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Credit: Monique Singh-Roy

I read recently that St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican was built between 1506 and 1626. It took 120 years to build this magnificent structure. There were many famous artists and sculptures that lent their talents to this project. Chief among them were Michelangelo Buonarroti and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. However, there were literally thousands of other unknown artisans who contributed, each in their own way, to this world‐renowned place of worship.

Working in anonymity to help create something great is a noble effort and one that many, even today, make a part of their life. The people in our community who contribute their time to civic organizations, arts organizations, volunteer fire and ambulance corps and industry organizations such as the Long Island Farm Bureau or the Long Island Wine Council may be unknown to most of us but their efforts help to maintain the vibrancy and character of the East End of Long Island and play a role in our future.

For the past two years it has been my honor to serve as president of the Long Island Wine Council, but my contributions to the future strength and growth of this organization and the region it represents, whatever that may be, would not have been possible without the constant assistance of our executive director, Steve Bate, marketing director Ali Tuthill and all of our board members. I wish to thank each and every one of them, as well as all of you who read this fine publication and visit our region regularly.

Our goal is and always has been to make your visit to the East End of Long Island as rich and rewarding as possible. That goal and objective will continue under the guidance of our new president, Roman Roth, winemaker and partner at Wölffer Estate Vineyards, as will our goal of maintaining our focus on continuing to be a world-class wine region.

The East End’s wineries, breweries, hotels, B&Bs, restaurants and other businesses are all working together, along with local governments, to preserve a way of life that represents the best of what each of us wants for ourselves and for the coming generations.

You may not know our names but we are working for you and for the future of our region. Please come visit us this winter as Winterfest Live on the Vine returns from Feb. 19 to March 20, 2016. Great music, wine and many other activities will await your arrival.

sal diliberto

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