SAN DIEGO AMATEUR WINEMAKING SOCIETY

January 2003


January in Southern California is truly an interesting time of year.  The vines don’t know if they should drop their old leaves and go dormant, or it they should just forget it and start budding.  We know we love our winter sunshine, but let’s hope for more rain and colder nights.

TREASURY REPORT

The treasury increased by $83 with the addition of four new members and several people paying the 2003 dues at the last meeting.  Because Steve Sgrosso was not able to attend the last meeting, Carin Howard collected the dues and fill out the receipts.

We will be collecting the 2003 dues at the next meeting on January 11, 2003.

BUSINESS

1)      There has still been very little response from the members in the South East part of San Diego County.  We have had several new members join that live in City of San Diego and from Alpine

Perhaps it is time to forget about starting a South Chapter and start having some meetings in the South/East.  We are finding that the Saturday meetings seem to be much easier and safer for people to attend.  All those who would like to comment please do so, or come to the next meeting and share your comments.

2)      Because of other commitments, Bob Howard asked that the meeting be moved to the 2nd Saturday.  This is a one-time change of date.

3)      We need to start planning the Picnic in July.  That will give us plenty of time to get it put together and let everyone make plans to attend.  At this meeting we will attempt to put together a Picnic Committee to do the planning.  Be prepared to volunteer.

4)      Jennifer has been working on and updating the Web-Site.  Everyone should take a look.  There is lots of new stuff.

MEETING

The November meeting was a lot of fun.  Once again, 18 people attended. 

The January 11, 2003 meeting will be held at WitchCreek Winery.  Dave Wodehouse is the owner/winemaker and he has offered to give us a tour of the winery and share with us some of his winemaking techniques.  Pete Anderson has made the arrangement with Dave and we want to thank Pete for the help.

The meeting will be at WitchCreek Winery in Carlsbad and will start at 12 Noon.

Directions:  I-5 to Carlsbad Village Drive, West to Carlsbad Boulevard (old Coast Highway) turn right – The winery is at the end of the block.  Parking on the street or in the plaza parking spaces behind the winery.

Gayle Watring has said she has plenty of nametags, so we should be ok on that issue.

Bob Howard will give an update on bottles, if there is anything new to share.

Because we are not sure of facilities this will be a learn-as-we go meeting.  Everyone is requested to bring their own lunch (Sandwich or something) and a snack or dessert to share.  Don’t forget to bring a bottle of wine for everyone to share.

Because the club wine glasses seem to have disappeared, everyone is ask to donate one or two glasses to be used as meeting glasses.

Because of the Holidays and short time frame, no event has been planned for this meeting.  I was not sure of the facilities, so I could not come up with anything.  The extra time will give us an opportunity to plan some really fun stuff for upcoming meetings.

Steve Nordeen, our new member from Fallbrook as offered to give us a presentation on pruning vines.  Steve recently attended classes at UC Davis where they learned about various diseases that are transmitted during pruning.  This should be an informative and timely event.

Jennifer Buffington will give an update on new features and look to the Web Page.  We may want to consider an upgrade to give our site an even better look.  Jennifer wants to remind everyone to email contributions to the newsletter as well as their own announcements.

Pete Anderson will let everyone know the particulars about Lum’s upcoming class.

We hope to see as many as possible at the meeting.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Be sure to continually check out the http://www.sdaws.org  website pages for new information and the Bulletin Board. The Bulletin Board gets input from members and outside interest as well. Remember that this is our website and members are encouraged to use it for their own advertising/wanted/whatever ... as well.

DUES

Dues for members are $12.00 a year per household due January 1. New members can join at a prorated amount based upon the month in which they join.

ABOUT THE SOCIETY

The objectives of the San Diego Winemaking Society are to foster a general interest in wines and to give Society members a means of exchanging information on winemaking methods, materials and equipment. Regular meetings are held 12 noon on the third Saturday  of odd numbered months. Meetings often consist of a short business session, a technical discussion or a speaker and wine tasting. A bulletin is mailed to Society members six times a year before each regular meeting, and information about SDAWS activities is available.

Lesson: Gases in Wine

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