Culture Junkie: On wine, art and the ‘win-win’ of giving

Considering the realtionship of business and the arts|

On a recent weekend afternoon, my wife and I took a downtown walk in the sunshine and unexpectedly found ourselves sampling wine and talking about the arts – and people who help local artists - with Nicholas Hess, founder and winemaker of the Petaluma-based Leghorn Wine Company.

“We thought a little pop-up tasting room would be fun,” he said, pouring us a taste of his locally-grown Chardonnay and Pinot Noir on the waterside deck of River Front Café, which was hosting Leghorn’s whimsical, open-air wine stand. The pop-up, Hess explained, was a great way to expose the community to the relatively new winemaker, established in 2012 and using only grapes from the Petaluma Gap region. “River Front is extremely supportive of other businesses in town,” he said, “along with supporting local musicians and people like us. That’s what it takes to make it a lot of times. The support of other people.”

For the next few minutes, we briefly discussed how such alliances are a win-win, especially in such cases as when a wine or beer business or restaurant teams up with an arts group or arts-related non-profit. In short order, he mentioned that Leghorn would be pouring wine this Aug. 18 at Transcendence Theatre Company’s performance of “Those Dancin’ Feet,” part of the company’s annual “Broadway Under the Stars” series at Jack London State Historic Park. A big fan of the series, Hess said that participating as a pouring partner was a great way to support Transcendence, while simultaneously being given a big, highly visible platform - 800 people a night attend most “Broadway Under the Stars” shows - on which to introduce Leghorn wines to potential new fans.

Since this conversation, I’ve been thinking a lot about the relationship between the arts and business worlds. It’s no new news that many arts organizations depend on grants from large philanthropic arms of major corporations, but how many smaller businesses, like Hess’s, or medium sized ones such as Lagunitas Brewing Company, are just as committed to helping out local theaters, music festivals, art centers and even individual artists?

A lot of them.

I myself, as the producer of such fundraising events as the bizarrely seasonal Twisted Christmas show, have been the beneficiary of numerous local business owners, including Copperfield’s Books and Heebe Jeebe General Store, which routinely donates merchandise to be used in raffles and gift boxes for volunteer talent. Last year, the folks at Copperfield’s Underground, the Petaluma-based used books arm of the operation, donated a large paper mache dragon they’d had hanging in the store for years. We used it as a prize in our Night Before Christmas Bingo game, in which local stand-up comic Oliver Graves dryly recited the famous poem about St. Nick, while audience members crossed off key words on their bingo cards. The dragon became a much-desired draw. Thanks Copperfield’s. And then there’s Out to Lunch catering, which has for years supported the fundraiser by donating full-scale meals for the volunteer performers, like Graves, before the show.

Such contributions are vital for the success of events like Twisted Christmas, and nonprofit arts groups of all kinds.

Transcendence Theatre Company, for which Leghorn will be donating wine during the aforementioned run of “Those Dancin’ Feet,” is supported by dozens of local companies, wineries, breweries and others, some huge and some just starting up.

Lagunitas, based in Petaluma, has been a major supporter of Transcendence since the company’s start in 2011, donating cases and cases of beer for the inaugural “Broadway Under the Stars” show. In 2013, Lagunitas Brewing Company officially signed on as an annual sponsor, donating product and lending its name to the still-fledgling company’s annual shows. The donations of beer – over 100 cases a year - allow the non-profit to earn necessary additional revenue by selling the frosty libations during the popular pre-show picnics.

Another local supporter of Transcendence is Austin Perkins, the former Executive Chef at Nick’s Cove in Marshall, who owns 1263 Wine Company and Perkins Catering, and not only acts as a pouring partner for Broadway Under the Stars events, but also personally caters many of the company’s fundraising events, donating services and food.

The list goes on and on.

Just off the top of my head, I know of dozens of Petaluma businesses that donate money, time and merchandise to an array of arts-related causes. Every year, a huge number of downtown merchants contribute to the Fabulous Women of Sonoma County’s joyfully creative Festival of Trees fundraiser, another variation of the win-win Hess referred to. Not only do local businesses contribute to the success of the Festival or Trees, but - not that this is the reason anyone does it - it’s a great bit of alternative advertising, as tree-gazers get to develop a new relationship with local brands, companies, stores and services they might not have even realized were part of the fabric of our town.

And for whatever reason, wineries and breweries tend to be especially generous.

“We’ve had a number of local wine companies, from all over Sonoma County, come in and pour for the Cinnalounge events at the opening of new shows,” says Diane Dragone, Executive Director of Petaluma’s Cinnabar Theater Company. “We’ve had some great events that were made so much greater by donations of wine. Francis Ford Coppola wines has been very generous to us for our annual gala, as has Martin Rey Vineyards. Those kinds of donations make a huge impact because it saves us from having to buy the wine for our fundraising. It’s one of those big expenses, and it saves us a lot. So we really can’t thank our supporting businesses enough.”

Which takes me right back to the beginning, with River Front Café offering Leghorn Wine Company a spot to share its creations with passersby on the patio.

In the arts, and in business, where we sometimes can feel that we are in competition with each other, the truth is that everyone does a little better when we recognize the age-old “Were all in this together” observation. Being generous is something we can all do, both by patronizing those who make giving part of their business plan, to patronizing those arts organizations and events that benefit from that generosity.

(Culture Junkie runs every other week in the Argus-Courier. You can reach David at david.templeton@arguscourier.com)

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.