Sponsors, Donors and Vendors Sought for Seventh Annual Cal Poly Wine Festival

SAN LUIS OBISPO - The Cal Poly Vines to Wines club will host its seventh annual Cal Poly Wine Festival on Saturday, April 25 at the Santa Margarita Ranch.

The event will feature wineries from all over California as well as many local restaurants and caterers.

The wine festival committee is seeking sponsors, donors and food vendors to participate in the festivities. Those interested should contact event coordinator Emily Reneau at 805-756-7071 or ereneau@calpoly.edu or log on to www.calpolywinefestival.com for more information.

Last year the event drew more than 1,000 wine enthusiasts, Cal Poly students and alumni. More than 100 wineries attended the event from the Napa/Sonoma, Lodi, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara regions. Seventeen local restaurants served appetizers while attendees tasted fine wines, bid on silent auction items and enjoyed local musicians.

Tickets - $50, $45 for students, and $15 for designated drivers - will go on sale March 1. There will be about 1,000 available.

The proceeds will go toward Cal Poly's Wine and Viticulture Program and to the Vines to Wines club.

Vines to Wines also will host a barbeque Friday, April 24 at the Cal Poly Arboretum. This event will be for alumni members to mingle with winemakers from the attending wineries. There also will be a live auction. The event will cost $50, and space is limited to 220 guests.

About Vines to Wines
Vines to Wines is Cal Poly's student-run organization dedicated to promoting active participation in wine education and establishing industry connections. The group's "Learn by Tasting" philosophy equips leaders in wine business, oenology, and viticulture.

About the Cal Poly Wine Festival
The festival began as a Cal Poly senior project in 2003 and has grown each year. For more details, log on to www.calpolywinefestival.com.

About the Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture Program Cal Poly in spring 2004 began offering an undergraduate degree in wine and viticulture, through the Horticulture and Crop Science Department in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. The program now has nearly 300 students, making it the largest university program of its kind in the state. For details, go to www.hcrs.calpoly.edu/programs/.

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