CCFA AND KAREN MACNEIL HOST CALIFORNIA WINE CLASSIC
Public Invited to Charity Benefit Wine Tasting With Karen MacNeil

SAN FRANCISCO– May 16, 2007 from 6:00pm-10:00pm– The Northern California Chapter of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) and Karen MacNeil, world renowned wine expert, announced today that they will host the California Wine Classic, a charity benefit for CCFA, at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco. Guests will enjoy special release wine tastings from Far Niente Winery, Domaine Carneros, Trefethen Family Vineyards, Domaine Chandon, Vie Winery, Heitz Wine Cellars, and many more fine wineries. Ticket holders may also taste lavish delicacies prepared by Ritz-Carlton chefs paired with featured vintage wines. Guests will not want to miss the opportunity to shop the enticing live and silent auction which will feature luxury travel packages, Bay Area dining, entertainment, art, and many more exclusive items. General tickets are $65 and VIP tickets are $100. For more information and to register please visit www.californiawineclassic.org.
ABOUT KAREN MACNEIL
Karen MacNeil is Chair of the Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America, author of The Wine Bible, wine columnist for Cooking Light Magazine
and host of “Wine, Food and Friends with Karen MacNeil.” She will provide an informative presentation to all guests on fine wines and the art of wine tasting. For a more exclusive opportunity, true wine aficionados will wish to purchase VIP tickets to enjoy a private tasting experience with Karen MacNeil.

ABOUT CCFA
The mission of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) is to cure and prevent Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis through research, and to improve the quality of life of children and adults affected by these digestive diseases through education and support. More than 82 cents of every dollar raised by CCFA go to mission-critical programs including: local symposia, an information resource center, Camp Oasis at the Painted Turtle, one of Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Camps, and local support groups. This year, CCFA will provide 17 million dollars in critical research grants. In addition, CCFA consistently meets the standards of organizations that monitor charities, including the Better Business Bureau (give.org) and the American Institute of Philanthropy (charitywatch.org). For more information, please contact CCFA at 800-932-2423 or visit www.ccfa.org.

Mmmmm, wine and Crohn's disease, my favorite pairing.

I think a lot of degenerative diseases are caused by poor digestion. Indigestion is caused by overeating. On top of that a lot of fast food and processed foods are difficult to digest anyway and devoid of nutrients. How much study does this subject need?

These glib remarks are the reason why CCFA exists and why there needs to be more awareness of this horrible disease. Inflammatory Bowel Disease - or IBD- encompasses Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis. In simple terms, it's a chronic auto-immune condition where the body attacks the lining of the GI tract and causes horrible symptoms, such as diarrhea, abdominal cramping, rectal bleeding, weight loss (and malabsorption of nutrients) and other symptoms outside of the GI tract, such as in the liver, eyes, and joints. The ignorance displayed here reinforces the need to raise funds for research to cure and prevent the disease - the main focus of CCFA. No, this disease is not caused by eating fast food; scientists are discovering a strong genetic component to the disease (they have located a few genes that are linked to IBD and they see similar disease trends among families). Did you know that IBD affects 1.5 million Americans and that you probably know someone who has it? You might not even know, because they might look healthy and don't want to discuss it since it's not "polite dinner conversation," but they are dealing with a painful, unpleasant and disempowering disease day in and day out that ruins their quality of life. Did you also know that IBD tends to attack a person in the prime of his/her life - usually in the 20s and 30s? Someone who is living a normal, productive and happy life suddenly finds him/herself sick, hospitalized, and undergoing multiple surgeries to manage the disease. This is not a joke. Please treat this respectfully, in honor of the people who live with and suffer from this disease.

For more information about IBD, check out www.ccfa.org.

Blong,

My wife has crohn's and has had two surgeries already. I know all about it intimately. I also know lots of well intentioned, moral busybodies who run charities that get about $.25 on the dollar to tyhe actual researchers and patients. I already donate money to Crohn's research directly to a research University. I don't need to go sniff and swirl with people to contribute. How much is this event costing the organization? What's the net-net of the deal. If you collect $2 million, how much is used to pay for the glitz, glamour and high society one experiences at a luxury hotel in San Francisco?

Now, if you tell me 85%+ of the proceeds make it to patients and researchers, I may attend. I've had some interaction with the CCFA. The Doctors are brilliant, dedicated people. I do not wish to disparage your eforts, but direct contributions to researchers and patients/treatent centers is a far more efficient means of accomplishing the goal, in my opinion. As a charity organizer, one must often say, "I want money and I don't care who gives it," but the social scene and extra expense of these gala charities is off-putting to me.

Best of luck on your event.