Out in the Vineyard's Weekend Wine Celebration

Out in The Vineyard is once again set to host its annual Gay Wine Weekend in California Wine Country, featuring Twilight T-Dance, along with a weekend of wine and celebration, benefiting Face to Face, Sonoma County AIDS Network from Friday, June 14 to Sunday, June 16.

Enjoy three full days of LGBT events in Northern California's magnificent Sonoma Valley, home to some of the world's most prestigious wines and wineries. Celebrate with world-class wine, culinary delights, music and dancing in a private estate vineyard, VIP receptions, wine tasting excursions, a Champagne brunch and wine auction all in one of the most famous luxury wine destinations in the world.

"Gay Wine Weekend is really about opening up wine country to the LGBT community and sharing everything about the area and the ambience with our community," said Gary Saperstein, cofounder of Out in The Vineyard.

But is there a gay presence in wine country? According to Saperstein there is. "That's truly how Out in the Vineyard came to be. We thought that there needed to be some place for people to go to in order to help them plan their wine country escape," he said. "What I, along with cofounder Mark [Vogler], both saw over the course of time while living and working in the area, was not only were LGBT people moving up to the Sonoma Valley, but even as far as tourism we noticed more members of our community coming up to visit wine country," Saperstein explained.

"Then Mark and I would recieve all of these calls from people inquiring where to go when they come to the area." So the two formed Out In The Vineyard, an experiential event and travel company promoting positive LGBT lifestyles and offering exclusive, luxury itineraries and events in Wine Country for discriminating gay travelers and their friends.

"Something very exciting this year is that we just found out, the Sonoma City Council has given the approval to fly the rainbow pride flag over city hall, so that when everyone comes into town they will see it and feel welcomed," Saperstein excitedly said. "For us that means something and shows that we are a welcoming community."

He guarantees everyone who attends will have a good time meeting new people, learning new things about the wine country, enjoying the different food and wines of the area, experiencing and joining different wine clubs, purchasing new wines and certainly enjoying the wines throughout the tasting weekend.

"California wine country has been put on the map as a destination. I think even more so now for the LGBT community, it's becoming a terminus. I hope that when people leave here they're going to want to come back again, if not on their own then next year for Gay Wine Weekend," he concluded.

Located just 45 minutes north of San Francisco, Gay Wine Weekend takes place in the stunning Sonoma Valley, a truly amazing and breathtaking place to gather, taste new varietals, sample culinary wonders, make new friends and show your pride.

For full details and ticket information, visit outinthevineyard.com