Mutineers, Jordan Winery Stand Up for Water Relief

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- What do you get when you bring together a star-studded cast of Hollywood comedians, vintage spirits, wines and cigars, spectacular auction lots and a lavish three-course meal at Healdsburg's Jordan Vineyard & Winery?  Naturally, you get the Blue Carpet Fundraiser Dinner (Friday, December 10, 2010) benefiting clean drinking water for children in Nepal, brought to you by a partnership between the second-generation winery and Mutineer Magazine.  

Oh, and you also get a dashing special guest in one Jonathan Goldsmith—popularly known for his portrayal of "The World's Most Interesting Man" in Dos Equis ads, a paparazzi-worthy blue carpet entry (blue in honor of water relief, natch) and a guest comedian at each table – to ensure dinner guests are never at a loss for laughs.  

Intrigued yet? We sure hope so, because there's more:

Proceeds Back Mutineer's 2011 Mission to Nepal

The dinner—a deliciously over-the-top prelude to the first-ever Mutineer Magazine Holiday Comedy Festival in Sonoma on Saturday, December 11—will be prepared by Jordan Executive Chef Todd Knoll with wine pairings from the Jordan cellar.  The evening is a catalyst for Mutineer's 2011 trek to Nepal, where staff, select "cultural influencers" and beverage industry reps will install five water filtration systems on behalf of relief organization A Child's Right. The systems will provide clean drinking water to 25,000 at-risk children for ten years.  Magazine editors will blog about the trip along the way and report on the endeavor with significant coverage in the May 2011 issue.

John Jordan—who is donating his facility, culinary and hospitality staff, wine and all cuisine for the dinner—puts it this way: "Some of the simplest things that we take for granted in our everyday lives are often nonexistent in the most impoverished areas of the world."  In line with an aggressive philanthropic agenda at the winery, Jordan's support of Mutineer's water relief efforts is made possible by his commitment to donating his facilities, wines and culinary production to important causes several times a year.

Rare Laughs, Rare Beverages

The intimate, theatrical three-course dinner is the capstone event of the Mutineer Comedy Festival, which brings an elite group of Hollywood humorists into wine country for an unforgettable weekend of laughter.  "It's a rare opportunity to rub elbows with an incredible caliber of comedic talent in wine country," enthuses Mutineer Editor-in-Chief Alan Kropf, a 27-year-old sommelier-turned-scribe who is making waves in beverage media with his millennial-driven publication.

The magazine, founded in 2008 with the goal of bringing fine beverages into the mainstream cultural fray, conceived the idea of importing top comedic talent (festival co-headliners are Natasha Leggero of NBC's "Last Comic Standing" and Comedy Central's "Reno 911," and Bryan Callen of "MadTV" and HBO's "Entourage") to Sonoma following successful charitable collaborations with comedians in Los Angeles, the magazine's home.  To wit, the publication will host a contest at LA's Laugh Factory November 18, 2010, to select an additional "wild card" comedian for the weekend.  

Blue Carpet Dinner & Auction Highlights: Hollywood Glamour Hits Wine Country

The collaboration pulls out all the stops when it comes to over-the-top support for water relief.  Dinner guests can look forward to a Hollywood-style entrance complete with photographers and TV crews (seriously); haute hors d'oeuvres and pre-dinner sips in the barrel room; a three-course holiday-themed feast; phenomenal auction lots comprised of rare vintage spirits (think mature Cognac and 40-year-old Scotch) from Preiss Imports and library vintages of Jordan wines, some in large format; side-splitting entertainment in the form of hilarious stories from Hollywood laugh elite and Goldsmith; tuxedoed "sommeliers" from Mutineer Magazine; live music during reception and after-dinner DJ dance party.  

Baroque blue-themed decor from Pineapple Planet of Petaluma will complete the scene. Blue attire is encouraged.

Food (Or Should We Say Water?) for Thought

Eric Stowe, Executive Director of A Child's Right, finds that "Mutineer Magazine and Jordan's interest in the work that A Child's Right is doing is helping to make global water relief a beverage issue that a younger generation can understand and get involved with."

Kropf sees it this way: "There's nothing funny about the need for clean water.  But bringing top comedic talent – and lots of laughter – to wine country to raise funds for water relief among at-risk kids?  Priceless."  

Tax Deductible Tickets

Blue Carpet Dinner: $350 per person; tables accommodate groups of eight and ten. Tickets are available at http://www.mutineermagazine.com/pages/dinner.php or by calling (707) 658-1081.

High-resolutions photographs, event logos/artwork and more information about comedians, auction items, Nepal trip and the awesomeness that is Mutineer are all available upon request.  Contact Courtney Cochran at HIP TASTES® Communications, (415) 814-2908 or [email protected].

SOURCE Jordan Vineyard & Winery