There was a time when anyone drinking hooch ran the risk of blindness. Those days are behind us in Dallas. People can now drink to help the blind, as the U.S. importer of Michel Chapoutier Cotes du Rhone Belleruche is donating 50 cents for every bottle of Belleruche Rouge 2008, Blanc 2009 and Rose 2010 wines sold at Sigel's Fine Wines and Great Spirits locations to the Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind. Each of these wines' labels includes Braille. And the promotion is good through the end of May.
The winery has a special connection with the blind. Chapoutier sources the grapes for its Monier de la Sizeranne wine from a plot of land owned by the Sizeranne family. One of that clan's ancestors, Maurice de la Sizeranne, lost his vision as a child and ended up creating the abbreviated form of Braille commonly used in France.
"It's our pleasure to leverage our standing in the market to help those in need," said Jasper Russo, director of wine marketing for Sigel's. He said there has already been an uptick in sales of the Belleruche.
This is good news to the ears of Blake Lindsay, communications specialist for Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind, himself blind. "It's a blessing," he said. "The funds donated will go toward our the improvement and continued operation of our Assistive Technology Training Lab and the Serving Our Seniors programs. The former helps the visually impaired learn computer skills in order to find professional success. Serving Our Seniors benefits individuals who lose sight later in life by giving them access to talking clocks, talking thermometers, sectioned dinner plates. "Anything to improve their quality of life," said Lindsay.
Drinking has never been better for you. Or others.
