Hope to prevail at wine tasting fundraiser

A night of food, wine, music and a chance to make a difference in the lives of families who are helping children battle pediatric cancer is exactly what Jay’s Hope’s 7th annual Blind Wine Tasting offers.

Presented by Signature Salon, this event, a fundraiser for Jay’s Hope Foundation, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday at New City Church in Macon. The funds raised will go toward direct support services for those battling pediatric oncology, explained Christie Johnson, community relations coordinator for Jay’s Hope.

Johnson said the foundation was started by Cindy Gaskins, whose son, Jay, battled cancer for two and a half years. She said Gaskins noticed during her experience with her son that there was a need for direct support services. For children battling cancer, the foundation provides financial assistance to parents, support to pediatric patients as well as counseling and support to siblings. They also provide social events for families and tutors for the patients when they cannot go to school, among a variety of other things.

“There’s no organization like ours in Middle Georgia,” she said. “It’s just one of a few in the state that focuses solely on direct support.”

Teams of four have already registered for the Blind Wine Tasting by selecting to compete with a white or a red wine. Each team has purchased four bottles of the same kind of wine; three of these four bottles will be wrapped for the competition, and the fourth bottle will be put in a winner’s pot, according to Johnson. Attendees will vote for their favorite wines and both a red wine and a white wine winner will be named. Each winning team will take home a bottle of each kind of wine entered in that color.

Although teams are already in place, individual tickets can be purchased for $30 at the door. Johnson said these attendees can taste wines in their color choice, can make notes on each of the wines for their personal use and can vote for their favorite. In addition, all attendees will enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres, raffles, live music by Maggie Renfroe, and a variety of silent auctions including trips to Orlando, Chattanooga and Atlanta, as well as gift cards to local boutiques and restaurants.

“We have a lot of great items people can bid on … that is new this year,” said Johnson. “At the end of the night, everyone gets to take home a sheet with all of the wines listed, and they get a chance to test 40 wines.”

Leigh Wolk of Perry, who will be participating in the fundraiser for the fourth year, is competing with a red team. She said she always looks forward to this event because it is different from anything else in Middle Georgia.

“I like wine; I’m not an expert, but I love to learn about new wines, and it’s a good way of doing it,” she said. “Jay’s Hope is just an excellent organization. I love what they stand for — it’s a two for one. They do such a wonderful job of setting up (the fundraiser). It has gotten progressively more swanky and cool each year. It’s a fun way to raise money for Jay’s Hope and raise awareness for that need in the community.”

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 6:55 AM with the headline "Hope to prevail at wine tasting fundraiser."