THE COLLECTORS GALA & LIVE AUCTION
FEATURING A LIVE AUCTION OF CHARLOTTE WINE + FOOD WEEK’S MOST EXCLUSIVE LOTS
Limited to 180 of Charlotte Wine & Food’s most savvy patrons and wine collectors, we invite you to join us for The Collectors Gala featuring a high-end wine and food tasting followed by a seated family-style meal and a robust and spirited live auction featuring the best lots CW+F Week has to offer! The evening includes up to 20 serious and cellar-worthy wineries, multiple chefs, live jazz music, a super silent mobile auction and a spirited live auction.
TIMING & LOCATION
Friday, April 17, 2026 | 6:30 pm
The Quail Hollow Club
370 Gleneagles Road.
Charlotte, NC 28208
6:30 - 8:00 pm | High-End Wine & Food Tasting w/ Auction Preview
Featuring up to 20 fine wineries, multiple chef-tasting stations, and passed appetizers.
Jazz Music by J’Michael Peeples.
8:00 pm | Family-style Dinner by Quail Hollow Club followed by a Live Auction featuring Auctioneer Dan Lyles
Seating in round tables of 10* | 8 seats for patrons and 2 seats for vintners per table
*Each table will be paired with one of our featured wineries for the dinner. The winery the table is paired with will share its wines with that table for the dinner.
Table hosts are also able to bring in up to two (2) bottles from their own cellar to share with guests at their table during dinner. Wines brought in from patrons’ personal cellars must be checked in at registration and CW+F staff will deliver them to the appropriate table at the start of the dinner.
The event will wrap up at the close of the auction. Timing depends on how spirited the bidders are. :)
FEATURED WINERIES
Anomaly Vineyards, Aperture, Compris Vineyard, Denali Estate, E. Guigal, Fulldraw Vineyard, Jackson Family Wines, La Rioja Alta, S.A., Melka Estates & Winery, Palmaz Vineyards, Paradigm, PATEL, Rombauer Vineyards, Sake - Kikusui Sake Brewery, Skipstone, Sphaerics, Stags' Leap Winery, The Spire Collection and VIK
FEATURED RESTAURANTS
Guard & Grace, Hello Uncle & Uncle’s, Uchi, and HoneyBear Bake Shop
MENU
RECEPTION
Passed appetizers by Quail Hollow Club
Smoked Goat Cheese and Walnut Stuffed Endive - gluten free
Jalapeño Pimento Cheese on Cracker with Bacon and Pickled Okra
— Details on the tasting bites by our featured chefs coming soon! —
SEATED DINNER
Individually Plated Blistered Heirloom Tomato Salad
Heirloom Tomatoes, Whipped Ricotta, Gluten Free Croutons, Micro Basil, Balsamic Reduction, and Bacon Lardon -
gluten free, can be made dairy-free and vegetarian with advance notice
Family-Style Meal
Coffee and Coriander Crusted Beef Short Ribs with Sorghum Jus Lie - gluten free, dairy free
Pan Roasted Chilean Sea Bass with Citrus Herb Gremolata - gluten free, dairy free
Orecchiette Pasta with Fra Diablo and Burrata - vegetarian
Preserved Lemon and Herb Carolina Gold Rice with Dill and Parsley - gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian
Black Garlic Cream Potatoes - gluten free, vegetarian
Seasonal Mixed Vegetables - gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian
Iced Cookies highlighting CW+F Charity Beneficiaries by Sugar, Butter, Sass Cookies
The menu is being planned with considerations for common dietary restrictions such as vegetarian, gluten-free, pescatarian, and shellfish allergies to ensure options are available for these guests. However, the menu may be challenging for guests with abundant restrictions given the format of the event. Please refer to the above menu.
TICKETS
Due to strong demand from our key stakeholders, board members, and sponsors, this year’s Collectors Gala will not be released for public sale. In its place, we invite you to join us at the Grand Tasting on Saturday, April 18 — an equally unforgettable evening of wine (including many of the same vendors at the Collectors Gala), food, fun and fundraising that you won’t want to miss.
