Can wine and charity work together?
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has spurred organisations everywhere into mobilising resources for those in need of emergency aid. The wine industry is also actively participating in these efforts. Wine societies like the Comanderie de Bordeaux, the Comanderie des Cotes du Rhone, Societe des Amis du Champagne, and Confrérie de la Chein de Rotiseur have come together along with the Wine & Spirits magazine to form Wine for WCK, a fundraiser for auctioning bottles via Acker auctions. The proceeds go to Chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen (WCK), who are on the ground in Ukraine, feeding those displaced by the war.
Crurated, a membership wine community based out of London, hosted a similar event for Ukraine relief. The All Heart Auction of fine wines was held online in partnership with 50 renowned winemakers like Louis Roederer Cristal, Domaine Meo-Camuzet, and Domaine Dujac, who contributed their wines for the auction with an initial pre-bid value of £76,245. All the proceeds go to the Red Cross, Save The Children, UNHCR and UNICEF.
Auctions are not the only way in which the wine industry raises money for charitable causes. Nocking Point Wines out of Washington created a quarantine specific wine two years ago to raise a million dollars for COVID-response charities, followed by another charity wine the very next year. Branded as Outside Wine, it is meant to help raise awareness and drive donations through wine.
Currently, profits from the sale of bottles of Outside Wine with a special label designed with Ukrainian flag colours are being contributed to the #StandWithUkraine GoFundMe campaign launched by Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis to match a £76,245 donation.
Here are some other charity wines from around the world that are inspiring wine lovers to drink their way to a better world.
ONEHOPE Wines, California
Napa Valley’s ONEHOPE wines have donated over £6 million through sales and charitable partnerships to organisations that provide access to clean water, hunger relief, health research, and education, such as Charity: water and The Trevor Project. The impact they create has a rippling effect since they also help empower others in the community to support local non-profits for causes that are close to their hearts.
Chateau La Paws, California
The Chateau La Paws in Central California is a brand created in tribute to the founder’s love of dogs. It supports No Kill Organisations across the United States through proceeds from wine sales, and also allows customers to donate separately to the cause. Their bottles are designed to raise awareness about shelter dogs, and each label features a shelter dog in need of a home.
Olé & Obrigado
The charity wine giving back project at the heart of Olé & Obrigado, importers of artisanal fine wines from Spain and Portugal, is the Liquid Geography rosé. It has helped raise over £28000 for charitable causes ranging from cancer research to hunger relief. Last year’s Liquid Geography Wellfleet Rosé, brewed from Spain’s Tempranillo and Prieto Picudo grapes, is exclusively dedicated to sustainable shellfish and aquaculture promotion in Massachusetts.
Gorilla Wines, Italy
Puglia, Italy’s Gorilla Wines supports a distinctive charitable cause. The Mountain Gorilla is an endangered species and there are only 1000 odd numbers of them left in the world. The Gorilla Wines project channels their wine sales into the support of conservation projects and organisations in the Congo DR, Rwanda and Uganda that are working to raise the numbers of this species in the wild.
Naked Wines, UK
UK’s wine funding platform Naked Wines has its own registered trust for fundraising. The giving back initiatives are aimed toward disadvantaged people and communities in the country as well as in winemaking regions in the rest of the world. 100% of donations go to causes like feeding 41,000 hungry children in South Africa. In 2020, they partnered with the National Trust for Scotland to make a corporate donation and directed 20% of all proceeds from the sales of a specially curated wine selection towards the protection of Scotland’s culture, crafts, and natural treasures.
Indaba Wines, South Africa
The South African Indaba label was started as a way to fund education in the Cape Winelands. From £38 of each sale of a Cape Classic, Indaba Wines have donated over £38,000 each year to the Indaba Foundation, which funds early education for disadvantaged children in the winelands. In 2021, the donations went to The Heartlands Baby Sanctuary, a safe care facility for children, and to Community Keepers, a mental health and wellbeing service. The winery itself is a sustainability driven drinks business and produces eco-friendly handcrafted wines.
Goodwill Wines, Australia
Goodwill Wines with its history of charitable giving is a wine community from Australia that curates niche wines for customers everywhere, and is all about drinking your way to a better world. They donate 50% of their profits to various charities like Cancer Support Angels and The Orangutan Project. Customers can choose the charity they want to contribute to when completing their purchase. Since 2009, they have contributed over £340,000 to over 300 charitable organisations.
