Beyond how wonderful wine may be as a companion at the table, both Clendenen and Grace have come to realize that this quintessential nectar offers society something far more profound: it can be used as a vehicle to raise funds for worthwhile causes. Their shared belief has compelled each man to devote an inordinate amount of personal time and energy to charities and other worthy organizations.

This year, Clendenen is the honorary chairman of the annual Magic Moments fund-raiser, an event that helps grant once-in-a-lifetime wishes to children with chronic, life-threatening illnesses. Always enthusiastic, Clendenen was running in high gear in April, working on securing special auction lots that will include rare bottles matched up with dinners at celebrated restaurants prepared by acclaimed chefs. Set for November, Magic Moments is held in Birmingham, Alabama – a long distance from Santa Barbara, where Clendenen makes his home. He had recently returned from Atlanta where he had lent help to another charity, the High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction, and he is also a dedicated supporter of l'Été du Vin, an annual charity event held in Nashville that benefits the American Cancer Society.

Despite an ungenerous 1996 harvest that left him with a mere two barrels (48 cases) of his highly lauded Grace Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Grace remains "optimystic" – the word itself and its inventive spelling is Grace's personal mantra – about being able to support a dozen charity auctions and a similar number of charitable causes in 1999. Among his special causes are the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Mondavi Celebration of the Arts, Family House in San Francisco, Sonoma-Cutrer's World Croquet Championship Charity Foundation, Napa Valley Wine Auction, the Sun Valley Wine Auction, Taylor Family Foundation in Lafayette, California, Winesong in Mendocino County, St. Helena Montessori School, Magic Moments, Leukemia Cure-A-Thon, The Jim Turner Endowment Scholarship and the St. Charles Hospital. He is also involved in the Campaign to Free Tibet, scholarships to the Tibetan Children's School, and others.

Although neither Grace Family nor Au Bon Climat needs or seeks publicity, these two wineries, like a great number of others, give away large quantities of precious, and often unique, bottlings. The fact that Grace Family has hundreds of collectors on a waiting list eager for the opportunity to buy its wines and that every vintage of Au Bon Climat sells out quickly, dramatically illustrates that there is something quite remarkable about the American wine industry.

Through the efforts of big-hearted vintners such as Grace and Clendenen, wine, more than any other single consumer good, luxury or otherwise, has done more to improve the human condition than it is possible to even measure – from enriching the cultural arts to funding critical medical and social needs, scientific research and a plethora of scholarships, the list is seemingly endless.

It is refreshing to note that there exists in the American wine industry a camaraderie that is evident in the willingness to share knowledge and technology with one another. This happy fraternity of dedicated souls seems in some ways untouched by the cutthroat practices of doing business in an increasingly competitive world. For the most part, it is fair to say that winemaking in America is a vocation that attracts overachievers who are driven to make not only world-class wine, but who are also intent on using that wine to make a difference.

At a time when California, Oregon and Washington wine prices are going through the roof, and the lifestyle associated with wine country is perceived in some quarters as one of hedonism practiced by a self-absorbed wealthy class, a look at the selfless side of the American wine scene seems appropriate.

As an intimate observer of the wine world for close to a quarter century, I am constantly reminded that many veteran winemakers have gone through their ups and downs, have hit bottom, paid their dues and though they could with a clear conscience easily take the money and run, many are now spending much of their energy and resources devising ways to give something back to the community and to the less fortunate among us.

Being asked to give away what one sells as a livelihood is somewhat unusual. Dan Duckhorn of Napa Valley's Duckhorn Vineyards, another vintner vitally interested in supporting health causes, points out that he has never heard of any fund-raiser asking Chevron or Exxon to donate a gallon of gasoline or a case of motor oil. Though it is true that restaurants, inns, hotels, airlines and cruise lines also are being targeted by fund-raising committees, the American wine industry, much like the goose that laid the proverbial golden egg, is being asked to give more and more as the number of fund-raisers and charitable events in the United States continues to increase.

Al and Boots Brounstein, whose Diamond Creek Vineyards produces only 3,000 cases of highly prized Cabernet Sauvignon per year, receive at least one call per day for a donation of wine. And although the number of requests seems daunting when weighed against the small production, the Brounsteins regularly donate special, large-format bottles to Magic Moments, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Winesong, as well as supporting the Parkinson's Clinic in Sunnyvale, California, the Mayo Clinic for research into Parkinson's and a dozen fund-raisers in Napa Valley.

