Sonoma Wine Country Weekend Celebrates Sonoma County's Bounty and Raises Over $1,570,700.00
for Local Charities

Record Numbers Turn Out for Extravaganza of Food & Wine

SEPTEMBER 1, 2008, Sonoma, CA - Following three days of wine, food, and festivities, Sonoma Wine Country Weekend concluded with a successful wrap to activities Sunday evening. What began on Friday and continued through the Labor Day weekend was a three-day epicurean extravaganza that captured the essence of Sonoma County's finest offerings and raised vital funds for the local community. Showcase: Taste of Sonoma wine and food event on Saturday and the Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction on Sunday anchored the weekend, flanked by a multitude of winemaker lunches and dinners. Over 4000 attendees clamored to the weekend events, which grossed a total of $1,570,705.00 to benefit local charities.

Saturday's Showcase: Taste of Sonoma, hosted by MacMurray Ranch, shattered all records of ticket sales, 50% over last year with over 2200 tickets sold. More than 120 wineries and 60 chefs offered their wines and foods for sampling in the 29th year of this event. Impressive seminars, intimate vineyard tours, freshly harvested grape tastings, hands-on winemaking, and a top chef competition gave visitors a sampling of the diversity and quality of Sonoma County. The premiere highlight of the afternoon was the new sommelier-led wine tours that guided guests on varietal based walking tours and tastings through the appellation tents.

The weekend culminated at The 16th Annual Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction at Cline Cellars, presided over by honorary chair Jeff "Beatnik" Bundschu, on Sunday. The sixties-themed auction was a day full of world-class wines, fabulous food from local chefs and psychedelic silliness from both presenters and guests that raised $702,500.00 for local charities. Promoting the free-loving, free-flowing theme of "Make Wine, Not War," vintners and growers upheld the frivolity that the auction is known for, dancing, singing and performing to an enthusiastic crowd who bid on fifty-seven lots donated by SVVGA member vintners, growers, restaurateurs, and charity partners.

"We are thrilled at the tremendous success of the Sonoma Wine Country Weekend," commented Honore Comfort, Executive Director of Sonoma County Vintners. "By combining the two events into one weekend, we were able to showcase the best that Sonoma County has to offer - through the food, the wine, and the people."

Sold out winemaker lunches and dinner filled out the weekend. Highlights included an evening with Georg Riedel at the private home of Rodney Strong Vineyards owner, Tom Klein, with a meal prepared by Chef Josh Silver of Syrah Bistro and Chef Jeff Mall of Zin Restaurant and Wine Bar. The Bundschu Family Honorary Chair Winemaker Dinner was a celebration of a century and-a-half of tall pours and tall tales, where Chef John Toulze of the girl & the fig, paired his organic, seasonal fare with Gundlach Bundschu wines.

Fund-Raising Highlights:
To answer the increasing need of non-profits who are struggling to provide quality care and services in these tough economic times, Sonoma Wine Country Weekend offered a wide array of money-raising opportunities, including an online auction, two silent auctions, and the traditional live auction to support over thirteen local Sonoma County charities.

Showcase: Taste of Sonoma on Saturday had a silent auction at which people could leisurely bid on fabulous items and opportunities. The Taste silent auction brought in $25,000.00 for the Redwood Empire Food Bank.

This year Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction hosted its first-ever online auction comprised of about 30 lots from Sonoma vintners and businesses. The 2008 online auction created a virtual venue in which a larger number of people could bid from anywhere in the United States. An additional silent auction was held on Sunday at the Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction and the two silent auction opportunities together raised $73,000.00 for local charities. Top lots included excursions to Pebble Beach, California and Belize, Mexico in addition to incredible wine lots and vertical bottle offerings.

Over the past fifteen years, seven million dollars for local charities has been raised through the live auction. This year, $702,500.00 was raised from 57 live lots, bringing the overall total up to nearly $9,000,000.00 over the last sixteen years. As always, the vintners and growers introduced their lots with customized skits often getting as many laughs as dollars.

Grant Raeside, Executive Director of the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance, and Masters of Ceremonies at the live auction-disguised as a Rastafarian-enthused "The is our highest grossing live auction ever, and it proves how great our community is and how great our vintners and growers are. When it's time to give back to the community they are first in line and they showed it today. We are proud of everybody who participated."

The top lot of the day was Chateau St. Jean's "Magical Mystery Tour" which brought in a total of $50,000 for the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation. The dinner dance will be catered by Santé at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. The lot was so popular that it was sold immediately to a single party, and offered again to individual bidders to create a second event.

The next highest bid at the live auction was "Green Machine" a 2008 Black Toyota Prius offered by Friends of the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance. For the second year in a row, the Prius lot was purchased by Trilogy Glass & Packaging, Inc. from Santa Rosa, California-this year for $44,000.00.

The third top lot, "Getting High in Big Sky", presented by Gundlach Bundschu for Friends of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley, was purchased by two private groups for a total of $42,000.00. Two lucky groups of six guests each will enjoy several days of adventure in Whitefish, Montana with Jim and Nancy Bundschu-along with three 3-liter bottles of their 150th Anniversary Commemorative Gundlach Bundschu 2004 Vintage Reserve.

Sonoma County came out in full force this Labor Day weekend, to unite as premium wine growing, wine making and culinary region. The outstanding community spirit, evident throughout the events and fundraising opportunities, will provide positive energy and funds in these challenging economic times. The success of Sonoma Wine Country Weekend 2008 is far reaching and will be anticipated as a highlight again in 2009.

About Sonoma Wine Country Weekend
Sonoma Wine Country Weekend is a partnership between Sonoma County Vintners and Sonoma Valley Vintners &Growers, producing the largest and most comprehensive wine country event in Sonoma County, www.sonomawinecountryweekend.com.

• The Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance (SVVGA) is a non-profit trade organization serving over 500 vintners, growers and associates who share a mission to promote awareness of Sonoma Valley's grapes, wine, terroir and history as the birthplace of the California wine industry. The Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Foundation (SVVGF) is a non-profit organization that has raised over $8,000,000 for local Sonoma Valley charities through the Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction. For more information on the SVVGA and SVVGF, please call 707-935-0803 or visit www.sonomavalleywine.com.

• Sonoma County Vintners is the leading voice of Sonoma County wine, dedicated to raising awareness of Sonoma County as one of the world's premier wine regions, noted for its heritage of artisan winemaking, distinct growing regions, and extraordinary quality. Founded in 1944, SCV represents more than 140 wineries of all sizes throughout the county. www.sonomawine.com.

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