Join us at the 2009 V Foundation Wine Celebration
Dear Friends,
On behalf of The V Foundation and V Wine Celebration Boards of Directors, we would like to welcome you back, or invite you to join us for the first time, to the Wine Celebration event August 7 & 8, 2009. We once again look forward to seeing our wonderful supporters of the V Foundation Wine Celebration gather in Yountville and the Napa Valley for a weekend of enjoyment; while at the same time raising significant funds for cancer research. We can guarantee you that you will have fun, be exposed to great food and wine, and learn more about the fight against cancer.
We have six great venues for our more intimate Friday night dinners—Caymus Vineyards, Del Dotto Vineyards, Frank Family Vineyards, Joseph Phelps Vineyards, Rudd Winery & Vineyard and Vineyard 29—all produce spectacular wines with settings that are very unique and special. After our Cancer Forum on Saturday morning and wine tasting around the pool, we all convene that evening at Nickel & Nickel Winery for silent and live auctions, a spectacular dinner, and last but not least, entertainment by the Pointer Sisters.
Mike Krzyzewski, Head Basketball Coach of Duke University and Coach of the 2008 Gold Medal U.S. Men’s Olympic Team, and his wife, Mickie will be returning as our hosts. All in all, it’s a great weekend and we hope that you will join us! Take a look at the video of last year’s event that we’ve included in this invitation and we’re sure you’ll be there, August 7 & 8!
Sincerely,  |
The Wine Celebration’s 2008 Fund-A-Need had a goal of funding a four-year, $1 million grant at UCSF. The study, to be led by pediatric oncologist Dr. Kate Matthay, will build on the advances made in her 2001 V Foundation grant. Dick and Ann Grace, the 2001 Wine Celebration Vintner’s Grant recipients, designated neuroblastoma for their grant, in honor of a young boy Dick had met while visiting children receiving cancer treatment at UCSF. That boy, Jay Ferrick, was a patient of Dr. Matthay’s, and today is a vibrant, athletic high school freshman. Neuroblastoma, a disease of the sympathetic nervous system, most often affects infants and young children. According to Dr. Matthay, the five-year survival rate for neuroblastoma has risen from under 10% in the 1980s, to 40% today. These large strides are due in part to the tireless efforts of Dr. Matthay, her UCSF team and the collective of 14 participating institutions around the country, who have been ministering to the needs of our smallest warriors, many of whom are now long-term survivors, even among patients whose disease was initially unresponsive to standard therapies. 
