ON JANUARY 28TH , MEMBERS of the Morgan Hill Rotary Club met to unpack and prep for distribution over 900 dictionaries that were scheduled to be distributed to third grade students at each of the Morgan Hill public and private schools , as well as home-schooled students during the week of February 22-26 . Each year the club has given the dictionaries in hopes of encouraging and supporting literacy . The process of looking up a definition in a hard-bound dictionary teaches alphabetical organization , how to use guide words , spelling patterns , word meanings and parts of speech . A children ’ s dictionary teaches a child far more than just how to spell a word .

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MORGAN HILL ROTARY

THE WINERIES OF SANTA CLARA VALLEY hosted the Super Barrel tasting event on February 6 . More than 100 wine lovers enjoyed tasting unreleased , premium wines straight from the barrel at over a dozen wineries . Enjoying the most gorgeous , Bay Area “ winter ” weather imaginable , locals and visitors alike took advantage of this rare opportunity to taste wines before they are even bottled . Wineries included Creekview Vineyards , Fortino Winery , Guglielmo Winery , J . Lohr Vineyards & Wines , Kirigin Cellars , Lightheart Cellars , Martin Ranch Winery , Morgan Hill Cellars , Rapazzini Winery , Solis Winery , and Sunlit Oaks Winery . New to the local wine scene is Blended , a Winemaker ’ s Studio comprised of three wineries : TASS Vineyards and Winery , La Vie Dansante Winery , and Medeiros Family Wines . Jeff Fadness of La Vie Dansante Winery and Blended says , “ Ron , Ted , and I were overwhelmed by the welcome we received from the local wine community and the response to our upcoming wines . We ’ re enthusiastically preparing for the upcoming Passport event on March 19-20 .”

24

GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN MARCH / APRIL 2016 gmhtoday . com