(Forbes) - A healthy corporate culture is, as we know, good for business, and “giving back” is a significant indicator: consider SalesForce’s 1-1-1 integrated philanthropic model, the growing popularity of B Corp status, and the well-documented desire, especially among younger workers, to belong to a company that benefits society as well as shareholders.

How does the wine industry match up to these trends?

Wine is, in a word, generous.

That has been my observation as, over the years, I’ve witnessed a wide range of initiatives, from fundraising at the community level for schools and libraries, all the way to large-scale, high-voltage events like Auction Napa Valley that fuel community health initiatives. Wineries receive and respond to frequent requests for donations throughout the calendar year, and it’s an opportune time right now to take a closer look at philanthropy within the wine industry, as the last quarter of the year is known as the Giving Season, especially for the nonprofit community, when donors are more likely to give more generously compared to the rest of the year.

For a closer look, from both the wineries’ and the consumers’ perspective, I sat down with Martin Cody, who designated “giving back” as one of the three pillars of their business when he and his wife Denise Smith Cody founded Cellar Angels back in 2010. Cellar Angels connects the dots between wineries and consumers who each have a penchant for philanthropy, and act on it.

Every time someone purchases from a Cellar Angels winery partner, a percentage of the sale is funneled directly to a philanthropic partner. Which means that buying, say, a small-production, limited-availability Napa Cab also benefits organizations that provide a child clean drinking water for the first time, or help a family with the financial burden of treating their autistic child, or send a care package to a soldier around the world.

Their model is, as Cody explains, very low tech and, well, kind of boring. They don’t have a large list; actually they continually cull their list of non-active participants. They don’t offer alarmingly high discounts, and they are not an end-of-bin digital flash site.

They do, however, reach out to active members with personal phone calls and hand-written thank-you notes. They hand-select participating wineries, and they arrange visits and even phone calls for members with vintners.

Old-fashioned? Maybe. Cody considers it leveraging a thirst — for wine and for philanthropy.

“There’s no fancy app, no cutting edge technology and really no public adoration,” he said. “There’s really nothing sexy about what we do.”

Unless you consider giving back to be sexy.

Here’s my Q&A with Cody, on motivations, trends, and examples of philanthropy in the wine business.

It will inspire you. Watch.