Annual wine-and-food event raises more than $400,000 for Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area.
So many great folks gave it up—time, money, food, wine, auction items—at the 16th Annual Project Zin, which raised $400,000-plus for the Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area (DSCBA). Pleasure meeting former KTVU sportscaster Mark Ibañez (lead photo, left), the emcee, and Franco Finn (Golden State Warriors), who returned as auctioneer. Appellation Healdsburg, California’s best resort per the editors at Travel + Leisure, hosted the fundraiser for the first time.
Winemaker Clay Mauritson and his wife, Carrie, credit a DSCBA predecessor nonprofit with providing crucial support after their son Brady’s Down syndrome diagnosis at age 2½. Project Zin is their way to assist others. Pre-auction, attendees sampled food from local restaurants & hotels while sipping Zinfandels from 21 top producers. Favorite dishes, wine, and people encountered along the way:
Sean & Melissa McGaughey of Troubadour Bread & Bistro (congrats on the Michelin star), whose steelhead trout w/smoky tomato tasted even better than it looked.
Chef Carlos Mojica of Healdsburg’s Guiso Latin Fusion served up oozing-with-flavor arepita de pato à la barbacoa (slow-braised Liberty duck with barbacoa sauce and avocado foam).
Chef Charlie Palmer of Appellation Healdsburg is a cofounder of Project Zin. His son, Reed Palmer, is the executive chef of the resort’s Folia Bar & Kitchen. Reed’s silky white pizza with onion, pistachio, and Gorgonzola paired exceedingly well with the 2020 Flambeaux Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel.
New Orleans native Art Murray of Flambeaux Wine donated Mardi Gras 2027 and Zin-vertical packages.
Chef Ann Tussey of Sweet T’s Restaurant + Bar in Windsor served Memphis pulled-pork nachos. The house-made cheese sauce made the dish.
Dennis McCarter of McCarter Cellars has been racking up awards for his Pinots. He also makes a Zinfandel.
In photo above, clockwise from top left: pork tenderloin from Goodnight’s Healdsburg, flawless pasty by The Selvedge Inn (boutique in by SingleThread soon to open along the Russian River in Healdsburg), seafood tacos from Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen, jambalaya and gazpacho from The Parish Cafe, and duck prosciutto from The Burrow.
Large-format bottles from all 21 wineries kicked off the Live Auction. Brady Mauritson missed Project Zin this year. He just entered a special program at Clemson University. ESPN donated the last lot, a Clemson vs. Cal football package this fall.
Props to GreenLeaf Produce and Allen Brothers Steaks for donating produce and proteins. Below is the program’s list of participating wineries and restaurants. 