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Hundreds of people spent Sunday afternoon tasting wine and eating appetizers at the school of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management for the first DU Vin Wine Festival.
“It’s a great turn out. I’m really happy with the crowd. People are enjoying the food and wine,” said Morgaen Hoxsey, one of the food and beverage directors for the festival.
An HRTM class of 12 seniors planned, executed and coordinated the entire festival. The festival featured a wine pairing dinner last Wednesday and the grand tasting.
The class is called Topics: Wine Festival Class, and is taught by professor Eric Lane, director of operations for HRTM. Now in its first year, the capacity of the class is 12 and this year it happened to be all women who enrolled. The class meets twice a week for two hours each time.
“We spent class time planning, dividing up work, making timelines and meeting with our partner, Republic National Distributing Company,” said Hoxsey, a senior HRTM major.
The class had six weeks to make sure everything was ready for the two events.
“I am looking around, amazed that this was pulled off so quickly. We started with nothing but a name for the festival,” said Rachel Goodman.
The grand tasting cost $52.80 per person and the dinner was $125 per person. The grand tasting featured more than 60 vintners and around 20 different pouring tables. Some of the vintners who participated were Baqueano Winery, Bonded Winery #9, Milbrandt and Mendocino Wine Company.
“I’d say the set-up is convenient and the wine selection is strong,” said Ken Nauman, a DU community member, who heard about the event through a chef in the HRTM School. “We’ve just having a good time. There are very good wines, the food is tremendous.”
Many of the vintners were pouring four or five different labels. Some were pouring wines from around the world, such as Baqueano, who had wines from South America.
“I heard about this from our local distributor, RNDC. I am from out of state, but happened to be in town this weekend, so why not?” said Joel Portmann, from the Baqueano Winery. “It’s been great, a good crowd.”
There were six different appetizers passed around, including bruschetta, spring rolls and pigs in a blanket. There also was a carving station with steak sandwiches and a cheese vendor featuring six different cheeses.
The grand tasting also featured a silent auction with work from emerging-student artists. In the main room, Lamont students were playing a variety of music. The Clark Smith Trio, which plays jazz and The Vino Quartet, which plays classical music, were the two DU bands present.
The wine-pairing dinner included wines from David Arthur Vineyards and a five-course meal designed by the HRTM culinary team. The evening began with a cocktail reception and a string-quartet from the Lamont School of Music. The dinner was served by the students.
Some of the many responsibilities the students had were to analyze the target market, develop sales techniques, decide the food and wine pairings and recruit HRTM students to help with the events.
There were several positions students in the class were assigned. There were two logistics managers, two food and beverage directors, a director of branding and design, a director of public relations, a director of advertising, an event director, a controller, two directors of sales and a director of human resources. Professor Lane was the director of operations. These positions encompassed all the parts of planning an event from start to finish.
“I was in charge of writing press releases and getting the news out to magazines, news stations, DU alumni and hotel associations,” said Goodman, the director of publications.
Each position included numerous responsibilities but the overseer of everyone was the event director.
“As event director, I was in charge of giving everyone the tools they needed to do their jobs,” said Molly McMahon.
The class also incorporated sustainability into the events. They used recyclable and biodegradable products and locally grown foods. Another green aspect was their decision to partner with a hybrid taxi company for guests who needed a ride home.
Another unique aspect of these events is that they generated funds for the HRTM scholarship programs. Each participant had the option to make a donation while visiting the festival’s Web site and proceeds from the festival also contributed to the general scholarship fund.
Not all of the student’s expectations were met because they set them too high for the first year, according to Hoxsey.
“As the first class to do this, we really had high expectations, so now we realize that we will be a strong foundation for years to come,” said Hoxsey.
However, the model is now in place for future classes.
“It is cool because we’ve laid such a quality framework. Everyone is really impressed,” said Goodman. “I have done a lot in the hospitality industry and have never put on an event that functions so well.”
For more information about the festival, visit duvinfestival.com.
