Wineries, importers, distributors and restaurants are raising money for aid organizations and rebuilding projects
Posted: Tuesday, September 06, 2005
By Eric Arnold (Reposted with permission from Wine Spectator)
With government and Red Cross support now flowing into New Orleans as the floodwaters trickle out, the U.S. wine and restaurant industries are beginning to lend a helping hand to the areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
One of the first to pledge its support was the Paso Robles Wine Country Quality Alliance, which set a goal of raising $100,000. The wineries and growers of this region, located north of Santa Barbara, began their efforts over Labor Day weekend, with some contributing their tasting fees, percentages of their sales or all income on certain days. A list of participating wineries and their events can be found at www.pasowine.com. All funds raised will be deposited in a special hurricane-relief account, and the alliance’s board will decide which organizations receive the contributions. Some wineries are making separate donations to the relief efforts of their choice.
Other organizations and businesses that are raising or contributing funds include:
• New Orleans-based Partners Wine Marketing Group, which imports and sells wine to distributors, is donating $1 for every case of wine it sells throughout the United States over the next year; the money will go to a yet-to-be-determined New Orleans rebuilding fund. The company is also asking its distributors and supplying wineries to do the same. The company, which imports Duval-Leroy Champagne, among other wines, intends to operate from Morgan City, La., until it can return to New Orleans.
• Oriel Wines, an international group of winemakers producing wines from several countries under a single label, is contributing 100 percent of its profits for the month of September to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. More information is available at www.orielwines.com.
• Southern Wine & Spirits, the largest wine and liquor wholesaler in the United States, has established a $100,000 matching relief fund and is encouraging its 10,000 employees to participate. All proceeds will go to yet-to-be-determined private relief agencies providing aid to hurricane-affected people in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.
• Sonoma winery Hop Kiln will donate all net proceeds from its 100-year birthday party on Oct. 15 and 16 to the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. The event schedule and ticket information can be found at www.hopkilnwinery.com.
• The National Restaurant Association will hold Dine for America on Oct. 5. Restaurants across the country will be able to choose how they want to participate: making a donation for each guest served, contributing a set amount or donating all of their proceeds for that day. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Dine for America raised more than $20 million from 8,000 restaurants for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, and hopes to exceed that total for the same organization this time. For more information, go to www.restaurant.org or www.dineforamerica.org.
• Share Our Strength, a hunger-relief organization, will host a Hurricane Katrina Relief Benefit in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17, featuring top chefs from around the country. Each chef will be flown in courtesy of Delta Airlines and will prepare southern cuisine. All proceeds will go to several local organizations providing food and supplies in affected areas, including the Bay Area Food Bank in Mobile, Ala., Second Harvesters Food Bank of Greater New Orleans, the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, the Houston Food Bank and the North Texas Food Bank. For information on tickets, go to www.strength.org. The organization will also hold a nationwide Dine Out on Sept. 27, during which restaurants will donate portions of their proceeds from that day.
• Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI), an organization that educates and mentors women in the culinary profession, is resurrecting its Kitchen Fund, which donated more than $60,000 to families of kitchen workers killed in the Sept. 11 attacks. The LDEI board of directors is soon to decide on how the funds raised for Katrina relief will be distributed, and is already accepting checks made payable to LDEI Kitchen Fund, P.O. Box 4961, Louisville, KY 40204. For more information on the group, go to www.ldei.org.
• The 13th annual Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction included a special Big Bottles of the Big Easy lot, which earned a top bid of $24,000. In total, the auction raised $124,850 for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
• New Orleans restaurant Commander’s Palace is in the process of setting up the New Orleans Hospitality Workers Disaster Relief Fund, for which it has begun to accept donations. The effort is being coordinated by the Greater Houston Community Foundation, an organization that helps connect donors to causes. Information on how to contribute will soon be available at www.commanderspalace.com. The site also features a link to katrina.guestbridge.com, a message board for restaurants affected by the hurricane.
