First Fridays

One of the greatest benefits of sharing an office with an art gallery is the First Friday Art Walk. From April through December, we open our doors on the first Friday of the month, and invite anyone passing by to come in, see Jay's artwork and enjoy a glass of wine and a small snack. Sometimes we invite a special guest, such as Sadie, the arson dog who was one of winners at last year's Hero Dog Awards, or Richard Berrelez, the founder of the Alie Foundation -- one of our charity partners.

Here are some photos from previous First Fridays:

Lucky's owner and Cru Vin Dogs friend, Randi with Austin, a firefighter and artist

Mary, Jay, and Bill presenting a check to the Alie Foundation based on the sales of Yogi

Bill from a few years back

Be sure to stop by the gallery (1500 S Pearl) tomorrow between 4pm and 8pm. We'd love to see you there!

Cru Vin Dads

It's hard to believe it's almost June and that means that Father's day is just around the corner!

As a family business, Cru Vin Dogs has extra appreciation of Dad. Two of our founders are fantastic fathers to both their human and furry children.

Chairman Bill Foss with his lab, Maya, the puppy found on our first Puppy Series Sauvignon Blanc

Artist Jay Snellgrove was so taken with the little Blue Heeler depicted on our Shiraz-Grenache-Mouvedre blend that the dog, now named Binder, became a member of the Snellgrove household.



Because this year is going by so fast, we're getting a little bit ahead of the game and starting our Father's Day sale a little early. Say "I'm lucky to have a dad like you" with a bottle of Lucky Cabernet-Merlot neatly wrapped in a Cru Vin Dogs gift bag, only $21.99 through Father's Day. Or prove that you remember those childhood lessons with a Lucky coaster pack -- a bottle of our Cabernet-Merlot and two Lucky coasters, just $34.99.

Feel like you really need to tell Dad he's the best? Give him a bottle of our Best in Show Pinot Noir or Best in Show Cabernet Sauvignon. But be sure to hurry, there are only a few bottles left!

Cru Vin Dogs summer dinner

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week!

Today I wanted to let you guys know about an upcoming event we have in Denver. It's a start of summer, Cru Vin Dogs dinner benefiting Canine Companions for Independence. We had one last year and it was tons of fun. So if you're around on June 3rd, you should come by and say hello!

Here are the details:

Join the Highland Garden Café on June 3^rd from 4 to 7 for an event benefiting Canine Companions for Independence.

Spend a lovely summer afternoon on the patio at 3927 West 32^nd Avenue enjoying the wonderful wines of Cru Vin Dogs and a light buffet!

Meet representatives, both human and canine, from Canine Companions for Independence, as well as Cru Vin Dogs artist Jay Snellgrove and Cru Vin Dogs president Mary Snellgrove

Please bring a $25 donation, children under 10 are free. To find out more information visit the website www.highlandsgardencafe.com. To RSVP call: 303.458.5920

If you can't make it that evening, stop by Highlands Garden Cafe any night this summer, they'll be featuring all of our wines by the glass as part of their "Some angels have wings, others have tails" summer special!

We have a winner!

The votes are in…

Charley is the winner!

Charley is a four year old chocolate Lab with an amazing story. When he was two years old, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer). He lost one of his front legs, but none of his enthusiasm for life. He runs, jumps and counter-surfs.

Ellen, Charley’s mom, says, “Charley reminds us every day to cherish life and to enjoy each and every day… he is living with cancer, not dying from cancer!” 

Second place went to a beautiful Husky named Morgan.

Third place went to Sherak, an Afghan Mastiff, who was rescued by Reese, a Seattleite working in Afghanistan.

And while we didn't have a prize for fourth place, I want to give some TLC to Brixton, the retired Canine Companions for Independence lab who has helped raise five CCI puppies. His mom, Brenda, truly understands the concept behind Cru Vin Dogs -- she has decided to donate one dollar to CCI for every vote that Brixton received. Thanks, Brenda!

Thank you so much for everyone who participated. We had such a wonderful time hearing the stories and seeing the photos of all the participants. If you missed out this round, there will definitely be more competitions in the future, so keep your ears perked.Just be sure to like us on Facebook!

Peaches -- a Loyal Companion

Today I wanted to share with you a story that was sent to us from Mary, a Cru Vin Dogs supporter:

"Our Peaches is a poodle mix. She was found one day locked in a tennis court at a college.
She had dreadlocks where curls were to be and sad brown eyes.  The vet said she was malnourished and must have lived on garbage by the way the bones were protruding.   So my daughter, Kristy,  took her in, and with love and care they are the best of friends. . . and what a beautiful dog she is!

