Wine was not the only thing flowing at Mount Vernon this weekend. Money was too. According to Stephanie Brown, director of marketing at Mount Vernon, three sold-out evenings of 1,500 guests each night garnered more than $100,000 for the estate.
Featured wineries AmRhein Wine Cellars, Barboursville Vineyards, Breaux Vineyards, Hillsborough Vineyards, Horton Cellars Winery, King Family Vineyards, North Mountain Vineyard & Winery, Oasis Winery, Rappahannock Cellars, Rockbridge Winery, Stone Mountain Vineyards, Swedenburg Estate Vineyard, Waterford Vineyards, Williamsburg Winery, Willowcroft Farm Vineyards, and Wintergreen Winery provided a variety of wines for guests to sample in the tents.
Outside, there was room for guests to picnic on the lawn. To enhance their wine-tasting pleasure, guests could purchase fruit and cheese boxes — a fresh selection of fruit, cheese, summer sausage, crackers, wine biscuits and Virginia peanuts. A variety of hot and cold food and desserts was also available for guests to purchase, as were glasses and bottles of wine.
Situated on the piazza lawn overlooking the Potomac River, guests also enjoyed a limited number of private tables, which featured Mount Vernon wines, fruit, meat and cheese platters and VIP table service.
Jim Rees, executive director, presided over the toastmaster program each evening, introducing George Washington and sharing a toast with him and the toastmaster. Serving as toastmasters were: David Walker, comptroller general of the U.S., on Friday; Gerry Connolly, chair, Fairfax Board of Supervisors, on Saturday; and Supreme Knight Gordon W. Murchie on Sunday night.