Good Grape Wine Company

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Doing good and capitalism are no longer two thoughts separate and conceptually “Church” and “State.” Increasingly, profits and giving back are becoming intertwined. And, social entrepreneurism is a concept that has gotten a fair amount of attention over the last couple of years—simply, it’s the concept that “non-profit” is something of a misnomer and that profitability can come out a business designed to solve or aid social issues. Coupled with social entrepreneurism is the notion of sustainable or green business.  Frequently, these two issues are inter-related as different cuts of the same cloth. The current issue of Inc. Magazine has a cover story on “50 Cutting Edge Companies” in the story called, “The Eco Advantage.  Do Good.  Get Rich.” The story centers on 50 companies that are living by an ethos of sustainability in their business practices. Thankfully, there’s an inclusion of a winery.  Wineries—both in their business practices of philanthropy and in their vineyards and operations have long been very sensitive to nature and their surrounding communities.  Unfortunately, those stories don’t always make as good of copy as “Bob the textile manufacturer that sees the light, stops abusing the ground and his rural help.” The magazine features Frog’s Leap Winery in Rutherford saying (excerpted): Frog’s Leap was started in 1984 and in 1988 became the first Napa winemaker to have its grapes certified as organic. Today, Frog’s Leap produces 60,000 cases of wine a year, all from grapes that are grown organically.  Perhaps more notably, they are grown with water-saving dry farming methods. …But, (Founder John) Williams is reluctant to brag, and not only because he’s modest.  “Up to this point, there’s been no advantage to marketing your wine as organic,” he says.  The winery has erected solar panels to meet the bulk of its power needs, uses geothermal energy to cool and heat its buildings, and built its new visitor center and headquarters to exacting green building standards.  A couple of other wineries that have been in the news lately that are involved philanthropically include: Humanitas Winery.  Featured in last Friday’s RadCru.com offering, this winery was founded by Judd Wallenbrock in 2002.  Humanitas puts an interesting twist on charitable giving by giving the profits of the wine sales to the local communities in the communities in which they are sold.  No check to the national chapter of Red Cross. At Humanitas, we don’t give the funds to the national headquarters of these charities.  Rather, we give to the regional chapters in the communities where the wine was sold.  In this way, by enjoying Humanitas, you are giving back to your own community! But Humanitas is first and foremost about the wines.  We are wine people—pure & simple.  Our goal is to make outstanding wines and sell them affordably.  And we also want to ‘do something good’ for the world.  We married these two passions and Humanitas was born. Clos LaChance Winery in San Martin is releasing their “Juan Fernandez Firecrown” red, the first in a series of wines named for threatened hummingbird species.  A portion of the wine’s sales proceeds will go to the Hummingbird Society. Dave Phinney, owner of the Orin Swift label in Napa, is donating all of the proceeds from his Sauvignon Blanc to the consortium called Puertas Abiertas (Open Doors), which provides medical care to Napa’s farm workers and their families. And, finally, Lookout Ridge, based in Kenwood donates wheelchairs to those that need it.  Their site says: If you order a case or more, we will donate a wheelchair in your name to a needy individual. Over 100 million children, teens and adults worldwide are in need of a wheelchair but cannot afford one. Gordon and Kari Holmes, the owners of Lookout Ridge Winery, have a deep, heartfelt connection to The Wheelchair Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to bring new independence to those deprived of mobility by war, disease, accident, natural disaster or old age. Understand, these are not isolated incidents of wineries and the wine industry doing good—there are numerous others like Whitmore Wines in addition to the folks mentioned above.  With Halloween just about past and the holiday season ready to kick into high gear, two general trends come together—wine drinking begins its annual consumption crescendo at the same time that charitable giving does as well.  I think it’s always a good time to raise a glass of good cheer and good wishes for the folks that make it a priority to give back to those (or a cause) that need it on a daily and weekly basis. http://www.goodgrape.com/index.php/293/