The eagerly awaited Spring 2009 Pieroth Wine Cruise Charity Event for Animal Rescue Korea (ARK) went ahead on Saturday 30th of May at the 700 Yacht Club along the beautiful banks of the Han River in Hangang, Mapo-gu, Seoul.

After being cancelled, on two previous occasions, due to bad weather and sailing conditions, it was evident that the delay was certainly well worth the wait. Wine lovers, basked in glorious sunshine aboard the deck of the 700 Yacht Club marina, from 2pm onwards to watch yachts race up and down the wide stretch of the river near the magnificent Seongsan bridge. Guests also were given, an opportunity to be gently chauffeured along the river, on board the deck of a large catamaran sailboat and enjoy a fantastic view of the city, from a different perspective, whilst feeling the gentle cooling breeze in the hot Seoul sunshine.

Getting into the swing of things aboard the top deck of the 700 Yacht Club.

A wide selection of red, white, rose and sparkling wines from nine different countries, were available in the tasting booths on the 1st floor deck, including a sweet pinot noir from Hungary, muller thurgau, kerner and riesling from Germany and two masterly dry, well bodied sangiovesse's from both France and Italy.

From the new world came offerings in the shape of a Zinfandel from California, a very crisp Chardonnay from New Zealand and shiraz from Argentina, South Africa and Australia, to name but a few of the excellently handled wines, on offer at the event. All cases of wine were at wholesale price, including free delivery and Pieroth donated 10% from all purchase orders to the events main charity Animal Rescue Korea.

The evening got underway as the days races drew to a close, (with a German named Patrick winning most of the days races) the entertainment started flowing as readily and plentiful as the wine with dinner suited jazz bands, The Kari van der Kloot Quartet and The Dan Robertson Trio setting the ambience. A buffet meal was laid out, offering a wide selection of hot and cold snacks, cheeses, sweets and fruits, as guest chatted and shared laughs in a relaxing but jovial atmosphere.

As the stunning large red sunset plunged deep into the Han River, and the moon took its place in the sky, the mood was set for a wonderful evening. Guests continued to travel well into the night, drifting along admiring the shimmering colorful lights of the beautiful nightime cityscape. Pieroth Wines President Dan Shulte, thanked everyone in attendance, in his short address before the lottery draw.

"We finally got a break in the weather! This is turning out to be a marvelous event, I would to thank you all for your patience and understanding. As you know had we went ahead on the previous schedules, it would have been a very cold, windy and miserable affair. We have had excellent support from our sponsors and we have raised a lot of funds for our designated charity Animal Rescue Korea."

Emma, Jen and Adrie bracing spring breeze on the Han river.

Prestigious sponsors, and prizes donated from the lottery draw with a value totaling 7,120,000 KRW, included local and international businesses such as, hotel giants, Ritz Carlton, Grand Hilton, Fraser Place, Renaissance, JW Marriott offering luxury weekend overnight stays. Top class local international cuisine gave winners the flavor of Bulgaria, Morocco and classic western food from the Zelen, Marrakesh and Kabbinett restaurants in Itaewon, respectively.

For the energetic and sporty members of the wine cruise set, dance lessons from The American Dance Studio and a sunset yacht cruise, came courtesy of the 700 Yacht Club also had winners jumping for joy! The top prize of the evening, had every wine lover on the edge of their seat and one lucky winner walked home with a 1989 Chateau Margaux valued at 2,300,000 KRW, generously donated by The Seoul Wine Club and Pieroth Wines.

Pieroth Wines President Dan Shulte being interviewed by The Seoul Times on the Han River at the end of the event

A tired but, delighted Pieroth President Dan Shulte, told the Seoul Times as the evening drew to a close, "this is been a great event, perhaps even our best yet. Despite the difficulties we had in the weather in our schedule over the weeks, it finally came good and it seems everyone has had a truly fantastic time, the band has continued to play on right till the end, and above all we made an enormous amount of money for our charity Animal Rescue Korea." Talking of his own personal support for ARK and why Pieroth chose that particular charity, He added, "its a a very worthy cause, my family and myself have just recently taken charge of an eight week year old puppy from the ARK shelter, and he's absolutely lovely, my advice to anyone is, don't buy animals, not while there are a lot of poor animals living in shelters, its a charity that's very close to my heart, especially when I see the how much happiness and joy an animal can bring to individuals and families, that would otherwise be neglected or abandoned."

Pieroth hosts wine cruise charity event Photo by Mr. Arnaud Ogier, free lance photo journalist. Mr. Ogier is a head scientist of Institute Pasteur Korea.

The next wine cruise event has already been scheduled for the fall on September 5th. Many people left the event saying things like they'd have "no hesitation" in attending another one or "we can't wait until the next one," which meant the buzz from the evening was already generating excitement fro the next cruise. Other events Pieroth plans to organize include a Stand-up comedy evening, jazz festivals or even a summer wine warehouse sale. Any of these events, with the Pieroth reputation for hospitality, entertainment and excellent wine, could have the potential to be as fun, exciting and refined as the yacht cruise. Obviously anything Pieroth does in the future is bound to create a surge of excitement from both wine lovers and party revelers alike.