Dolce Saint Nicholas Honors Winemaking Tradition, Funds Gifts Through Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation®
Napa Valley, CA – Dolce, the Napa Valley winery that is solely devoted to producing a single, late harvest wine, has released Dolce Saint Nicholas, a rare, one-of-a-kind bottling made from grapes picked on December 6, 1999, the feast day of Saint Nicholas. The unusually late harvest yielded just four barrels of wine, enough to make 1,000 hand-numbered, 750 ml bottles. In honor of Saint Nicholas, who is the patron saint of children, Dolce will donate $200 to the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation® for every bottle of Dolce Saint Nicholas sold, between now and December 31st, 2006. Dolce normally contributes $100 with each sale of Dolce Saint Nicholas.
“Dolce Saint Nicholas is a special wine that a winemaker might have the good fortune to make once in his lifetime. Since the wine was harvested on the feast of Saint Nicholas, we decided to honor his good works and fund gifts to children through the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation,” says Dirk Hampson, director of winemaking and president of Dolce.
The Dolce harvest usually ends in November, but in 1999, extraordinary weather conditions extended the harvest into December, allowing the rare opportunity to make Dolce Saint Nicholas. Tradition holds that only grapes harvested on December 6 may be labeled Saint Nicholas wine.
Dolce is produced by leaving ripe Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes on the vine late in the harvest season and, if the right weather conditions occur, allowing a mold called botrytis cinerea, commonly known as noble rot, to attack the grapes. The botrytis shrivels the grapes, evaporating the water while concentrating the sugars and flavors. The result is a sweet, but not cloying, wine redolent of pear, dried apricot and clove, with an excellent balance of acidity.
The feast of Saint Nicholas is celebrated around the world and honors a bishop born in the third century. Bishop Nicholas was known for giving away his sizeable inheritance as gifts, particularly to children in need, that when tossed through a deserving family’s open window would land in nearby shoes or stockings left by the fire to dry. It is from this legend that children today leave out their shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas.
Dolce Saint Nicholas retails for $500 per 750 ml bottle. Only 1,000 hand-numbered bottles were produced. Please contact the Dolce winery at (707) 944-8868.
About the Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. It is the largest wish-granting charity in the world, with 75 chapters in the United States and its territories and 27 international affiliates spanning five continents. For more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation, please visit the Foundation's Web site at www.wish.org.
About the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation In 2004, the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation celebrates 20 years of fulfilling magical wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses. The sixth-largest Make-A-Wish chapter nationwide, it has granted more than 3,500 wishes. For more information, please call (800) 464-9474 or visit www.makewish.org.
