Wine Community and Recipients Gather at Chateau St. Jean for Check Presentation March 31
Sonoma County, CA, April 4, 2016 – A record-breaking total of $3,486,726 in contributions to Sonoma County non-profit organizations was distributed last Thursday afternoon from the resounding 2015 Sonoma Wine Country Weekend. Over 200 guests representing Sonoma County’s wine industry leadership, non-profit organizations, local dignitaries, and top donors celebrated the momentous contribution at a reception hosted and sponsored by Chateau St. Jean in Kenwood, California.
The figure includes $1,985,000 from the Fund the Future initiative to support children’s literacy programs, which was raised during the Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction last August. Beginning in 2013, the Fund the Future literacy initiative supports successful Sonoma County organizations focused upon childhood literacy and preparing kids to read. In addition, over $1,501,726 in Sonoma Wine Country Weekend Community Grants ranging from $2,000-$50,000 were awarded to 81 charitable groups located across Sonoma County.
Dan Goldfield of Dutton-Goldfield Winery and President of the Sonoma County Vintners Foundation stated, “It’s such a pleasure to be part of something larger than ourselves.” The purest sense of community was on display during the check presentation, where speakers spoke about taking action to care for people who are ill, teach children and work to preserve the beautiful and delicate environment of Sonoma County. The group of vintners and growers restated their goal of sustainability as it relates to the environment while on this day emphasizing the other side of sustainability, the human side of sustaining a community.
Kenneth Juhasz of Auteur Wines and President of the Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Foundation states, “The rise in leadership amongst our own is inspiring. The progress we’ve made the last few years is due to industry leaders and 2015 established new heights thanks to our Honorary Co-Chairs JeanCharles Boisset of Buena Vista Winery and DeLoach Vineyards and Joe Anderson and Mary Dewane of Benovia Winery.” To date, the event has invested more than $20,000,000 to help secure Sonoma County’s future through the work of important non-profit organizations.
Sonoma Wine Country Weekend Beneficiaries:
10,000 Degrees, 1Revolution, Action Network, Alliance Medical Center, American Association of University Women, Audubon Canyon Ranch, Becoming Independent, Bellevue Union School District: Facilities Fund, Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley, California Indian Museum & Cultural Center, Canine Companions for Independence, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, Centro Laboral De Graton, Ceres Community Project, Child Parent Institute, Children’s Museum of Sonoma County, Chop’s Teen Club, Committee On The Shelterless, Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County, Community Action Partnership: Pasitos Playgroups and AVANCE, Community Child Care Council of Sonoma County, Community Support Network, Conservation Corps North Bay, Council on Aging Services for Seniors, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Sonoma County , Episcopal Senior Communities Foundation, Eye Music, Face to Face Sonoma County AIDS Network, Food For Thought, Forget Me Not Children’s Services, Friends in Sonoma Helping (F.I.S.H), Girls On The Run Sonoma County, Global Student Embassy, Greencare Homes and School, Hanna Boys Center, Healdsburg Center For The Arts, Healdsburg Education Foundation: Accelerated English, Healdsburg Shared Ministries, H-Town Youth Theatre, Interfaith Shelter Network Inc, Jewish Community Free Clinic, Josiah Rich Ministries, Kids Street Learning, Knights of Indulgence Theatre United States, Knowledge (TALLK), La Luz Bilingual Center, Laguna De Santa Rosa Foundation, Landpaths, Loco Bloco, Luther Burbank Memorial Foundation, Navy Seals Foundation, New Vision Santa Rosa Foundation, North Bay Children’s Center, Old Adobe Union School District: Accelerating Through The Zone, On The Move, Operation Access, Pediatric Dental Initiative of The North Coast (PDI), Pepperwood Foundation, Petaluma City Ballet , Petaluma City Schools: Raising Readers 0-8, Petaluma People Services Center, Piner-Olivet Union School District: Schools of Hope Reading Initiative, Redwood Empire Food Bank, Rohnert Park Kitchen Kut-Ups, Roseland School District: Roseland Grade Level Proficiency Project, Rural California Broadcasting Corporation (KRCB), Russian Riverkeeper, Santa Rosa City Schools: Links to Literacy, Santa Rosa Symphony Association, Santa Rosa Tool Library, Social Advocates for Youth, Sonoma Community Center, Sonoma County Fair Foundation, Sonoma County Office of Education: Teachers Acquiring Language Learner, Sonoma County Public Library Foundation, Sonoma County Regional Parks, Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation, Sonoma County Safe and Sober Project Graduation, Sonoma County Task Force for the Homeless, Sonoma Land Trust, Sonoma Overnight Support, Sonoma Valley Education Foundation, Sonoma Valley Education Foundation: Summer Reading Academy, Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation, Sonoma Valley Teen Services, Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, Sunny Hills Services, The Living Room Center, TLC Child and Family Services, Transcendence Theatre Company, United Way of the Wine Country: Schools of Hope, Verity, West County Community Services, West County Health Centers, West County Special Education and Student Services Consortium: West County, Wright Elementary School District: Multiple Steps to Reading Mastery
In addition to supporting over 90 Sonoma County charities each year, over $5.5 million in Sonoma Wine Country Weekend gross proceeds directly support the local economy and marketing and promotion of Sonoma County growers and vintners year-round. Promotion and media coverage of the event generates hundreds of millions of additional media impressions for Sonoma County wines and tourism.
About 2016 Sonoma Wine Country Weekend Sponsors and Beneficiaries
As Sonoma County’s leading annual wine fundraising event, Sonoma Wine Country Weekend brings the wine industry, chefs, and guests together to invest in our community by supporting youth and children for future success, preserving our environment, and improving health and welfare of our local communities.
A partnership between Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance and Sonoma County Vintners, Sonoma Wine Country Weekend takes place on Labor Day weekend each year and features Taste of Sonoma at MacMurray Estate Vineyards®, Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction at Chateau St. Jean, Sonoma Starlight at Francis Ford Coppola Winery, and an assortment of intimate and exclusive winery lunch and dinner parties at multiple locations throughout Sonoma County. To date, more than $20 million has been invested in Sonoma County’s future. For more information visit
www.SonomaWineCountryWeekend.com.
About Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance and Foundation and Sonoma County Vintners
The Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance (SVVGA) is a non-profit trade organization serving over 500 members who share a mission to promote awareness of Sonoma Valley’s grapes, wine, and history as the birthplace of the California wine industry. For more information on the SVVGA and SVVGF, please visit www.SonomaValleyWine.com.
Sonoma County Vintners (SCV) is the leading voice of Sonoma County wine, dedicated to raising awareness of Sonoma County as one of the world’s premier wine regions, noted for its heritage of artisan winemaking, distinct growing regions, and extraordinary quality. Founded in 1944, SCV represents more than 250 wineries and affiliated business throughout the county. Learn more about SCV at www.SonomaWine.com. Note: Additional high or low resolution photography provided upon request.
Wine Country Weekend offers so many ways
To have a great time in NorCal
Always fun, lots of great people, auction is Amazing
And with the huge giveaway to so many deserving
Organizations ….win win all the way around!
Great to see the picture of the many people involved.