Norman deLeuze left a lucrative engineering career to follow his lifelong dream of becoming a winemaker and found ZD Wines in Napa Valley. When he found out he had cancer, he focused that same determination on finding new ways to treat it.

“My father was not interested in convention in business or health,” said deLeuze’s son, Brett. “He really wanted to help find new ways to treat lymphoma because of the toxicity associated with standard approaches. He believed in this so much that he took some risks with his own life in order to further new research and help others.”

Although deLeuze passed away on Oct. 26 at the age of 75, his family is honoring his life and commitment through fundraising for a family endowment that supports research on alternatives to chemotherapy and radiation treatments at the UC Davis Cancer Center. His wife, Rosa Lee, and his children, Brett, Julie and Robert, invite the community to join them for a wine tasting and food-pairing at their winery Saturday, Dec.1 from noon to 4 p.m. at ZD Wines, 8383 Silverado Trail. Tickets are $25 and are available online at  www.zdwines.com or by calling (800) 487-7757. Proceeds from the event as well as 50 percent of proceeds from the sale of ZD wines from Dec. 1 through Dec. 28 will fund the deLeuze Family Endowment for a Non-toxic Cure for Lymphoma.

To achieve his goal of finding alternative cancer treatments, deLeuze partnered with UC Davis oncologist Joseph Tuscano, who  has  devoted years of research to developing novel, immune-based therapies to treat lymphoma, a type of cancer that results when a lymphocyte, a type of white blood cell, undergoes a malignant change and begins to multiply, eventually crowding out healthy cells and creating tumors. While Tuscano recommended more traditional therapies, deLeuze tried a multitude of non-toxic treatments, including high doses of vitamin C, nutritional supplements and, one which finally demonstrated great promise, Avemar, or fermented wheat germ extract.

The Leukemia, Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma Program at UC Davis Cancer Center provides advanced methods of diagnosis and treatment for both adults and children, including new therapies that often aren’t available at community hospitals. Program physicians have extensive experience treating both common and uncommon cancers of the blood, bone marrow and lymphatic system. For more information,visit www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/cancer.

 Robert and Margrit Mondavi are honorary chairpersons for the “Harvest of Hope” gala Sunday that celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the Roots of Peace organization and recognizes the leadership of California vintners in raising awareness about landmines and turning “mines to vines.”

The evening, which begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. at Copia includes a special proclamation presented to the Roots of Peace “Legends of the Vine”— Robert and Margrit Biever Mondavi, Miljenko “Mike” Grgich, Diane Disney-Miller, Judy Jordan, Dede Wilsey and the late Erika Hills — in recognition of their leadership role in helping transform “seeds of terror” into “seeds of hope” in Afghanistan and Croatia.