Wine writer Rebecca Gibb MW gives the lowdown on a very special event she has organized to raise money for the Mac My Day charity.
The wine world has always been about more than tasting notes and bottles. At its best, it is a community defined by generosity, empathy and the willingness to show up for one another.
For me, that willingness to show up has turned from a professional to a personal cause. In 2022, my eight-year-old son, Mac, was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a devastating, progressive muscle-wasting condition with no cure.
On April 23, 2026, the inaugural Mac My Day charity dinner and auction will take place at Vintners’ Hall, London. The evening will bring together exceptional wines thanks to the generosity of the wine community and money-can’t-buy auction lots with a single purpose: to help accelerate research towards better treatments for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and, ultimately, a cure.
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This is not about spectacle or prestige. It is about care. It is about turning shared passion into shared action. And it is about a community rallying around one of its own.
I founded the charity with a simple belief that the wine world, when asked, would respond with warmth, generosity, and heart.
Join me for what promises to be a special evening.Â
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Seats are limited.
The impact is profound.
Lots pledged include:
- A five-magnum lot direct from the cellars of Domaine Clarence Dillon : Château Quintus 2022, Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2022, Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc 2022, Château Haut-Brion 2022, Château Haut-Brion Blanc 2022. Donated personally by Prince Robert of Luxembourg, whose son was also affected by a rare genetic disorder.
- Dine out experience for 2 with restaurant critic Tom Parker Bowles, whose mother is the patron of Duchenne UK, which will be working with Mac My Day;
- A Right Bank superlot curated by Le Pin’s Fiona Morrison MW;Â
- A bottle from the Poet Laureate’s butt of sherry, gifted by the crown to the poet laureate Simon Armitage and bearing his personalised label and poem.
- Australian superlot: a leather-bound copy of the Australian Ark paired with magnums of the following: Penfolds St Henri 1998 and 2008, Henschke Mount Edelstone 2021, Cullen Diana Madeleine 2020 all direct from the wineries plus single bottle of Penfold’s Grange 2020.Â
- Lake District Gourmet Gathering: Dinner and paired wines for two at 3 Michelin-starred restaurant L’Enclume, donated by Simon Rogan Group. Dinner and wine pairing at Michelin-starred Old Stamp House, Ambleside, donated by chef and owners Ryan and Craig Blackburn.Â
- 2 nights B&B for two at luxury 5-star Mont Cervin Palace hotel, Zermatt ‘an address as legendary as the Matterhorn’. Stay includes transfers from rail station and evening meal voucher, donated by Chateau Cos d’Estournel’s Michel Reybier
- Lunch for six people in the historic premises at No.3 St. James’s Street, London, hosted by a senior member of Berry Bros. & Rudd staff. The lunch will be accompanied by fine wines from the company’s cellars. Particularly generous donations will increase the quality of the wines served!
Wines served include:
Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut
Chateau Smith Haut-Lafitte Blanc Pessac-Léognan
Kumeu River Chardonnay, New Zealand
Château Larcis-Ducasse, St-Emilion Grand Cru
Graham’s 20-year-old Tawny Port (in 4.5 litres format)
