Wente Vineyards Celebrates Legacy of Philanthropy with 125th Anniversary Donations
America’s Oldest Family-Owned and Operated Winery to Donate 125 Cases of Wine to Each of Five National Non-Profit Organizations in 2008.Karl Wente, Fifth Generation Winemaker for Wente Vineyards, with Heather Shannon, National Manager of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and Eric Wente, Fourth Generation Winegrower. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is one of five national charities to receive 125 cases of wine from Wente Vineyards to support fundraising efforts.
(Livermore Valley, CA, August 5)—In celebration of its 125th Anniversary, Wente Vineyards has donated 125 cases of wine to each of the following national non-profit organizations: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, American Cancer Society, America’s Second Harvest—The Nation’s Food Bank Network, Macy’s Passport HIV/AIDS Benefit, and The Gretsch Foundation. The organizations will leverage the donations to raise monies far beyond the value of the wines at fundraising events this year.
“We are gratified to have the opportunity to help these wonderful organizations,” said Fourth Generation Winegrower and Vice Chair of Wente Vineyards Carolyn Wente. “We hold community involvement in high regard. From volunteering on a very local level, to our sustainable winegrowing practices across all segments of our winery and wine country lifestyle businesses, our community outreach and fundraising are integral parts of our long term strategy and vision.”
In 2006, Wente Family Estates donated nearly $130,000 to charity, and more than $230,000 in 2007. Wente Vineyards plans to contribute $340,000 to charities in 2008.
“The significance of the Wente family’s generous donation goes beyond the monetary value of the wine,” said Heather Shannon, National Product Manager of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. “Special events generate an enormous part of our funding and fine wine is an essential component of these events. The Wente family’s donation gives us back precious time and resources that would have been spent pursuing or purchasing wine for our events.”
A list of industry and community activities, past and present, of top level executives at Wente Vineyards to the ongoing commitment to a sustainable future on the local, regional, national and international levels is available at: http://www.wentevineyards.com/news/WV_Exec_Board_Community_Involvement.doc
About Wente Vineyards
2008 marks Wente Vineyards’ 125th Anniversary. The country's oldest continuously operated family-owned winery, Wente Vineyards is led today by the fourth and fifth generations of the Wente family. More than a century of committed stewardship to the land has led to the development of Wente Vineyards’ Farming for the Future, a system of sustainable viticultural practices designed to produce the best quality wines with the least environmental impact. This philosophy extends to all aspects of winery operations, where energy efficiency, waste reduction and recycling are all integral to the culture.
Located just east of San Francisco in the historic Livermore Valley, Wente Vineyards is recognized as one of California’s premier wine country destinations, featuring wine tasting, fine dining and championship golf. For more information, visit http://www.wentevineyards.com.About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. The mission of LLS is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, LLS has invested more than $600 million for research specifically targeting blood cancers. For more information, visit http://www.lls.org.
About American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy, and service. With chartered divisions throughout the country and over 3,400 local offices, American Cancer Society (ACS) offers patient service and rehabilitation for those in need. For more information, visit http://www.cancer.org.
About America’s Second Harvest
America's Second Harvest — The Nation's Food Bank Network — is the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization. The network of more than 200 member food banks and food-rescue organizations serves all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The America's Second Harvest Network secures and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually and supports approximately 63,000 local charitable agencies, operating more than 70,000 programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, kids cafes and backpack programs. For more information, visit http://www.secondharvest.org.
About Macy’s Passport
Fashion is worn with compassion at the annual Macy's Passport HIV/AIDS Benefit at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco on September 17th and 18th, and at Barker Hangar in the Santa Monica Air Center on September 25th. While the catwalks make cash for charity, they also show early glimpses of next year's trends from designers like Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Levi's, Ben Sherman, Ed Hardy and more! Expect to see a selection of famous faces. The San Francisco event beneficiaries include Project Open Hand, San Francisco General Hospital, Bay Area Perinatal AIDS Center, UCSF, Division of Adolescent Medicine, and Connect to Protect. Los Angeles beneficiaries include the AIDS Services Foundation Orange County, Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team, APLA (AIDS Project Los Angeles), Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Foothill AIDS Project, PATH (People Assisting The Homeless), Reach LA, The Wall Las Memorias, and the UCLA AIDS Institute. General tickets go on sale Sunday, August 10th through Ticketmaster online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by phone. All VIP packages and tickets can be purchased through Blue Room Events at (877) 252-7814.
About The Gretsch Foundation
In 2002 the Gretsch Company started an art program, donating instruments to schools and organizations to help them with their fundraising needs. Through this program, non-profit organizations received used guitars and turned them into beautiful and unique works of art that were then sold at auction. For more information visit http://www.guitarart.org.
# # #Contact: Christina Zirker or Joel Quigley at Paige Poulos Communications (510) 970-9777 or (800) 497-3376 email: