Hawke's Bay Today wine columnist Yvonne Lorkin will be the MC and Napier MP Chris Tremain the auctioneer at the Hawke's Bay Charity Fine Wine Auction next weekend.
The dinner and auction, now in its 22nd year, at Church Rd Winery's Tom McDonald Cellar in Napier will be held on Saturday June 1 to raise money for Cranford Hospice.
The auction is the oldest charity wine auction in New Zealand, the only wine auction that specialises in wines from one region.
Graeme Milne from the event organising committee said this year the auction would include tribute lots for broadcasting legend Sir Paul Holmes and Joseph Brimer, the son of one of New Zealand's top photographers, Richard Brimer.
"The relationship between the wineries, Cranford Hospice and the auction supporters is very strong" he said."Besides the quality of this years wines, there are two main new drivers this year; the tribute lots for Sir Paul Holmes and Joseph Brimer, and the introduction of an online auction."
"Sir Paul Holmes and Joseph Brimer both benefitted from Cranford's care in their final days. Sir Paul was not only a previous MC, but was always a big supporter of Hawke's Bay's Wine, Food and Tourism industries and did much to use his profile to promote his home province. Having a lot dedicated to his memory is the wine industry's way of thanking him. Joseph Brimer is the son of the much loved, and much-missed son of one of NZ's top photographers Richard Brimer."
Each year a painting is donated by a well-known Hawke's Bay artist. This year's piece is 'The View' by Nic Scotland.
Over the years the event has raised over $2 million for Cranford Hospice.
Tickets to the event are still available and can be purchased online.