Doug Traxler and Marcus Graziano share a laugh.
Bryant’s Photography
In 2018, Doug Traxler was working an open-mike night type event at Vienna Presbyterian Church. A woman finished her song and dedicated it to all the people being trafficked in Northern Virginia. Later in the evening, Traxler approached. He could not believe that what she was saying was true.
Fifteen wineries came from California to auction off wine packages.
Bryant’s Photography
“It’s tough to get people to pay attention to this and believe it. I didn’t the first time I heard it,” said Traxler. “I took one of their van tours, which is important to see exactly the reality of this in our community, one of the richest communities in the country.”
The group in question is Reset 180, but seven years ago, they were known as the NOVA Human Trafficking Initiative. Traxler was bothered by what he learned and wanted to do something to make a difference. He approached his wife, Holly, to talk about turning an upcoming event with friends into a fundraiser.
The Traxlers love wine and vacation regularly in and around Napa, Calif. They had become fans of small boutique wineries that offer a more personal touch. They were planning a wine tasting with friends. Doug approached a friend who is also their California wine distributor, Marcus Graziano. They asked if he would be willing to donate 10% of the proceeds from the friends who purchased at their wine tasting to fight human trafficking.
Holly Traxler in deep conversation.
Bryant’s Photography
Graziano explained that his wife had spent two decades fighting human trafficking in California, and he offered to enlist some of his winery clients to donate wine for a fundraiser. The Traxlers added an auction to the tasting and brought in about $10,000. They repeated the event the following year but began to worry they were leaning too heavily on their friends’ generosity. When the pandemic forced them to cancel the 2020 tasting, they were, in a way, relieved.
When the world returned to normal, the Traxlers received a fundraising call from the Reston-based human trafficking nonprofit inquiring about their past donations. That call prompted the non-profit to ask the Traxlers to reestablish their wine auction. Doug and Holly said yes, as long as it became an event for RESET180 and Vines of Freedom was founded.
Bryant’s Photography
In 2024, five wineries flew to Virginia to participate. They raised $112,000. Last year, nine wineries came, and they doubled the amount raised.
Earlier this month, the Traxlers hosted the third annual Vines of Freedom auction. Representatives from 15 of Napa Valley’s micro-wineries attended. They offered a range of items for auction, including bottles of inaugural lines, in-home tastings, on-site private winery visits, and more.
“It was an easy yes for us to come out here last year. We’ve been doing it for two years,” said Colin Burke, the representative for Black Kite Cellars. “We support the cause, not just in Virginia, but in California, as well.”
Between the tasting and the auction, Esther Daniel, the executive director of Reset180, shared statistics on human trafficking. She said there are 169 illicit massage businesses in Fairfax County, and 555 across Virginia. She compared that number to 389, the number of McDonald’s restaurants statewide. She painted a dark picture of the things we don’t notice around the county, state, and country.
“Human trafficking is not a distant crisis. It is here, in northern Virginia, in strip malls, you recognize, in hotels off the interstate. One major form is the illicit massage industry. Storefronts hiding commercial sexual exploitation behind locked doors. Women deceived, indebted, coerced into performing sex acts, 6 to 10 times a day,” explained Daniel.
This year’s event raised about $250,000. Doug likes to remind himself that one person working alone can’t fix this massive problem. However, working together, he, those who come to sip and buy wine, and everyone at the Reston nonprofit are doing something.
Dining and Cooking