Fred Bollaci Enterprises and Venu Magazine Media Sponsors at Florida Winefest & Auction in Sarasota to Benefit Disadvantaged Children

APRIL 10, 2017

SARASOTA, FL

Fred Bollaci, CEO/President of Palm Beach-based Fred Bollaci Enterprises and Tracey Thomas, Owner/Publisher of Fairfield, CT-based Venu Magazine were on hand this weekend in Sarasota for the 27th annual Florida Winefest & Auction benefiting disadvantaged children on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

“Having moved to Sarasota in 1990 to attend high school and living here for years after, I am fortunate to have cultivated many friendships in the community, and feel a special place in my heart for Florida Winefest, the great folks behind it, and the many area children they have helped over the years. It is an honor to be involved and to help spread the word about this great group and how much good they do in the Sarasota-Manatee area. Winefest has raised over $8 million to help area kids, something we should all applaud. The events are fun, featuring top winemakers, great food, and exciting venues from the bay front at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall to Banquet on the Block, which takes up an entire city block of Lemon Avenue between Main and 1st Streets, this is one of my favorite food and wine festivals in the country.”

Venu Magazine, the leading contemporary art and culture publication in the northeast is published quarterly and is headed into its 8th year. Venu has had a very strong presence in the Miami to Palm Beach area of Southeast Florida since 2012, being the publication’s second largest market, and is distributed in top hotels, galleries, restaurants, boutiques, and at partner events, such as the Palm Beach Boat Show, American Fine Wine Competition, South Beach Food and Wine Fest, Art Basel, Art Wynwood, and more. As a food and travel writer with The Golden Palate column in Venu and with ties to the Sarasota community, both Fred Bollaci and Tracey Thomas felt this would be the ideal time to expand the presence of Venu Magazine on Florida’s beautiful West Coast, where Fred lives part time and has extensive contacts, having already featured many top restaurants and hotels in previous issues of Venu in the Sarasota, Naples, and greater Tampa Bay markets.

“We are thrilled to be in Sarasota and to be part of this year’s Florida Winefest & Auction,” said Tracey Thomas. “Sarasota is a beautiful, charming, cultural, and sophisticated community, a great fit for Venu’s continued growth in Florida and is a logical fit for our existing readers and subscribers to introduce them to content from this great area.” The magazine is debuting a new Florida-specific section which is designed to be a curated guide to the very best dining, shopping, lodging, and more in Southeast and Southwest Florida, focusing on Palm Beach to Miami on the East Coast, and Sarasotata-Manatee down to Naples on the West Coast. The magazine has been extremely well received on Florida’s West Coast. Venu is distributed throughout Metro New York, as well as in Boston, Newport, RI, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Aspen, CO, Palm Springs/Los Angeles, and is expanding into other key markets in the near future.

Fred Bollaci and Tracey Thomas with Artist William Kelley and his spectacular original oil painting of a vineyard in Montalcino, Tuscany which was one of the items available for bidding at the Grand Tasting Brunch and Auction on Saturday, April 8th.

With Sam Williamson of Williamson Family Wines of Sonoma, CA.

With Christina Machamer “Cmac” (CIA graduate and Wine Club Director) of Caldwell Vineyards in Napa.

With Chef Christopher Covelli, for a sumptuous wine dinner featuring the wines of Caldwell and Eleven Eleven paired with his extraordinary cuisine on Thursday April 6th. Chef Covelli is the senior guest instructor at Sandra Lotti’s Toscana Saporita Cooking School in Tuscany, our inaugural Platinum Palate award-winning destination in the world! Chef Covelli also serves on the Florida Winefest board and is head of his gourmet food company Culinary Creations and Entertainment based in Sarasota.

Tracey Thomas, Shana Overhulser, Fred Bollaci, and Amy Bensinger at the Grand Tasting and Brunch overlooking Sarasota Bay.

Set up for the wonderful Banquet on the Block, a local favorite on Friday April 7th in downtown Sarasota.

Guests enjoying what has become a favorite annual event in Sarasota!

Guests enjoying the exquisite food and wine pairing at the Covelli/Jung private residence on Thursday April 6th. The weather was perfect for the entire weekend, making outdoor dining a treat!