UNICEF and Feeding America 2025
‘Tis the Season for Giving: Thank you, Subscribers!
Thank You, Paid Subscribers! Your subscription is Making a Difference… for UNICEF and Feeding America.
It’s the holiday season, I am grateful for all my subscribers, free and paid. During the last three weeks, the “views” to the Substack newsletter set a new record for Wine Wanderings. Subscriber totals are up Y-O-Y at 21%, too. We want to make sure others benefit from our good fortune.
“I have pledged to you that 10% of your paid subscription would go annually to UNICEF and Feeding America. Due to your generosity and support in 2025 the donations have been paid to both UNICEF and Feeding America today, just in time to meet 2025 food insecurity needs both Internationally and in the US. These two charities are ranked as the most efficiently run and effective in reaching children in need.” – Tricia Conover, DipWSET, Editor
Charity Navigator Ratings
UNICEF has a 4 Star (the highest rating for non-profits) as does Feeding America.
If you would like to Make Additional Donations to these organizations, go to these links:
“Announced and anticipated funding cuts will limit UNICEF’s ability to reach millions of children in dire need. UNICEF is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from governments, private sector partners, and individuals. UNICEF implores all donors to continue to fund critical aid programs for the world’s children. We cannot fail them now.” - Catherine Russell, Executive Director, UNICEF, New York, 5 March 2025
Facts About Hunger in America
According to the USDA, more than 44 million people, including 13.8 million children, 2 Million being toddlers under 3 in the United States are food insecure.
42 Million people turned to food programs in 2025.
Many households that experience food insecurity do not qualify for federal nutrition programs and visit their local food banks and other food programs for extra support.
Hunger in African American, Latino, and Native American communities is higher because of systemic racial injustice. To achieve a hunger-free America, we must address the root causes of hunger and structural and systemic inequities.
The Global Hunger Crisis
783 million people don’t know where their next meal will come from
1 in 5 deaths among children under the age of 5 is attributed to severe acute malnutrition
Every community in the country is home to families who face hunger. But rural communities are especially hard hit by hunger.
Why Become a Paid Subscriber to Wine Wanderings?
Benefits of a Paid Subscription
· 10% of net revenues go to UNICEF and Feeding America
· Zoom Events and Premium Interviews with notable experts.
· Yearly consulting engagement with Editor ($300 value) for Annual Members. This past year I have helped my paid subscribers (for example): Plan a trip to Bordeaux with suggested wineries and venues, made introductions to winemakers in Napa Valley, helped with a trip to the Barcelona and Penedes/Priorat wine regions, helped arrange a Champagne region trip with Champagne Houses, travel;. restaurant, and accommodation suggestions, helped design a “Wine Tasting in Your Home” event for a subscriber.
In Case You Missed These Holiday Articles
“Holidays and Bubbles 2025-2026: 5th Anniversary Special: 10 Impressive Sparklers – Bonus: A Champagne Primer, Toasting and Serving Guidelines,” Wine Wanderings, Dec. 16, 2025
“Holiday Gifting Guide, Wine & Cocktails,” Wine Wanderings, December 3, 2025
Wine Wanderings Editorial Calendar 2026
Top 10 for 2025 Wine Wanderings Newsletters: Viewers’ Choices
LIVE from the Paso Robles Wine Region: Rhône Rangers Riding Strong at BlendFest
An Interview with Spirits Giant: Diageo on Whiskey Tourism
My January Wine Diet?
Canada’s Okanagan Wine Region
Would a Michelin Star System Work for Wine?
City Winery Hosts Ina Garten
Touring Portugal: An Oporto Tasting
LIVE from the Danube River with Wölffer Estate Winery: Old World vs. New World Wines
Meeting the “King of Wines,” Tokaji Aszú, Touring Budapest
The Venice of Portugal
*****
In Case You Missed It in the Wine/Spirits News:
The Guardian, December 22, 2025, “Bourbon Maker Jim Beam Stops Production at Kentucky Distillery.” Production is halting a one of its distilleries in Kentucky for at least a year as the whiskey industry navigate tariffs from the Trump administration. Bourbon makers have to gamble well into the future for aging and uncertainty is rampant. Sales of Bourbon to Canada (where a US Whiskey boycott started) and Europe are slumping.
Market Watch: December 18, 2025: “Sparkling Wines Shining Bright.”
Sparkling wines are bucking trends and defying economic gravity at the beverage alcohol retail tier. Editor’s Note: Its my drink of choice this December.
Dave McIntyre’s WineLine, Dec. 5, 2025 “Happy Repeal Day.”
The ratification of the 21st amendment to the US Constitution repealing the 19th amendment was a milestone in returning America to sanity and moderate drinking, to a a sane industry not run by mafia bosses. Dave McIntyre discusses the “New Prohibition” where certain society segments again are trying to regulate behavior. Worth a read.
Travel Opportunities
Editor’s Note: I will be cruising on AmaWaterways this April 20, 2026, on the Romantic Danube Cruise. Wine Wanderings subscribers: Come and join me and Wölffer Estate Winery’s Roman Roth, Winemaker/Partner on the Danube River. We will be visiting Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and Hungary.
Cruise the Danube on AmaWaterways with Wine Wanderings and Wölffer Estate Winery April 20, 2026, Romantic Danube.
“Enticing Douro River Cruise” with Dr. Bob Young. M.D. of Bending Branch Winery April 6-13, 2026
Thank you so much for your comment. These charities are close to my heart. I hope more subscribers take advantage of the consulting offer as I learn as much from them as they do from me. Cheers, Tricia