Wine into Water
When Dave Stare, founder of Dry Creek Vineyard and current president of Rohnert Park’s Global Partners for Development (GPFD), developed Vineyards to Villages a little more than a year ago, he first reached out to large wineries like Korbel and Gallo. His goal was to bring clean, accessible water, sanitation facilities and hygiene education to children in a dry, poor area of Kenya. More recently, GPFD’s Associate Director Amy Holter worked with him to reach out to smaller wineries by creating the V2V Wine Trail. Through this effort, 10 high-end wineries in northern Sonoma County each offer a V2V wine, where 50 percent of proceeds are directly donated to fund water systems in the Kabando Constituency (KC) of Kenya. Winery participants include Dom Whitney Wines, Deux Amis Winery, Merriam Vineyards, Christopher Creek Winery, Viszlay Vineyards, de La Montanya Winery, Williamson Wines, Hawley Winery, Wilson Winery and Fritz Underground Winery.Participants can follow this self-guided wine trail (tasting fees are often waived for V2V tasters) to support the cause, called KC WASH, and gather some excellent wine at the same time. “We even have some die-hards who’ve made it their goal to visit all 10 wineries and go to a few every time they come to Wine Country,” says Holter. You can contact her at aholter@gpfd.org or (252) 717-3874 to set up tastings or get further information on the project. And if you don’t want to drive yourself along the trail, GPFD has partnered with Tesla Tours & Transportation to help you get around for a good cause.
Getting into the Spirit
It hasn’t gone unnoticed at NorthBay biz that there seems to be a growing trend of wineries getting into the spirits production game. And why not? With all the specialty spirits producers’ recent success, it’s a smart move.We all know E&J Gallo has been making brandy for years, but did you know the same company offers gin, tequila and vodka as well? Charbay has also led the pack with its many kinds of vodkas, and now rum, brandy, whiskey and tequila are on the menu. Lancaster Estate makes Roth vodka (from grapes) and Guy Davis of Davis Family Vineyards has been producing his Apple-ation brandy for years. J Vineyards & Winery makes delicious pear liqueur, and Foley Family Wines purchased Lighthouse gin this past June, the same month Trinchero Family Estates launched its Ménage à Trois line of vodkas. Word’s out that there are others with spirits up their sleeves—we can hardly wait to see what turns up next.
Peju Says Congratulations!
Looking for a special way to congratulate your LinkedIn colleagues and friends when they reach a special milestone? Peju Winery and Attention Span’s “The Congratulator,” the first business-gifting platform that leverages LinkedIn’s Developer Platform, have partnered to make it easy.
The application shows who’s marked a special occasion and, once you choose the recipient, offers a curated set of gift options. The first is a choice of three different Peju wines. Then with just a few clicks, the gift is on its way and you’ll feel great knowing you’ll be a part of the moment in a memorable way.
Says Attention Span CEO Josh McHugh, “Peju Winery’s adventurous and innovative approach to the wine business makes it the perfect launch partner.”
Payment is accepted via Bitcoin and major credit cards, and 10 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief efforts. Visit attentionspan.com or www.peju.com for more information.
