In April 2018, we held a very successful combined Entrepreneur Wines release event with a Gratitude “thank you” event for all of our Ambassadors and Corporate backers.   The event was held at the Candy Store, a unique auto museum in San Mateo.  Our club members mixed it up while viewing million dollar antique automobiles and drinking our new 2016 Baciagalupi Chardonnay!

We had several Gratitude speakers that day, including Olenka Villarreal, CEO of Magical Bridge, and Sergio Medina, CEO of RISE.  Both speakers talked about the work their organizations are doing to help handicapped or underprivileged children here in the US and abroad.

On September 29th, 2019, we held our annual Entrepreneur Wines Napa event at our production facility, ElevenEleven, in the city of Napa.  We released our latest 2017 Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir, which was a hit, and invited members to dip into the “vault” by pouring our very first cabernet – now nearly 10 years in the bottle – our 2019 Mt. Veeder Cabernet.

Our wine maker, Kirk Venge took visitors out into the ElevenEleven vineyards where we had the opportunity to taste and compare several varietals off the vines.  Kirk spoke about what goes into a traditional Bordeaux blend and discussed his strategies for deciding on optimal timing for harvest.

Also joining us this afternoon was Annie Marggraff, one of our Gratitude Fellows (alumni from 2018) who spoke about how her non-profit StepAhead has been scaling up since receiving assistance from the Gratitude program.  Gratitude long-time friend and now-Board member, Dave Stiehr spoke about why he loves being part of both Entrepreneur Wines and Gratitude Network and a bit about the leverage effect Gratitude gets when it works with leaders around the world.

Here are a few of the photos from that day!

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This year, Entrepreneur Wines and The Gratitude Network co-produced a new event, attracting over 100 Wine Club members, Gratitude Ambassadors and friends and colleagues.  The event was held in Orinda at the beautiful home of Christina and Tom McCormick.  What a day!

Entrepreneur Wine club members were treated to a VIP tasting and release of our 2016 Oakville Cabernet, during the hour prior to “Gourmet, Grapes & Gratitude”.

They were then treated to:

  • tasty bites from five local high-end restaurants and patisseries,
  • wine from Entrepreneur Wines and four high-end wineries,
  • eight visiting Gratitude “2019 Fellows” (inductees Gratitude’s 2019 program),
  • Comments from Board members,
  • A drawing for 2 Warriors FINAL seats in a VIP Executive Box.

Early in the day, rain and wind threatened this event, but at the start time the sun was up and everyone had a wonderful day!

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The Gratitude Network held it’s first-ever “Soiree” on November 6, 2016 at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood City, CA…and Entrepreneur Wines was there to help with th celebration!  325 guests enjoyed a grand reception, entered the Grand Ballroom to the music of Cantabile Women’s Choir, and then heard from several great speakers, enjoyed a wonderful dinner, participated in a live auction and honored social entrepreneurs around the world.

Speakers included Lauren Bush Lauren (Founder of The FEED Projects), Christian Okoye (star running back for the Kansas City Chiefs), Guy Kawasaki (early Apple Evangelist,entrepreneur and prolific blogger),  Alejandro Gac-Artigas (Founder, Springboard Collaborative),  and Tanyella Evans (Co-Founder of Library for All).

Best comment of the night:  “Given the details of the event, it’s hard to believe this event is the FIRST time Gratitude Network has thrown one of these!

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On March 10th, 2016, the Gratitude Network and Entrepreneur Wines teamed up with F50, a unique and growing Silicon Valley angel network. Perkins Coie law firm graciously hosted the event at their beautiful offices in Palo Alto.  We had 35 in attendance, including several Wine Club members and a variety of F50 entrepreneurs and investors.  The evening was highlighted by a taste of Entrepreneur Wines’ 2012 Chardonnay and 2012 Diamond Mountain Cabernet.

The Haykins and Mike Miller took a trip with Kirk Venge to inspect the Fall production of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay Sonoma vineyards at Bacigalupi and Dutton Ranch. Fall in the rich vineyards of Sonoma was stunning!

Kirk Venge led a tasting of 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2014 Pinot Noir with over 60 members and guests in attendance. We also had two of our Gratitude Network entrepreneurs (Brian Hill from Endovo and Heather Franzese from Good World Solutions) to talk about their companies’ progress.

Entrepreneur Wines and Wente Vineyards teamed up for a presentation on “Giving Back” aimed at members of both wine clubs. Wente poured their “Art of Giving 2013” cabernet, and Entrepreneur Wines featured its 2010 Mt. Veeder Cabernet. Guests were treated to an afternoon in the Wente Barrel Room in Livermore, CA., complete with music, a spread of appetizers and lots of “networking”!

That “wine like a fine cigar” look doesn’t come by itself. We took photos of the fun that was had in dipping and capping our 2012 Mt. Veeder cabernet bottles.

The Haykin took the first of many-to-come trips to see the vineyards where future Entrepreneur Wines will be coming from. Kirk Venge shared his perspective and tour of the vineyards in Russian River for Baciagalupi (our future Chardonnays) and Dutton Ranch (our future Pinot Noirs).