Washington state's Hogue Cellars, a winery that is bullish on charitable fund-raisers, receives more than 700 donation requests per year, while Dominus Estate in Napa Valley, a winery that maintains a much lower profile, receives an equal number of requests. At Hogue, one person is employed full time just to evaluate the requests and to oversee the donation process. According to Gary Hogue, the winery's president, his family "is delighted that charities promote wine rather than any other product." Several years ago, he commissioned a special series of 6-liter Garfield the cat bottles from cartoonist Jim Davis that have become highly sought after collectibles, bringing as much as $6,000 per bottle at auction.

Why give wine away? There are a number of good reasons, three of which seem to encapsulate the brunt of the giving done by most wineries.

First, winemakers with a social conscience seek to support and improve their own community, especially when the areas in need of improvement are education and health. Lately, many wineries in Napa and Sonoma counties have responded to the overwhelming number of requests by adopting a policy of giving locally. A prime example is Beringer Estates, which hands out close to $200,000 per year to a variety of Napa Valley organizations ranging from the Red Cross to the Food Bank. "The logic," says Beringer spokesperson Tor Kenward, "is to keep the community in good shape and to improve the environment of your employees who live in the area. Giving to local causes is a natural, and you don't write press releases or brag about it." But he added, "it is hard to draw the line when you realize you can make a big difference in some place far beyond your own neighborhood." He indicated Beringer is now taking on a bigger financial role in Roots of Peace, a nonprofit organization working with the United Nations to eliminate land mines from various war-torn nations.

In sync with the needs of its community is Schramsberg Vineyards, a Napa Valley sparkling winery that recently created a special brut rosé cuvée named Querencia. All of the proceeds from its sale will go to the Napa Valley Agricultural Preserve in the name of Jack L. Davies, Schramsberg's co-founder and guiding hand, who died last year.

Exemplifying this spirit of giving locally is Stimson Lane, a Washington state-based corporation that consists of Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest and others.

"When you are with a public company," says Allen Shoup, president of Stimson Lane, "you realize that when you give something away, you are dealing with the stockholders' money, so charities have to be beneficial to everyone. However, with the wine industry, I've learned that wine is the only consumer product that can transform a business into a great, kind corporate citizen." Shoup's Stimson Lane has helped to raise more than $3 million for Seattle's Children's Hospital at the Auction of Northwest Wines, while spearheading several other local fund-raisers as well.

Perhaps it is Robert Mondavi who best personifies the broad group of vintners who have embraced their communities. Known for his generosity as well as his world-class wines, Mondavi has been reaching deep into his pockets of late. In 1998, he pledged $2 million for the restoration of the Napa Valley Opera House, kicked in $100,000 for the Napa Valley Symphony and this winter ponied up $20 million in seed money for the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, a major cultural complex slated to open its doors in the Napa Valley in 2001. Groundbreaking for the center is scheduled for June 1.

Getting the nonprofit center on track has been a personal project. Originally, he envisioned it as a small extension of the Robert Mondavi Winery, but with encouragement from Julia Child, the late Richard Graff and many other food and wine luminaries, the concept was expanded to include not only American wine and food, but also their history, as well as the arts and humanities as played out in this country. "This center will be a celebration of what is so good about America, and what has been ignored in the past," explains Mondavi, who currently serves as the center's chairman of the board of trustees. "With the center, we can raise the cultural image of our country worldwide."

The second category of giving includes winemakers who are willing to go beyond their locales to support a cause that has personal meaning to them, or that enables them to combine doing good with doing business in specific regions. Though my research can hardly be deemed scientific, adopting a special cause seems to be the most popular path chosen by winery donors.

Under the banner of "Reflections in Style," the Napa Valley Vintners Association organizes annual marketing tours in major U.S. cities. This year, many of its 149 member wineries will visit twelve cities, putting on tastings for the trade and public. Proceeds from the consumer events are donated to local charities. On average, the vintners will give $25,000 to $30,000 to a local charity in each city on the tour.

