Oscar’s Place Adoption Center & Sanctuary — a 501(c)(3) featured on ABC’s Donkey King — releases its premiere vintage Sauvignon Blanc, with 100% of profits funding animal care. The founder has been sober for 30 years.
MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Oscar’s Place Adoption Center & Sanctuary, a GFAS-accredited donkey rescue in Northern California and the subject of ABC’s Donkey King, has released its first wine — a 2025 estate-grown, CCOF Certified Organic Sauvignon Blanc produced on sanctuary land in Potter Valley’s Mendocino County wine region. Every bottle funds donkey rescue and lifetime care. The organization’s founder and CEO, Ron King, has been sober for 30 years and will never drink a drop of it.
Every cause wine you’ve ever seen is a winery that found a cause. This is a cause that found a vineyard.
Unlike conventional charity wines — where an existing winery adds a cause-related label and donates a percentage of sales — Oscar’s Place is the inverse. The rescue organization owns the land. Rescued donkeys live on the property. Their manure is collected daily and spread across the vineyard as organic fertilizer. The founder designed the label, chose the bottles, managed the harvest, and oversaw production. And 100% of wine profits go directly to animal care. Nothing like this exists anywhere else in the wine market.
The wine exists because of a series of events nobody planned. In 2025, a donor gifted Oscar’s Place 115 acres in the heart of Mendocino County to expand the sanctuary. Tucked inside the property were 15 acres of organic Sauvignon Blanc grapevines. An investor on the Oscar’s Place Board of Directors funded $30,000 to keep the vines healthy while King got his feet under him with the new property.
When harvest arrived and the vineyard manager — Guinness McFadden, an 87-year-old Mendocino County wine legend — said he’d go out and throw the grapes away, King said: “Hold on. I’m already 60% there. What does it cost to actually make wine?”
With another smaller investment, he turned those grapes into 650 cases of Oscar’s Place Organic Sauvignon Blanc. His first vintage. Produced on sanctuary land. Fertilized by rescued donkeys. Designed, managed, and bottled by a man who hasn’t had a drink in three decades.
Guinness called last week. He’s 87. He said: if you’re going to harvest again this fall, we need to turn on frost protection and get to work pruning the vines. King said yes. The 2026 harvest is on.
King spent 12 years as Senior Vice President at Time Inc. before walking away from corporate America to search for something that mattered. He was homeless at 25. Someone helped him get sober at 26. He built a career that looked impressive on paper but left him unfulfilled. Five years ago, he co-founded Oscar’s Place Adoption Center & Sanctuary. Today it is one of the most respected animal sanctuaries in the country — GFAS accredited, 21 full-time employees, over 460 donkeys rescued, and a show on network television.
King didn’t just change careers. He discovered that there is a difference between things that bring you joy and things that you enjoy — and he built an entire organization around that distinction. The wine is the latest expression of it: unexpected, resourceful, and entirely in service of the mission.
About Donkey King
Donkey King airs Saturdays on ABC’s Weekend Adventure block, produced by King, Monument TV & Hearst Media Production Group. Season 1 is 17 episodes. Season 2 is green-lit. The show follows Ron King and the team at Oscar’s Place as they rescue donkeys from kill pen auctions and give them lifetime sanctuary. Approximately 400,000 viewers watch each episode.
About Oscar’s Place
Oscar’s Place Adoption Center & Sanctuary is a GFAS-accredited 501(c)(3) donkey rescue headquartered in Hopland, California, with a second location in Potter Valley. Founded five years ago by Ron King and Phil Selway. Over 460 donkeys rescued. 210 donkeys currently in care across 210 acres. 21 full-time employees. GFAS accredited — the highest standard in animal sanctuary work.
Wine Details
Oscar’s Place 2025 Organic Sauvignon Blanc. CCOF Certified Organic. Potter Valley, Mendocino County. 1,100 ft elevation. Stainless steel fermented. Tasting notes: honeydew melon, grapefruit, and a long mineral finish. 12.5% ABV. Available at oscarsplace.org/wine.
Links
Wine: nelsonfamilyvineyards.com
Full Episodes: donkeyking.com
High-Res Images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Lz6dliohihlocz_kbdAiLZY-sxgd50SH
Press
People: “Your next obsession.”
Bustle: “Ron King Leans Into Joy.”
Media Contact:
Ron King, CEO & Co-Founder
Oscar’s Place Adoption Center & Sanctuary
404-664-1544 | 409938@email4pr.com | oscarsplace.org
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SOURCE Oscar’s Place
