Annual WineaPAWlooza event celebrates animals, wine and music

The cornerstone of annual fundraising for Jameson Humane, a Napa Valley no-kill animal rescue and sanctuary, will return this summer for its 11th year.

WineaPAWlooza, starting at 6 p.m. June 21, is a two-day celebration of animals, wine and music that generates up to $2.2 million for the nonprofit rescue. Its pinnacle is a live wine auction, led by auctioneer Fritz Hatton.

The night kicks off with an exclusive wine-tasting experience at Burgess Cellars in Napa. Wines from Lawrence Wine Estates will be featured, including offerings from Heitz Cellar, Stony Hill, Burgess, Ink Grade and Haynes Vineyard.

“Part of the auction will be a 3-liter bottle of the founding ’92 vintage of Screaming Eagle,” Jameson Humane co-founder and president Monica Stevens said.

The next day, June 22, 55 Napa and Sonoma vintners will pour their finest wines at a grand tasting from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Raymond Vineyards in St. Helena.

St. Helena’s Zakin Wines will be among the wineries in attendance. They lost beloved pets in the 2020 Glass Fire, said Jan Zakin, co-proprietor.

“There were no human deaths, but so many pets and livestock perished, including our beloved Vizsla, Zsa Zsa,” she said. “Especially close to my heart is the work Jameson is doing with disaster preparedness.”

The evening’s entertainment begins with Napa rock band Wristrocket to play at 8 p.m.

Wine Spectator magazine recognized WineaPAWlooza as one of the top 10 wine auctions in the nation, making it a distinctive event in the world of wine.

“The name Wine-a-PAW-looza comes from my Chicago roots of the Lollapalooza festival,” Stevens said.

Jameson Humane’s team projects this year’s event will sell out again. The infrastructure for WineaPAWlooza started over a decade ago.

Monica and her husband, David Stevens, who died in November, established Jameson Humane in 2014 with a mission to enhance animal welfare worldwide. Driven by the spirit of their cherished rescued dog, Jameson, the sanctuary focuses on collaboration and education to ignite positive change in animal welfare on a global scale.

The funds raised through the event enable Jameson to deliver vital services, such as its community animal assistance program, which provides subsidized medical care, food assistance, behavioral training, and support for pet owners to ensure they can remain with their animals.

“This is about how Napa and Sonoma come together. This isn’t just for animals; a big part of what we do is helping humans problem-solve for their animals. Humans are in a trying economic time. Numbers are at an all-time high for need,” Stevens said.

Last year’s 10th anniversary of the event was a big success. The event, which accounts for the majority of Jameson Humane's annual operating expenses, generated $1.5 million. About $250,000 of that was allocated to the Fund-A-Need initiative, supporting the Mobile Veterinary Unit program.

This program offers spay and neuter services, vaccines, microchipping and specialty surgeries to underserved communities, including low-income individuals, older adults, homeless people and survivors of domestic violence.

Stevens, who expects around 300 people Friday night and about 400 on Saturday, said WineaPAWlooza “wouldn’t be possible without the wine industry. The first people to show up when we started were clients of our former wine shop.”

“The wineries show up in June because we provide a service that didn’t exist before Jameson,” she said. “This is a world-class destination and you need a world-class safety net for that. If it weren’t for the wine industry, Jameson probably wouldn’t exist.”