This year, wineries turned out in record number at the Florida Winefest & Auction despite the fact that Florida is now a "felony state," along with Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee and Indiana. One of the top three U.S. wine markets, Florida was one of the first to prohibit direct shipping of wine by making it a felony for wineries to ship directly to its citizens. Numerous states have passed similar legislation, and American winemakers are up in arms. Beating the drum for these prohibitive shipping laws are the country's most powerful wine distributors. What many legislators don't realize is the negative impact the legislation has had on their state's charitable groups, and in turn on their constituents.

"When the news broke," recalls Dana Westmark, Winefest's executive director, "some producers wanted to boycott our fund-raiser. I couldn't blame them for feeling that way. Wineries began to withdraw, and we were heading toward a disaster." Similar scenarios were unfolding in Georgia at the High Museum event and in other felony states across the country.

The Winefest, which directs its proceeds toward a dozen or more charities assisting children in need, was "rescued," according to Westmark, by a core of vintners who stuck with the event. Most follow the logic of Gary Hogue, who noted "there was no point in punishing the charity and the children it helps." Tom Shelton, president of Joseph Phelps Vineyards, agreed, adding that by so doing, the participating vintners could show their support for Florida Senator Katherine Harris' legislative initiatives to repeal the felony law. Harris, who is now Florida's secretary of state, is a strong supporter of Winefest.

For other wineries in this group that observes no geographic boundaries, there is the opportunity to combine marketing and fund-raising to create a win-win situation. In 1998, Janet Trefethen of Trefethen Vineyards went on the road to celebrate her family winery's 30th anniversary. Working with seven restaurants in seven major cities, she took the "meet the winemaker dinner" concept to a higher level. Her last dinner in the series took place in Atlanta with the monies raised from that dinner going to Aid Atlanta, a local charity. All told, the anniversary tour donated more than $160,000 to several regional causes.

Then there is kindness of a third kind, wherein a few special people go far beyond community-oriented, personal and marketing reasons to support good causes simply because they have the ability and the inclination. More than a few believe they have an obligation to do so.

To Dick Grace, helping others – especially children – has gone beyond an obligation to become a calling.

"It was ego that got me to jump into the swimming pool of charity," he recalls, "and then I started meeting these kids, and I realized that it's not only about raising capital.

"My main purpose for donating is to raise consciousness – to make people aware of their goodness and of the human capacity for compassion." In May, he and his wife, Ann, donated a 3-liter of 1990 Grace Family Vineyards lot to the World Croquet Championship fund-raiser at Sonoma-Cutrer. Hand-painted by their close friend artist Lowell Herrero, who created an image to convey the message of "Compassion," the lovingly crafted bottle inspired a handsome bid of $23,000, while Au Bon Climat's 5-liter Isabelle 1997 Pinot Noir brought a hefty $12,000.

Auction Donations

Since the founding in 1443 of the Hospice de Beaune in Burgundy, wine producers and charitable wine auctions have been partners. Funding for this exemplary hospital for the poor and the sick has for 500 years come from the famous Hospice de Beaune auction, held on the third weekend in November.

Attended by the well-to-do from all parts of the world, the Hospice has long encouraged a little self-indulgence and merriment over the weekend so long as both lead to generosity of spirit.

To privately owned and publicly held wineries, auctions have re-emerged in the 1990s as the most powerful vehicle for charitable causes. And because it is based upon tradition, this link between wine auctions and charities holds strong appeal to many winemakers who wish to perpetuate the wine industry's heritage of giving to worthy causes.

The nonprofit Make-A-Wish Foundation, with chapters across the country, was founded in 1980 in response to the wish of a terminally ill boy who wanted to become a policeman. Officers of the Arizona Department of Public Safety granted his wish with a custom-made uniform, a helmet, a badge, his own set of tickets and a helicopter ride. This one child's wish provided the impetus for the creation of a national organization that has come to depend largely on wine as a primary fund-raising vehicle.

Similarly, Magic Moments, based in Birmingham, Alabama, also grants once-in-a-lifetime wishes to children in crisis. With an average cost of $1,400 per wish, this organization relies on private and corporate contributions as well as on its annual Magic Moments Wine Auction.

Topping $3 million last year, the Napa Valley Wine Auction, which took its inspiration from the Hospice de Beaune, is the most successful charity wine auction in North America. Sponsored by the Napa Valley Vintners Association, this four-day event is the nation's largest and longest running charity wine auction. Staged at wineries throughout the Napa Valley and under the pavilion at Meadowood Resort, this event has poured more than $26 million into local causes. With the June 3-6, 1999 event marking its 19th year, the auction formerly supported two local Napa County hospitals, but has recently been directing its revenues toward a dozen other local causes.

