While wine is typically associated with leisure and pleasure, many wineries strive to achieve a greater purpose. The following three have found unique and intriguing ways to bring meaning to vino and infuse significance into the world of wine.
ONEHOPE Winery
The power of collective action is palpable at ONEHOPE Winery on St. Helena Highway in Napa Valley. ONEHOPE’s unique approach, donating 10 percent of every purchase to a meaningful cause, has made a significant difference. Since its inception in 2021, ONEHOPE has donated over $10,000,000, providing over 3 million meals to needy children through the nonprofit WhyHunger, supporting environmental, educational, and other causes. This collective action is not just about the numbers but about its inspiring impact on the world, infusing hope with every sip.
Founders Jake Kloberdanz, Tiffany Wojtkiewicz, Kristen Shroyer, Sarah McPeake, Tom Leahy, and Brandon Hall began by hosting wine tastings to raise money for important causes and encouraging and inspiring others to do the same. Today, ONEHOPE is one of the largest direct-to-consumer wineries in the world and offers club membership and the opportunity to become a Cause Entrepreneur.
Cause Entrepreneurs support local nonprofits through virtual and in-person wine fundraisers. Over 10,000 Cause Entrepreneurs have donated to over 30,000 local nonprofits. To give back in a big way, join the 20/20 Collective. This membership funds 20 Significant Acts of Hope each year. These Acts of Hope range from small local projects like providing health care services to Napa Valley farmworkers to global initiatives like building schools in Guatemala and Laos. OneHopeWine.com
Frescobaldi Winery
On an island off the Tuscan coast, Maria Grazia Giampiccolo, the former prison director of the Gorgona Agricultural Penal Colony, the last penal island in Europe, recognized the potential for a winemaking program using the vineyards planted by monks long ago. She contacted over 200 wineries in Italy to collaborate, but only Marchese Lamberto Frescobaldi of Tuscany’s Frescobaldi Winery responded. The Frescobaldi family has been making wine for over 700 years and is one of Italy’s leading wineries.
What is now the Gorgona Project is a beacon of hope, offering redemption and second chances to inmates. The project paves the way for their successful reintegration into society upon release by involving them in the vineyards and winery to learn valuable skills they can utilize upon reentry. Currently, 62 inmates are part of this transformative social project, and since its inception in 2012, 100 inmates have participated.
Still, Gorgona is a maximum-security facility. All participating inmates have committed serious crimes (unrelated to the mafia). To be placed on Gorgona, inmates must not have psychiatric issues or drug use problems. Upon release, trained inmates are offered employment at Frescobaldi estates, with salaries on par with those of other Frescobaldi workers. Twenty-five inmates have opted to work at Frescobaldi estates, five of whom are currently employed.
When asked if he foresees extending the Gorgona model to other prisons, Frescobaldi pauses before saying that a prison in Washington State had inquired. It was a no-go when the American side explained the prisoners could work the vineyards but could not make the wine, as they were not allowed access to alcohol. For Frescobaldi, that was a dealbreaker. He believes involvement in the entire winemaking cycle is imperative to the prisoners’ sense of accomplishment.
The Gorgona/Frescobaldi project produces 9,000 bottles per year from two wines: the highly limited Gorgona Costa Toscana White IGT, made with Vermentino and Ansonica, which shows delicate scents of Mediterranean rosemary and thyme accented by flavors of chamomile, banana, and peach, and the highly limited Gorgona Costa Toscana Rosso IGT, produced with Vermentino Nero and Sangiovese. Frescobaldi.com
Jackson Family Wines
Sonoma County’s Jackson Family Wines boasts a globally renowned portfolio of wine brands, annually producing over 5 million cases of wine, but what truly distinguishes them is their unwavering dedication to philanthropy. The company prioritizes charitable efforts, making significant donations and actively encouraging staff to volunteer with hundreds of organizations annually. Employees receive 16 hours of paid time off annually for community volunteering, contributing approximately 6,000 hours yearly to support over 200 nonprofit organizations focused on the environment, education, literacy, food banks, farmworker housing, and shelter programs.
In 2021, Jackson Family Wines launched Rooted for Good: Roadmap to 2030, an ambitious 10-year sustainability and climate action plan to profoundly impact the wine industry. The plan will propel the company towards climate positivity, foster favorable social outcomes, and uphold the Jackson family’s enduring vision for a sustainable future.
In May 2013, the Department of Viticulture and Enology at U.C. Davis inaugurated the groundbreaking 8500-square-foot Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building. This avant-garde facility is the world’s first self-sustainable, zero-carbon teaching and research establishment. The construction of this $4 million building was made feasible through a $3 million pledge from the late Jess Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, the co-founder and proprietor of Jackson Family Wines.
The Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building is positioned to bolster the university’s educational initiatives and advance sustainable winemaking practices. For more insights, please visit JacksonFamilyWines.com.