List of great events from 2001!

December 8 - Holiday Sparkling Wine Dinner
A yearly black-tie tradition, this year featured guest Randy Meyer from Korbel.  We had the best from winemaker Randy and a little 97' Artist Series Cab from Kenwood to compliment the cuisine of Restaurant-155.  Live Jazz and a killer view made for a special evening! 65 attendees, including five new couple members.
Click here to see photos and the flyer   Happy Holidays!

Nov 10 - Annual Wines of Fall
A great event at the Ulrich Museum of Art on the Wichita State Campus.  40 seasonal wines and exceptional food prepared by the AIWF Board members.  An artful evening of food, wine, art and music.  There were over 75 folks in attendance this year.
Click here to see the flyer

Oct 13 - Benziger Proprietors Wine Dinner
Once again Wichita AIWF was host to Chris Benziger from Benziger Family Winery for a memorable evening at Wichita Country Club.  Some very special wines where brought in just for this dinner.  Chef Damian Lehman created a masterpiece of flavors, textures and colors in a menu that was more than complimentary to the "Killer Wines!"  Chris was informative and entertaining, and he donated a magnum of Reserve Cab for the Culinary Scholarship raffle.  Click here for some photos and to view the flyer

Sept 23 - Kansas Beef Council "Cattle Crawl"
We headed'em up and moved em' out, for this great annual progressive dinner featuring Kansas Beef and great wines.  Two separate groups of 55 each (another sold out event) enjoyed spectacular food as we rode the old town trolley to each of the venues.  Click here for some photos and information

Sept 22 - Midwest Beerfest 2001
The first annual AIWF Midwest Beerfest was a great success despite the sadness from the loss of lives at the World Trade Center and many other competing events.  More than 1300 folks enjoyed the festivities; silent auction, live music, seminars and great brews.  Click here for photos and information

Sept 20/21 - MWBF Beer Dinners
Part of the Midwest Beerfest, two separate Gourmet Beer Dinners were enjoyed, prior to Saturday's main event.  Click here to enjoy the dinners through photos

Sept 8 - "Zoobilee 2001" 
The Wichita Zoo annual fund raiser is a great opportunity to recruit new AIWF members.  The chapter board and membership booth helps spread the word and is a fun night for all!  Click here for some photos

August 28 - "An Evening In New Zealand"
What a great way to visit New Zealand with out leaving Wichita!  Guest wine expert Joe Ancona, from Vineyard Brands, guided the tasting of wines from Villa Maria paired with spectacular New Zealand-style cuisine prepared by Chef Mike Czaplewski.  Read Board Member John Geckles observations and re-live the evening or suffer regret for missing it!
Click here to see the event flyer and some photos of this fun event! 

July 28 - Martinis by the Pool
This event provided a great opportunity to sample some of the finest Vodkas and Gins available, straight up or as a Martini.  Attended by 50 folks - the event was a great success!  Spectacular food was served by Timberline Steakhouse & Grill.  A great Martini making demonstration was provided by Tina Rose and assistant from "Mort's" in Old Town. Check out some of the photos from this event. 

June 9 - The Wines of Summer
This was an informal annual tasting of over 30 wines that are perfect for this time of year.  The event was held at the Ulrich Museum of Art on the WSU campus here in Wichita. Attended by over 70 guests who enjoyed great member created food items as they learned about some new releases and new wines available.  All in the "Artful" environment of the Ulrich Museum and accompanied by soft music from a local string trio.
Click here to offer comments about this event.  Click here to see photos

May 10 - Chardonnay Shoot Out
A formal tasting of eight highly rated Chardonnays from various growing regions featuring a taped 3-4 minute "Winemakers notes" discussion with each of the winemakers envolved. This event was lead by chapter chair Guy Bower and included award winning wines from; Columbia Crest, Benziger, Landmark, St Supery, Meridian, Beringer, Gallo of Sonoma and Talbott.  30 people attended this informative event which was held at the Hilton Airport Media theatre. A raffle of the three wines from 1999 vintage raised money for the chapter culinary scholarship fund.  Click here for more information

April 27 & 28 - The 6th Annual Midwest Winefest
This years Winefest was another great success.  On Friday the chapter hosted nine winemaker dinners at some of the top venues throughout Wichita with more than 500 happy attendees.  Saturdays Grand Tasting included; The first Annual Celebrity Chef Cook off - "Intoxicating Deserts", Cooking Demonstrations, Wine Seminars, Diamond & Champagne contest, Silent and Live Auctions, Napa Valley Author Leslie Mansfield, Live Jazz, and more than 350 wines to sample.  Free samples of gourmet food from 10 of Wichita's top restaurants added to this great event.  Preliminary numbers indicate 2800 attendees who contributed nearly $100,000 through the auctions in addition to the gate revenue.  The Winefest has contributed over $700,000 to the Guadalupe Clinic Endowment to date!  Click here to see photos of this years event.

March 22, 2001 - "Mirassou Proprietors Dinner at Marbella Bistro
Special guest Dave Mirassou was our guest host for an evening of food, wine and fun at Marbella Bistro.  Dave offered a little of the history associated with 6 generations of winemaking and explained the family's winemaking philosophy.  Wines tasted and discussed;  1999 Monterey Riesling, 1998 Pinot Blanc, 1998 San Vicente Chardonnay, 1998 Harvest Reserve Pinot Noir and Merlot.  Special thanks to Joe White for helping to make the event a success.  The raffle for some great Mirassou wines and Dodge City Steaks raised $280 for the chapter culinary scholarship fund, thanks to all who played :-)  Thanks also to Arun and the staff at Marbella, Doug Parker and the Dodge City Steak Company and all of you who attended!  This event was $50 for members and $60 for non-members.
Click here to offer comments about this event        Click here to see photos & menu

February 21, 2001 - "Dean & DeLuca World Cheese & Wine Pairing"
A unique opportunity to visit the Wichita shipping facility for this world class purveyor of fine foods and kitchen accoutrement.  The evening began with a brief educational presentation on each cheese and the wine selected to match.  As members and guests then began there tasting journey, small groups were taken on a tour of the automated internet and catalog packing and shipping line.  Guests were offered a chance to purchase select items at a special AIWF discount.  The cost was $25 for members, $35 for non-members. Seating was filled to capacity of 65. 
Click here to offer comments about this event        Click here to see photos

January 21, 2001 - "Come to Momma...a comfort event"
This was a simple, inexpensive event held on a Sunday afternoon at Tanya's Soup Kitchen in Old Town.  Each member/couple attending was asked to bring their favorite comfort food to share, along with several copies of the recipe. The cost was $15 and included a selection of wines provided by the chapter. Seating was limited to 40.
Click here to offer comments about this event