Believing they needed an angle of some kind, Sonoma-Cutrer President Brice Jones and Executive Vice President Ted Elliott looked into building a world-class croquet court at their winery in the Russian River Valley. At the time, the winery had one employee who was a skilled player, and Jones felt there might be a sort of synergy between croquet and wine.

"We also approached wine with the Hospice de Beaune mentality," Elliott recalls, "and were looking for a way to give to the community. So we organized The World Croquet Championship and added a wine auction to it. In our first year, 1986, we netted a little over $1,000." By 1998, the event had grown considerably, netting more than $700,000, and sending the grand total over $2 million. Almost every penny raised goes to Make-A-Wish, Magic Moments and other worthy causes. Jones is skilled at lining up corporate sponsors who underwrite the event, but he and Elliott rely on their own employees to organize the nuts and bolts. Recently, Brown-Forman acquired an 80 percent interest in Sonoma-Cutrer, but as part of the negotiations Jones and Elliott made it clear that the winery facility would continue to host the croquet event and charity auction.

In the Northwest, Chateau Ste. Michelle has been vital to the success of the aforementioned Auction of Northwest Wines. From its modest beginning in 1988 with net proceeds of only $20,000, it has become the country's third-largest charity wine auction. Held at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Washington, its 1998 net of $800,000 brought the 10-year total to more than $3.5 million in funds raised. The winery itself estimates its total contribution to be approximately $100,000 each year, with more help coming from other Northwest corporate entities such as Microsoft, Starbuck's Coffee and Costco. As part of its bylaws, this fund-raiser turns 100 percent of its proceeds over to Seattle's Children's Hospital for its uncompensated care fund. Any additional expenses are paid by the participating wineries.

Social Obligation

Several years ago, Dick Grace penned this rather bold mission statement for Grace Family Vineyards: "Wine as a catalyst towards healing our planet." From an outsider's perspective, this goal may sound rather lofty, but in truth, Grace Family's mission statement speaks to the essence of what the vintners in this story have set out to accomplish.

"I had come to realize that each of us can make a difference, that each of us has some vehicle to get the message across. The vehicle to carry the message of compassion could be a writer's words or an actor's performance. But I realized Ann and I were given this winery not for financial or ego rewards, but to use as our vehicle for bringing people together."

Grace puts the weight of deeds behind his money and his wine. He and his colleagues at Vineyard 29 and Hartwell Vineyards regularly set aside special bottles to be given to charitable causes, particularly those that assist children in need.

Up until last year when Bob Hartwell completed his own winery, his Grace-cloned wines and Vineyard 29's entire production (planted exclusively to the Grace clone) were made by Heidi Peterson Barrett at Grace Family. While Hartwell is no longer made there, the three remain bound by a commitment to support charities benefiting children. The donations from these three boutique wineries create tremendous bidding excitement and amazing results. At last year's World Croquet Championship auction, for instance, a 3-liter of 1995 Hartwell sold for $5,500; a 6-liter of 1995 Vineyard 29 fetched $10,000; and a 3-liter of 1995 Grace Family brought $17,000.

Like Grace Family, Hartwell Vineyards saw only a tiny crop in 1996, but that did little to dampen Hartwell's enthusiasm for donating to charitable auctions. With a total of only 63 cases of 1996 Hartwell Grace Clone Cabernet Sauvignon to sell, the winery nonetheless set aside six etched 3-liters and two etched 6-liters from that vintage for charity auctions.

Other than donating their rare bottlings for auction, Grace and Hartwell often hold intimate fund-raising dinners throughout the year featuring their wines paired with the cuisine of celebrity chefs. Grace is particularly fond of donating auction packages that include working the harvest followed by a harvest luncheon served at Grace Family Vineyards.

At this year's World Croquet Championship, the Graces donated what was perhaps their most personal lot to date. Next spring they will be making their tenth trip to Nepal, and their lot offered two people the chance to accompany them on their pilgrimage. The winning bidders, who paid $30,000 for the opportunity, will work alongside Dick and Ann for a week of volunteerism in hospitals and villages before moving into the high country for two weeks of trekking.

