace to break the event’s 2016 record-setting revenue record of $3.2 million. The fundraising weekend features more than 50 top vintners from around the world, including Hirsch Vineyards and Francis Ford Coppola Winery, showcasing their wines to approximately 2,000 guests over three events on April 27-28. All proceeds benefit Philbrook Museum of Art, an 80-year-old, privately funded general art museum nationally known for its compelling and innovative public programs.

“This event provides much needed dollars to continue the Philbrook tradition of excellence and outreach to everyone in the greater Tulsa community. Because of generous Wine Experience donors, Philbrook continues to be on the cutting edge of the art world,” remarked 2018 Co-Chair Wendy Drummond

Philbrook Wine Experience received enthusiastic responses from over 65 top wineries, ultimately settling on 52 from throughout Napa, Sonoma, Central Coast, France, Italy, and the Pacific Northwest. The 2018 Philbrook Wine Experience vintners are:

• 32 Winds
• AldenAlli
• Ancien
• Arietta
• Barra of Mendocino
• Bergstrom Wines
• Boisset Collection
• C. Donatiello
• Chateau Montelena
• Christopher Creek Winery
• COHO Wines
• Cruse Wine Company / Ultramarine Wines
• Darms Lane
• Ehlers Estate
• Flanagan Vineyards
• Francis Ford Coppola Winery
• Frias Family Vineyard
• Gemstone Vineyard
• Giulio Cocchi
• Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyard
• Hess Collection Winery
• Hirsch Vineyards
• Honig Vineyard & Winery
• Joullian Vineyards
• Kamen Estate Wines
• Keenan Winery
• Kermit Lynch
• Kistler Vineyards
• Lail Vineyards
• Land of Promise
• Lede Family Wines
• Lieu Dit Winery
• Mas de Daumas Gassac
• Owen Roe
• Peju Province Winery
• Petrichor Vineyards
• Presqu’ile Winery
• Ramey Wine Cellars
• Raptor Ridge Winery
• Roberts and Rogers
• Rombauer Vineyards
• Saddleback Cellars
• Schweiger Vineyards
• Stone Edge Farm Winery
• Triumph Cellars
• Villa Creek Cellars
• Williams Selyem
• ZD Wines
• Zinke Wines

About the Weekend

On Friday, April 27, the Philbrook Grand Wine Tasting offers guests a casual, happy hour/tasting room environment with more than 50 wineries offering tastings of over 200 different wines alongside nearly two dozen regional restaurants sampling their cuisine. Guests enter Philbrook and then move to the main tent on the Philbrook Lawn where they can meet winemakers and winery owners to discuss and discover each vintage. Limited to 1,000 guests, tickets cost $170 for Philbrook Members and $200 for not-yet Members.

The Grand Wine Tasting on Friday, April 27, features light bites from regional restaurants including:

• Amelia’s
• Antoinette Baking Co.
• Blue Rose Cafe
• Bonefish Grill
• Cedar Ridge
• Five Oaks Lodge
• Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
• in the raw Sushi
• JINYA Ramen Bar
• Juniper
• KEO
• Postoak Lodge & Retreat
• Prhyme
• Siegi’s Sausage Factory
• SMOKE. on Cherry Street
• Tavolo
• The Boiler Room @ The Mayo Hotel
• The Chalkboard Restaurant and Catering
• The Girl Can Cook! Cooking Studio & Kitchen
• The Summit Club
• The Tavern
• The Vault

For Saturday, April 28, the Tent on the Philbrook Lawn transforms into a seated dinner for nearly 400 guests complete with center stage and live auction. Wendy and Gentner Drummond, the 2018 Wine Experience Chairs, worked for nearly a year to arrange this unforgettable sold-out event culminating in an entertaining live auction led by auctioneer and participating vintner Fritz Hatton (Arietta).

Philbrook Wine Experience also features a Trade Tasting and seminar series. Open to members of the wine service or retail businesses, these events offer regional trade the opportunity to learn directly from the winemaker or winery owner of each winery participating. On Friday, April 29, 2 – 4 p.m., the Trade Tasting is free to members of the trade who RSVP in advance. Both Friday and Saturday, the seminar series features a nominal fee and covers a wide range of topics. Participants can attend one or both days.

