Written by Marty Olmstead

The Sonoma Valley is at its most spectacular in the crystal-clear days of October, and this day was one of the best of the season. The sun was beginning to set, illuminating the hillside vineyards studded with oak trees in a magical, golden glow.

With the sun sinking slowly behind the stage, Little Feat, the Doobie Brothers and, ultimately, Willie Nelson entertained the crowd with songs ranging from "Dixie Chicken" (Little Feat's ode to poultry), the Doobies' "Listen to the Music" and Nelson's trademark ditty, "On the Road Again."

Between sets, vintner Bruce Cohn was honored by local representatives from three veterans groups for his support of their organizations, as was surprise guest Max Cleland, the former U.S. senator, soldier and Veterans Administration chief who has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's policies in Iraq .

The unusual constellation of rock stars, outlaw country legends, U.S. veterans and California vintners may seem an unlikely alliance, but it was in fact a logical extension of Cohn's tireless, far-reaching work on behalf of those less fortunate. If you think politics makes strange bedfellows, try philanthropy.

Entertainers performing for charity is nothing new. From world hunger to AIDS to farmers , entertainers have raised enormous sums of money for important causes. But long before Bono's trips to Africa began making headlines, Bruce Cohn was making headway in a quieter, equally impressive fashion. He routinely writes checks to charities-mostly, but not all, Sonoma-based-in amounts from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

"My preferences include kids, the homeless and illnesses," he said. "Anything that helps the youth of America, that makes things better and helps them to have a choice. That is our future-our children."

In Cohn's view, more people are in need today than ever before. "We've seen a lot of programs cut, especially art and music programs. Sonoma county, the state of California and the city of Sonoma aren't allocating enough money. We are the highest-taxed state in the union-11 percent-but there's still not enough money to pave roads or fix schools."

Cohn blames this state of affairs largely on dishonest politicians and poor government administration. "It bothers me that the private sector has to come to the rescue of a lot of things that should be funded by taxes. So me thing is fundamen tally wrong. Wealthy people have to rally to the cause," he said.

Referring to the recent article about the Will Smith movie, Happyness, Cohn said it seemed that Chris Gardner (Smith's character) didn't believe in charitable giving. "His take seemed to be that people give out of guilt. I don't feel guilty about anything. I'm just grateful that I have been successful and can help others. It makes me feel good.

"I take a chunk of money each year and I keep it for requests. I just gave to 10 more (charities) today." Recipients range from a me ntoring alliance in San Francisco to an arts organization in Walnut Creek ( California ) and a children's art center in New York . "Anything about music and art" gets Cohn's attention.

Cohn reviews the 300 to 400 requests he receives every year in his office above the winery tasting room, usually in the company of Moose, an eight-year-old half-Lab, half-English bulldog mix. The office walls are covered with fra me d copies of so me of the Doobie Brother's 14 platinum albums and the windows overlook the bucolic Sonoma Valley countryside. "I give to what I think is a good cause, like volunteers working to find a cure for an auto-immune deficiency, even if I don't completely understand."

Cohn, a native of Chicago , grew up in Sonoma County , where his parents operated "the first grade-A goat dairy in California " in Forestville , a small town about an hour's drive west of Glen Ellen. Cohn later went to work in radio and television in San Francisco . By the early 1970s, he had made a sufficient amount of money managing the Doobie Brothers, one of the decade's seminal music groups, to start thinking about moving back to Sonoma County , where he planned to start a family while continuing to manage the band.

"I had no idea I'd get involved in grapes. That wasn't in the forecast. In 1974 I bought a 46-acre property where the previous owner had a dairy before he started planting vineyards. So I inherited the vineyards when I bought the place." Cohn has since expanded his property, where he also makes olive oil, to 90 acres.

After several years of selling his Olive Hill Vineyard grapes to legendary winemaker August Sebastiani, Cohn was me ntored by the late Charles Wagner of Caymus and began producing wines under his own label in 1984.

"After I moved up here I wanted to be involved in the community. At the ti me I was away a lot, working with the Doobie Brothers, Night Ranger and Ambrosia."

With little time at home , Cohn focused his entertaining on one big bash every year. "Every fourth of July we had a barbecue here and invited locals, friends in the valley like the Kundes (another grape growing, winemaking family based in nearby Kenwood). We had a pig roast in the olive grove for 300 people. Then I thought: Why not have a golf tourna me nt here?

"But it was difficult to raise substantial money with a golf tournament. We wanted to do something more substantial. We knew a concert would add more revenue, so we combined it with the tournament on the same weekend."

The first concert, held at the Sonoma Valley High School football field, featured Graham Nash, Nicolette Larson and Little Feat, and raised money for several local organizations, including the Sonoma Community Center and the Sonoma Valley Hospital .

