PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, June 5, 2012 Website: www.eefsf.org

Contact: Richard Ventura Phone: 415-793-2551 Email: richard.ventura.sf@gmail.com

Ten Latino Vintners from Napa and Sonoma to Present in San Francisco
San Francisco- Ten Latino vintners from Napa and Sonoma will be in San Francisco on Thursday, June 21, 2012 to pour and chat with San Francisco Bay Area tasters at the beautiful Green Room at the San Francisco War Memorial from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for VIA 2012. Among them is Vanessa Robledo, a fourth-generation grape grower, President and Partner of Black Coyote Wines. Vanessa was recently honored by Girls Scouts of America as one of the Top 100 Women Greening the Future and her wine listed as one of Wine Enthusiasts Top 100 Wines of 2011. Growing up in a Latin family with eight siblings, Vanessa Robledo was always trying to stand out. I had to overachieve to be noticed, she said. Her success is demonstrated by becoming CEO of Robledo Family Winery, to making an impact in education as President of the Ernest Bates Family Foundation. While Ms. Robledo is Sonoma, her parents came from Michoacn where they, her grandfather and other family members came to the U.S. under the Bracero program started during World War II. Eventually, her family immigrated to the wine country. My grandfather taught me about vines and I taught him English, she recalled. She worked in the fields every day after school and on weekends. By 1994, the family had two businesses: growing their own grapes and managing other vineyards. She initiated a marketing campaign that put the family in the spotlight while growing production from 100 cases in 1997 to 20,000 cases a year in 2007. She met Dr. Ernest Bates, founder of Black Coyote Winery, after her family planted a vineyard for one of Bates friends in 2004. In May 2008, she joined Black Coyote Winery as president where they make 600 cases of cabernet sauvignon and a limited amount of sauvignon blanc. Ms. Robledos other big passion of helping others, which is shared by Ernest Bates. There are 30,000 youth under 17 in Napa County, she said. Half are Hispanic. A lot dont have the means, knowledge or support to go beyond their backgrounds. What happens to them? Lets support them in a positive way so they can contribute to our community and to themselves. This is just one of the many stories you can get by attending VIA and having an intimate conversation with vintners from Alex Sotelo Cellars, Black Coyote Wines, Ceja Vineyards, Encanto Vineyards, Maldonado Vineyards, Mi Sueno, Renteria Wines, Rios Wine Company, Robledo Family Winery, and Voces. Admission to VIA is $75; a portion of the proceeds will support Clinic Oles Farmworker Outreach Program to provide health fairs for vineyard workers. Visit www.eefsf.org for more details. ### If you would like more information regarding this topic or to schedule an interview with vintners, please call Richard Ventura at 415-793-2551 or by email at richard.ventura.sf@gmail.com Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4C7F1hVNPs