Thursday, July 11
| 6:00PM
The Donum Estate
24500 Ramal Road | Carneros
Art, beauty, food, and wine unite at the annual Founders Dinner, hosted this year by Allan and Mei Warburg at The Donum Estate. The evening is a tribute to the visionaries and patrons whose support launched Festival Napa Valley in 2006, and to major supporters of the 2024 season.
The Warburgs began collecting contemporary sculptures in 2015, activating their 200-acre estate as a green space gallery. Today, more than 40 large-scale works dot the landscape – by renowned artists such as Ai Weiwei, Keith Haring, Louise Bourgeois, and Jaume Plensa. The collection is unparalleled in its international scope and ambition yet fits organically into the rolling Carneros vineyards. Set against stunning views of majestic mountains, the San Francisco Bay, and beyond, the estate seamlessly blends art and nature.
Each year, the Founders Dinner delivers a larger-than-life experience. Tonight will be no exception. Surrounded by the beauty of the land, guests will be treated to a gourmet dinner and a series of unforgettable musical experiences. With The Donum Estate’s award-winning wines in hand, they will fully appreciate what Allan Warburg means when he says, "the whole is more than the sum of its parts."
Performers
Yang Bao is a New York-based pianist, composer, and installation artist who works in sound sculpture, live performance, composition and video. With his versatile artistry and interdisciplinary creativity, he visualizes his music through physical forms, creating an experiential synthesis of the arts.
Born in South Africa, Pretty Yende reached the top of her opera career with extraordinary speed and quickly became one of the brightest stars in the world of music. After her debut at the Latvian National Theater, she has performed in many major international theaters and has made concert appearances in over 15 countries.
Lauded for his “vocally magnificent, radiant and distinctive tenor” voice, Jonathan Tetelman has rapidly risen to become a major star of his generation. Chilean-born and New Jersey-raised, Tetelman continues to thrill on the world’s greatest stages with “balmy verve” and a “darkly colored tenor timbre.”
Venue
Located in the acclaimed Carneros wine region between Napa and Sonoma Counties, The Donum Estate is a leading California producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Guided by a philosophy of crafting exceptional wines while preserving natural resources, through regenerative organic farming practices, Donum creates an environment where vines thrive and yield the highest-quality fruit with minimal intervention. The resulting wines display a concentration of flavor, energy, and vibrancy that reflect the character of the land. The Estate is home to a state-of-the-art production facility, contemporary hospitality spaces, an organic farm, and The Donum Collection®—one of the world’s largest accessible private sculpture collections, showcasing over 60 monumental works by renowned artists such as Ai Weiwei, Louise Bourgeois, and Keith Haring. At the intersection of fine wine, sustainable farming, and world-class art, Donum offers holistic sensory experiences that connect a global community and have made it an international destination.