Gina Gallo, Chris Jackson team up to chair Sonoma County Wine Auction

Now in its 27th year, the auction will be held at the La Crema Estate at Saralee’s Vineyard and Richard’s Grove outside of Windsor.|

Sonoma County Wine Auction

When: Thursday, Sept. 19 through Saturday, Sept. 21

Where: Live auction at 1 p.m. Saturday will be held at La Crema Estate at Richard’s Grove and Saralee’s Vineyard, 3575 Slusser Road, Windsor

Cost: $2,500 per person for three-day package, including Best. Party. Ever. On Thursday. Vintner’s Dinners on Friday and wine auction on Saturday.

Information:

www.sonomacountywineauction.com

40-lot auction highlights include:

An evening with country music band Lady Antebellum hosted by Christopher and Ariel Jackson of Stonestreet Estate Vineyards.

A tour of northern Italy curated by Gina Gallo of E. & J. Gallo Winery.

A pregame dinner with the San Francisco 49ers teaming up with vintner Merry Edwards.

A stay at Francis Ford Coppola’s Coral Caye private island behind the Belize Barrier Reef.

Gina Gallo and Christopher Jackson are united on a goodwill mission. As co-chairs of this weekend’s Sonoma County Wine Auction, they intend to raise millions for the underserved in Sonoma County.

For most readers in Wine Country, the duo - heirs to the largest wine empires in Sonoma County - need no introduction. Gallo is the granddaughter of the late Julio Gallo, who co-founded E. & J. Gallo Winery with his brother, Ernest. Jackson is the son of the late Jess Jackson, the lawyer-?turned-vintner who founded the company that became Jackson Family Wines, a portfolio that now includes 40-plus wineries and vineyards in California, Oregon and across the world.

The collaboration between Gallo and Jackson is intriguing because two decades ago, their iconic wine families were locked in a contentious legal battle over a wine label design. But over the years, philanthropy has seemed to shift the tectonic plates of fierce competition, giving rise to a new relationship, as friendly peers.

Interviewed earlier this month, Gallo said Jackson is like a brother to her. Jackson smiled and said, “We’ve been friends for a while, and it’s fun to enjoy a glass of wine with Gina and Jean-Charles (Boisset, Gallo’s husband).”

Furthermore, both seem to agree the founders of both companies “would be happy about the collaboration,” Gallo said.

“I know my grandfather and my great-uncle Ernest and Christopher’s father are looking down and are very proud,” she said. “They don’t have any bones to pick.”

The live charitable auction, hosted by the Sonoma County Vintners and now in its 27th year, will be held Saturday at the La Crema Estate at Saralee’s Vineyard in Richard’s Grove outside Windsor. A crowd of paddle-holders will be under the white tent, vying for 40 lots to raise money for Sonoma County nonprofit organizations.

This year’s Fund-A-Need lot is dedicated to helping build a Boys & Girls Club in Santa Rosa’s Roseland neighborhood. Organizers said the Fund-the-Future initiative for Children’s Literacy will be paid for from the auction’s general contributions.

“What industry do you have where two major competitors come together on a common initiative, a philanthropic cause?” Jackson asked. “We are farmers, and there’s a common perspective that the trials and tribulations of dealing with Mother Nature are imparted on all of us.”

The collaboration is easy, Gallo said, because both family-owned businesses have “generational thinking” when it comes to farming sustainably, as well as raising money for the community.

The long-term approach in fundraising, Jackson agreed, is embraced by both families.

“The Sonoma Auction isn’t just about this year,” Jackson said. “There has been a development over the past couple of years of putting this effort on the map, of which the Gallo family has been instrumental, as well as my own.”

There has been a steady increase in the live auction totals, from $4 million in 2014, to ?$5.7 million raised last year.

“We want to propel this wine auction forward with a long-term vision of it becoming one of the most successful on the planet,” Jackson said.

In holding this vision, Gallo and Jackson believe that goodwill and competition pair well.

“My grandfather always said, ‘If you don’t have competition, who is there to help you become better?’?” Gallo pointed out.

Jackson agreed, adding, “I view competition as a very positive thing. I think it forces you to elevate your game.”

With Jackson, 30, and Gallo, 52, the co-chairs are one of the youngest teams on record. To reel in a younger crowd, they said, there are auction lots that include tickets to events with country music stars like Lady Antebellum and Brad Paisley as well as the three San Francisco sports franchises - the Giants, the Warriors and the 49ers.

“I thought it was great of Katy Perry to show up in support of the Napa auction, but once again, there’s a little difference in vibe there,” Jackson said. “Katy Perry. Big pop star. Very successful. Very Napa. I love the fact that we have Lady Antebellum and Brad Paisley with the Sonoma Auction. I love it that we have the country music scene supporting in a major way. That feels a little more in keeping with the country farming ethic of Sonoma County.”

[A version of this article originally appeared in the Press-Democrat].

Sonoma County Wine Auction

When: Thursday, Sept. 19 through Saturday, Sept. 21

Where: Live auction at 1 p.m. Saturday will be held at La Crema Estate at Richard’s Grove and Saralee’s Vineyard, 3575 Slusser Road, Windsor

Cost: $2,500 per person for three-day package, including Best. Party. Ever. On Thursday. Vintner’s Dinners on Friday and wine auction on Saturday.

Information:

www.sonomacountywineauction.com

40-lot auction highlights include:

An evening with country music band Lady Antebellum hosted by Christopher and Ariel Jackson of Stonestreet Estate Vineyards.

A tour of northern Italy curated by Gina Gallo of E. & J. Gallo Winery.

A pregame dinner with the San Francisco 49ers teaming up with vintner Merry Edwards.

A stay at Francis Ford Coppola’s Coral Caye private island behind the Belize Barrier Reef.

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