For further details and all tickets visit Philbrook.org/wine

About the Cause

All proceeds from the Wine Experience benefit Philbrook educational programming and Museum operations including programs like Second Saturdays, which offers free admission and activities on the second Saturday of each month and providing free annual memberships to all Oklahoma public school teachers.
“I am inspired by the philanthropic community that surrounds Philbrook Wine Experience, from those who purchase tickets to the Friday Grand Wine Tasting, to patrons and sponsors of the Saturday dinner and auction, to international vintners who share their wines,” said Philbrook Director Scott Stulen.
“Philbrook provides arts programming to 170,000 visitors annually, and at no cost for more than a third, on a conservative operating budget. The funds contributed through this Wine weekend are critical to making Philbrook a place that welcomes everyone in our community,” Stulen continued.
Patrons of Philbrook Wine Experience Weekend include both long-time supporters of the Museum as well as some first-time benefactors.
First Crush Patrons: Shelly & Alan Armstrong, Bank of Oklahoma, Billie & Howard Barnett, Krista & Charlie Bendana and Donna & Eric Swank, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, Mary & Jim Bush, Cinda & Mark Marra and Pam & Terry Carter, Pat Chernicky & Greg Holt, Patty & Joe Cappy, Karen & Carlin Conner – SemGroup Corporation, Mollie & J.W. Craft, Barbara & Arlo Dekraai, Wendy & Gentner Drummond, Gayle & Frank Eby, Pam & Lee Eslicker, Robyn & Larry Ewing, Jean & Randy Foutch, Helmerich Foundation, Barbara & Steve Heyman, Holliman Family Foundation, Bonnie Klein, Teresa Knox & Ivan Acosta, Beth & Ben Latham, Marilyn & Larry Lee – Ram Energy LLC, Ellen & Carlisle Mabrey III and Terry & John Mabrey – Mabrey Bank, Matrix Service Company, Julie & John Nickel, Cindy & Bob Peterson, Leigh & John Reaves – Asphalt and Fuel Supply, Charles & Peggy Stephenson Family Foundation, Jill & Robert Thomas, Susan & Bill Thomas, Vanessa & Scott Thompson, Kayla & Scott Vaughn, Susie & Don Wellendorf, Mollie Williford, John Steele Zink Foundation, Debbie Zinke, Robert Zinke Jeroboam Patrons: Jack Allen, Jr., Ann & Mark Farrow, Suzanne and Jim Kneale Family Foundation, Julie & Sanjay Meshri, Frauke & Oscar Quiroga, Cheryl Ulmer & Greg Ratliff Magnum Double Patrons: Tom Adelson, Stefanie & Tom Atherton, Joan & Tom Atkinson, The Bama Companies, Inc., Cox Communications, Berry & Regina Mullenix, Ryan Tanner & Jay Krottinger, Debra & Daron Street, Georgeanna & Roger Thomas, T.D. Williamson, Inc.
In addition to the philanthropists who attend the Wine Experience events, other donors, such as The Mary K. Chapman Foundation, The Fulton and Susie Collins Foundation, Susie and Dave Hentschel, George Kaiser Family Foundation, Ruth Nelson and Thomas Murphy, and Susan & Bill Thomas contribute solely to the Creative Opportunity Fund, which directly supports educational programming.
The Philbrook Wine Experience began in 1992 with a modest wine dinner among friends of the Museum. In 2016 the weekend raised over $3.2 million for Philbrook making it Oklahoma’s largest fundraising event and one of the top charity wine events in the nation. A privately funded Museum, Philbrook relies on this biennial event to raise critical funds. For additional information on the Wine Experience, visit Philbrook.org/wine.

About Philbrook

Rooted in the beauty and architecture of an historic home gifted by the Phillips family 75 years ago, Philbrook Museum of Art has grown to become one of the preeminent art museums across the central United States. Highlights of the Museum’s permanent collection include Renaissance and Baroque paintings from the Kress Foundation, one of the greatest surveys of Native American art anywhere, and growing modern and contemporary collections. The Philbrook American art collection includes, among others, works by William Merritt Chase, Alexandre Hogue, and Asher B. Durand.
The Philbrook main campus spans 23 acres of grounds and formal gardens, and features an historic home displaying the museum’s permanent collection, as well as an architectural addition with auditorium, restaurant, library, and education studios. The satellite location in downtown Tulsa showcases Philbrook’s modern and contemporary art collections, as well as the Eugene B. Adkins Collection and Study Center of Native American art.
Philbrook Museum of Art is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday, Philbrook Downtown, 116 E. M.B. Brady St., is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday. Philbrook admission runs $9 for adults, $7 for seniors and university students; Philbrook Members and youth 17 and younger are always free. Philbrook Downtown admission runs $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and university students; Philbrook Members and youth 17 and younger are always free.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Jeff Martin,
Communications Manager
O (918) 748-5352
M (918) 697-9042
JMartin@philbrook.org