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September 2007 Contra Costa Wine
Group Newsletter
The last meeting was our annual “outing,”
not held in someone’s home. We gathered at the brand new,
beautiful, Deer Ridge Vineyards facility in
Livermore. Members Carl and Cherie Lyle were
our gracious hosts for this event. Carl poured many of Deer Ridge’s
wines for us while Cherie acted as our tour guide around the
winery. The hors d’oeuvres, salads and desserts were potluck and
seemed to work out very well. Carl kindly made available two
propane grills for our use in preparing our meat selections. The
setting of picnic tables underneath a large oak tree gave us all a
nice feel of being out in the vineyards. My estimate of the number
of people that showed up was about 45. That’s a pretty nice turnout
for this annual event. Thanks again Carl & Cherie for being so very
generous to those in attendance. You both have a beautiful winery
and event center and I wish you all the best in your future
endeavors out there in the
Livermore
Valley.
It has been a strange harvest this
year. Several grape varieties were a full two weeks early and then
things just seemed to come to a screeching halt. Many of the
remaining red grapes will be spread out between now and the end of
October. I hope that the members of the CCWG have had great success
in lining up their grape sources for this year.
“Elections” have been held for next
years’ CCWG Officers. Lee Wines has again agreed to continue as our
Treasurer. I have again agreed to serve as your Secretary. Ron
Pilkington will become the next President of the Contra Costa Wine
Group, replacing our most able “Queen” and “Exalted Ruler” Josie
Fike. The reins will officially be turned over at the 30th
Annual CCWG Professional Wine Judging and Potluck Dinner, Saturday,
January 26, 2008. Mark your calendars!
At our next meeting, Steve Abbanat
will be the “moderator” for a presentation that has a lot of merit
for members of the Contra Costa Wine Group. The subject will be: “Blending
Wines-The Right Way!”
Steve will have a chart/checklist available for the attendees that
can be used to help identify the characteristics of an individual
“out of balance” wine. This chart/checklist can be completed right
there at the meeting. There will also be about 30 handouts that
Steve prepared a while back entitled “Wine Blending Profile Sheet”
and “Wine Blending Commentary.” Members should seriously
consider bringing a 750 mL bottle of a barrel sample or simply a
wine that they aren’t happy with to the meeting. It
should be labeled as to winemaker, varietal and vintage. If you
have them in your “wine laboratory,” you can also bring along a
pipette or some of those small cough syrup dose cups that are on top
of several different products. Bring a pen or pencil, and two wine
glasses to assist in any blending attempts that you decide to make.
I would highly encourage the membership to attend this meeting!
Steve will pour a wine that, he felt, was out of balance. It was
then blended with a George Rammell wine 75/25. The resulting wine
took a First Place
at the California State Fair. Never blended before? You should
really consider trying it! Future blending partnerships between
CCWG members is always a good thing!
IMPORTANT
NOTE: Your 2007-8 CCWG Annual Dues of $45.00 become delinquent
after September 30th! This meeting is a great
opportunity to avoid that penalty. Bring your checkbook along with
you. If you can’t attend, mail your check made out to “CCWG” and
mail it to our Treasurer, Lee Wines,
1105 West K St.,
Benicia, CA
94510.
Michele and I are off to New England, to
include Quebec and
Montreal
Tuesday morning. We won’t be returning until September 28th,
the night of the meeting, but then, there is the
Oakland A’s versus
L.A.
Angels game that is followed by fireworks that we have tickets for.
I have been instructed to go to the game!
Respectfully submitted, Al Turner,
Secretary, Contra Costa Wine Group 925-837-9384
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