WINESONG 2014 ANNOUNCES ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Winesong 2014 (www.winesong.org) is pleased to announce that world renowned artist, Lowell Herrero will graciously serve as the Artist of the Year. As Winesong 2014’s Artist of the Year, Herrero will be donating The Four Seasons, a unique collection of etched and painted wine bottles, signed by Lowell Herrero.  Each season will be featured on a bottle with this year’s showcase piece being Spring.

Throughout a career spanning The Great Depression through the 21st Century, Lowell Herrero has turned his passion for living into art. From his home in California, he has traveled to Tuscany, Provence, and Spain, absorbing the lessons of their sensuous landscapes. The colors of horizons and rich earth, the sensations of sunlight, and the fragrance of flower-covered hillsides mingle in his imagination and flow through his paintbrush onto his canvases.

Feeling a deep affinity with farmers working the land, Herrero is a perfect fit for the Winesong auction featuring many artisan wines and vineyards. His farm scenes are bursting with life, over-large, and enduring — extensions of the very soil they cultivate. In his paintings, vineyards stretch into the distance as grape pickers enjoy lunch under a cloudless blue sky. Lavender harvesters bend to their task, and a field of rolled bales tells us the hard work of haying is at an end. Each painting invites us to smile with pleasure and enjoy the inner vitality and plenitude of the landscape. But above all, the paintings project the irrepressible joie de vivre of an artist who knows how to live.

As a critic recently observed, “There is an earthy vibrancy to his paintings that harkens to a simpler time, where mundane chores take on a proud and romantic quality. Lowell’s landscapes are animated and vivacious, and one can’t help but smile at his distinctive and whimsical images.“

Equally impressive to his body of work is Lowell’s dedication to supporting Winesong and the Mendocino Coast District Hospital. Lowell and Janet Herrero first discovered Winesong and the Mendocino Coast by way of a friend’s invitation to attend Winesong. Feeling as if they were back along their beloved New England coast where they were married and made annual trips, Lowell and Janet decided to begin a new annual sojourn to Mendocino, which they affectionately refer to as their “local New England home.”

With many charitable organizations approaching them each year, Lowell and Janet chose to focus on health and research based charities. With that in mind, Winesong became one of only three annual auction events they continue to support. As Lowell and Janet explain, “Winesong fit the bill on three levels: supporting the local hospital, supporting our need to see Mendocino, and supporting our need to have a great time!”

For more information on Lowell Herrero, please visit his website at http://www.lowellherrero.com/.

Winesong looks to continue its reputation as the premiere sure-to-sell-out charitable wine event on the trend setting Mendocino Coast. Starting on Friday, September 5, Winesong will offer guests an insider’s view of Anderson Valley Pinot Noir as Winesong and AVWA (Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association) present “A Pinot Noir Celebration” hosted by Little River Inn. On Saturday, September 6, guests can stroll through the captivating Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens while enjoying a marvelous array of wine and food from 100 highly acclaimed wineries and 50 top-notch Northern California restaurants. The magnificent wine celebration continues on into the Auction Tents for the always-entertaining Live and Silent Auctions.

The New York Times recently released its annual "Places to Visit" list, with Mendocino County's North Coast taking the No. 3 spot out of 52 destinations. With its dramatic coastal setting Mendocino is quickly becoming a top wine country getaway. Last year’s auction grossed over $500,000 to benefit the Mendocino Coast Hospital Foundation. Highlights of the 2013 auction included the “fund a need” lot—specifically to be used to purchase a new ambulance—brought in $116,000 in a matter of minutes.

For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.winesong.org or call (707) 961-4688.

o   Auction Reserve Tickets with assigned seating under the auction tent and Celebrity Chef Lunch, and access to wine and food tasting: $225.00 Early Responder; $250.00 (After June 1st)

o   General Admission Tickets with festival seating at auction and access to wine and food tasting: $125.00 Early Responder; $150.00 (After June 1st)

o   General Admission Tickets for A Pinot Noir Celebration: Meet the Winemakers: $50.00

Winesong is produced by Mendocino Coast Hospital Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for the Mendocino Coast District Hospital. Its mission is to help the small rural Hospital provide the best possible medical care to residents as well as the many visitors to the Mendocino Coast. Winesong proceeds have enabled the Hospital to purchase chemotherapy equipment, portable ultrasound machines for the Emergency Room as well as a state-of-the-art Diagnostic Imaging Center. www.winesong.org