A unique feature at our fundraiser event was the “Wine Pull”.  One of the gals I worked with on the gala had Wine Pulls at a fundraiser event she had been previously involved with.  In case you aren’t familiar with a Wine Pull, here is how ours basically worked.

We would have about 50 – 60 bottles of wine ( with approximately 250 attendees), primarily red wines.  All the bottles would be wrapped alike in wine bags (except for the tissue paper – the red bottles of wine were wrapped with red tissue paper and the white bottles with white tissue).   All the bottles would then be displayed on a beautifully, decorated table.

The bottles of wine varied in price – some below $25, most $25 and above, and a good number of them priced $75 to $250.   For $25 a “pull”, a person would select one bottle of wine from the table.  We would include wine notes inside each bag with every bottle of wine (and sometimes cooking recipes if we could find a good recipe to go with the wine).  The price of the bottle of wine was not included in the bag.  However, we did know the approximate value of the wine.  So, if someone unwrapped their bottle of wine right away (most did) , and if they selected a bottle at least $25 or more (which most bottles were), we would share the price with them.

Our Wine Pull was held during cocktail hour .  We specifically limited the amount of time for the Wine Pull which would cause a sense of urgency for the guests to “pull” a bottle before they were all gone.  We usually sold all the bottles within the first hour of the evening.  Guests found the Wine Pull to be both fun and exciting.

Most of our bottles were donated by committee members or friends who had private wine cellars and were happy to donate a bottle to the cause.  Naturally, this extra detail helped make our Wine Pull an instant success.

Due to a personal conflict, I wasn’t able to work on the gala last year but I was able to attend.  The gala committee did make some changes to the Wine Pull and also when it was conducted during the evening.  “New blood” (new volunteers) on a fundraiser event usually bring some new and different ideas with them which can be a good thing.