*We will, however, maintain a waitlist to accommodate any cancellations. If you’d like to be added, please email info@charlottewineandfood.org with your name, cell number, email address, and the number of seats requested. We’ll be in touch should seats become available.
Tables are $4,000 for 8 seats inclusive of tax and gratuity ($1,856 tax-deductible per table)
Individual seats can also be purchased for $500/person inclusive of tax and gratuity ($232 tax deductible per ticket)
Self Parking Available | Ride Service (Uber/Lyft) HIGHLY Recommended
Attire: Cocktail - no ties required for men
Must be 21+
CULINARY TALENT
TROY GUARD | OWNER & EXECUTIVE CHEF - TAG RESTAURANT GROUP
Born and raised in Hawaii, Chef Troy Guard has lived and worked across the globe, beginning his storied career in San Diego at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa. Guard moved back to Maui at the age of 21 where he met his mentor, Chef Roy Yamaguchi at the Kahana Bar and Grill. Under the tutelage of Yamaguchi, Troy traveled across Asia, opening multiple restaurants over a span of eight years in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. While in Asia, Guard had the amazing opportunity to set off on his own and work at two of the finest hotels in the world, The Peninsula in Hong Kong and Raffles in Singapore. Guard reconnected with Roy, landing in New York to open Roy’s New York in the Downtown Business District and eventually moved on to the prestigious TAO Uptown. Guard moved to Denver, CO in 2002, and helped modern-Mexican Chef Richard Sandoval open hotspot Zengo in Riverfront Park before joining the kitchens at Nine75 and Ocean with real estate development mogul Jim Sullivan. Guard now splits his time between Denver and Houston.
Guard opened his first restaurant, TAG, on Denver’s Larimer Square in 2009 which led to his opening of Mister Tuna, Crazy Love Pizza, TAG Burger Bar, Lucky Cat, TAG Raw Bar, Big Wave Taco, Sugar Mill, Tiny Giant Sushi, Rado Burgers, Grange Food Hall and FNG. Today, TAG Restaurant Group operates six concepts across eleven locations, including the boozy breakfast hotspot HashTAG, the quick-casual, build-your-own bowl concept Bubu, the bold Mexican favorite Los Chingones, the chic cocktail bar Done Deal, the neighborhood hangout TAG Burger Bar, and the show-stopping modern steakhouse Guard and Grace. While the concepts vary wildly, throughout you will find evidence of Troy's Hawaiian roots as well as special global touches, creatively woven into the menus.
Guard has numerous accolades and awards to his name including being voted Best Chef in Denver, awarded one of the Top Steakhouses in the Nation with Guard and Grace, named one of the “Great Regional Chefs of America” by the James Beard Foundation, named Bar & Restaurant Expo’s 2023 Chef of the Year and honored by the MICHELIN Guide as a recommended restaurant with Guard and Grace. Always giving back to his community, Guard is very active in local and national philanthropic efforts, including participation in a variety of cultural and charitable events throughout the country.
SHAUN KING | CHEF DE CUISINE - UCHI
Raised on the central coast of California, Chef Shaun King took an interest in global cuisine at a young age. His stepfather regularly traveled to Japan to train for Olympic trials in gymnastics and his mother performed tai chi demonstrations on the Great Wall of China, exposing his young mind to cultures and culinary inspirations from around the world. Having grown up on a farm, King’s mother preferred to source fresh produce and proteins from local purveyors rather than groceries, and he considers her example one of his greatest inspirations. At 13, a Japanese American master chef and grandfather of his best friend introduced him to French and Italian cuisine along with Japanese sushi-making techniques.