There is no doubt that Grace is unique in the way that he becomes personally involved with the children and causes that he and Ann support. Behind his efforts is a strong sense of spirituality derived both from his inherently generous nature and the Buddhist philosophy he has embraced. On several occasions, I have witnessed a single bottle of Grace Family wine or a special Grace Family Vineyards lot lift an auction to a higher level as bidders simply get caught up in the donor's generous spirit and heartfelt cause.

Along with Grace and Hartwell, Vineyard 29 co-owners, Tom Paine and Teresa Norton, have been setting aside large-format, etched bottles for charities since their first vintage in 1992. In fact, they were donating special bottles of their very first vintage, the 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon, at least a year before they sold their first case. Long involved in causes such as CARE, Paine marvels at the way wine donations create a multiplier effect: "A $500 cash donation brings in $500, but a $500 bottle of wine at charity auctions focusing on a good cause could bring in $2,000 to $3,000, or higher."

The newest addition to the Grace Family fraternity is Barbour Vineyards, owned by vineyardist Jim Barbour, who shares both the Grace clone and Dick Grace's propensity for giving.

As the honorary chairman for Magic Moments, Jim Clendenen is donating both special lots and plenty of personal time. He also contributes to other charities that have a strong community feel to them.

"I don't limit what we do to the visceral, emotionally charged children's issues," he says. "If I sense the community is highly involved, if it just feels right to me, I'll do what I can with our wine and time." As to why he gets involved, Clendenen explains that he came from an ordinary background. "Growing up in the '60s, we believed in the communal sense where you help out the disenfranchised. Thanks to wine, I enjoy a wonderful lifestyle. Rather than give wine away at a tasting room or do winemaker dinners, I work with charities because a small amount of wine can raise a lot of money."

Foregoing the black tie gala approach, Rumpus, a 90-seat San Francisco restaurant, raised $112,000 earlier this year for the city's Family House, an organization that provides housing and comfort at a time of health crisis for children as well as for their parents. Restaurant owner Jim Kopp donates his restaurant space for one evening and kicks in all of the food served. Consisting of a tasting, dinner and a small auction of 18 lots, Rumpus attracts big names. Regular participants include Grace Family, Forman, Harrison, Araujo, Hartwell, Staglin, Vineyard 29 and Livingston, among others.

Each year, Kopp invites twelve Cabernet Sauvignon producers to participate; attendance is limited to 60 patrons. Lyndsey Harrison of Harrison Vineyards in Napa Valley is active in many causes, including Family House, which she and her late husband, Michael, have supported over the years. "At this tasting and auction," Harrison says, "you meet those people who are involved with the project on a daily basis and get to hear firsthand how the funds will be used. It really is a personal involvement for us."

At last year's event, the Harrisons donated a large-format bottle of their Cabernet Sauvignon. To create more bidding interest they added dinner for ten at the trendy French Laundry restaurant in Yountville. As the bidding escalated, they added another dinner for ten at their Napa Valley home. They were delighted by the final bid of $6,200.

Sadly, Michael Harrison died this May while traveling abroad.

Beyond Auctions

Garen Staglin has his own take on the "wine as a catalyst" movement. "Anyone who is donating wine or creating a wine event mainly for promotional or marketing reasons, is doing it for the wrong reason. We try to focus on causes we care about and then do everything we can to get involved personally." At Staglin Family Vineyards, he and his wife, Shari, host an annual concert followed by a dinner with all proceeds going to support mental health causes.

"Through our event's high visibility one can raise awareness of a cause, such as mental illness, that might be otherwise awkward for some people to talk about," Staglin says. Mental health is particularly dear to the Staglins, who work hard to make sure their event is entirely underwritten. Additionally, they sell concert tickets and corporate tables to 400 people, which alone accounted for $540,000 in proceeds in 1998. Helped by corporate donations and an anonymous challenge grant of $50,000, the Staglins ended their one-day 1998 fund-raiser by netting $1.37 million. A magnificent sum that was earned without holding an auction.

He believes wine tends to be associated with improved lives, and through wine one can create a memorable event. "Being a wine producer gives you many opportunities to help out in a big way, and if you are among those fortunate enough to be doing well in life, then it becomes a moral obligation to give something back."

