The recent announcement of updated nutrition guidelines by the United States’ Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services and the introduction of public and private programs, such as the White House’s Let’s Move! Salad Bar program and the passing of the Hunger-Free Kids Act, have reaffirmed the immense importance of veggies for childhood nutrition. With 93 percent of children ages two to 12 not receiving the recommended daily amount of vegetables, it is no wonder that moms are struggling to find ways to convince their children to eat two to five cups of veggies every day. 
Mario will tell us what his favorite sports are, how athletes can train to be like Mario, how to stay ahead of your competition and what makes this game different from the other Mario games!
After five successful years of the LA Winefest in Hollywood, founder Joel M. Fisher, PhD is now moving the wine fun to the Santa Clarita Valley. On February 12, 2011 local wine lovers will meet at the Embassy Suites in Valencia, CA to sample some of the best local food and wine from Napa & Sonoma to Temecula.
Dr. Fisher, a wine educator, writer and Sommelier for the Escoffier Society of So. California created the LA WineFest in 2005. The overwhelming success of this event is now coming to the Santa Clarita Valley for the most anticipated wine tasting of the year! “For more than three years I have been studying the many wine activities flourishing in the Santa Clarita area, including working the largest activities then active,” said Fisher. “We are convinced that a wine fest like ours would find a receptive audience in this part of the region and eagerly undertook the assignment. I look forward to seeing a lot of you in February!" Participants will be sampling wine and spirits from over 100 different brands of wine, spirits & beer, and enjoying educational seminars designed to demystify the art of tasting.
SCV Winefest is also bringing the community together by teaming up with Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley. This new local group is gaining momentum in our valley. Bringing shelter, meals, and support services to families without homes, Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley founder, Larry Comp is very grateful for the chance to expose the community to this important cause. “We appreciate the opportunity to help get the word out as Family Promise spreads throughout Southern California,” said Comp.
Sponsorship and vendor space is currently available to wineries, distilleries, breweries and local businesses to participate in the First Annual SCV WineFest. This event is expected to sell out with attendance estimated at 1200 – 1500.
For more information, check out http://scvwinefest.com.
Winemaker Peter Fanucchi Talks About His Trousseau Gris!
For Peter Fanucchi it all began in 1972 at the ripe old age of 9 years working beside his father Arcangelo, a new vineyard owner at the time, who purchased a very old vineyard property in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley on Wood Road in Fulton, California.
Peter and his father quickly became friends with their veteran wine grape growing neighbors who very graciously taught them traditional viticulture methods which they rigorously employed on the circa 1906 Zinfandel vineyard. They took their lessons very seriously and they studied the art of wine grape growing intensely.
As a result of their studies, they began integrating modern viticultural methodologies gathered from a wide array of periodicals to experts into the vineyard along with the astute lessons learned from their legendary neighbors and most importantly observing how it the cultural practices effected the vines in their specific environment on Wood Road.
As with traditional “field blend” vineyard plantings employed by most Italian growers of the late 19’th century, the Fanucchi’s vineyard was no exception. Planted amongst the Zinfandel vines were vines of different varietals one of which was Trousseau Gris. They discovered it thrived in their vineyard so after purchasing the fallow land next door to their property in 1981 the Fanucchi’s planted it.
Unfortunately, in 1984 just a few weeks before their first significant harvest of Trousseau Gris, Peter’s father died suddenly. It is indeed unfortunate that he was unable to experience the maiden harvest but Peter knows he would be very proud of the result today. It has been their keen ability to marry the uniqueness of the “terroir” of the vineyard, the incredibly hearty nature of the vines, the insightful lessons of their veteran neighbors and the insight from all of the lessons learned over the years that has made the Fanucchi Wood Road Vineyard the incredible success that it is today. Peter, along side his father, was a keen observer. All the knowledge that his father gained transitioned to Peter because he was a great listener & observer. Peter has assertively employed his learnings and he has spent decades enhancing the viticultural foundation that his father, friends and neighbors bestowed upon him. His extreme attention to detail manifests itself in the vineyard, in the reputation of the vineyard and, most importantly, in the highly acclaimed wines he and others have produced from his wine grapes.
For more info on Fanucchi Wines, go to www.fanucchivineyards.com!