Wine, food fundraiser for hospital back for 20th year

Mix fantastic wines from all over the world with delicious meals from all over the Hudson Valley, put them together with a good cause, and you have a recipe for one of the region's premier parties.

 This year marks the 20th annual Taste of the Hudson Valley, which serves as Saint Francis Hospital's main fundraiser and has brought in more than $1 million for the Poughkeepsie hospital since 1999. It has helped to expand the trauma center.

More than 45 restaurateurs are bringing food to The Grandview on Nov. 2, where there will be 80 to 100 high-end wines to sample, the Michael Dell Orchestra performing and a host of cool auction items on which to bid.

This year's auction prizes include everything from a New York Giants helmet autographed by last year's Super Bowl-winning team, to a pair of tickets to an upcoming Ani DiFranco show at the Bardavon, to a week in an oceanfront mansion in Mexico for five couples, which includes the services of a full-time staff.

But the real key to making the event work is pretty simple: It's a darn good time.

"The focus is on making it an incredible event for our guests. It doesn't feel like a hospital benefit," said Robert Lane, president of the Saint Francis Health Care Foundation. "It's like the last big party of the year before we head into the holiday madness."

It takes the whole year to select the wine, said Peter Landolt, wine director of Viscount Wines & Liquor, which has partnered with the foundation on Taste of the Hudson Valley for a decade.

Landolt and co-worker Daniel Mochon have chosen wines from France to New York, California to Canada, Argentina to Italy - almost anywhere wine is made.

And with the wines served at this year's event coming in at an average $50 a bottle, it's a chance for most people to try wine they wouldn't otherwise.

"I truly believe it is every business' responsibility and obligation to give back to the community because if not for the community, we don't have a business," Landolt said.

For Lane and Landolt, the true heroes of the Taste of the Hudson Valley are the restaurateurs, who in stressful economic times are in many cases operating their eateries while also staffing and providing food for the four-hour event.

Jerry Crocker, who with his wife, Susan Crocker, runs Holberts Catering and Backyard Bistro, has provided food for the event for a few years and loves supporting the cause. But he's got his own reasons for looking forward to the annual event.

"It's a blast to do, and it's a blast to participate in, from both sides of the table," he said.

While food providers are given three tickets to the event, Crocker said Holberts purchases a fourth, so staffers can take turns checking out the offerings of their fellow chefs.

"It's not just to taste their food, but to meet them," Crocker said. "As a chef/restaurateur, it's a lot of fun for me."

And for everyone else.