International Grand Cru and Culinary Tasting Benefits Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
LONG BEACH, CA, July 5, 2015 — The Long Beach Grand Cru, the country’s only nonprofit wine competition, benefiting Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and its partnership with The Children’s Clinic in Long Beach, will celebrate its 21th anniversary in a new location — the lush 87-acre South Coast Botanic Garden, with an evening of wine, food, one-of-a-kind silent auction and live music on Saturday, Aug. 8 from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. at 26300 Crenshaw Blvd. in Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Since its establishment in 1995, the Long Beach Grand Cru has become one of Southern California’s most popular wine and food tasting events featuring over 1,000 wines from more than 300 international and domestic wineries with unlimited pours, and tastings from 25 regional restaurants.
This year’s Grand Cru will raise funds to benefit LAFLA’s Greater Long Beach Community Medical Legal Partnership. In 2014, the public tasting attracted more than 1,200 attendees and helped raise more than $300,000 to support LAFLA’s frontline law firm services for poor and low-income people in Long Beach. Since its inception in 1995, the Grand Cru has raised over $3.9 million to support LAFLA’s services in the greater Long Beach/Harbor area and across metropolitan Los Angeles.
This year’s competition will feature all styles of wine from domestic and international vineyards. Medals are awarded to winners in the following categories: Chairman’s Best of Class, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Sweepstakes.
“The Grand Cru is the only event where wine enthusiasts and wine collectors can together change the lives of thousands of poor people who turn to LAFLA when they need legal assistance for a crisis that threatens their shelter, health and livelihood,” said Silvia R. Argueta, Executive Director of LAFLA. According to Dan Berger, Grand Cru Chief Judge and syndicated wine writer and publisher of Dan Berger’s Vintage Experiences, “Producing a fun-filled evening and elite but fair judging competition is a challenge and a passion for all of us. Most importantly we know they every sip we take is for a good cause.”
About Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) and the Greater Long Beach Medical-Legal Partnership
This is the frontline law firm for poor and low-income people in Los Angeles and Long Beach. Since 1929, LAFLA has been committed to changing the lives of families and the community through direct representation, systems change and educational programs.
LAFLA and The Children’s Clinic in Long Beach, a community health center dedicated to serving medically underserved, low-income communities, have partnered to create the Greater Long Beach Community Medical-Legal Partnership. The partnership fosters family safety, stability, and positive health outcomes for adult and child survivors of domestic violence through coordinated medical, legal, and social services. This collaborative approach, combining the skills of attorneys, medical professionals and social workers, allows the two organizations to provide a holistic response to the complex needs ranging from survivors of domestic violence to being a low-income patient.
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