NYIT Gold Coast Classic Celebrates 10 Years
Old Westbury, N.Y., March 21, 2007: New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) will host its 10th annual Gold Coast Classic, a series of food and wine events, from Wednesday, April 25 to Friday, April 27. Proceeds from the three-day event will benefit NYIT student scholarships and academic programs.
NYIT, in collaboration with Quarterly Review of Wines (QRW), will honor oenology and culinary leaders from around the world. This year’s Professional Excellence Award recipients are Michael Aaron, chairman, Sherry-Lehmann Wine and Spirits, Wine Industry Awardee; John Shafer, chairman, Shafer Vineyards, Oenology Awardee (Calif.); and Miguel Torres Jr., director of marketing, Torres Group, Oenology Awardee (Spain).
Gold Coast Classic event schedule:
In Good Taste: Wednesday, April 25, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
NYIT’s beautiful and historic de Seversky Center provides the backdrop for a special food and wine tasting experience. Attendees can sample an eclectic array of culinary delights and wines from the best local, national, and international restaurants and wineries. General admission tickets are $80 (includes valet parking); VIP tickets are $150, which includes early entry and a special reception at 5:45 p.m. NYIT’s de Seversky Center is located on the college’s Old Westbury, N.Y., campus, on Northern Boulevard, one mile east of Glen Cove Road.
Winemaker’s and Chef’s Dinner: Thursday, April 26, 6:30 p.m.
A fabulous four-course dinner paired with the best wines from the honorees’ collections. Professional Excellence awardees will share their expertise and experiences in the ultimate Italian setting of Mario Batali, Joseph Bastianich, and Lidia Bastianich’s Del Posto Ristorante, 85 Tenth Ave., New York City. Tickets are $500 per person.
NYIT/QRW Professional Excellence Awards: Friday, April 27, 6:30 p.m.
Join NYIT and QRW for the presentation of the 2007 Gold Coast Classic Professional Excellence Awards at The Pierre, located on Fifth Ave. at 61st St., New York City. The black-tie event includes dinner and dancing, as well as live and silent auctions. Tickets are $350 per person.
For sponsorship opportunities, ticket purchases or more information, please contact Pamela Bottge, NYIT’s director of development, at 516.686.7848 or e-mail wine@nyit.edu.
About the Honorees
Wine Industry Award
Michael Aaron, chairman, Sherry-Lehmann Wine and Spirits
When Michael Aaron officially joined the family business, Sherry-Lehmann, in 1958, he was no stranger to the wine and spirits industry. At the age of 14 he worked in Sherry-Lehmann’s warehouse assembling wine racks and continued to work behind the scenes through his teenage years.
While in college he held diverse positions in the industry learning its various aspects. He worked in the vineyards of Almaden in California and at Louis Eschenauer in Bordeaux; he apprenticed at the House of Bollinger in Champagne; and he learned the importer side of the trade through positions held at Excelsior Wine and Spirits.
Aaron’s numerous distinguished awards include: the Ordre du Merite Agricole by the French government, the title of Mousquitaire d’Armagnac in 1998 by the Southwestern France Tourist Board, European Wine Council’s European Wine Ambassador for 1999, “Retailer of the Year” by Beverage Dynamics magazine in 2001, the title of Chevalier by l’Ordre du Coteaux de Champagne in 2002, and the Medaille de la Ville de Bordeaux by Mayor Alain Juppé in June of 2003.
Oenology Award (Calif.)
John Shafer, chairman, Shafer Vineyards
Little in the first half of John Shafer’s life foreshadowed a successful career as a Napa Valley vintner. He grew up in Chicago, Ill., and later worked for 23 years in the corporate world of publishing. In 1973, by the age of 47, Shafer left that world behind and moved with his family to Napa Valley, where he purchased a hillside vineyard on land that had first been planted with wine grapes in the 1880s.
Adopting a hands-on approach from day one, Shafer could be seen riding on his tractor as he cultivated the family’s rugged new estate beneath the towering Stags Leap Palisades. In 1978, he made the first Shafer wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon, which was released in 1981, winning over critics and consumers alike. In the mid-1980s, John played a pivotal role in the establishment of the prestigious Stags Leap District appellation, now recognized as one of the world’s best regions for the cultivation of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Today, he is Shafer Vineyard’s chairman of the board and focuses on long-range strategic planning and export sales. He also spearheads Shafer’s many philanthropic engagements.
Oenology Award (Spain)
Miguel Torres Jr., director of marketing, Torres Group
Growing up immersed in the culture of great wine, Miguel Torres Jr. learned early the secrets of wine making. As the son of Miguel Agustin Torres and Waltraud Maczassek, he followed in the steps of generations of Torres family wine makers.
Now, as director of marketing for Torres Group, Torres is committed to the family business, which owns wineries around the globe, including locations in Spain, Chile and California. Each winery produces its own unique award-winning wine, including Grans Muralles, Mas Borrás, Mas La Plana, and Fransola.
Torres studied business and management at the ESADE University in Barcelona, before embarking on a career in the perfume business. After working for Carolina Hererra perfumes in New York City, he returned to wine making as manager of the Jean Leon Winery, a part of the Torres Group since 1995. According to Torres, Jean Leon wines have their own distinct personality separate from the style of the Torres wines. For this reason, the winery continues to work with Jaume Rovira, the oenologist who first made a Jean Leon wine in 1969.
About NYIT
NYIT is the college of choice for more than 14,000 students enrolled in more than 100 specialized courses of study leading to undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees in academic areas such as architecture and design; arts and sciences; education and professional services; engineering and computing sciences; health professions, behavioral, and life sciences; management; and osteopathic medicine. As a private, nonprofit, independent institution of higher learning, NYIT embraces an educational philosophy of career-oriented professional education for all qualified students and supports applications-oriented research to benefit the greater global community. Students attend classes at NYIT’s campuses in Manhattan and Long Island, as well as online and in a number of programs throughout the world. To date, more than 69,000 alumni have earned degrees at NYIT. For more information, visit www.nyit.edu.
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