Here’s an offer you can’t refuse: A wine tasting excursion that will benefit children half a world away in Africa.

Eleven Sonoma County wineries are hosting the second annual V2V Wine Safari Sept. 3-11 to benefit clean water efforts for children in western Kenya. V2V stands for Vineyards to Villages.

The pool of V2V wineries include: Merriam Vineyards, Christopher Creek Winery, Deux Amis Winery, Fritz Underground Winery, Pedroncelli Winery, Portalupi Wine, Thumbprint Cellars, Trione Winery, Williamson Wines, the Windsor Tasting Lounge, and Viszlay Vineyards.

These wineries have the goal of funding clean water infrastructure at 50 schools by 2020. Only half of Kenyans had access to a clean water source in 2013. The goal is to counter the waterborne diseases running rampant in western Kenya that cause chronic illness and death, especially among young children.

In February 2015, two Sonoma County winery owners, Dominic Foppoli of Christopher Creek Winery and John Viszlay of Viszlay Vineyards traveled to Kenya to visit the first projects funded by V2V.

“John and I witnessed the fact that thousands of children in these communities still attend schools with no clean drinking water, and this should be unacceptable to us in today’s world,” said Foppoli. “My business partners and I contribute to many local programs for children through Santa Rosa Active 20-30, and I wanted to be just as involved in the important work we contribute to internationally. Since Global Partners is a small, locally run organization, it is possible to be an active donor even though the beneficiaries are half a world away.”

For those who want to partake in this goodwill sipping, the fee is $50. For tickets and more information, visit www.gpfd.org or call 588-0550.

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