Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation (DCWAF) is pleased to announce that the 17th Annual Destin Charity Wine Auction Festival presented by the Jumonville Family raised more than $3.8 million for children in need in Northwest Florida. The record-breaking results are a staggering $1.8 million increase over the previous year.

Hosted April 22 and 23, the 17th Annual Auction was the first in-person auction experience produced by the foundation since 2019 following two years of virtual auctions. With a sold-out crowd of 600 guests, the proceeds of the auction benefit Destin Charity Wine Auction Festival’s 15 partner children’s charities in Northwest Florida.

“The results of this year’s auction far exceeded anything we could have ever dreamed,” said John Russell, President of the Destin Charity Wine Auction Festival. “We expected to show growth when compared to the past two virtual auctions, but we had no idea we would beat our best auction by over a million dollars! We are so grateful to our supporters from the wine and culinary fields but also to our board of directors and the patrons that attended the auction and raised their paddles high and often. What cannot be overstated is the impact these funds will have on our supported charities. They have battled through the pandemic to continue to deliver their services, often at great risk to themselves, so that the children of our community would know they were not forgotten. We cannot wait to present the largest checks in our history to our charity partners.”

The auction weekend began Friday, April 22, with 10 patron dinners hosted along the Emerald Coast, collectively raising more than $720,000. The live auction kicked off on Saturday, April 23, with the Magnum Force lot (50 magnums from vintners past and present) which raised a record winning bid of $70,000. The highest single-selling lot of the afternoon was a trip with private air passage to Middleburg, VA, which sold for $110,000. A luxurious 7-night stay in the British Virgin Islands aboard a four-bedroom Moorings 52.4 monohull captained by Chef Tim Creehan sold for $70,000, while an immersive trip to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail complete with private air passage, courtesy of NetJets, sold for $75,000.

Tradition was altered this year to offer a special 9-liter of Ellison Ingram Cuvée, named in honor of long-time supporters Doug and Merrisa Ingram’s nine-year-old son, who tragically passed away last year. This lot sold for $65,000 and then again for $75,000, raising a grand total of $140,000. Proceeds from this lot will benefit the Ellison Ingram Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to children in Northwest Florida who have previously benefited from one of Destin Charity Wine Auction Festival’s partner charities. Other notable lots included a trip to Costa Rica which sold five times for a total of $112,500, a trip to Napa with an intimate wine dinner hosted by Forman Vineyards that sold for $54,000, an immersive trip to Italy that sold four times for a total of $160,000, and a customizable trip to Bordeaux that sold four times for a total of $140,000.

This year’s Paddle Raise also broke all previous records, raising more than $340,000. The funds raised at the 17th Annual Destin Charity Wine Auction will be distributed to 15 local non-profit organizations for specific projects and programs that benefit children. Destin Charity Wine Auction Festival’s charity partners for 2022 include AMIkids Emerald Coast, Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast, Children in Crisis, Children’s Volunteer Health Network, Emerald Coast Autism Center, Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center, Food for Thought, Habitat for Humanity of Walton County, Mental Health Association of Okaloosa and Walton Counties, Opportunity Inc., Shelter House of Northwest Florida, The Arc of the Emerald Coast, Westonwood Ranch and Youth Village.

This year’s auction comprised 46 Live Lots, eight Cellar Lots, 37 Super Silent Lots, and 137 Silent Lots featuring rare wines, luxury travel experiences, and many other one-of-a-kind items. As the top charity fundraising event in Northwest Florida, the Destin Charity Wine Auction Festival is currently ranked fifth among the nation’s top charity wine auctions by Wine Spectator Magazine. The money raised at this year’s auction will be presented to Destin Charity Wine Auction Festival’s charity partners during a special check presentation ceremony in September.

The dates for next year’s Destin Charity Wine Auction Festival weekend are April 28-29, 2023. For more information on the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation, visit their website.

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