Dear friends,
As a valued supporter of our mission, I want you to hear directly from me, Pat, Founder, about an important crossroads we’re at with Water from Wine. I want to share where we are today, the opportunity in front of us, and how you can help ensure our future impact. We also have some major changes happening that it’s important for you to know about.
Why We Started
When we launched Water from Wine in 2014, our goal was simple: sell great wine and give the proceeds to organizations bringing clean water to communities that need it most.
We envisioned a lean organization, minimal overhead, and a model where partner nonprofits would help sell their own labeled wine to supporters.
What Has Worked
Some of this worked out extremely well and produced meaningful results.
- Wine sold through 28 nonprofit partners.
- $1,750,000 million donated over the last 9 years.
- Nearly 5 vintages sold (2014-2018) of Cabernet Sauvignon and Rosé.
- A growing reputation for great wine.
The Opportunity in Front of Us
However, and this is where the opportunity is, we have the next 5 vintages (2019-2023) in the bottle, ready for sale. Wow! That is a significant inventory. If we can sell through these vintages, instead of paying storage, we can provide another $2,000,000 in support of the partners and for the projects Water from Wine plans to fund directly.
Water from Wine’s Projects in Uganda
In 2025, Water from Wine began funding our own water projects. With proceeds from our own label sales, we have already funded 10 wells in Uganda across 2025 and 2026, with more in the planning stage.
My Ugandan son‑in‑law, Geofrey, has done the in‑country groundwork with trusted local partners to ensure these projects are effective and sustainable. This is impact you helped make possible.
The Challenge: Overhead
The low overhead part of our plan did not work out. Having tasting rooms rented and staffed has been expensive. We tried to subsidize our effort by retaining the margins on sourced wine sales(Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Sparkling, Blends, etc) but it only covered part of the expenses. The reality is that Sandpiper Farms has carried much of the financial burden.
We’ve been grateful to do that, but it isn’t sustainable long‑term, and it risks changing Water from Wine into something we never intended: a foundation rather than a public charity. This is not what would be best for Water from Wine and not what we will do. So, we need to develop additional outside donations alongside our row sponsor program, of which we really appreciate the participants.
What We’re Changing
To protect the mission and reduce costs, we’re making hard but necessary decisions:
Closing Tacoma tasting room in early April (lease ends late April).
Closing Leavenworth later this year. That space will reopen as Desert Moon Winery, a family venture that will source Cabernet Sauvignon & Rosé from Water from Wine to sell in their tasting rooms in both Leavenworth and Prosser.
This allows us to retain revenue while eliminating overhead.
What Stays the Same
We will continue to have a volunteer harvest, though it may be on a smaller scale for a few years while we catch up on selling through our current inventory. We love and look forward to this event each fall. The relationships we have made with all of you who have helped with harvest have been sincere and heartwarming.
Our row sponsor program remains vital. For the next few harvests, we will prioritize using grapes from our sponsored rows for our own winemaking, while selling grapes from the unsponsored rows.
Our goal is that within 5 years we will be producing and selling 1000 cases a year again.
So what is the purpose of this letter? We want you to know exactly where we are, where we’re headed, and how you can help us build a sustainable future for Water from Wine.
How You Can Help
Donate: We would love to compete for your charitable contributions. Please invite us to present our entire program to you. Schedule us to come in person and show you how Waterfrom Wine has impacted the world water crisis. If you have pledged significant donations in the past, keep them coming. We especially appreciate a monthly pledge that comes automatically from your bank account or donor advised fund.
Buy Wine: Purchase some Cabernet Sauvignon or Rosé. If you’re not a wine drinker, it is a great “awareness” gift for others.
Row Sponsorship: If you are a row sponsor, renew your sponsorship and consider adding another row.
Wine Club: If you are a club member, continue your membership through this transition.
Nonprofit Partnership: If you are a label partner, send out the word on your website and mailing list. Remember we still donate $35 to your nonprofit for each bottle sold.
This is not the end of Water from Wine
These changes, while difficult, are intentional steps to ensure a strong and sustainable future. We are incredibly proud of what has been accomplished over the past 9+ years, selling wine and funding life-changing clean water projects, and we are fully committed to continuing that mission.
With gratitude,
Pat Tucker
Founder, Water from Wine