Domaine Serene’s Burgundian Trip Leads the Way as the Top Lot for Vineyard Worker Healthcare
Dayton, Ore • For the second year in a row, the ¡Salud! Organization raised more than one million dollars during its annual auction this past weekend. The 28th annual event concluded with the lavish Grand Dinner and Live Auction Gala held on Saturday, November 9th at the Clubhouse at Domaine Serene. In total, ¡Salud! raised $1,060,971 in 2019 – another huge year of fundraising for this almost three-decade old organization.
“It was an honor to host the ¡Salud! Live Auction for the third year in a row at the Clubhouse at Domaine Serene. Being the home of this one-of-a-kind celebration played a very important role in the initial designs and planning of our award-winning facility,” states Ryan Harris, President of Evenstad Estates. “The Salud! Grand Dinner and Live Auction is the finest event of the year in the Willamette Valley, and we are proud to play an integral part each November.”
The top live auction lot of the event, donated by Domaine Serene founders Grace and Ken Evenstad, featured a six person, four-night stay at the Evenstad’s personal Burgundian residence, the historic Château de la Crée. This 15th Century Château, located in the Santenay region of the Cote d’Or, was once home of Nicolas Rolin, the creator of the renowned Hospices de Beaune charitable auction and the Chancellor to Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy. The lot, which includes exclusive accommodations, vineyard and winery tours, tastings and more, raised a total of $38,000 on the evening and was the highest grossing lot. Add to that, the prior evening at the Friday night ¡Salud! Pinot Noir Auction Domaine Serene’s five cases of rare and collectable ¡Salud! Pinot Noir sold for $8,350 – bringing their total fundraising efforts, in addition to hosting the Saturday festivities, to over $45,000 to benefit the Oregon-based ¡Salud! organization.
Funds raised at the 2019 auction will directly benefit OHSU Tuality Healthcare and ¡Salud!’s worksite wellness clinics, dental and optical services, comprehensive health screenings and education, year-round case management and financial assistance. ¡Salud!’s care teams also support families in navigating a complicated healthcare system, without the barriers of cost, transportation, and language. With ¡Salud!, Oregon is the only state in the country with a program designed to support the health needs of seasonal vineyard workers and their families.
Every year Domaine Serene plays an important role in fundraising locally in Oregon and nationally through various charitable wine events. In just the past year, they have pledged some of the highest grossing charitable lots for important functions.
The Evenstads still hold the record for the largest gift in support of wine studies in Oregon history – $6 million dollars in total – to endow the Evenstad Center for Wine Education and the Evenstad Chair in Wine Studies at Linfield College. This sizeable gift created the first institution in the country to offer an interdisciplinary liberal arts degree and master’s degree in wine studies.
Charitable giving is an essential part of the fabric that makes up the culture at Domaine Serene, Château de la Crée and the legacy of Grace and Ken Evenstad. The Evenstads and the Evenstad Estates brands have now donated or raised more than $25 million for philanthropic causes.
