Over 25 Unique Lots Help to Fund Local High School Scholarships
The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance (PRWCA) announced on Monday, Mar. 29, the launch of their first-ever Paso Robles Wine Country Virtual Auction. The auction is set to begin on Monday, May 10, and run through Sunday, May 16.Â
The online auction features over 25 lots from more than 50 Paso Robles wine country businesses, including wineries, hotels, restaurants, tour companies, and recreation outfitters.
The specially curated auction lots are exclusive packages that are not available as retail experiences. Wineries will not only offer wine, but luxurious overnight stays in wine country, winemaker dinners at some of Paso Robles’s best restaurants, high-touch educational vineyard tours, as well as rare and allocated wines.
Funds generated from the Wine Country Virtual Auction benefit the Paso Robles Wine Country Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that gives back to the community primarily through educational scholarships for aspiring young adults headed off to college.
Visit pasowine.com/events/virtual-auction to begin viewing.
As mentioned, the weeklong online auction will run from May 10 to the 16, which precedes the traditional time of the annual Paso Robles Wine Festival in years past.
Considering the current COVID-19 event restrictions and limitations on large gatherings, the online auction allows the Paso Robles wine region to showcase the wine country lifestyle to fans and bidders from around the country.
One-of-a-kind, lots like A French Family Affair, brings the families of L’Aventure, Clos Solène, and Benom together for a dinner for six with the highest bidder at the high-end, French cuisine restaurant Les Petites Canailles. Another multi-brand experience unique to Paso Robles brings a group of eight to Sixmilebridge, where owner Jim Moroney treats guests to the dinner table with winemaker Anthony Yount. Dinner also features the wines of other brands that Anthony makes, including Denner Vineyards and Royal Nonesuch Farms.
There are impossible to find lots available to the highest bidder as well, like a complete current release package (12 bottles) of Saxum wines along with two signed 1.5L magnums. Another hard-to-get lot includes an Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon vintage line-up, including the vintages of 2015 – 2019, along with two signed large format bottles of the 2017 and 2018 vintages.
Overnight stays offer everything from a three-night getaway in a luxury house stay for six at Turley Wine Cellars to the equally luxurious stay for two at the new Geneseo Inn on Cass Winery’s 145-acre estate. These stays and many more “uber-cool” experiences are on the auction block, ready to be won.
Even though the Paso Robles Wine Country Virtual Auction launches on Monday, May 10, lots are being populated online now. Visit pasowine.com/events/virtual-auction to begin viewing lots and check back daily. The inventory of unique and exceptional experiences grows by the day leading up to the May 10 open bidding. The auction concludes at midnight on Sunday, May 16.
“We are excited to showcase some incredibly rare offerings unique to Paso Robles wine country that have been pulled from personal cellars and paired with incredible experiences that we’ve never seen offered in our area!” said Molly Scott, Chairperson of the PRWCA Board of Directors, and Director of Grower Relations for JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery. “Equally exciting is the new online auction format which allows Paso Wine fans across the world to partake in helping raise funds that we will channel right back into our local community through our foundation.”
This auction uses the Greater Giving Online Bidding platform, allowing for a paperless bidding system. Bidders use a smartphone, tablet, or desktop to bid on auction items and can easily track lots by “following” their activity without having to continuously return to a table or bid sheet.
The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance Foundation has been giving back to the local community through high school scholarships for 15 years. These scholarships help college and trade school-bound young adults to have a little extra funding to take some of the pressure off affording tuitions, materials, travel, etc., as they plan their futures. The Paso Robles wine community is proud to help the next generation reach their goals.
ABOUT PASO ROBLES WINE COUNTRY ALLIANCE
The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance is the official trade organization representing wineries, growers, and businesses in Paso Robles Wine Country. Centrally located between San Francisco and Los Angeles, along California’s Central Coast, Paso Robles Wine Country is California’s third-largest wine region. It encompasses more than 40,000 vineyard acres and 200 wineries. For more information, visit pasowine.com.
