Over $10k Raised for Charity in this Year’s War of the Rosés

Beau Thai Owner Ralph Brabham (left) and Beverage Director Melissa Smith (right) hand the War of the Rosés trophy to Maydan Beverage Director and Sommelier Drew Hairston (center)

A Record Year for the
War of the Rosés

The 2022 War of the Rosés was the biggest iteration of the annual charitable competition to date. Twenty one restaurants and bars participated and sold over $100,000 in rosé in July. As a result, participants will donate over $10,000 to charity.

The winner of the War of the Rosés was Michelin-starred Maydan. Its victory secured a total donation of $5,575 for Maydan’s designated charity, the National Network of Abortion Funds.

In 2018, Beau Thai co-founders Ralph Brabham and Drew Porterfield organized the first annual War of the Rosés with friends Melissa Smith (now Beau Thai’s Beverage Director) and Jean Paul Sabatier. By design, it was — and remains — a friendly charitable contest among DC restaurants.

The War of the Rosés’ format is simple. Each participating business agrees to donate 10% of their July rosé sales to charity: 5% to a charity of their choosing, and 5% to the charity chosen by the participant that sells the most rosé in July. Since 2018, the War of the Rosés has raised over $27,000 for charity.

Beau Thai selected its neighbors as its beneficiaries this year: Bread for the City in Shaw and La Clínica Del Pueblo in Mt Pleasant. Each received a donation of $250. Sister restaurant BKK Cookshop selected New Endeavors by Women (“NEW”) as its beneficiary this year. BKK donated $100 to NEW. Including the donations to the National Network of Abortion Funds, Beau Thai and BKK collectively donated over $1,000 to charity by participating in the 2022 War of the Roses.