Wine Industry Supports Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort

Wineries, importers, distributors and restaurants are raising money for aid organizations and rebuilding projects

Eric Arnold
Posted: September 6, 2005

Updated: Sept. 26, 2005. More donors and fundraisers are being added to this page as they announce their plans

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.

Food Network star Emeril Lagasse, owner of three restaurants in New Orleans, has established the Emeril Lagasse Employee Disaster Relief Fund. The fund will assist employees of Emeril's New Orleans, Emeril's Delmonico and NOLA who have lost their jobs and/or homes as a result of the hurricane. The Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation has made a donation of $25,000. Additional contributions may be sent to:

Emeril Lagasse Employee Disaster Relief Fund
c/o Emeril's Homebase
7575 Dr. Phillips Blvd. Suite 310
Orlando, FL 32819

M. Shanken Communications, the parent company of Wine Spectator and Cigar Aficionado, is making a $50,000 donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Employees are being encouraged to make additional donations, which the company will match up to another $50,000.

Other organizations and businesses that are raising or contributing funds include:

• Republic Beverage Company of Louisiana, which has temporarily moved to Lafayette since its New Orleans warehouse remains inaccessible, is setting up a relief fund for victims who work in the food-and-beverage industry. Sonoma winery Gundlach Bundschu, distributed by Republic, is soliciting donations, and has committed to matching up to $15,000. Checks, made payable to Republic Beverage Company - Katrina Relief Fund, may be sent to: Katrina Relief Fund, c/o Gundlach Bundschu Winery, P.O. Box 1, Vineburg, CA 95476.

• The Congressional Wine Caucus and the California State Society will hold a wine auction in Washington D.C., on Wednesday, Oct. 5. On the block will be wines from Dalla Valle, Screaming Eagle and Colgin Cellars, as well as an 8-magnum vertical of Turley wines, 6 magnums of Arietta and a lot of 36 magnums of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. All proceeds will go to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Relief Fund. The auction will be held at 101 Constitution Ave. NW, on the 11th floor. For more information, email CSSWineAuction@yahoo.com.

• More than 60 brands in the portfolio of distributor Martin Scott Wines will donate $5 from every case sold during the first two weeks of October to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. A list of participating wineries can be found at www.martinscottwines.com.

• The Fess Parker Winery will be donating $10,000 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, a percentage of sales of the winery's 2002 and 2003 Santa Barbara County Syrah. The winery also plans to hold a holiday toy drive in early December for children affected by Hurricane Katrina.

• Livermore Valley winery Wente Vineyards raised $27,000 for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund by auctioning off two 3L liter bottles of 2001 Wente Vineyards Charles Wetmore Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, along with securing other donations before a performance at the estate by Bill Cosby. In an effort to raise its total contribution to $50,000, through the end of the year Wente will donate an additional $3 per bottle sold in retail stores. Each bottle will have a neck tag that, if sent back to the winery by the customer along with a receipt, will result in the donation. Additionally, 3 percent of wine sales at Wente Vineyards' restaurant during the month of October will be donated.

• Trinchero Family Estates, which produces Trinchero, Sutter Home, Montevina and several other brands, is urging its employees to make contributions to either the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund or the United Way, which the company will match up to $25,000. The company hopes to donate $50,000 in total.

• The Napa Valley Vintners board of directors has pledged $250,000 to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The organization is collecting donations from several member wineries, some of which are contributing tasting room fees or a percentage of sales through the end of the collection period, Oct. 31. Napa Valley Vintners will make up the balance between the amount collected and the $250,000 pledge.

• The BR Cohn Winery in Glen Ellen, Calif. is holding a "Big Hurricane Relief" concert on Oct. 2, a second show added to its normal annual charity concert. The show includes performances by the Doobie Brothers, Little Feat, the Turtles, Lisa Loeb and special guests Joe Satriani, Loggins, Messina and Creedence Clearwater Revisited. Tickets are $75, and may be purchased through Ticketmaster or by calling (800) 330-4064 ext. 24.

