WINEMAKER PICNIC & BARREL AUCTION VIP TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME!

With 1-hour early entry beginning at 4:00pm, you have room to roam before the crowd arrives and exclusive access to a VIP Tent throughout the event!
Mix, mingle, and relax, VIP style. 

Inside the tent, you will find a lounge area featuring the Reserve Wine Bar and gourmet bites from local superstar chef John Howie!

VIP Tent presented by PNC Bank

DIRECTOR OF WINEMAKING AND VITICULTURE: Jason Gorski

Jason has been making wine in Washington state over the past 19th years. He discovered his passion for wine at a very young age during his time in college, where his academic advisor/mentor introduced him to a respected sommelier. The conversation he had with him became a pivotal moment in his life that has also shaped a variety of his professional and personal decisions. After graduation, he came to Washington state in 2004 and joined the winemaking team at DeLille Cellars in 2011. His passion for wine and exploring the juxtaposition of science and vineyard intuition has greatly enhanced his enjoyment of life and it has been a joy for him to share that with others. “My goal is to craft wines that people will love while still being true to the specific characteristics of each vineyard.” 

VINEYARD OPERATIONS MANAGER: Marshall Edwards, Shaw Vineyards

With over 30 years of experience in viticulture, Marshall Edwards has played a significant role in some of Washington’s largest vineyards. He started his career as equipment supervisor at Ste Michelle Wine Estates’ Canoe Ridge Vineyard in 1991. He has always enjoyed the challenges of farming and that passion quickly grew as he began working more frequently within the vineyards. After a few short years, he became assistant vineyard manager at Canoe Ridge and was later promoted to vineyard manager at Ste Michelle Wine Estate’s Cold Creek location. After a seventeen-year tenure, he took on his current position at Shaw Vineyards as their vineyards operations manager and oversees 3000 acres of grapes in seven different AVAs across Washington state.  

VINEYARD PRODUCTION MANAGER: Maria S. Rivera, Shaw Vineyards

Maria was born and raised in Coalcoman, Michoacan in Mexico and has been working in the vineyards since 2010. Upon her arrival to Benton County, she became enthralled by all of the surrounding wine grape vineyards. A friend of hers invited her to come work alongside her, which happened to be one of the Shaw Vineyard properties. She began performing general vineyard labor tasks but was eventually promoted to a supervisory role and has since attended a series of educational programs focused on wine grape production and vineyard management through Wenatchee Valley College. She now currently holds the title of production manager.  

Tama Smith is the head of Women Living Richer Lives at Brighton Jones, an award-winning independent Registered Investment Adviser and national wealth management firm. She leads client engagement around women, well-being, and financial empowerment. Tama was the former CEO of Saventure, a strategic advisory firm. Prior to that, she was the CEO of The Tyra Banks Company, and has served as advisor to numerous celebrity family offices.

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
VITICULTURE & ENOLOGY RESEARCH

Meet staff and students of WSU’s Viticulture and Enology program at Picnic’s Chip-a-Cork! Thank you, WSU for presenting this fun game!

SEATTLE CHILDREN'S

The weekend of auction events is made possible because of a powerhouse of volunteers that help with anything and everything supporting AWW’s full week of events! Our events would not be possible without the assistance from Seattle Children's and their incredible volunteer outreach. 

Interested in volunteering with us this year? Head to the link to register! (Must be 21+.)

EVENT UPDATES

TOAST!
August 11

WINEMAKER PICNIC & BARREL AUCTION
August 12

35TH ANNUAL GALA 
August 13

VIRTUAL GALA ONLINE AUCTION
August 9 - August 13