Nashville Wine Auction Recently Hosted the Music City Harvest Party with Special Guest, Joseph Dhafana, Sommelier, and the Captain of Team Zimbabwe From, "Blind Ambition"

NASHVILLE, TENN. — OCTOBER 11, 2023 - The Nashville Wine Auction recently hosted the second annual Music City Harvest Party at The Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory.   The fundraiser hosted Joseph Dhafana, winemaker, sommelier, and the Captain of Team Zimbabwe from the award- winning documentary, "Blind Ambition" as an honored guest. The Nashville Wine Auction is the country’s longest-running charity wine auction and has raised more than $36 million dollars over the years to support local cancer-related nonprofit organizations. For further information and events please visit, Nashville Wine Auction HERE. 

Music City Harvest Party featured international selection of wines from Planeta, Andeval Wines, Phifer Pavitt, Two Hands, Domaine Zind Humbrecht, Craggy Range, Concha y Toro and Mosi Wine.  The guests enjoyed wine under clear skies with wonderful telescopic views of Saturn at one of Nashville’s highest peaks at the Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory with astrophysicist William Teets, the director at the Observatory.  The evening also included a harvest buffet alfresco, live music, Whiskey and Bourbon tastings from Leiper's Fork Distillery, O.H. Ingram, Red Line, Davidson Reserve, and Corsair Distillery.

Amy and Brannan Atkinson, presenting sponsors of the event, graciously emceed a brief program and mission moment where Joseph Dhafana shared his inspirational story about his circuitous path of improbability, passion, dedication, and vision that eventually landed him the in spotlight of the world of wine at the World Wine Tasting Championship (WWTC). For more information about Joseph, please visit https://www.mosiwinesandspirits.com/our-story

“I always say ‘In water you see your own reflection; in wine you see the heart of another.’ This was my experience in Nashville, it feels like my new home in the United States.” said Joseph Dhafana.  “I was reminded to love, taught to share the little I have with the others, and to keep excelling. I will definitely come back and share my wines with the auction in the quest to cure cancer.”

“The Music City Harvest Party was a wonderful event full of wine, stargazing, and music for the Nashville Wine Auction. It is our goal is to continue to attract people who are enthusiastic to learn more about great wines while supporting many local cancer-related charities." states Loren Chumley, president/CEO of the Nashville Wine Auction. Chumley adds “It was such a great honor to host Joseph traveling all the way from Africa as we sampled wonderful wines from all over the world." 

Sponsors include Amy & Brannan Atkinson Giving Fund, Clinical Solutions Pharmacy, The Wilson Group, Sinkers Beverages, C3 Bank and Liberty Mutual.

The next event, The Return of the Epic Party will be November 11th at 8pm at The Hatchery at Acme Feed & Seed. For more information visit HERE.

NASHVILLE WINE AUCTION BENEFICIARIES
American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, Ascension Saint Thomas Foundation, Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee, The Heimerdinger Foundation, HopeKids, Inc., Leukemia Lymphoma Society, Nashville General Hospital Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Middle Tennessee, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, PearlPoint Nutrition Services, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Survivor Fitness Foundation, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

ABOUT NASHVILLE WINE AUCTION

Nashville Wine Auction’s mission is to unite the wine community to fund the fight against cancer. Throughout the year, Nashville Wine Auction hosts three major events – Pairings: The Ultimate Wine and Food Weekend; l’Eté du Vin: The Country’s Longest-Running Charity Wine Auction; and Music City Harvest Party. Established in 1980, the Nashville Wine Auction has raised more than $36 million for organizations whose purpose is directly related to treatment, patient care and the eradication of cancer here in Middle Tennessee. For more details and to make reservations, please visit www.NashvilleWineAuction.com

NASHVILLE WINE COLLECTOR’S PRIZED CELLAR TO BE SOLD TO BENEFIT CANCER RESEARCH, CHILDRENS EDUCATION The Nunnelly Collection will be Auctioned with Global House Acker on May 17-18

The wine collection of a beloved local Nashville wine collector will be auctioned with global wine auction house, Acker, on May 17-18, with net proceeds dedicated to the Nashville Wine Auction and its efforts to fund cancer research, and The Naples Children & Education Foundation. Bill Nunnelly, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and active member of the Nashville community dedicated his wine collection to charity before his passing in 2022. He and his surviving wife, Rosann, were each decades-long members of the organizations, and frequent attendees at wine tasting events all over the country that advocate for the underserved, committed to the betterment of their communities.

The two-day auction will be conducted by Acker, the largest fine wine and spirits auction house in the world and oldest wine merchant in America. Nunnelly’s lots are a featured collection in the sale, alongside other tremendous offerings of top Burgundy, Bordeaux, cult California, and the most highly sought regions of the wine world.

Comprised of nearly 75 lots, The Nunnelly Collection features rare gems including Bordeaux’s 1990 Chateau Haut Brion, 1989 La Mission Haut Brion, and magnums of 1982, 1986, and 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. More exceptional 1982 Bordeaux include Chateaux Latour, Mouton, Gruaud Larose, Calon Segur, Leoville Poyferre, Ducru Beaucaillou, and Leoville Las Cases, plus lauded Burgundy Domaine J.F. Mugnier 1999, 2002, 2005, and 2010 Musigny, and 1999 Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses. Each lot in the collection, which also includes choice selections from Champagne, the Rhone Valley, Italy, and California, represent the best from their respective regions from a lifetime well-spent collecting the world’s finest wines.

Said Loren Chumley, President/CEO of Nashville Wine Auction, “Bill and Rosann Nunnelly have been patrons and supporters of the Nashville Wine Auction for more than 40 years. Their extraordinary generosity to help fund the fight against cancer has been immeasurable. We are so grateful to be a named beneficiary in this tribute to Bill.”

The Nashville Wine Auction raises funds for cancer research through events that encourage generous giving from wine enthusiasts. Since its inception in 1980, Nashville Wine Auction has raised more than $33 million for organizations whose purpose is directly related to cancer research, patient treatment, and caregiver/patient support. Nunnelly served as chairman of the organization in 1987. He was honored with the Norman M. Lipman award for Dedicated Service and Generosity in 2022.

For more information regarding this special auction, visit ackerwines.com, or contact Jamie Pollack, Global Managing Director of Acker at jamie@ackerwines.com.