Rescue Dog Wines Partners with USDAA at Cynosport

Great wines for a good cause

What happens when a winery devoted to making quality sustainable wines focuses on its love of supporting rescue dogs? It’s a win-win for rescue dog owners and nonprofit organizations that support rescues. The California-based Rescue Dog Wines has donated 50% of their profits to more than 100 rescue organizations to date and will share their mission to increase awareness as a partner with USDAA.

Numerous competitors and @Home participants praise USDAA for allowing owners and foster caregivers to participate with rescues, whether they are mixed breed or pure-bred. Agility, as well as rally obedience training, has helped many dogs find new purpose.

During Cynosport, Rescue Dog Wines offered a wine sampling event for competitors, officials and volunteers, along with a display of their wines with their creative canine labels, which were raffled at Cynosport. (Photo: Nick Sparks and Kari Massoth at the RDW Cynosport tasting event.)

Congratulations to Shar Henry who won the Rescue Dog Wines (RDW) raffle and took the six-bottle display home to Colorado! Thanks to RDW for supporting the popular social event and for their extra prizes.

Visit their online store at https://rescuedogwines.com, and remember that 50% of all proceeds go to rescue organizations!

The Rescue Dog Wine Story

After selling a San Franscico Bay area business, co-founders Blair and Laura Lott sought a lifestyle change that would combine their entrepreneurial spirit with their passion for animals. Their vision led them to California’s wine country, where they searched for property large enough to establish both a vineyard and a space to foster rescue dogs.

The inspiration for their venture came from Daisy, a bubbly rescue Boxer who captured Laura’s heart at an Atlanta animal shelter in 2007. Daisy’s profound impact on their lives would later inspire not only the company’s mission but also its creative approach to winemaking. “Daisy’s legacy remains at the heart of our mission; her memory drives us to craft exceptional wines that honor the spirit of rescue dogs everywhere,” Laura said.

In 2017, the Lotts purchased a 19.5-acre property in Acampo, California, complete with older vines that they systematically replaced with new, trellised plantings. They transformed the property into a Lodi Rules Certified Green vineyard, demonstrating their commitment to environmental responsibility alongside their charitable mission. This sustainable approach extended to partnerships with neighboring vineyards following the same certification program, allowing them to expand their wine portfolio while maintaining their ecological standards.

Today, Rescue Dog Wines has successfully balanced quality winemaking with social impact, donating 50% of all profits to rescue organizations nationwide. From their initial barrel of 25 cases that attracted 10,000 Facebook followers when they posted their first wine label, the Lotts have built a brand that proves business success and charitable giving can work hand in hand, creating a model for purpose-driven entrepreneurship in the competitive wine industry.

Their over 90,000 Facebook followers prompted them to to eventually scale production with their chief winemaker Susana Vasquez. Within two years after launch, they were producing 2,500 cases annually. They recently produced around 8,000 cases in 2025.

The company’s impact extends far beyond marketing. Since launching their first bottle in 2018, Rescue Dog Wines has donated well over $100,000 to more than 100 rescue organizations. Their wines have earned impressive industry recognition, ranging from 92 points from Wine Enthusiast to a 99-point score for their Pinot Noir from a prestigious wine industry competition. Despite playful labels, the founders emphasize quality remains paramount: “We want the quality of our wines to represent the quality of our mission.”

Their success demonstrates how purpose-driven brands can thrive in today’s market. As the wine industry faces challenges including declining consumption and increased competition, Rescue Dog Wines offers a model for differentiation through authentic social commitment. With shelters nationwide facing unprecedented challenges — 359,000 dogs were euthanized in 2023 — the financial support from companies like Rescue Dog Wines proves vital. By shipping to most of the United States and now expanding nationally through brick-and-mortar distribution, as well as maintaining partnerships with rescue organizations for fundraising events, they’ve shown that making good wine and doing good aren’t mutually exclusive goals.