"After a couple of years, we moved the concert to the winery, added a dinner party and made it a weekend. Then when we built the amphitheater about 15 years ago, that was the start of the B.R. Cohn charity events here, in connection with the golf tournament .

"It's grown over the years. The last two years, we had two days of concerts. In 2005 money from the second day ($150,000) went to the Katrina Relief Fund and $150,000 to local charities."

In 2006, the B.R. Cohn Charity Fall Music Festival & Celebrity Golf Classic raised a record $400,000. Proceeds from the second day of concerts were earmarked for the National Veterans Foundation (NVF), which has provided counseling and other help to U. S. veterans since 1985. It was the first ti me the event directly benefited the veteran's group, but over the years, the Doobie Brothers and Cohn have donated nearly $2 million to the foundation, according to Todd Stenhouse of the NVF.

The Doobie Brothers began supporting the NVF in 1987, after the band's drummer , Keith Knudsen, read Shad Meshad's critically acclai me d me moir, Captain for Dark Mornings, which chronicled Meshad's experiences as a combat mental health officer. In 1986 Knudsen brought the band together for a benefit concert that effectively launched the NVF.

Knudsen passed away in 2005, after helping raise more than $1,000,000 for the NVF, and his legacy continues today. "They've become a big part of us and we've become part of them" said lead singer and vocalist Pat Simmons. "They are our pet charity organization." Cohn adds, "The Doobie Brothers have been involved with them for 19 years, so it seemed logical to make them the charity recipient."

Throughout the year Cohn and the Doobie Brothers raise money for the vets conducting concerts and auctioning musical instruments. Still, Simmons says there's so me thing special about the winery events. Invoking a sense of true seventies musical activism, Simmons waxes, "It is such a wonderful setting, it turns the concert into a kind of love fest."

Mark Volman of the Turtles feels the same way. After the Doobie Brothers and the Turtles toured together in the mid-70s, the groups' me mbers beca me friends. So when Volman and the Turtles heard about Cohn's charity event, they volunteered. Volman and partner Howard Kaylan were so impressed they have returned for subsequent performances.

"The event has a layered effect," said Volman. "You get to be in a beautiful setting and there is a natural commonality, a mutual connection, and the music brings it all together." None of the musicians are paid; only their expenses are covered, so that all the proceeds can go to charity.

But Cohn's vineyard setting has inspired more than just repeat performances by the Turtles, the Doobie Brothers and Willie Nelson, to na me a few. Suzan Zelinsky, a Marin county musician who perfor me d at Cohn's 10 years ago said, "I decided the day I was performing at Bruce's, I'd do a benefit concert for breast cancer and call it Wine, Women & Song. The winery was majestic and inspiring. I've always been a sucker for a gorgeous view and a good cause.

"It took me a few years after that decision to get it off the ground, but now we've been going strong for 8 years and have raised close to $100,000.00 at small venue concerts."

And so the circle of giving continues to expand, as does Cohn's apparently endless source of beneficence. He also produces a special line of B.R. Cohn wines, with proceeds earmarked specifically for the veteran's foundation.

"Doobie Red will eventually be a 15-bottle set," said Cohn, "with a different album cover on each label. We're now in our third release, and we're committed to producing three wines a year for five years."

With Cohn, nothing is written in stone. He is constantly adding to and tinkering with his list of charitable recipients.

While Cohn doesn't monitor how the beneficiaries manage their money, he does pay attention. "I change the mix. I usually stay three years with one charity. If it's valid, I might extend that. "One year I gave money to [a Sonoma County-based charity]. Then I found out they have $25 million in the bank." It wasn't the first time Cohn has chosen to take a hike.

"In the '70s, the Doobie Brothers and I did a championship golf tourna me nt for [a Los Angeles-based charity]. Then I found out they spent a lot of its money on administration instead of charity. They're top-heavy.

"I think it's better to spend where I can do so me good. I prefer to give to places I know, like local children's organizations," said Cohn, "I stay away if I don't know where the money is going."

Since he is on the road two weeks out of every month, Cohn depends a lot on friends and colleagues to keep him informed about relevant causes, qualified candidates and conflicts within charitable organizations. "I have three jobs-I manage the Doobie Brothers' career day to day, I run the winery and I have an olive oil and food company. It's full time. I barely have time to sleep," explains Cohn, detailing a demanding schedule that includes traveling with the band, speaking at winemaker dinners, and attending trade shows.

Cohn comfortably acknowledges that he gives "more money to charity than gets publicized." Inevitably, it is the big fall event that garners the most me dia attention. "You have to pick and choose. Wine people get hit on all the ti me," he said. "I am not that wealthy. I'm way at the bottom of the wealth curve. But I do have a venue here that lends itself to this cause and friendships with a lot of musicians."