Innovation is a mark of New York City Opera, and not just on the stage. At its Fall Fête on Tuesday, each table was stocked with a different selection from the 500 bottles of fine French wine purchased for the occasion by collectors Michael Lynch and Donald Zilkha during what Mr. Zilkha called "a two-day buying spree" at the September auctions. That meant that instead of the mostly forgettable wine usually served at such an event, the 300 guests supporting City Opera sipped wine valued at more than $100,000.

To fully honor the rarity and quality of the vintages, the wine committee asked Jean-Georges Vongerichten to create the dinner menu, and asked the wine director of Daniel Boulud's restaurant group, Daniel Johnnes, to recruit sommeliers to pour and assist at the event, including Bernard Sun and Bruce Yung, who first worked withMr. Johnneswhenhewaswine director at Montrachet.

And so a crisp yet smooth Domaine Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 2004 complemented a roasted beet salad with feta cheese, black olives, and oregano. And a rich, flavorful 1982 Bordeaux Leoville Barton accentuated the tenderness of the black trumpetcrusted lamb served with wild mushrooms and baby leeks.

The result: "the best wine and the best cuisine ever served at a gala," Coco and Arie Kopelman, who've been to more such events than most, said on the dance floor.

The Kopelmans served as dinner chairmen with Jeri and George Sape, Robert Couturier, and Mr. Lynch and his wife, Susan Baker, who is the chairwoman of New York City Opera. The idea for the dinner originated with Mr. Lynch, which proves that City Opera has not one but two brilliant and passionate contributors at the top.

At the concert before the dinner, soprano Lauren Flanigan performed "En proie a la tristesse" from Rossini's "Le Comte Ory," so she was primed for the French wine that followed.

"I've stuck to the red, which is overwhelminglyfantastic,"Ms. Flanigan said.

Theguestofhonor, themanagerof Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, flew in from France just for the event, and in the middle of harvest season, no less. She strongly approved of the evening's combination of wine and song.

"The commonality between music and wine is balance, complexity, and harmony. And both bring people together in love," Ms. de Lencquesaing said.

The composer Charles Wuorinen added his thoughts about music and wine: "I like both very much. The more wine we have, the better the music sounds, and the more music we have, the better the wine tastes," Mr. Wuorinen, who sat at dinner with the secretary of City Opera's board, Mary Sharp Cronson, and the executive director of Miller Theatre, George Steel, said. The event put guests in a French mood that will only grow in intensity as City Opera prepares for the arrival of its general manager-designate, Gèrard Mortier, who is finishing his term at the Paris Opera beforetakingthehelmofCityOpera in 2009.

One thing is guaranteed: Once word gets out about the Fall Fête, it will become nearly impossible to come by a ticket, which will help build the coffers to execute Mr. Mortier's grand plans.

agordon@nysun.com