Verde Valley News – Vin de Filles, a wine 100% female produced from grape to bottle, has exceeded expectations once again with its October event, raising $41,000 for the Verde Valley Sanctuary.
“The Vin de Filles is a project and event like no other,” VVS Executive Director Jessye Johnson said. “Witnessing its growth and following is awe-inspiring, and we are so grateful to have been chosen to benefit from this labor of love.”
French for “girls wine,” the Vin de Filles is produced at Page Springs Cellars by co-owner Gayle Glomski along with assistant winemaker Bree Nation, and Lauren Maldonado, co-owner of The Art of Wine and Vino de Sedona.
Four years ago, the three ladies put their heads together in effort to not only make a great wine but wanted to help women in the community along the way.
“I couldn’t do it by myself, so I asked Bree … and Lauren,” Glomski said, adding they began brainstorming their goals and what exactly they wanted to do with it.
“Bree suggested we donate something back to the community,” Glomski said. “When we started looking at organizations who help women, we heard a lot about the Sanctuary through friends, through guests, so we did our due diligence. It was a solid, easy decision.”
The results have been outstanding, donating $146,000 in total to VVS through event ticket sales, silent auctions and of course, wine sales. The 2021 event produced $25,000, then $40,000 in 2022 and 2023 before this fall’s Oct. 20-21 event set a record of $41,000.
Opening in 1994, VVS’ mission is to provide safety, services, and comfort to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. The agency provides a 24/7/365 crisis hotline and pet-friendly emergency shelter, transitional housing, lay legal advocacy, community-based advocacy and youth violence prevention education to the Verde Valley community.
“Every year we’re trying to promote females in male-dominated industries,” Glomski said, pointing to chefs, wine makers, beverage makers and more, thus the yearly Vin de Filles event features all women.
“The point of this event is to highlight women in these industries, so each year the women are different. The chefs, the wine makers, it’s evolved into a brewer, a mixologist,” Glomski said. “When these women attend the event, they become excited and it spins off like Chef Eden [Archer] adding a signature dish on her menu, and a portion of each sale is donated to VVS.”
In October, the fundraiser featured Holly Skaggs, founder and CEO of Wild Tonic during the reception, along with hors d’oeuvres by Eden Archer, chef and owner of Eden, a premier farm-to-table restaurant in Cottonwood, and Neeta Mittal, co-owner of LXV Wines.
The entrée was produced by Abby Rothwell, culinary architect at Pillsbury Wine Co. along with Rinn Burhyte, a brewer at Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company, while Eli Lucido, a mixologist from Eden made cocktails called “Wild West Sour.”
The main course was served by Archer and dessert was served by Mahfam Moeeni-Alarcon, founder and co-owner of Mingle + Graze and Spin the Bottle Wine Shop.
“It is so much work, and it’s really stressful. But it’s really awe-inspiring to see how much support there is from the community and from all of the women who come together to make it happen. It far overshadows the stress level in the moment,” Nation said. “Everyone is inspired.”
The $41,000 is earmarked for VVS’ capital campaign project, which focuses on the new 221 S. Main St. centralized campus and their efforts to build a family advocacy center.
About
Verde Valley Sanctuary’s mission is to provide safety, services, and comfort to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. The agency began in 1994 as a grassroots organization with a leased modular home that slept six and has grown into a 32-bed emergency shelter with transitional housing options, a lay legal advocacy center, community-based advocacy support, a 24/7/365 crisis hotline (928-634-2511) and a staff that takes pride in its youth violence prevention education and public outreach and awareness. VVS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and qualifying charitable organization for the Arizona Tax Credit. Federal Tax ID: #86-071314; QCO Code: #20041. Visit VerdeValleySanctuary.org for more information.