My husband and I always enjoy visiting one of our favorite wineries in the Rogue Valley, DANCIN Vineyards. I’ve written about our experiences in my blogs several times, sharing how the food; the wine; the ambience; and the warm, attentive service all add up to make for delightful memories with friends. Founders Dan and Cindy Marca don’t let their attention to detail in the tasting room and the kitchen interfere with their genuine expressions of hospitality. Instead of crowding up to a bar for a splash of wine, guests find seats at tables on the piazza or terrace or under the trees on the lawn, and knowledgeable servers bring flights of wine (or glasses or bottles) along with delectable goodies such as wood-fired pizzas and flatbreads, salads and (my favorite) stuffed mushrooms. You sit and watch dragonflies flit over the koi pond and gaze out over the vineyards to the mountains ringing the valley beyond,   and you feel you’ve found a little bit of heaven.

Last month we returned to DANCIN for a special evening for wine club members of food, wine and music to benefit two great organizations in our area. The Maslow Project, a nonprofit organization that helps youth and families struggling with homelessness, provides easy-to-access, free services such as educational advocacy and support, mental health care, resource and housing navigating, and basic needs such as food and clothing. Hearts with a Mission, a faith-based organization, works with at-risk youth and families, providing a youth shelter, a transitional living program for young people 18 to 21 years old, programs for families in crisis, skills training in its Independent Living program, and a recently added companion care program for socially isolated seniors in the region. Together, these programs and their teams of compassionate professionals and volunteers provide vital help to those in need.

Guests chose from DANCIN’s usual menu for their dining options and could purchase wine flights and/or glasses or bottles of any available DANCIN wines. Proceeds (including our ticket purchases) would go to the charities, and we were also provided with QR codes if we chose to donate that way.

The special musical guest was Perijita Bastola, a finalist on NBC’s The Voice. This delightful young woman (she had literally just graduated from high school) shared her lovely voice in a set of cover songs and also shared her thoughts about the Maslow Project and Hearts with a Mission. Earlier in the week she and her very supportive family had the opportunity to visit some of the facilities and programs, and we viewed a video of those visits. We were able to hear testimonials from some of the young people served by them as well as comments from staff and volunteers. These two organizations together fill such a need in our community and provide vital help to young people and families.

As we left that evening, with the sunlight slanting low over the valley and mountains,    our hearts (as well as our stomachs) were full at seeing the good work being accomplished in our valley by so many good people.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor