Holidays in the Hills in Placer County

AUBURN, Calif., -Holidays in the Hills, an annual winery event benefiting the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, takes place this December 8th and 9th.  The event is hosted from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days by 17 Placer County Vintners Association wineries.  Event guests will enjoy free wine tasting, hors d'oeuvres at several locations, live music, and discounts on purchases in exchange for a toy donation for a child in need.  All participants will also have the chance to win a free case of assorted Placer county wines.

Holidays in the Hills will feature a variety of activities at each winery:

    * Fawnridge Winery: Guests will enjoy wine tasting of the vintner's Primitivo and Petite Verdot wines, a 10 percent discount on wine purchases during the event as well as holiday cookie decorating and favors.
    * Green Family Winery: In addition to free wine tasting, attendees will enjoy Christmas music and heart healthy snacks.  The first 50 guests will also receive a free Green Family wine glass.
    * Lone Buffalo Vineyards:  Stop by Lone Buffalo Vineyards for free wine and barrel tastings, a sampling of its limited production release of 2010 Bison Heart Petite Sirah, and Nothing Bundt Cakes "bundtinis."
    * Mt. Vernon Winery: In addition to wine and barrel tastings, guests will want to make room for hors d'oeuvres.
    * PaZa Wines: PaZa will feature pizza from Bella Familia Wood Fired Pizza paired with its Estate Barbera and Primitivo wines.  In addition, the winery will offer live acoustic music and a 20 percent discount on all wine purchases.
    * Pescatore Vineyard & Winery:  At Pescatore guests will enjoy free wine tasting, spiced cider for designated drivers, beautiful gourd art by local artist Robin Gray and "It's a Small World" Christmas treats.
    * Rock Hill Winery: Here attendees will enjoy wine and barrel tastings paired with hors d'oeuvres.
    * Wise Villa Winery: Wise Villa Winery will get guests in the holiday spirit with a magical 20 foot Christmas tree on display, free wine tastings, live music and hors d'oeuvres.

For a complete list of participating wineries, venue details and directions please visit www.placerwine.com. 

ABOUT PLACER COUNTY VINTNERS ASSOCIATION:
The Placer County Vintners Association is a nonprofit association formed to provide a forum for Placer County wineries to collaborate on events and programs that support the local communities, develop marketing programs to raise awareness of the Placer County wine region, and to share best practices to encourage all wineries to be the best they can and provide a high quality experience for winery visitors.  

ABOUT MARINE TOYS FOR TOTS FOUNDATION:
Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, an IRS recognized 501(C)(3) not-for-profit public charity is the fund raising, funding and support organization for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. The Foundation was created at the behest of the U.S. Marine Corps and provides support in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding with the Commander, Marine Forces Reserve, who directs the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. The Foundation has supported Toys for Tots since 1991.

ABOUT PLACERGROWN:
Supported by Placer County, PlacerGROWN is the information source dedicated to educating residents about the freshest agricultural products the region has to offer.  Through its website, social media channels, and other outreach programs, PlacerGROWN connects community members with the farmers' markets, farms, orchards, ranches, wineries, nurseries, and specialty food stores in one of the most diverse growing areas in Northern California. To discover the bounty of agricultural products produced by farmers who call Placer County home, or for more information about PlacerGROWN, visit www.placergrown.org.