In his late teens, he worked at a variety of Japanese restaurants before moving to Las Vegas to accept the position of Chef de Cuisine at Chef Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood, where he ran the sushi bar. He found a mentor in Moonen, and it was there that he says he truly learned about fish sourcing and sustainability. Later, he joined Sushi Samba in Las Vegas as Executive Sous Chef and then moved on to open Bradley Ogden’s Root 246 as Chef de Cuisine. Next, Shaun spent some time as the Executive Chef at Martis Camp, a Lake Tahoe club voted “#1 private club in the nation” by Forbes Magazine, before moving to Chicago to become the Executive Chef of The Dawson. That restaurant group designated Shaun “Task Force Chef,” moving him from concept to concept to mentor chefs and teach them to run its kitchens efficiently. Shaun then oversaw the operations at PABU and the Mina Group’s Ramen Bar in San Francisco. In June of 2017, Shaun joined illustrious Momofuku as Executive Chef of Momofuku Las Vegas.
Shaun’s philosophy in the kitchen is all about what he calls R.O.H., or “return on happiness.” That means not only ensuring that his guests are delighted with their experience, but that his team on the ground is in the best possible place, mentally and physically, to make that experience happen. At the end of the day for him - food is food. If you don’t respect and take care of the people behind it, you’re left nowhere. It was that kitchen-as-a-community mentality that attracted him to Hai Hospitality, a restaurant group that he believes shares his values and philosophy on taking care of your team and that a positive environment creates successful outcomes.
MICHAEL LE | OWNER & CHEF - HELLO UNCLE & UNCLE’S
or some people, you're either born into the food or restaurant industry, or it's something that you discover you want to pursue over time. For Michael Le, it was a mix of both. Originally from Philly, Le grew up living above his family's restaurant and became familiar with its mechanics at an early age. Le's curiosity drove him to relocate around the country to explore working in different kitchens, which eventually pushed him toward something beyond that.
Hello Uncle, Le's Southeast Asian pop-up, was born with the intention of helping a close friend in need—but it turned out to be exactly what Le needed as well. It grew a community of individuals who looked forward to a menu that kept their palates fresh and excited. Hello Uncle is currently transitioning into a permanent location, called Uncle's at Burial Beer Co. in Plaza Midwood.
Le brings the comforting aspect of the food to the table in his dishes while highlighting unconventional Southeast Asian flavors that often don't get the attention they deserve.
HANNAH NEVILLE | OWNER & PASTRY CHEF - HONEYBEAR BAKE SHOP
Hannah is the owner/pastry chef of Honeybear Bake Shop. She studied Baking and Pastry Arts at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY and received her associates degree in 2010. After graduating, she worked at The Inn at Little Washington. She then moved to Vail, Colorado, and worked at Sweet Basil and The Sebastian Hotel. After her time in Colorado, she moved and found her home in Charlotte, NC. Since moving to Charlotte she has been the pastry chef at 5Church Restaurant Group, Big View Diner, and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel. She was furloughed from her job at The Ritz-Carlton when the pandemic hit.
That is when Honeybear was created; during her time of being furloughed she started baking more from home. She wanted to fulfill her dream of opening her own bakery. She started baking cookies, lots and lots of cookies. She decided that Charlotte needed a fun cookie bakery with unique fun flavors! Here we are today! Honeybear Bake Shop has been in business for two years. Honeybear Bake Shop has won Best Cookies in North Carolina by Yelp in 2021 and Charlotte Magazine BOB Award for Best Cookies in 2021 and 2022.
AUCTIONEER
DAN LYLES | FUNDRAISING AUCTIONEER
Dan is a professional fundraising auctioneer who has a passion for helping non-profits maximize their fundraising potential. Daniel has conducted hundreds of auctions and is the “go-to guy” for many of the largest fundraisers in Charlotte, NC, Charleston, SC and Greenville, SC. Dan relies on humor and fun to set the stage for high-impact giving.
His professional experience includes sales, marketing, and brand management. He is a graduate of The Southeastern School of Auctioneering, and is currently an instructor in the school on art and marketing/branding and teaches auctioneers on the state level with continued education courses.
Dan is an active member of the South Carolina Auctioneers Association (SCAA) and the National Auctioneers Association (NAA) and serves as Director for the South Carolina Auctioneers Association.
THANK YOU TO OUR PRESENTING SPONSOR
