Winery association’s wine list supports Sonoma’s La Luz

In an effort to boost sales for family-owned wineries in Sonoma Valley, and provide needed crisis funds for a local nonprofit that supports the community, the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance this week launched a five-day curated wine list with discounts and incentives to purchase.

The online Sonoma Valley Wine Collective, created by Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance (SVVGA), runs to May 3 and offers wines from 50 wineries — some that can usually only be purchased at the winery, or are of limited availability or production.

'The idea came about as a way to highlight the different regions within Sonoma Valley,' said Maureen Cottingham, executive director of SVVGA. Some of those regions that would have been featured during the organization's annual Signature Sonoma Valley (event) that was canceled due to the shelter-in-place orders.

A portion of every purchase will be donated to La Luz, the nonprofit that works with the Hispanic community; each winery is choosing what percentage of sales it will donate.

'La Luz Center has had a long-standing collaboration with Sonona Valley Vintners. I am grateful for the support of our wine business community,' said Juan Hernandez, executive director of La Luz. 'The proceeds will be put to work by funding our community Spanish information efforts and to support the most impacted, with financial support.'

The initiative will also support family-owned wineries and their employees during the COVID-19 shutdown, which closed all tasting rooms in Sonoma County.

There are many wines for sale that normally are not available outside of the wineries' wine clubs, such as Winery Sixteen 600, Once and Future, and Blue Farm Wines. And there are some high-end wines – such as Donum Estate or Stone Edge Farm Estate Vineyards and Winery – that are 'scoring high' with wine critics, Cottingham said.

Blue Farm Wines adds an incentive of a complimentary bouquet of roses with curbside pick-up and local delivery, in addition to one-cent shipping on orders of three or more bottles.

Using the promotion code 'SIPSV' during checkout, some other examples include Anaba's 2017 Chardonnay and 2017 Pinot Noir, both from the Sonoma Coast. Free shipping is included with the purchase of four or more bottles. Bonneau Wines will give a 40 percent discount on its 2017 Estate Chardonnay. Muscardini Cellars is giving 15 percent off all wines on its website, and 20 percent off when buying six or more bottles (use promo code SIPSV20). See the full list of participating wineries at SonomaValleyWine.com/Sonoma-Valley-Wine-Collective.

Wineries across the Valley have been coming up with creative solutions to continue to sell wine and engage customers. Some have held virtual tastings inviting guests to join a winemaker or winery owner, for example, in an online video chat through Zoom, for discussions about the wine, vineyards and winery. Some of these virtual tastings are held on Facebook Live or Instagram Live. They can be 'attended' with or without the wine being discussed.

Other wineries have hosted live music and 'happy hours,' such as those Jean-Charles Boisset presents daily on Facebook Live.

Contact Anne at anne.ernst@sonomanews.com.