 Wine to Water sells Old Vine Zinfandel and Chardonnay. The wine is produced in Collegeville, Calif. from a 90-year-old vine. Photo by Christy Bullins
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by NASH DUNN
News Reporter
After five years of providing clean water to deprived countries around the world, Wine to Water, a local non-profit aid organization, formally released its wine label Friday night at the Crestwood Inn in Boone.
Wine to Water, located at 701 W. King St. in Boone, uses profits from wine tastings, benefit concerts and fundraising dinners to fund and construct clean water initiatives in Peru, Uganda, Cambodia, India, Sudan and Ethiopia.
The wine label is their newest fundraising strategy, and will use $1 from every bottle of Old Vine Zinfandel or California Chardonnay sold to continue their clean water efforts.
“We’ve been working
on this label for the past three years and it’s been a long time
coming,” Wine to Water Founder and President Doc Hendley said. “This
whole year has been a huge year for us, and tonight is a celebration.”
Hendley first envisioned Wine to Water in 2003 while bartending in Raleigh.
After
holding the organization’s first wine event in January 2004, he
traveled to Darfur, Sudan and spent a year installing water systems for
victims of government-supported genocide.
Since
his return in 2005, Wine to Water has become an official 501 (c) (3)
non-profit, and has constructed water systems, training centers and
wells around the world.
Although
Wine to Water funds and constructs these projects, their main goal is
to achieve local sustainability by educating community members on how
to install and uphold their own water systems.
Profits from the newly released wine label will fund all six project countries, Hendley said.
The wine is produced in Collegeville, Calif. by Gnekow Family Winery, and is available at smaller retailers and restaurants.
“The
grapes grow on site and come from a 90-year-old vine,” Wine Director
Jessup Marion said. “There’s currently the Old Vines Zinfandel and
Chardonnay, but we’re planning on producing a Merlot and Lariat as
well.”
Len Blevins worked with Hendley in Sudan as a security officer and attended the wine label release Friday night.
“I’m not a wine drinker, but it’s good to get people together and tell them about what Doc’s doing,” Blevins said.
Presently,
Wine to Water has provided clean water to over 25,000 individuals in
refugee camps, orphanages, schools, hospitals and a leper colony, as
well as directly into hundreds of homes through the installation of
bio-sand filters, according to CNN.com.
Photo by Christy Bullins | The Appalachian
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