Napa Valley cult vintner and humanitarian Dick Grace speaks at wine festival

Dick Grace, who owns Grace Family Vineyards and is one of the original "cult vintners" of Napa Valley, will speak at the Chateau Bascom Gala Wine Dinner and Auction on May 22. (Craig Lee/SFC)

HIGHLANDS — One of California’s Napa Valley wine industry’s pioneering superstars, Dick Grace, will be the highlight of the fourth annual Collective Spirits wine festival in Highlands May 21-22.

Grace, who owns Grace Family Vineyards and is one of the original "cult vintners" of Napa Valley, will speak at the Chateau Bascom Gala Wine Dinner and Auction on May 22.

The term cult vintner in California was coined in the late 1970s as a result of wineries like Grace Family Vineyards (generally credited with being the "first") who are low-production wineries (only Cabernet Sauvignons in the case of Grace) that sell their wines only through exclusive mailing lists. The general public can only find these wines on the secondary or auction markets. Wine aficionados covet being on these mailing lists. In the case of Grace there are approximately 500 names on the primary list with another 5,000 on the wait-list.

"This is a tremendous coup for Collective Spirits," said Dick Boger, event co-chair. "In addition to his celebrity as a vintner, Mr. Grace has a very active family foundation that supports all kinds of worthwhile causes, which is why he is coming to Highlands - to help The Bascom. Through his own personal journey, he has converted to Buddhism and is actively involved with helping promote the travels and teachings of the Dalai Lama.  We're supremely lucky to have attracted someone of his caliber."

Grace Family Vineyards' mission statement is “wine as a catalyst towards healing our planet.” The winery led to the creation of the Grace Family Vineyards Foundation. Via their foundation, the Graces support projects in India, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Bhutan, Mexico, the United States and Tibet. The projects concern themselves with bringing nourishment, education, and medical care to some of our planets most needy inhabitants. The Graces are fully engaged in these projects and spend three to four months a year with the people who receive both care and comfort.

"The Graces directly touch the lives of hundreds of their underserved sisters and brothers, and are enriched by the teachings they receive from the heroic individuals with whom they have such close contact," Boger said.

Collective Spirits features private wine dinners (exclusively for Sponsors and Benefactors), grand wine tastings with both value wines and rare bottles, a gala dinner, live and silent auctions, a culinary sampling by local chefs, and symposiums conducted by leading wine specialists. All proceeds benefit exhibition and education programs of The Bascom, nonprofit center for the visual arts that recently occupied a stunning new $13 million campus.

Wilmington Trust is the presenting sponsor. Silver sponsors are Chubb Group of Insurance Companies/Lanigan Insurance Group and Hennessy Automotive Companies. Bronze sponsors include Franklin Ford, Harry Norman Realtors-Pat Allen and Bert Mobley, Highlands' Newspaper, The Laurel magazine, Moss Robertson Cadillac and WNC magazine.

Tickets are on sale now at www.collectivespirits.com or by calling 526-4949.