I've been follow the rise in charity wine projects lately so I love this story in Wines and Vines about Rivera Vineyards. Steve Rivera donates all the wine from Rivera Vineyards in the Atlas Peak area to Bay Area charities. Rivera pays all the expenses of growing the grapes and creating the wine and then donates the wine to charities which auction them off or use them at events. The wines are well-regarded Cabernet Sauvignons created by the master hands of winemaker Karen Culler and vineyard manager Pete Richmond of Silverado Farming Company.

Rivera, who has published several Bay Area magazines, had no plans to get into the wine business. When Rivera and his wife Marilyn bought 65 acres in the Atlas Peak area they planned to use the property as a getaway but his friends who saw the quality of the grapes encouraged him to make wine. So far they have planted 7.5 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and more recently added 3.5 acres more including some Petit Verdot. Rivera produced 100 cases of wine in 2003 and has now produced 250 cases of the current, 2004 release. He hopes to eventually reach 400 to 450 cases and has talked to Michael Mondavi about adding his brand to Mondavi's Folio Winemakers Partners portfolio as a charitable effort. Rivera hopes to create a wine that would probably sell for about $100 for a 750ml bottle and would let the buyer choose which charity they opted to support with their purchase.