UNLVino gets better with age

The first UNLVino, in 1974, brought a crowd of wine-lovers to the Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada warehouse on Wynn Road.

"Robert Mondavi came to that one," said Michael Severino, the company's general manager of event marketing. Participants numbered "just a couple of hundred."

Things have certainly changed. UNLVino now is three events, and in much glitzier sites. The annual fundraiser begins tonight with Bubble-licious at the Frank Gehry-designed Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, continues with Sake Fever Friday evening at The Mirage and concludes with the Grand Tasting on Saturday at Bally's.

"Every event has become like its own venue now," Severino said.

The whole thing started when Jerry Vallen, who was dean of the College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, approached Larry Ruvo, now senior managing director of Southern Wine & Spirits, about what he saw as a need for wine education for both UNLV students and the public. And that aspect of the event hasn't changed.

"Excuse the pun, but they are thirsty for knowledge, as far as the people coming up to our students and the people who are pouring the wines, and asking pertinent questions," Severino said. "It's really a win-win for the public as well as the students, because it's an accredited course. The students really put a lot of time and effort into this, front and back of the house."

Then there's the other benefit for students: UNLVino's motto is "Take a sip for scholarship," with millions raised over the years -- $50,000 in scholarships during the past academic year alone (plus $24,000 for student equipment and $12,000 for student and faculty development). And that scholarship money can really come in handy.

"It was a huge help," said Leanne Ford, a senior at UNLV who received a $500 scholarship last year. "I'm an out-of-state student, so any money that goes toward my education will help, because I'm paying for it on my own."

Ford said she was a marketing intern for the event last year.

"You don't really think about it when you're doing the whole process," she said. "And then I was able to receive some money that went toward my education this year."

Jean Hertzman, an assistant professor in the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at UNLV, said the three-credit class involves about 30 students who handle all of the organization, planning, marketing and supervision for all three events.

And they're not small events. Hertzman said Bubble-licious and Sake Fever are expected to draw 1,000 to 1,500 people each, and 5,000 are expected for the Grand Tasting.

"It is most likely, if not the hardest, one of the hardest classes that they have had to take," she said. "It's different from any other class. There's no test; grading is based on their performance and how they can lead, manage and communicate. Plus the total real-life situation of having to work 14-hour days and more, for like four days."

And while the food for the first two events is catered by the participating restaurants, the students will prepare the food for the Grand Tasting.

"We've been very fortunate in the past years, rotating between Bally's and Paris," Hertzman said. "They let us start using their kitchens on the Wednesday before the event. Until Saturday, we'll have about 200 student volunteers helping on the food side."

Most of the food, she said, will be served buffet-style, although there will be some passed canapes. The food for the Grand Tasting will include hot sandwiches, cucumber and dill canapes -- "everything typical that you would find at a wine tasting: cheeses, breads, vegetables, meat trays." The students also have come up with a menu of specialty sandwiches, including Angus beef sliders, duck sliders, Cuban turkey sandwiches, and salami and artichoke flatbreads, she said.

About 95 percent of the food is donated, Hertzman said, mainly by local purveyors. The students also solicit the donations.

In all, she said, putting on the event requires about 2,000 man-hours, which includes lots of volunteer time.

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.