Porcupine Provisions featuring The spire collection
Join us for this incredible evening as we pair up Charlotte’s top husband and wife catering team, Bruce & Leslie Schlernitzauer of Porcupine Provisions, with one of the leading portfolios of wine in the industry, The Spire Collection, featuring a premier selection of wines made by award-winning winemaker Chris Carpenter. The dinner will be led by special guest Christopher Gregus, Estate Host of Lokoya Winery.
Attendees at this dinner will enjoy dining at one long table set for 32 guests on a covered patio at the private home of Bruce & Leslie Schlernitzauer in Myers Park.
ABOUT THE SPIRE COLLECTION
With origins on California’s classic northern coast, the Spire Collection today encompasses estates throughout the world. Napa Valley’s mountainside vineyards and great benchland terroirs summon Cardinale, Mt. Brave, La Jota, Lokoya, and Caladan. Far-flung locales and distinct environments throughout Sonoma County produce Vérité, Cenyth, Anakota, Stonestreet, and WindRacer. From the north comes the cool-climate wines of Maggy Hawk in Anderson Valley, while farther up the Pacific coastline Zena Crown, Gran Moraine and Penner-Ash find home in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Château Lassègue, an estate in the birthplace of fine wine, embodies Bordeaux’s sophistication as grand cru Saint-Émilion. Near Siena in Tuscany, Arcanum resurrects a medieval estate for the modern wine world. Capensis makes its mark as South Africa’s preeminent white wine, while Hickinbotham, Yangarra and Giant Steps takes its place among Australia’s classic wines.
Each Spire Collection wine personifies a different meaning and a distinct emotion. Some are pure luxury—they are hedonistic, sensory experiences. Others are fashioned with rigid density, meant to unfold slowly in many years of quiet evolution. The Spire Collection resides on the best restaurant lists and cellars in the world. While one wine is sipped in nearly reverent contemplation, another is enjoyed alongside the first joyous ray of light and blossom of spring. Each wine is a richly told tale—simultaneously a testament to its roots and a statement in and of itself.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Time: 6:30 PM Arrival | 6:45 PM Dinner
Location: Schlernitzauer Residence in Myers Park |
Address to be provided to ticket purchasers the week of the event.
Special Guests: Christopher Gregus | Estate Host - Lokoya Winery
Executive Chef | Bruce Schlernitzauer - Porcupine Provisions
Tickets: $300/person plus tax
Gratuity is included in the ticket price, and $100 of each ticket is tax-deductible.
Must be 21+
Hosted by Charlotte Wine & Food Board Members Leslie Schlernitzauer (Chairmen Emeritus) & Will Whitley.
WINES
WELCOME RECEPTION
Champagne on Arrrival
FIRST COURSE
2022 La Jota Vineyard Co. W.S. Keyes Vineyard Chardonnay | Napa Valley
SECOND COURSE
2021 Caladan Cabernet Franc | Napa Valley
THIRD COURSE
2021 Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon | Mount Veeder AVA
FOURTH COURSE
2021 Cardinale Cabernet Sauvignon | Napa Valley
2015 Cardinale Cabernet Sauvignon | Napa Valley
Menu coming soon…
Dietary restrictions may be accommodated with advance notice. Please indicate any restrictions the event organizers should be aware of at time of your registration/ticket purchase. Alternatively, please email info@charlottewineandfood.org to notify us at minimum 5 days prior to the event.
CULINARY & BEVERAGE TALENT
CHRISTOPHER GREGUS | ESTATE HOST - LOKOYA WINERY
Christopher was born and raised in the Sonoma County wine country in Santa Rosa, Ca. After graduating high school, Christopher had a small tenure in collegiate golf before graduating from Sonoma State University with a degree in California History. While attending night school for his teaching credential, he began working in wine tasting rooms throughout the valley. In 2015, Christopher committed to being in the wine industry full time and took a position with the historic Russian River Valley grape-growering family, Dutton Estate. He then moved to Napa where he worked in Direct Sales for E&J Gallo in Napa Valley, however his home on the other side of the western Napa mountains called him back to become the sommelier for the prestigious Mayacama Golf Club. After enjoying several years on the floor, Christopher came back to the wine industry full time as the Director of Hospitality for Black Kite Cellars on the Sonoma Coast. Since 2023, Christopher has been currently one of the Direct Sales Specialists and Estate Hosts for Lokoya Estate and Cardinale Winery in Napa Valley. When not pouring Chris Carpenter’s flagship wines on Spring Mountain, you can find him and his wife Elizabeth on the golf course, traveling all over California and the West Coast wine industry, and relaxing at home with his two cats, Max & Prince.
BRUCE & LESLIE SCHLERNITZAUER | CO-OWNERS - PORCUPINE PROVISIONS
Bruce Schlernitzauer, a Navy brat, is mostly from Massachusetts and Leslie is a Charlotte native. They met in college in Massachusetts and later Bruce went to Johnson & Wales in Cranston, RI in their advanced standing culinary program while Leslie received her MBA from Boston University. In 1994, they arrived in Charlotte and two years later opened Porcupine Café on East Boulevard. After closing Porcupine Café, they opened Porcupine Provisions, becoming one of Charlotte's top caterers. In June of 2020 they launched Gathered, a twice monthly delivery basket filled with carefully curated local lovelies from the catering team behind Porcupine Provisions.
Leslie serves on several boards including Charlotte Wine + Food, Council for Children’s Rights and previously served on the Advisory Board for Charlotte Concerts. They have two adult children (girls) Megan and Grace. When not cooking for a profit you will find them cooking for a cause every chance they get!
THANK YOU TO OUR PRESENTING SPONSOR!
