Sonoma County Wine Celebration Raises $1.6 Million for Children’s Charities

When the final paddle was raised at the newly christened Sonoma County Wine Celebration and live auction last month, the Sonoma County Vintners Foundation (SCVF) had raised nearly $1.6 million for local charities. That’s up from last year’s $1.3 million total.

The three-day event, which included a welcome reception and country-themed party, culminated with the live auction on Sept. 21, where 230 guests gathered under the white tent on the lawn of Chateau St. Jean in Kenwood. The top selling lot of the day was purchased by an anonymous bidder for $150,000. Dubbed “The (Wine) Revolution Starts Here”, the lot was a unique collection of 230 Sonoma Valley wines in various bottle formats, with labels that included Arrowood, Buena Vista, Hanzell, Kistler Vineyards and Patz & Hall.

“[The winning bidder] has been coming to the Sonoma Valley for a while and he loves the wines,” said George Hamel of Hamel Family Wines, who was the bidder by proxy. “He was interested in getting, not just quantity, but a collection of wines that he couldn’t get elsewhere.”

Pete and Cathy Seghesio were among the bidders. (Bob McClenahan)

Another top bid featured actor Harry Hamlin and vintner Donald Patz of Maritana Vineyards. Hamlin, who is best known from TV shows “L.A. Law” and “Mad Men,” and whose wife, Lisa Rinna, has her own wine label, stars in a cooking show on AMC titled “In the Kitchen with Harry Hamlin.” The lot, “The King of Bolognese Dinner”, included dinner made by Hamlin, paired with wine from Patz’s personal collection, plus a 60-bottle collection of Pinot Noir the duo blended together,

“So just to make sure you understand, we’re coming to your house to cook for eight of your friends,” Patz told the crowd. “How many times are you going to talk about this afterwards? ‘Remember the time that Harry came over and cooked for us, and you know, Donald somebody was there, too.”

Members of the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts Mariachi Ensemble performed. The program, supported by the auction, teaches music and leadership skills to more than 140 students from Sonoma communities. (Bob McClenahan)

The bidding was animated as Hamlin walked through the audience egging on the action. “Today is about raising money to fight hunger and [support] all the other charities,” Hamlin said. As two bidders vied back and forth to win, Hamlin and Patz agreed to stage the dinner twice, raising a total of $60,000 between the two winners.

The “Farmer, Butcher, Chef, and a Unicorn” lot was also doubled, raising a total of $32,000 between two bidders. It included dinner for 10 guests at chefs Duskie Estes and John Stewart’s Forestville farm prepared by another local culinary couple, Mark and Terri Stark, as well as an evening of Three Sticks wines selected by winery co-founder Prema Kerollis.

Three Sticks co-founder and GM Prema Kerollis bids. Her winery supported one of the top lots. (Bob McClenahan)

The annual Fund-A-Need lot brought in a total of $760,000, as dozens of bidders individually pledged amounts from $250 to $300,000 for literacy program K-3 Innovation. Óscar Chávez, Community Foundation Sonoma County president, told the group, “There is nothing more important than learning how to read.”

The auction has raised more than $43 million for the Sonoma County community over 36 years. The money funds community grants for nonprofits focusing on education, health services, arts and culture and the environment.

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