Most big public wine tastings are at pretty uninspiring venues. Which is sort of ironic given that so many of the winegrowing regions of the world are so stunning. I guess it’s pretty fitting then that when the New Zealand Winegrowers come to town to pour their stuff, they’re not content to just hang out in what’s basically an oversize elementary school gymnasium. Nope, not the Kiwis. Their wines seem to demand a more….majestic venue.

Which is why on Wednesday, May 30th, they’re renting out the ground floor of the Museum of Modern art for their annual tasting, which is also a benefit for the San Francisco based nonprofit, the Taproot Foundation. I love the idea of combining wine tasting events with charity, mostly because the idea of enjoying wine and doing good for the world at the same time. What could be better?

The Taproot Foundation is pretty cool, by the way. It’s essentially a big consulting company that gets top businesspeople to donate their time to help non-profits become better operationally.

But for those who might worry that this is some big evangelization event, it’s really just a normal wine tasting in a beautiful setting. For those more interested in the wine than the architecture, they’ve published a list of participating wineries on their web site.

I missed the event last year, but I went the year before and it was a nice event, though it got very crowded as the evening wore on, so I recommend going early.

Taproot New Zealand Tasting
May 30th, 6:30 PM — 8:30 PM
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 Third Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

The event will likely sell out, so tickets are best obtained online in advance. They cost $55 per person.