2007 Hospices of Sonoma
The 2007 Hospices of Sonoma will be held Saturday, April 21, at the Warren G. Dutton, Jr. Agricultural
Pavilion at Shone Farm in Forestville. This is the nation’s largest Pinot Noir barrel auction. The beneficiaries
include the Children’s Village of Sonoma County (provides nurturing stable family homes in a
multi-generational, enriched environment for children and their siblings in foster care), the Okizu
Foundation (based in Novato, this organization provides services and support to families with children
battling cancer), the WCC Charitable Foundation (provides direct grants to children at risk in Sonoma
County), and Barry Zito’s “Strikeouts for Troops” (a charity founded by baseball pitcher Barry Zito, to
support injured military service members and their families).
The Hospices of Sonoma weekend begins with limited-seating dinners at selected wineries on Friday
evening, April 20 ($125 pp). The Saturday event begins with a pre-auction barrel tasting at 3:30 PM,
followed by a dinner, the auction, and a performance by singer Eddie Money and his band ($325 pp).
A weekend combination package for both Friday and Saturday is available for $400.
The event features donations of half barrels of one-of-a-kind Pinot Noirs crafted specifically for the
auction by 35 to 40 of top Pinot Noir producers in the Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley, Green
Valley and Carneros (Sonoma) appellations. A half barrel is auctioned off in two lots, each consisting
of five cases of wine. The wines are bottled with a distinctive Hospices of Sonoma wine label and a
personalized cuvee name designated by the buyer.
Last year the event raised $350,000. The single largest bid was $10,000 for five
cases of goldridgepinot. Other high bids included Kosta Browne ($7,200), Radio-
Coteau ($6,800), Lynmar ($6,500), Scherrer ($6,000), and Patz & Hall ($6,000).
Participating producers this year include: Chasseur, Davis Family Vineyards, De
Loach Vineyards, The Donum Estate, DuNah Vineyard & Winery, Dutton Estate Winery,
Dutton-Goldfield, Failla Wines, Flowers Vineyard & Winery, Foppiano Vineyards,
Freeman Vineyards & Winery, Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery, Gloria Ferrer,
goldridgepinot, Halleck Vineyard, Hartford Family Winery, Inman Family
Wines, Iron Horse Vineyards, J Vineyards & Winery, Kosta Browne Winery, Landmark
Vineyards, Lynmar Winery, MacMurray Ranch, MacPhail, Marimar Estate, Martinelli, Olivet lane Vineyard, Patz & Hall Wine Co, Paul Hobbs Wines, Radio-
Coteau, Russian Hill Estate Winery, Schug Carneros Estate, Siduri Winery, Tandem
Winery, TR Elliott, and Wild Hog Vineyard.
I will be attending the event and hope to meet up with some of the Crew to taste
some one-of-a-kind Pinot Noirs for a very special cause.
Tickets are now available: 707-823-9463, www.hospicesofsonoma.org.
