We received nationwide publicity raving about our excellent local wines

Josh Jenson is known as “the prince of pinot” at Calera Winery Company in San Benito County.
Photo courtesy Calera Winery Company

By Robert Airoldi

Robert Airoldi

Those of us who live and work in South Valley know about all the fantastic wineries we can visit nearby. Now, thanks to a wonderful story in the New York Times about a growing patchwork of winemakers serving prize-winning vino, the rest of the country is discovering what we already know.

Laura M. Holson, an award-winning feature writer, recently explored some of these bucolic wineries from Santa Cruz, Corralitos, Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Hollister, extolling the virtues of tasting fine varietals without traveling north to Napa and dealing with the crowds.

“If winemakers in Sonoma and Napa Valleys, farther north, are viewed as sophisticated siblings, the wineries in the triangle formed by the towns of Corralitos, Morgan Hill and Hollister are their relaxed country cousins,” she wrote. “They are related, but each has its own quirks.”

She visited Calera in Hollister, Sarah’s Vineyard in Gilroy, Callerain on the outskirts of Gilroy, and Lightpost in Morgan Hill, just to name a few. She also chronicled visits to Corralito’s Market and Sausage Company (my wife and my favorite place as we return from visits to Capitola), and Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville, the makers of delicious pies and where you can pick your own berries.

There is good news and bad news with this national story. The good news is we get nationwide publicity raving about our excellent local wines. The bad news: these wineries and their tasting rooms could get a bit more crowded. Oh, well. I guess that’s the price of success. See you soon at one of our South Valley wineries!

We got word recently that Exalted Ruler Angela Moore attended the 158th National Grand Lodge Convention of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (B.P.O.E.) held July 1 – 4 in Minneapolis, as the honored representative from Gilroy Lodge #1567.

Competing with a select group of 60 other lodges from more than 1,800 lodges across the country, Gilroy Lodge #1567 was named an All-American Elks Lodge in the USA.

The organizers of the event asked Moore up to the podium to present her with the certificate, which she graciously accepted on behalf of all the members of Gilroy lodge.

More than 5,800 brother and sister Elks who were also attending the conference witnessed the presentation.

Senior students at Mount Madonna School are helping Santa Clara County’s Department of Parks and Recreation monitor forest health in Mount Madonna County Park. This hands-on collaboration is a part of Science with Humanity, an honors science class taught by Nicole Silva Culbertson.

“The health of California’s forest ecosystem is threatened by wildfires, invasive species and climate change,” she said. “This is a long-term project in which students will be involved in monitoring and recording the presence and coverage of native and invasive species and rate of vegetation growth.”

This is an excellent opportunity for local students as it’s real world science work and they are contributing and making a difference in their own community, she said.

“They get to participate and learn first-hand how ecologists and scientists work to help protect and support the health or our own environment especially as it pertains to mitigating the effects of human induced climate change,” she said.

Several hundred Morgan Hill residents, city staff and councilmembers attended the Bay Area Panthers 75-40 win over the San Diego Strike Force July 10 to secure a first-round home playoff game later this month.

City Manager Christina Turner’s daughter Allison Turner sang the National Anthem and Mayor Mark Turner and councilmembers Marilyn Librers, Gino Borgioli and Yvonne Martinez Beltran were on the field before the coin toss — along with several city staff members — as “honorary captains.” The mayor performed the official coin toss to start the game. The team’s headquarters is located in Morgan Hill and the players practice at the Outdoor Sports Center.