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November/December 2007 Contra Costa
Wine Group Newsletter
Our
last meeting was held at the lovely home of Tom Anders and Barbara
Langsdale in Walnut Creek.
Barbara went all out with the wonderful hors d’oeuvres. Thanks to
the both of you for volunteering your home for the October CCWG
meeting.
There were
approximately 35 people in attendance and we held a round robin
discussion on how this years’ harvest went for everyone. It turned
out to be quite an entertaining meeting as the mini-presentations
were extremely varied in their content. Overall, this years’
harvest was fairly strange. Many white grapes and a few red ones
were harvested up until the first week of September. After that,
the grapes basically shut down! Then, around the first week of
October, the remainder of the grapes started coming in. I picked up
my Livermore Cabernet Franc from long time member, Tom Coyne, on
November 6th and they were still only at 22.2 degrees
Brix! I did hear of a couple that were later, but not by much.
There were two sign-up
sheets that were passed around during the October meeting. The
first was for the 2008 Contra Costa Wine Group Host Homes. We still
have a big need for 5 more months to be “covered” so that every
meeting next year will have a place to be held. The meetings are as
follows:
FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY 29, 2008 WE NEED A LARGE HOME AS THIS IS
THE MEETING WHERE THE
FIRST PLACE
WINNERS PRESENT THEIR WINES AND HOW THEY WERE MADE. ALL WINNERS ARE
GIVEN THEIR AWARDS THAT EVENING. (Tom & Donna Powers have
graciously hosted this event for the last couple of years).
FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2008 This
is a “regular” meeting.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2008
This is another “regular” meeting.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2008
To avoid Halloween and is a “regular” meeting.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2008 WE
NEED A LARGE HOME AS THIS IS NOUVEAU NIGHT, TYPICALLY A
WELL-ATTENDED MEETING.
Please either “Reply”
to this email that you can host one of the meetings above or give me
a call at (925) 837-9384 to discuss what still needs supporting. We
need some new “blood,” and by that, I mean, fairly new members
should step up and offer to host one of our meetings. (Three months
are now being hosted by relatively new members-Hurrah!)
Next is the matter of
the 30th Annual Contra Costa Wine Group Professional Wine
Judging and Potluck Dinner… It will be held on
Saturday, January 26, 2007.
Please mark your calendars with the date. We need volunteers
for the following tasks:
Computer Support
- All Day
Set-Up Crew -
8:00 a.m. till 11:00 a.m.
Glass Washers -
1st Shift 10:00 a.m. till 1:00 p.m. - We need 1 more
person.
Lunch Runners -
Buy food for judges and worker “bees” and deliver to the judging
site.
Dinner Set-up -
4:30 p.m. till 6:00 p.m.
Table Decorations
- 5:00 p.m. till 6:00 p.m. Buy ahead of time for that evening.
Judges Gift Baskets
- Purchase, arrange and then deliver no later than 3:30 p.m. on
January 26, 2008. We are again planning on having 8 Professional
Judges. (Barbara Bentley and Rex Johnston have prepared these the
last 2 years, exceptionally, I might add!)
Potluck Dinner
Coordinator - The person to call. We need to be evenly spread
with:
1) Hors D’oeuvres; 2) Salad & Bread; 3) Entrees
and 4) Desserts. (Josie Fike has performed this task for, at least,
the last 3 years in an admirable manner!)
Ribbons, Plaques, etc. To
be completed by the Friday, February 29th meeting. Those
at the October meeting felt that our 30th Annual Judging
should be highlighted and celebrated with awards that, perhaps,
emulate the Orange County Fair awards that celebrated their 30th
year as well, thus allowing for much more creativity in devising the
awards. (Peter Dragovich has done a great job, for at least
the last 3 years!)
I’m leaving Post-Dinner Clean-Up
off of my “needs” list as, in the past, lots of people helped clean
up the place at the end of the festivities. Keep up the good work!
Please let me know what you can
help out with. The more the merrier and, in order to pull off this
big event, we need all of the help that we can get! Email me -
Call me!
A vote was held at the
October meeting to modify slightly the recently changed entry
requirements for this tasting. All entrants still need bring only
2-750 mL bottles of each entry with them on Saturday morning. Those
people helping out that day, and not going home before the dinner,
are “encouraged” to have a 3rd bottle in their car. Carl
& Cherie Lyle of Deer Ridge Vineyards have offered us the use of
sufficient 1 ounce pour spouts to be placed on all of the
First Place wines at the end of the
judging. Because, typically, well over 12 ounces are used by the
judges during the judging, there is usually, at best,
1½ bottles of the First
Place wines remaining after the Best of
Show judging is held. Thus, a maximum of around 38 ounces of
First Place
wine remains for the enjoyment of somewhere between 75 and 95
people. The “plan” is to call all of the First Place winners at
home and ask them nicely if they would be so kind as to arrange
getting another bottle of their wine to the dinner site (and, oh, by
the way, congratulations on your First Place award!). Fruit and
Dessert wines will be handled much the same way, i.e. two 375 mL
bottles, but we will have ½ ounce pour spouts on those First Place
bottles and winners will be asked nicely to arrange getting a 3rd
bottle to the site.
If anyone would like a “clearer” explanation of
what was voted upon, and can’t understand the write-up above, please
feel free to call me.
WE STILL NEED PROFESSIONAL
JUDGES FOR THE JANUARY EVENT! Call me with your sources. Thanks!
Our next meeting is
NOUVEAU NIGHT!
Friday night, December 7, 2007. Clean up a bottle each of this
years’ efforts and bring it to this fun event. We typically have
anywhere from 4 to 12 white wines and 35-60 red wines, all in
various stages of development. They are all tasted “blind.” I’m
anticipating that several red wines will not have completed
Malolactic Fermentation yet. I’m pretty sure that my 2 entries
won’t be! I guarantee that those in attendance will leave the
meeting with a really red tongue! This meeting is for “Bragging
Rights” only! There will be a vote but, there are no awards given
at the end of this tasting. Bring a pen or pencil, wine
glass, and a bottle of your best wine to serve with the hors
d’oeuvres with you to this event! To conserve space, don’t
bring any folding chairs with you. Our hostess, Terry Baker has
asked and I would highly encourage any of the membership that live
in a condo, for instance, or out of
Contra
Costa County
and plan to attend this event, to call Terry Baker at the
number below to see if you can’t help her out with the hors
d’oeuvres this evening. The turnout is typically right around
50-60 people and Terry shouldn’t have to bear the entire brunt of
that large of a group and that’s a very nice way to show the group
that you really do want to help out.
I’ll be bringing the
paper bags, masking tape, marking pens, spit buckets, rabbit bottle
opener, score sheets and pencils to the meeting.
See you at the
meeting!
Respectfully submitted, Al Turner, Secretary, CCWG |