Now this loyal companion had no idea that once Kristy saved her life that very soon Peaches would return the favor. . .  Kristy was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in June of last year.  She has gone through chemo (12 rounds) and radiation (18 rounds) and through it all Peaches was her saving grace.  Peaches would not leave Kristy’s side.  Day or night, she let us know they are a team!  When I would bring Kristy home from her appointments Peaches would greet her with a bone or other treat and talk to her as only she can.  Yes I did say talk!  It always made Kristy and anyone else around laugh.  Laughter  IS  the best medicine!  By her side she would stay.

They say a dog gives unconditional love . . . our loyal companion goes above and beyond!"

Thank you, Mary, for sharing your story with us.  If you have a story to share, please email it to info@cruvindogs.com and be sure to include a photo.

And to all of you who entered your loyal companion into our photo contest, tomorrow is the *last day* to vote. So make sure all your friends and family have helped support your loyal companion.

Also, for those of you in California, our marketing and charity accounts manager, Amber Grove, will be on Pet Lounge on Saturday, talking about Cru Vin Dogs wine and our relationship with Canine Companions for Independence. So if you're in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Orange, Pheonix or Las Vegas, tune into Cox Cable Channel 4 our Time Warner Channel 4 at 5.30pm to see Amber's television debut!

Hero dogs!

If we here at Cru Vin Dogs are suckers for anything, it’s lovable dog stories – they travel around our office faster than a plate of homemade cookies. Which is one of the many reasons we are so very excited about the American Humane Association’s second annual Hero Dog awards.

You may recognize the American Humane Association from the “no animals were harmed in the making of this film” disclaimer that shows up in the credits of pretty much every movie. They are one of our key charity partners and we are delighted to once again be a part of this amazing event, as the official winery of the AHA. 

Artist Jay and Cru Vin Dogs President Mary at last year's  award show

The star-studded event was hosted last year at the Beverly Hilton Hotel by Carlson Kressley (from “Dancing with the Stars”) to honor “ordinary dogs who do extraordinary things”. With nominees from all over the country, eight finalists were determined from over 400,000 votes. The winner, Roselle, was a guide dog who led her blind master safely down 78 flights of stairs following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The other finalists, such as Sadie the arson dog, and Ricochet, the surfing dog who helps special needs children, had the opportunity to hang out with the likes of Betty White, Peter Fonda, and Whoopie Goldberg. 

The submissions are in for this year’s Hero Dog Awards and it’s time for us to vote for the next round of hero dogs. You can vote once in each category per day from now until June 30th. And there are some wonderful stories in there! Be sure to check out the website and vote for your favorite dogs. The winners will earn sizable donations for their favorite dog charity. 

San Francisco Vintner's Market

Last month, Colorado sales rep Casey Wright spent a weekend in San Francisco helping out at the “Try it, buy it” Vintner’s Market. Around 6,500 people attended the two day event at Fort Mason. People wandered through the crowds trying wines from hundreds of different vendors and buying their favorites on the spot. Casey was joined by North California sales rep, Jeanine Mack-Velez, and winemaker, Tony Wasowicz.

Here’s what Casey had to say about the experience:

The event gave me a great opportunity to see what the California market is like and experience the great responses to our mission at Cru Vin Dogs. There were about 4,500 attendees the first day – it was wall to wall. We spent the day with a “five deep” line, talking about our wines, tasting consumers and connecting with dog and wine lovers.  The day was fun but intense and, boy, did it go by quickly.

Sunday was a bit calmer with only 2,000 people. It gave us a better chance to really explain our mission to each person and get more quality time with our supporters.

Tony, Jeanine, Oahu, Casey, and Debbie

We were also lucky enough to have Canine Companion for Independence volunteer, Debbie, join us with the beautiful service dog, Oahu. CCI is local to California, so it was wonderful to have them present at the event. Debbie and Oahu spent a lot of time wandering around the crowd telling people about Cru Vin Dogs and CCI. The sight of Oahu brought so many people over to our table, including some other CCI volunteers. The attendees were excited to see a dog at the tasting and it helped them to understand how Cru Vin Dogs gives back.

The weekend gave me the opportunity to spend a lot of time talking the actual Cru Vin Dogs consumers, which I don’t always get to do on a day to day basis. Hearing their feedback, how much they love our wines and our labels, and listening to them share their stories about their dogs reminded me of why I am so passionate about Cru Vin Dogs and the work that I do.

The whole weekend was a fantastic experience – it gave me the chance to see a different part of the sales world. I hope to participate in more events like this one in the future!