May 9, 2016 – ¡Salud!, a program through Tuality Healthcare that provides healthcare services for seasonal vineyard workers and their families, is proud to announce its 25th anniversary and details for the 2016 event season. The fourth annual Summertime ¡Salud! will be held on Thursday, July 28 and the 25th annual Oregon Pinot Noir auction events will be held November 11-12.
Since its founding in 1991, ¡Salud! has raised over $11.6 million. The program is able to deliver three dollars of service for every one dollar spent because of collaborative relationships with partnering healthcare organizations. In 2014, funding from more than 100 benefactors enabled the purchase of a new mobile medical unit that provides easier access to the wineries and vineyards served. The ¡Salud! Services team is able to provide direct care to approximately 150 vineyards throughout the northern Willamette Valley, and document more than 5,000 medical and dental encounters per year.
Summertime ¡Salud! – The Big Dinner will be held at Stoller Family Estate in Dayton on July 28, the evening before the International Pinot Noir Celebration commences. The event will feature a collection of wines donated by the 13 participating wineries from Oregon, France, and Australia, and an upscale, family-style meal prepared by Greg Higgins of Portland’s Higgins Restaurant and Bar. Additionally, there will be a small collection of library ¡Salud! Cuvées and large format bottles available for purchase at the event’s pop-up wine shop. Tickets are $175 per person and may be purchased online at http://www.saludauction.org/event-news/2016/05/join-us-at-summertime-salud/. A portion of the ticket price is tax-deductible.
The November celebrations will include the ¡Salud! Big Board Auction at Ponzi Vineyards on Friday, November 11. Guests will have the opportunity to sample and bid on exclusive ¡Salud! Cuvées from 44 wineries. The Saturday, November 12, Auction and Gala is moving back to Portland’s Sentinel Hotel and will include a silent auction and wine tasting with winemakers from the ¡Salud! Vintners Circle followed by dinner and the live auction. Friday, Saturday, and full-weekend tickets are available, as well as a special group rate for accommodations at the Sentinel. A portion of the ticket prices are tax-deductible and event details and online ticket sales are available at http://www.saludauction.org/auction/the-oregon-pinot-noir-auction/purchase-tickets/.
The 2016 ¡Salud! Vintners Circle members who will offer 2015 ¡Salud! Cuvées include: Adelsheim Vineyard; Alexana Winery; Amalie Robert Estate; ArborBrook Vineyards; Archery Summit; Ayoub; Beaux Frères; Bergström Wines; Bethel Heights Vineyard; Big Table Farm; Brittan Vineyards; Brooks Winery; Chapter 24; Chehalem; Cristom Vineyards; Dobbes Family Estate; Domaine Drouhin Oregon; Domaine Serene; Dukes Family Vineyards; Dusky Goose; Elk Cove Vineyards; Erath Winery; Evening Land Seven Springs Estate; Gran Moraine; Hamacher Wines; Hyland Estates; Lange Estate Winery; Patricia Green Cellars; Penner-Ash Wine Cellars; Ponzi Vineyards; R. Stuart & Co.; Raptor Ridge Winery; Résonance; ROCO Winery; Scott Paul Wines; Shea Wine Cellars; Soléna; Soter Vineyards; St. Innocent Winery; Stoller Family Estate; Trisaetum; WillaKenzie Estate; Winderlea Vineyard & Winery; and Witness Tree Vineyard. Additional winery partners include Argyle, Sokol Blosser, and Willamette Valley Vineyards.
About ¡Salud!
¡Salud! is a unique collaboration between Oregon winemakers and healthcare professionals to provide access to healthcare services for Oregon’s seasonal vineyard workers and their families. The program was created in 1991 by a group of Oregon winery owners and Tuality Healthcare physicians in order to address the hurdles faced by seasonal workers who cannot meet their basic health needs with only a few months’ income to stretch over a full year. The vast majority of field workers move from one crop to another, and their temporary status with each employer makes them ineligible for health coverage. Without insurance, these men, women, and their families often do not seek professional healthcare until their problems become acute. Their knowledge of basic health education is limited and they are overwhelmed by the maze of complex and confusing resources available in the medical system. The mission of ¡Salud! is to bridge this gap. Visit http://www.saludauction.org/.