• Clos LaChance Winery in San Martin, Calif., is donating 100 percent of the profits from the sale of its 2001 El Dorado Zinfandel to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Normally sold for $216 per case, the winery is offering the Zinfandel for $100 per case. To order, click here.

• Several Washington, D.C., chefs gathered at new restaurant Acadiana to sell po' boy sandwiches for $25 each at lunchtime on Sept. 12 to raise funds for New Orleans refugees. Other "Po' Boy Power" events are soon to be held in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chattanooga and Philadelphia. Because of the historic ties between the Acadians and Cajuns, another po' boy fundraiser will be held on the waterfront in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from Sept. 23-25. All funds raised will go to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation.

• The New England Culinary Institute is offering $10,000 scholarships to food-service workers and culinary/hospitality students in the Gulf region who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The scholarships are available to anyone from the affected area with a minimum of three months' experience working in a restaurant, hotel kitchen or front-of-house management job, as well as students who were enrolled in or about to begin a hospitality program. Applications may be submitted for the terms beginning December 2005, March or June 2006. Click here to email admissions, or call (877) 223-6324.

• Boston-area restaurants are holding several special dinners and fund-raisers to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Click on the restaurant names to find information about reservations, donations and the recipients of the fund-raisers: Upstairs on the Square (Sept. 11); Saint (Sept. 12); Cuvee Boston (Sept. 14 & 21, Oct. 5 & 19, Nov. 9); Cantina Hospitality Group restaurants (Sept. 13); Tomasso Trattoria (Sept. 15); The Blue Room (Sept. 15) Burtons Grill (Sept. 12-18); Palmers Tavern (Sept. 24); and Coriander Bistro (Sept. 25).

• LearnAboutWine, which holds seminars, classes and tours, will host "L.A. to LA - Los Angeles Supports Louisiana" at Barker Hanger in Los Angeles on Sept. 9. The event will be hosted by Harry Shearer, and will feature music by DJ Paul Oakenfold, a silent auction, and food and wine from several Los Angeles restaurants. All proceeds with go to Hurricane Katrina charities, for which LearnAboutWine hopes to raise $1 million. Tickets will be available at the door, but may be purchased in advance here.

• Celebrating the Big Easy, an event featuring Napa food, wine and music, will be held at the Lincoln Theater in Yountville, Calif., from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sept. 9. Tickets may be purchased in advance by calling (707) 944-1300 or at www.lincolntheater.org. All proceeds will go to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

• Icon Estates and Constellation Wines U.S. are each making cash donations to the Republic Beverage Company Katrina Relief Fund, which will assist employees of the companies' distributor partners who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Additionally, Icon Estates is matching all employee donations up to $25,000 to the New Orleans Hospitality Workers Disaster Relief Fund. Constellation has already donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

• 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. Click here to find participating restaurants.

• 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.

• Santa Barbara County vintner Iris Rideau, a New Orleans native, is donating 10 percent of Rideau Vineyard's tasting-room sales on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in the month of September to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. In addition, the Red Cross will be set up at the winery on weekends to accept donations directly from visitors. Rideau is currently organizing a fundraiser involving area wineries and restaurants, though the details have not be finalized; 100 percent of the proceeds from that event will go to the Red Cross fund. For more information, call (805) 688-0717 or visit www.rideauvineyard.com.

• The Council of Independent Restaurants of America (CIRA), an association that promotes the interests of independently owned restaurants, has set up an online job board for hospitality workers displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Through the board the CIRA is also trying to help workers find cheap transportation to the cities where they're hired, as well as accommodation once they get there. For more information go to www.cirajobs.com.

• Restaurant Sushi Samba is donating 1 percent of all its food and beverage sales for the month of September to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The restaurant has two locations in New York, and one each in Miami and Chicago.