The second Uncorked Wine Auction will be held at Zenith Vineyard and St. Innocent Winery to benefit the Family Building Blocks on May 16.

Family Building Blocks is a non-profit organization founded 12 years ago to help prevent child abuse and neglect by providing services for high-risk families with children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old.

Last year’s inaugural Uncorked Wine Auction event raised $180,000, and Brooke Gries, FBB event coordinator, said hopes were high for this year’s event as well.

Money raised through the auction “will be used to fund our therapeutic classrooms,” Gries said, environments that encourage brain development in young children and help them with social and emotional growth.

The setting of the Uncorked Wine Auction event is a story unto itself.

A wedding and events building, owned by Tim and Kari Ramey, and a wine production area for St. Innocent Winery, owned by Mark Vlossak, share space north of Salem adjacent to the Ramey’s Zenith Vineyard.

Vlossak’s goal was to own a winemaking facility/tasting room in wine country, and the Rameys longed to own a vineyard with a home on the property. Last year, both of their dreams came true with the building of the winery/events center.

“By making the transition to this location, I have a home vineyard (Zenith), a beautiful location and now, a new building,” Vlossak said in 2008.

Of the Family Building Blocks benefit that will be held in the building, Kari Ramey said, “We don’t do many of these types of benefit events during the year, but we enjoy hosting this one because we all are interested in supporting children and families in this area. We’re big, big supporters of the work of Family Building Blocks.”

Cost to attend the May 16 event, which also features a winemakers’ reception, dinner and dancing, is $175 per person.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call (503) 566-2132, ext. 272, email Brooke Gries at bgries@familybuildingblocks.org, or go to the event website at www.uncorkedwineauction.org.