8-20-2005 SDAWS Meeting Agenda

No poem was ever written by a drinker of water. Horace (Roman poet & satirist 65BC - 8BC)
Water separates the people of the world, wine unites them. (Omar Khayyam (Persian astronomer & poet 1048 - 1131)

Location: The Bridges, Rancho Santa Fe
Meeting Hours: 12:00 to 4:00 PM
Please bring 2 bottles of wine, one for the wine raffle, one for the meeting. There will be prizes for the Wine Trivia Challenge (see below).

The introductions of new members and collection of wine for the drawing.

Speakers:
I. Pete Anderson, Grape Growing Mentor
a) The story behind the different grape varietals that Camillo Magoni is growing in the Guadalupe Valley

II. Mick Dragoo, Belle Marie & Chateau Dragoo Owner
a) Developing a winery that predominately sources its grapes, rather than 100% "mis en bouteille au chateau"

III. Lum Eisenman, Wine Making Mentor
a) "Harvest Planning" The optimum moment to harvest your wine grapes.

Wine Raffle

IV. Upcoming Events
a) 3rd Annual Grape Stomp and BBQ,
Sat., September 10. Temecula Hills Winery. Info: www.localwineevents.com/Temecula-Wine/event-65619.html
b) Chula Vista Rotary "Wine Taste Chula Vista"
Sat., Oct 1st We have been invited to pour. We need to RSVP numbers ASAP. Info: www.winetastechulavista.com
c) Paso Robles WestFest 2005
Sat., Oct. 17. www.pasowine.com/wineryevents.php 15 of Paso Robles' most exciting wineries are gathering together in one spot to to pour their finest wines. Concert & BBQ
c) 2nd Annual Wine D'Vine, Walden Family Services,
Thursday, October 20th at the El Cortez in downtown San Diego, 6-9 pm

V. New Business:
a) Suggestions for future speakers
b) Does anyone any have news to submit? Please email jerrylapan@yahoo.com and we can add it to a newsletter. Articles and information are best submitted in rich text format.

We are planning on finishing the meeting around 4:00 PM

Members have asked about grape sources, see Mike Dunlap, Grapes for Sale page or:
another grape source: Colleen & Mark in Paso Robles - 805-239-4056,wineguy58@fix.net
"Hi Jerry, Thank you for the nice note. My husband Mark and I have an acre of Syrah grapes from vines planted in 2001. We have some finished wine vintage 2003 which shows promise for such young wines - also, we harvested a little early as we were competing with the birds. Last year we let them have the fruit. So, we'd be interested if your friends were keen on coming up to Paso for a "harvest party" and hand-pick them. We'll give them a fair price. Keep in touch, and enjoy your stay in Cambria! Cheers, Colleen 805-239-4056"

Wine Trivia
1.Merlot is more heavily planted in the Bordeaux region than Cabernet Sauvignon.
2. According to scientist Bill Lembeck there are approximately 49 million bubbles in a bottle of Champagne.
3.The word Alcohol is derived from the Arabic language (al kohl or alkuhl). Consider the fact that a large proportion of the Arabic population is forbidden from consuming alcohol for religious reasons.
4.The corkscrew was invented in 1860
5. The largest cork tree in the world is known as 'The Whistler Tree'. This tree is located in the Alentejo region of Portugal and averages over 1 ton of raw cork per harvest. Enough to cork 100,000 bottles of wine.
6. The most expensive bottle of wine was sold at an auction at Christies, London, in December 1985. The buyer paid £105 000 for a bottle of 1787 Chateau Lafitte claret that was engraved with the initials of Thomas Jefferson. Eleven months after the sale, the cork dried out, slipped into the bottle and spoiled the wine, making it the most expensive bottle of vinegar!
7.An award-winning adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood was withdrawn from a recommended reading list by the school board in Culver City, California, simply because the heroine had included a bottle of wine in the basket she brought to her grandmother
8. The average number of grapes it takes to produce a bottle of wine: 600.
9.The longest recorded champagne cork flight was 177 feet and 9 inches (53,32 m), four feet(1,2m) from level ground at Woodbury Vineyards in New York State
10. The word "ton" (metric tonne) is derived from a tun, a wine barrel. It gets its name from the French "tonnerre," or "thunder," from the sound the barrels made when rolled.
11. There's a little story behind the champagne glass, dating back to Greek mythology. The first "coupe" was said to be molded from the breast of Helen of Troy. The Greeks believed that wine drinking was a sensual experience, and it was only fitting that the most beautiful woman take part in shaping the chalice.
Centuries later, Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, decided it was time to create a new champagne glass. She had coupes molded to her own breasts, which changed the shape of the glass entirely, since Marie Antoinette was - shall we say- better endowed than Helen of Troy.
12. The most expensive current-release Australian wine is $2,500 a bottle. It is Seppelt 100 Year Old Para Liqueur Port. Every year since 1878, Seppelt has put aside a cask of port and, ever since 1978, it has been bottling a 100-year-old. Seppelt is probably the only winery in the world doing this.
13. Dom Perignon did not invent champagne, it had existed for several years. What he did invent was the mushroom shaped cork and wire cage that allowed the sparkling wine to be safely bottled. Previous attempts had all ended with popped corks.
14.There is a 1600 year old bottle of wine on display in the Speyer Museum in Germany.
15.A morbid, irrational fear of or aversion to wine is called Oenophobia.
16.During prohibition, an interesting product called the 'Grape Brick' was sold to thousands of wine-parched households across America. Attached to the 'brick' of dried and pressed winegrape concentrate was a packet of yeast, and the stern warning, "Do not add yeast or fermentation will result."
17. Robert Mondavi built Napa Valley's first new winery after the repeal of prohibition.
18. The Bag in box was first developed in 1967 by Thomas Angove in Australia.
19.The first commercial U.S. winery, established in 1823, was located in Missouri.
20. Robert Mondavi started the Mondavi winery at the age of 52.