l’ostrica fEATURING La Jota Vineyard Co.
Join us for an exclusive charity vintner dinner with Chef Eric Ferguson of Charlotte’s acclaimed L’Ostrica, featuring a multi-course tasting menu curated with co-founder Cat Carter. Enjoy exceptional wines from La Jota Vineyard Co. and a special feature of Champagne Henriot. This night is sure to be one of the highlights of this year’s Charlotte Wine & Food Week and is not to be missed!
This special evening of wine, food, fun, and fundraising is held in support of four Charlotte-area children's charities - Beds for Kids, Digi-Bridge, Families Forward Charlotte, and Wayfinders. Collectively, these organizations serve more than 2,500 children, helping ensure access to stability, education, and opportunity - paving the way for brighter, more secure futures for these children and our community. Learn more here.
The dinner will also offer you an opportunity to give back by making a direct donation, purchasing raffle tickets for exciting prizes, and/or bidding in the Week's auctions.
ABOUT THE SPIRE COLLECTION
With origins on California’s classic northern coast, the Spire Collection today encompasses estates throughout the world. Napa Valley’s mountainside vineyards and great benchland terroirs summon Cardinale, Mt. Brave, La Jota, Lokoya, and Caladan. Far-flung locales and distinct environments throughout Sonoma County produce Vérité, Cenyth, Anakota, Stonestreet, and WindRacer. From the north comes the cool-climate wines of Maggy Hawk in Anderson Valley, while farther up the Pacific coastline Zena Crown, Gran Moraine and Penner-Ash find home in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Château Lassègue, an estate in the birthplace of fine wine, embodies Bordeaux’s sophistication as grand cru Saint-Émilion. Near Siena in Tuscany, Arcanum resurrects a medieval estate for the modern wine world. Capensis makes its mark as South Africa’s preeminent white wine, while Hickinbotham, Yangarra and Giant Steps takes its place among Australia’s classic wines.
Each Spire Collection wine personifies a different meaning and a distinct emotion. Some are pure luxury—they are hedonistic, sensory experiences. Others are fashioned with rigid density, meant to unfold slowly in many years of quiet evolution. The Spire Collection resides on the best restaurant lists and cellars in the world. While one wine is sipped in nearly reverent contemplation, another is enjoyed alongside the first joyous ray of light and blossom of spring. Each wine is a richly told tale—simultaneously a testament to its roots and a statement in and of itself.
Hosted by Charlotte Wine & Food Board Member Cat Carter & Jim Deupree.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Thursday, April 16, 2026
Time: 6:30 PM Reception | 6:45 PM Dinner
Location: L’Ostrica | 4701 Park Rd D, Charlotte, NC 28209
Special Guests: Todd Brentnall | CSW, WSET III, & Region Manager - The Spire Collection
Chef Eric Ferguson & Cat Carter | Proprietors - L’Ostrica
Tickets: $500/person
Gratuity and tax are included in the ticket price, and $231 of each ticket is tax-deductible.
Must be 21+
Hosted by Charlotte Wine & Food Board Members Cat Carter and Jim Deupree.
MENU + WINES
- RECEPTION -
Champagne Henriot Blanc de Blanc
- FIRST COURSE -
2013 Champagne Henriot Cuvée Hemera
- SECOND COURSE -
2023 La Jota W.S. Keyes Chardonnay
- THIRD COURSE -
2021 La Jota Estate Merlot
2014 La Jota Estate Merlot
- FOURTH COURSE -
2021 La Jota Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
2014 La Jota Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
- FIFTH COURSE -
2021 La Jota W.S. Keyes Merlot
menu coming soon!
Dietary restrictions may be accommodated with advance notice. Please indicate any restrictions the event organizers should be aware of at time of your registration/ticket purchase. Alternatively, please email info@charlottewineandfood.org to notify us at minimum 5 days prior to the event.
CULINARY & BEVERAGE TALENT
TODD BRENTNALL | CWS, WSET III, & REGIONAL MANAGER - THE SPIRE COLLECTION
Todd Brentnall, CSW, WSETIII is the Regional Manager for the Spire Collection since October 2013. The Spire Collection is a luxury driven division representing the artisan brands from the Jackson Family. As Regional manager, Todd is responsible for sales and marketing of the 26 brands under the Spire Umbrella concentrating on key markets while focusing on collector activation and on premise sales to further the awareness of this unique selection of handpicked brands.
Todd started his career in the financial industry at PNC Bank but found a passion for wine at a young age. In pursuit of this passion, Todd was able to train his palate and further his knowledge of wine through a variety of positions in the industry including consulting beverage selections for many top restaurants, management of top retail accounts and working as a key account specialist within a wholesaler in the Baltimore/Washington DC market. Continually a student of wine, Todd is currently studying for his WSET Diploma.
ERIC FERGUSON & CAT CARTER | PROPRIETORS - L’OSTRICA
Chefs Eric Ferguson and Cat Carter are the proprietors and founders of L’Ostrica, an upscale yet approachable concept featuring seasonal tasting menus. The restaurant also offers a Chef’s Market with a curated wine selection and chef-prepared provisions for enjoying at home and a casual Sunday Supper whose theme changes weekly. Ferguson and Carter work side by side to develop and refine each of L’Ostrica’s menus, then collaborate with their team to refine them even further.
Eric, a classically trained chef, had a restaurant in Oregon Wine Country for nearly a decade, for which he earned a James Beard award. Prior to that, he worked at Michelin three-star restaurant Quince in San Francisco, as well as several well-known restaurants here in Charlotte. In between, he spent influential time working in the kitchens and fields of Umbria, Italy. These wide-ranging experiences greatly shaped his thinking. Cat also brings a wide range of experiences to the table, having grown up all over the world and in a bi-cultural home. She has had a dual career track, spending time in both creative and business pursuits, including: leading product and experience design initiatives; publishing a food magazine and working as a freelance writer; developing strategies for F&B brands; and developing and editing recipes.
They are both storytellers, using innovative dining as a platform for sharing the history, processes, and intricate techniques behind the dishes they create. They are proud to source many of their ingredients from local farms, producers, and purveyors. You can follow them at @Lostrica_clt and @lostrica_mkt.
THANK YOU TO OUR PRESENTING SPONSOR!
