OCTOBER 2020 59winery chef, for instance.
What I really want to do is
change how people farm.F&W: So what will it take
for regenerative farming
to catch on in the wine-
making community?
MC: There are vignerons
around the world who
are exploring regenera-
tive practices, from Hiyu
Wine Farm in Hood River,
Oregon, to Luca Roagna
out in Piedmont. But
I’m realistic. Not every
winemaker has the luxury
of owning the land they
source their fruit from.
That said, on a larger scale,
I really do believe we have
a significant awareness
problem overall. We have
got to dissolve entrenched
ideas about what it takes
to feed the world and
what it takes to combat
climate change. I really do
think that healing the land
is part of the solution.
F&W: What does healing
the land entail?
MC: By using our dollars
in one way or another,
we all participate in how
lands are managed, and I
think that’s the direction
this conversation needs to
go in. We’ve attached this
arbitrary value system to
landscapes based on their
factors that are physical
rather than biological, but
we won’t know the real
potential of any of the
land we’re working until
we rebuild the ecosystem.
As winemakers who go
out and say “Oh I want
something from, say, the
Côte d’Or,” we need to
ask ourselves how we’re
maintaining the integrity
of those places. We have
to ask how we’re ensuring
that the wines represent
the full suite of living truth
that comes with time and
place, especially when you
make a transformational
product—like wine—that
can live for centuries.2017 EHLERS ESTATE
CABERNET FRANC ($65)
Napa Valley’s Ehlers Estate is
fully owned by the Leducq Foun-
dation, which funds research into
cardiovascular disease; all profits
from the winery go toward that
cause. This luscious red balances
dark cherry fruit against savory
cedar notes.NV VITAL WINES GIVEN ($28)
Walla Walla, Washington–based
winemaker Ashley Trout founded
nonprofit Vital Wines to help the
SOS Health Services, a health
care clinic for residents of Walla
Walla Valley. This robust blend
of Cabernet and Syrah is full
of dark, rich fruit overlaid with
mocha and tobacco notes.2018 INDABA MOSAIC RED
BLEND ($12)
Since 1996, Indaba has donated
over $50,000 annually to the
Indaba Foundation, which pro-
vides education for disadvan-
taged children throughout South
Africa’s winelands. This black
currant–y Bordeaux-style blend
is a steal for the price.2018 STOLPMAN LA
CUADRILLA ($22)
For this brainchild of vineyard
manager Ruben Solorzano, 10%
of the entire Stolpman vineyard
harvest is used to create a rich,
darkly fruity red blend—and
100% of the profits from the
wine go directly back to the win-
ery’s vineyard workers.2018 PURPLE COWBOY TRAIL
BOSS CABERNET
SAUVIGNON ($15)
Purple Cowboy wines have
raised over $1 million for breast
cancer research. Founder Terry
Wheatley says, “As a breast
cancer survivor myself, I’m
proud to have these wines help
families facing this issue.”NV ONEHOPE VINTNER
COLLECTION CALIFORNIA
BRUT SPARKLING ($25)
Over time, this lively sparkling
wine has helped provide over 3
million meals to children in need
through nonprofit WhyHunger;
other OneHope wines support
environmental, educational, and
a range of other causes.UNE FEMME THE CALLIE
SPARKLING ROSÉ ($25)
Une Femme donates a portion
of its proceeds to Dress For
Success, a nonprofit that helps
women around the world achieve
economic independence. This
precise California sparkling rosé
is made by up-and-coming star
Samantha Sheehan of Poe Wines.2017 KIND STRANGER
CHARDONNAY ($17)
Washington’s Andrew Latta asks
his distributors in every state to
find local charities that mirror
the ones he donates to with Kind
Stranger’s Seattle-area sales
(like Mary’s Place, which helps
with housing and assistance for
homeless women and children).2019 LIQUID GEOGRAPHY
ROSÉ ($15)
The profits of this zesty Spanish
rosé, created by wine importer
Patrick Mata, go to the T.J.
Martell Foundation (for cancer
research), Wheeling Forward
(which helps support people
with disabilities), and chef José
Andrés’ World Central Kitchen.DOING GOOD WITH EVERY GLASS CHARITY WINES NOW2020 HAS BEEN A BRUTAL YEAR for many, many people, and many wineries have stepped up to
help by contributing cash for restaurant employee charities, donating wines for fundraising
auctions, and more. Washington’s Quilceda Creek donated $365,000 to the Restaurant Employee
Relief Fund; Willamette and Tualatin Valley wineries in Oregon donated over $1 million worth of
wine to ER doctors and nurses; the list goes on. But charity-centered wines aren’t a new thing
nor necessarily driven by a single dire event. Below are nine wines that donate to amazing causes
on an ongoing basis. Buy them, and you’ll be helping, too. —RAY ISLE