Celebrate the grape in California's fabled wine country by James Whitely - SGN Staff Writer

Out in the Vineyard (OITV), a California wine country travel company that caters to LGBT travelers, is gearing up for its 2013 'Gay Wine Weekend' in Sonoma County, California, about 45 minutes north of San Francisco. The luxurious weekend of wine-related events runs from Friday, June 14, through Sunday, June 16, and is designed for discerning Gay travelers and their friends.

Helping each vacationer plan their weekend is OITV's Mark Vogler and Gary Saperstein, two locals with a wealth of knowledge and experience.

OITV offers wine receptions, vineyard tours, dinners with winemakers featuring various international cuisines paired with Sonoma wines, exclusive tours and tastings at wineries in the Mayacamas Mountains, and much more. OITV also offers more informal options in addition to its wine events, such as pool parties, vineyard dance parties, and no-host-bar after-parties.

Participants in OITV events include Peju Winery, Lasseter Family Winery, Sebastiani Vineyards, Enkidu Wines, Petroni Winery, Eric Ross Winery, Artesa Vineyards, Etude, Ceja Vineyards, the world-renowned Joseph Phelps Winery, and many more.

COMMUNITY FOCUSED
Sonoma-based OITV is a Gay-owned company that aims not only to share its wine community with others, but to give back to it as well. OITV events bring the LGBT community together to gather and socialize and raise funds for many worthy LGBT causes, say officials. Gay Wine Weekend 2013 will fundraise for the Sonoma County AIDS Network, also known as Face to Face (http://f2f.org).

OITV has launched a special contest for Seattle travelers. Two winners will each receive a trip for two to Gay Wine Weekend 2013, including round-trip coach tickets on Alaska Airlines from SeaTac to Sonoma, two nights' accommodations at the Best Western Plus Sonoma Valley Inn, and two VIP party passes to three GWW events.

To learn more about OITV and Gay Wine Weekend 2013 as well as the contest, visit www.gaywineweekend.com or call (707) 495-9732. Some of the events during Gay Wine Weekend have very limited registration and fill up quickly, so if you see one that interests you, don't hesitate!