The first live wine auction for Christie’s New York Spring 2014 season will feature several offerings from the University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management. They come from the college’s Fred Parks Boardroom and Cellar, which features a collection that ranges from the early 1900s to contemporary vintages, including all five First Growth Bordeaux—Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Margaux and Château Haut-Brion. Many are just now hitting their peak.
Auction time is 10 a.m., Monday, March 24. To bid, visit http://www.christies.com/salelanding/index.aspx?intSaleID=24415.
The funds generated from auction will benefit the college’s Wine & Spirits Management Program, which has grown from a single wine-appreciation class in the 1980s to eight beverage classes, an internship program, a beverage management and marketing minor, as well as wine research and wine education for the public. Plans also are under way to build a wine sensory lab, and a fermentation, brewing and distillation lab.
Highlights from the Fred Parks Cellar include:
- 1982 Château Haut-Brion, Pessac (Graves), 1er cru classé, 1 dozen bottles
- 1982 Château Lafite-Rothschild, Pauillac, 1er classé, 1 double magnum
- 1982 Château Latour, Pauillac, 1er classé, 1 dozen bottles
- 1982 Château Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac, 1er classé, 1 dozen bottles
- 1989 Château Haut Brion,Pessac (Graves), 1er cru classé, 1 dozen bottles
Parks, who died in 2001, donated a portion of his wine collection to the college in 1994. These wines became the foundation of the Fred Parks Wine Cellar. After his death, Parks’ estate donated the remainder of his collection to UH Hilton College.
For more information on the UH Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, visit www.hrm.uh.edu.
For more information on the Fred Parks Boardroom, visit http://www.hrm.uh.edu/the-college/our-hotel/fred-parks-boardroom/