One line said it all: “This is SUCH a good idea!”
Of course, this happy person had to be referring to the CCVT’s 3rd Annual Earth Day Food and Wine Festival held at the historic Santa Margarita Ranch on April 18. This year’s sold out event featured over 
100 booths offering award-winning wines, tasty food, and information about sustainable businesses. The weather was perfect, Big Daddy’s Blues Band was cookin’ with a solar powered sound system, and a good – no, make that – great time was had by all.
Of special significance was the “festival debut” of SIP certified wines from Ampelos Cellars, Baileyana Winery, Castoro Cellars, D’Anbino Cellars, Hahn Estates, Halter Ranch, Laetitia Winery, Paraiso Vineyards, Pomar Junction Cellars, Saucelito Canyon Vineyard, Tangent Winery, and Wolff Vineyards & Winery. It was great to finally see some wines from the SIP program getting into the marketplace, and more will be emerging with each new vintage.
The Earth Day Food and Wine also generated zero landfill trash thanks to the use of compostable and biodegradable flatware and plates, and thanks to everyone who made an effort to read the signs and put their stuff in the appropriate containers. In addition, about 30 percent of the attendees took advantage of the free shuttles to and from the event.
If you’d like to get on the advance list and be among the first to receive info about the 2010 Earth Day Food and Wine Festival, sign up at the CCVT website. That’s right, the 2010 event – after all, it’s such a good idea we might as well do it again!
