25th Anniversary of Roots of Peace

25TH ANNIVERSARY ROOTS OF PEACE
Turning MINES TO VINES Worldwide
(1997-2022)

Roots of Peace celebrated our 25th Anniversary in the heart of the Napa Valley. First and foremost, California vintners are farmers, and deeply respect the plight of farmers around the world who harvest fresh grapes and orchards amidst the perils of landmines beneath their plow.

In celebration of our vision to turn MINES TO VINES worldwide, Mayor John Dunbar of Yountville, issued a proclamation declaring ‘Roots of Peace Day’ in Napa Valley.  The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at COPIA, planted an ‘olive tree’ on their grounds, as Managing Director, Thomas Bensel joined Heidi Kuhn, Founder & CEO, Roots of Peace with two shovels, in a grounded act of peace to turn ‘swords into plowshares’ by removing landmines and planting sustainable peace through agriculture.  The Consul General of Ukraine, Dmytro Kushneruk and Consul General of Croatia, Renee Pea joined the panel discussion along with prominent vintners, Violet Grgich, Grgich Hills Estate and Maria Castellucci, Proprietor, Castellucci Vineyards.  This event was featured on ABC7 News (see LINK).

The new CIA/COPIA Chef Dominic Orsini, prepared his first signature meal featuring spices grown on former war-torn lands—black pepper from Quang Tri, Vietnam; saffron from Afghanistan; cardamom from Guatemala, etc.—providing dignitaries with a ‘Taste of Peace’.

The San Francisco Opera performed the song IMAGINE by John Lennon, with the words rewritten by Heidi Kuhn, “Imagine there’s no landmines, it isn’t hard to do…”

This historic day for Roots of Peace culminated with the inaugural World Affairs Napa Valley where Heidi Kuhn was invited by Stan Knight, Chairman, to be the Keynote Speaker to an audience of over 100 guests which was filmed internationally. The story of the original Napa Valley supporters; Robert Mondavi, Miljenko Grgich, Diane Disney Miller, Tor Kenward, Darioush Khaledi, Shirley Dean and many other vintners were honored for their generous contributions to Roots of Peace for the past quarter of a century (see LINK to program).