Giving thanks

I was thrilled when I recently read that The Coeur d'Alene Press and editor Mike Patrick were looking for stories from readers on all that they were thankful for. After all, it is the time of year when we think of all the great fortune we have in our own lives, and how we can extend help in many forms to those who are less fortunate. The question would be for most readers, "How does that work its way into the weekly wine column?" It seems more than a bit trite to be thankful for a great glass of Pinot Noir with our turkey!

We do have much to be thankful for here in North Idaho, though. We live in a beautiful spot, our community is generous, friendly and supportive, and for the most part, safe and fee of strife.

But there is more. We have something to be truly thankful for that each of us hopes we will never have to use. Hospice of North Idaho, as well as the larger organization and concept of hospice care, should never be taken for granted. They do wonderful, caring work in trying and sad circumstances, helping many in our community deal with life-ending illness and the loss of our loved ones. Giving thanks frankly does not seem adequate for all the good works Hospice of North Idaho does.

Mary and I, through the dinner party, are proud supporters of HONI. When first approached some years ago, we did not think twice before agreeing to help in any way we could. Mary's dad was in hospice care when he passed away from complications from a series of strokes. My dad was due to enter hospice care the day after he passed, after a fairly ugly battle with cancer. While neither of our fathers lived in North Idaho, we still saw the good deeds and great comfort that hospice provided to our dads and our families.

Feeling gratitude for the presence of HONI clearly does not seem enough, so Feb. 1, 2014 at 5 p.m., we all have the opportunity to not only contribute what we can to this wonderful organization, but to do it while enjoying the premier wine event held in our community each year.

For the second year in a row, we are working with HONI to handle all of the retails sales from the event, of which we donate 100 percent of the profits back to Hospice. We also work with all of our great local distributors - Vehrs, Idaho Wine Merchant, Odom, Noble, Click and Hayden Beverage - and countless volunteers from these companies and others, including wineries, to coordinate what wines will be poured - all of which is donated by these wonderful partners. It is truly one of the only events where so much is donated - a testament to how many lives Hospice has touched.

The event will be held at the Hayden Lake Country Club, as it always is, and will feature hundreds of wines to taste. This year's event, themed "That's Amore," will feature an auction lot for a trip to Italy as well as many others, including a special lot from the dinner party.

We are improving the selection and caliber of the wine sampled each year with the goal of making this a truly spectacular tasting of extraordinary wines. While some of our favorite brands and labels from HONI events past will still be available for sampling, you will see some new ones as well representing the great grape-growing and wine-producing regions from around the world including the Northwest, California and Europe.

In addition to great live and silent auction lots, this is a special chance to try wine before you buy it! It is even better that when you buy wine that evening, you are helping such a worthy and necessary group and function. Hospice of North Idaho is a not-for-profit hospice, so all of the money they raise on Feb. 1 goes to providing care to our friends, neighbors and family members when it is most needed. We can tell you firsthand the comfort hospice provides cannot be replaced, and we cannot go without it.

Buy your tickets now for this excellent wine event by contacting Hospice of North Idaho at www.HONI.org or (208) 772-7994, or contribute whatever you can to show thanks for an organization that we all hope we never have to use. Giving thanks for HONI indeed does not seem to be enough, but it is a needed gesture to let them know we appreciate all they do and will support them in any way we can.

If there is a topic you would like to read about, or if you have questions on wine, you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com, or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party, a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Wine Rodeo and is the wine editor for Coeur d'Alene Magazine (www.cdamagazine.com). You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. You can get all of these articles, as well as other great wine tips, by friending us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.