WINING AND DINING AT LA BELLA VIDA

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Benefit for Community Projects

By Miriam Raftery

September
20, 2008 (RANCHO SAN DIEGO) -
More than 200 people attended the La Bella Vida
Wine and Food Fest on September 20th, hosted by the Rancho San Diego/Spring
Valley Rotary Club in the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College.

Patrons sampled fare from numerous East County wineries and restaurants, also
savoring the opportunity to chat with local vintners.

“It was a dream of my wife’s,” said Mert Thomas of Gloriosa
Vineyards, who started up a vineyard in Campo after his retirement.  He
offered up a glass of his favorite vintage, a syrah that was rich and mellow,
every bit as good as vintages I’d tasted in Napa Valley or Temecula.  “We
have a unique climate in Campo,”  he said, citing the East County
community’s warm, dry climate.
           
Other visitors bid on auction items ranging from vacation getaways to jewelry,
quilts, gift baskets and autographed Chargers memorabilia.

The event raised over $21,000 to fund Rotary club projects.  The Rancho
San Diego/Spring Valley Rotary Club supported creation of the Water Conservation
Garden at Cuyamaca College, also donating funds for local causes ranging from
the college’s Heritage of the America’s museum to Adopt-A-Highway
cleanup. 

The club also partnered with Tecate Rotary Club to build a school for handicapped
children and provide a wheelchair accessible bus.  The Club has also helped
provide cleft palate surgery for children in Baja, California and participated
in Rotary International’s effort to eradicate polio worldwide.  For
more information, visit www.ranchosandiegorotary.org.

Miriam Raftery, editor of East County Magazine,  is a 25-year
journalist who has won national and local awards for her investigative
reporting and community journalism.  If you are indicated in syndicating
or reprinting this column, please contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.


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