Wine and good food, lots of good food, were part of the Carnivale du Vin, a culinary event and fundraiser for the Emeril Lagasse Foundation who managed to bring in over $2.5 million dollars in this annual event.

Most recently, it was held this past October 28th at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside and included a guest list of over 600 hungry people.

Here's more of the details as reported by Yahoo.com: Orleans area. The sold-out event began with a reception showcasing the chefs of all nine of Emeril's restaurants, and special Carnivale du Vin bottling, created by honorary event "Bacchus" Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat. Afterwards, there was a five course seated dinner featuring food and wine pairings by the world's top chefs Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck, Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich and local pastry chef duo Tariq Hanna and Joel Dondis; with wines by some of the country's most renowned vintners including Joseph Bastianich (Bastianich Vineyards), Grace and Ken Evenstad (Domaine Serene), Carol and Fred Schrader (Schrader Cellars), Jayson Woodbridge (Hundred Acre), and Suzie and Paul Frank (Gemstone Vineyards). [...]

"For its second year, we're honored to have the support of so many accomplished chefs and vintners who in a true showing of comradery and support, have given their time and talents to the Foundation," says Emeril Lagasse. "We are also so thankful to our sponsors, our guests and everyone who contributed to making Carnivale du Vin a tremendous success for another year."

At the event, the Foundation announced over $320,000 in grants to New Orleans charities including a $250,000 initial grant towards the Cafe Reconcile Capital Campaign to create the Emeril Lagasse Foundation Culinary Learning Center; as well as large grants to America's Second Harvest Kids' Cafe and Covenant House's Covenant Cafe.

"The event's proceeds surpassed our expectations and we were overwhelmed by the generosity of so many guests who opened their hearts and expressed their dedication to helping New Orleans rebuild," says Kristin Shannon, Executive Director of the Emeril Lagasse Foundation. "We look forward to next year's event which will be held on November 2 and 3 in New Orleans."