2023 Naples Winter Wine Festival Releases Lineup of Featured Sommeliers

The Naples Winter Wine Festival (NWWF) has unveiled its lineup of Featured Sommeliers headlining the 2023 Festival. With the theme “In Perfect Harmony,” the NWWF returns to The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples on February 3-5, 2023, showcasing the finest wines, exquisite cuisine and amazing auction lots benefitting local children.

These featured Sommeliers will share their intimate knowledge of wine vintage, terroir and styles with Festival patrons, enhancing appreciation for the unique and rare wines that will be tasted at Thursday’s special pre-Festival Vintage Cellar event, Friday night’s intimate Vintner Dinners in elegant, private homes and settings throughout Naples, and at Saturday’s signature Live Auction.

The NWWF, the annual fundraiser of the Naples Children& Education Foundation (NCEF), marks its 23rd anniversary, impacting over 50 of the most effective nonprofit organizations in the local community. Since the Festival’s inception, over 300,000 at-risk and underprivileged children in Collier County have been impacted with the essential services and resources they need to excel.

“Each year, the Naples Winter Wine Festival features several of the world’s most acclaimed vintners, celebrity chefs and gifted sommeliers, setting the stage for a weekend of extraordinary wines and unique, one-of-a-kind wine, travel and culinary experiences, and 2023 is no different,” said NCEF Honorary Trustee and 2023 Sommelier Liaison Bruce Nichols. “We are especially excited to welcome so many new names to the list of those who will be pouring the world’s top wines throughout the weekend.”

Here is the complete list of the 2023 NWWF Featured Sommeliers, in alphabetical order:

• Thatcher Baker-Briggs of Thatcher’s Wine in Hayward, California
• Gillian Ballance, MS of Treasury Wine Estates in Napa, California
• Fernando Beteta, MS of High Road Wine & Spirits in Chicago, Illinois
• Pablo Braida, MS of Monarch Restaurant in Dallas, Texas
• Andy Chabot of Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee
• Julie Dalton of The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston in Houston, Texas
• Erik Elliott, MS of Heitz Cellar in St. Helena, California
• Audrey Frick of jebdunnuck.com in New York, New York
• Dana Gaiser, MS of Domaine & Estates in Brooklyn, New York
• Morgan Harris, MS of OMvino in San Francisco, California
• Jennifer Huether, MS of Fresh City Farms in Toronto, Canada
• Élyse Lambert, MS a sommelier consultant in Montreal, Canada
• George Miliotes, MS of Wine Bar George in Orlando, Florida
• Chris Miller, MS of Seabold Cellars in Marina, California
• Andrew “Rusty” Rastello of Single Thread in Healdsburg, California
• Pier-Alexis Soulière, MS of Pasouliere.com in Québec, Canada
• Sarah Thomas of Kalamata’s Kitchen in Dover, New Hampshire
• Scott Turnbull, MS of Winebow in Benicia, California

It should be noted that for 2023, the Naples Winter Wine Festival moves to the first weekend of February, which is one week later than usual. Ticket packages for the 2023 NWWF start at $15,000 per couple for a Double Magnum package and $35,000 for two couples to experience a Jeroboam Package.

About Naples Winter Wine Festival

One of the world’s most prestigious charity wine auctions, the Naples Winter Wine Festival offers a weekend of unforgettable memories. Guests enjoy world-class food and wine during intimate private dinners and are invited to bid on once-in-a-lifetime travel and wine experiences in an electrifying live auction. Since its inception in 2001, the Festival has raised nearly $244 million, making a profound difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in Collier County.

For additional information on the Naples Children & Education Foundation or the Naples Winter Wine Festival, Contact Lisa Juliano atlisa@napleswinefestival.com 239-514-2239 napleswinefestival.com/about-the-festival

About Naples Children & Education Foundation

The founding organization of the Naples Winter Wine Festival, the Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF) is improving the educational, emotional and health outcomes of underprivileged and at-risk children in Collier County. Through its annual grants and strategic initiatives, NCEF has impacted more than 50 of the most effective nonprofits in the community, providing over 300,000 children with the services and resources they need to excel. NCEF’s unique approach, which emphasizes collaboration between organizations and bridges public and private resources, has become a blueprint for how to transform a community, one issue at a time.