And give they do. The Staglins regularly donate wines and dinners for Make-A-Wish events that routinely generate top bids of more than $20,000. At this year's Florida Winefest, a 9-liter bottle of Staglin Cabernet brought $22,000, the day's highest bid for a single bottle offering. In their own backyard, they're devoting themselves not only to their music festival, but as co-chairs of the fund-raising campaign for the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, they immediately set a good example by writing a check to the center for $1 million.

Under the "Lust for Life" banner, seven women from California wine country trekked in the Mount Everest region of Nepal in 1998, and this year summited Mount Kilimanjaro (19,500 feet). The purpose of this group coming together each year is to raise money for the Elaine Mackey Charitable Trust, a foundation dedicated to raising awareness of breast cancer.

Mackey, the one-time high-energy director of the Napa Valley Vintners Association and the driving force behind the evolution of the Napa Valley Wine Auction, lost her battle with breast cancer in 1995. Seven of her close friends and admirers – Paula Kornell (Robert Mondavi Winery), Karen Cakebread (Cakebread Cellars), Joan Smith (La Jota), Lyndsey Harrison (Harrison Vineyards), Nancy Andrus (Pine Ridge Winery), Katie Wetzel Murphy (Alexander Valley Vineyards) and Polly Ogden (Napa Valley realtor) – formed the "Lust for Life" group in 1997 to fund the trust. Although wine is not used as a direct vehicle for funding, each woman uses her wine country affiliations, and in some cases, winery name, to raise monies.

Although the resourceful group drew from the formidable marketing experience of its members, the women went into this fund-raising project with no experience as hikers or mountain climbers. "After considerable discussion," Kornell recalls, "we settled on trekking because it was new to all of us and put us each at the same level. We wanted a supreme challenge because it was consistent with the way Elaine Mackey always pushed people to do their absolute best."

Before embarking on each journey, the group solicited sponsors – both private and corporate – who anted up donations ranging from $100 to $1,500. Their first trek raised $87,000, and the second brought $70,000 to the fund. They are now working on publishing a book about breast cancer and creating a Web site. All money raised goes directly to the fund. When it comes to training and climbing mountains, each Lust for Life member pays her own way.

Role Reversal

There are obviously a great number of people in the wine business with heart, and their inclination to help people in need rubs off on others. There is a growing interest among some of this country's best-known wine collectors and auction bidders to turn around and become personally involved in the giving side.

San Francisco businessman Bill Shea and his wife, Elizabeth, were once among the Napa Valley Auction's top bidders, and still routinely end up among the top ten in a half dozen charity events. In the 1990s, they also have served as auction directors for Sonoma-Cutrer's World Croquet Championship fund-raiser. The Sheas not only procure auction lots, but each year they underwrite a special, one-of-a-kind 10- to 14-day trip to Italy, France or another wine country destination, often covering travel expenses and lodging, and arranging unparalleled wining and dining experiences. At the 1998 charity auction hosted by Sonoma-Cutrer, the top bid of $55,000 was for a trip to Tuscany, entirely underwritten by the Sheas.

Similarly, Sacramento attorney and longtime collector, Joseph Harbison and his wife, Pat, head up Sacramento's Make-A-Wish fund-raiser. Within six years, they have increased the net at this auction from $60,000 to more than $200,000.

One of the world's greatest collections of Château Haut-Brion belongs to epicure Vince DiPierro of Studio City, California. When not tracking down a jeroboam of 1949 Haut-Brion, he is fulfilling his part in the numer-ous auction lots he donates each year. This usually means traveling at his expense to various California locales where he cooks elaborate meals paired with his donated bottles of Haut-Brion (white and red).

In March, DiPierro was in the kitchen of Hartwell Vineyards' new winery preparing dinner and opening bottles of Haut-Brion for ten guests who had bid $9,000 at Winesong for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. For his part, Bob Hartwell contributed some of his own wine and arranged accommodations for the guests. This intimate wine country party went on until midnight, and although those who tipped their glasses there that night may not have paused to reflect on the far-reaching consequences of their generous bid, the concept of wine as a catalyst toward healing the planet had been fully validated.

For every vintner named here, there are hundreds more pouring out their hearts, and wine, in the name of a good cause. Raising money while embracing life – what a concept.

Contributing Editor Norm Roby publishes the Guide to Winery Direct Wines, a multimedia wine consumer journal that can be found at www.robywine.com.