Swing a club, sip some wine

This year's Rotary Club of Morgan Hill Golf Classic will for the first time feature a post-event Vintners Showcase.

The showcase, which will follow the 15th annual golf classic, includes dinner and will feature wine tasting and an opportunity to win dozens of fine wines signed by celebrities such as Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith.

The golf tournament starts at 10:30 a.m. Friday at San Juan Oaks Golf Club in Hollister. The vintners showcase begins at 4 p.m. and ends at 8 p.m.

"We're excited about featuring some of our region's premier wines and the celebrity-signed bottles will be our new twist for the tournament," said Golf Classic Chair Del Foster. The celebrity-signed bottles will be raffled off. Only 100 $100 raffle tickets will be sold, Foster said.

The all-day tournament, long a local golfers' favorite, features a shotgun start, putting green and driving range contests and two hole-in-one contests. Proceeds benefit Rotary's service projects and charitable giving supporting local charities and youth programs. This year Rotary Club of Morgan Hill awarded 20 college scholarships to Morgan Hill students.

The tournament's major sponsors are Johnson Lumber, Rusconi, Foster & Thomas, APC, Reinhardt, Newquist and Potts Advisory. Participating wineries include Guglielmo, Sycamore Creek, Solis and Mann Cellars.

Paul Mercer tries his luck at the putting challenge at last year's Rotary Golf Classic.  
  Photo by: Nick Lovejoy