Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everybody had great New Years celebrations. Since we're all in the spirit, I figured I'd begin the year with some wine updates and info about this year's meetings. We added a good number of wines to our favorites in 2008, and I'm hoping we can do the same in '09.
We're going to do things a little differently this year. Our theme: You Set the Agenda. Instead of me choosing the subjects for each meeting, I'm leaving it to the club members. In this way I hope that others will be able to explore whatever wine subjects interest them, not just those that interest me. Take this opportunity to learn more about the topic of your choice, be it California cabernet sauvignons, 2005 French bordeaux, wines from South Africa, blind tastings, the benefits of decanting, whatever. It's up to you.
I've laid out the scheduled meetings for the year. Each member will choose a month and will set the agenda for that month and tell us how to carry it out. I'd like every member to participate, so if a member does not get to choose a meeting in 2009 we'll carry it over to 2010. We discussed this at our holiday party so some members have already chosen a month and in some cases a theme. I'll outline those here as well. At our January meeting we'll assign whatever months are left.
There are three rules each member must follow in choosing a month and agenda:
1)You must actually attend the meeting for your month. Seems like a no-brainer, I know, but you'd be surprised.
2)You must do your research and bring some knowledge about your subject. If you choose to do '05 bordeaux wines, tell us why '05 was such an important vintage. If you do a wine and cheese pairing, tell us which wine is known to pair well with which cheese and why.
3)You must choose a topic we haven't yet covered. Instead of focusing on Italian wines in general, you may choose to focus on wines from the Piedmont. Or you may choose German wines other than rieslings, which we've done to death. Or choose a new grape or region altogether; there are many we haven't explored yet.
Here's the 2009 calendar of meetings along with the months that have already been chosen:
January 24 -- Loretta: Wine and Music Pairing
March 7
April 18 -- Arthur: Subject TK
May 30
July 11 -- Ishmael: Subject TK
August 22
Sept 26/Oct 3 -- Psyche: Scotch tasting
November 7 -- Eslin: Subject TK
December 12 -- Robin: Subject TK
There are three months still up for grabs in 2009, and once those are taken we'll move to 2010. If there's a month that is not chosen I'll set the agenda for that month. We'll discuss further at our January 24 meeting.
Lastly, I wanted to share some of my wine-related resolutions for 2009. I'm tired of making the same boring resolutions: lose weight, save money, etc. This year, I'm setting fun goals, and if I relate them to wine, maybe I'll actually keep some of them. Here we go:
Wine Resolutions for 2009
10)Find a white wine I really like. Of course, my first choice will always be a red, but there must be a white wine out there that makes me happy.
9)Practice using a waiter's corkscrew until I can get it right.
8)Try not to buy any wine over $60. Shouldn't be hard.
7)Find the perfect cheese to pair with my new favorite grape: Spanish garnacha.
6)Work out every time I overdo it on the wine. Not directly afterward, of course, but the next day.
5)Buy a new "big-ass glass" to replace the wineglass I broke last month.
4)Write tasting notes for the new wines I try, especially the ones I like. Always carry my pad with me for this purpose.
3)Attend more wine tastings. It truly is the best way to learn.
2)Explore some new grapes. On my list: So. African pinotage, Chateauneuf du Pape, California cabs.
And my number one resolution for 2009:
1)Save enough money to take a trip to Napa Valley.
Feel free to share your wine resolutions as well; it'll be fun to compare notes.
Next week I'll send out the mail for our January Wine and Music Pairing meeting and Mom will outline how it will work.
Enjoy the rest of the holiday season.
We're going to do things a little differently this year. Our theme: You Set the Agenda. Instead of me choosing the subjects for each meeting, I'm leaving it to the club members. In this way I hope that others will be able to explore whatever wine subjects interest them, not just those that interest me. Take this opportunity to learn more about the topic of your choice, be it California cabernet sauvignons, 2005 French bordeaux, wines from South Africa, blind tastings, the benefits of decanting, whatever. It's up to you.
I've laid out the scheduled meetings for the year. Each member will choose a month and will set the agenda for that month and tell us how to carry it out. I'd like every member to participate, so if a member does not get to choose a meeting in 2009 we'll carry it over to 2010. We discussed this at our holiday party so some members have already chosen a month and in some cases a theme. I'll outline those here as well. At our January meeting we'll assign whatever months are left.
There are three rules each member must follow in choosing a month and agenda:
1)You must actually attend the meeting for your month. Seems like a no-brainer, I know, but you'd be surprised.
2)You must do your research and bring some knowledge about your subject. If you choose to do '05 bordeaux wines, tell us why '05 was such an important vintage. If you do a wine and cheese pairing, tell us which wine is known to pair well with which cheese and why.
3)You must choose a topic we haven't yet covered. Instead of focusing on Italian wines in general, you may choose to focus on wines from the Piedmont. Or you may choose German wines other than rieslings, which we've done to death. Or choose a new grape or region altogether; there are many we haven't explored yet.
Here's the 2009 calendar of meetings along with the months that have already been chosen:
January 24 -- Loretta: Wine and Music Pairing
March 7
April 18 -- Arthur: Subject TK
May 30
July 11 -- Ishmael: Subject TK
August 22
Sept 26/Oct 3 -- Psyche: Scotch tasting
November 7 -- Eslin: Subject TK
December 12 -- Robin: Subject TK
There are three months still up for grabs in 2009, and once those are taken we'll move to 2010. If there's a month that is not chosen I'll set the agenda for that month. We'll discuss further at our January 24 meeting.
Lastly, I wanted to share some of my wine-related resolutions for 2009. I'm tired of making the same boring resolutions: lose weight, save money, etc. This year, I'm setting fun goals, and if I relate them to wine, maybe I'll actually keep some of them. Here we go:
Wine Resolutions for 2009
10)Find a white wine I really like. Of course, my first choice will always be a red, but there must be a white wine out there that makes me happy.
9)Practice using a waiter's corkscrew until I can get it right.
8)Try not to buy any wine over $60. Shouldn't be hard.
7)Find the perfect cheese to pair with my new favorite grape: Spanish garnacha.
6)Work out every time I overdo it on the wine. Not directly afterward, of course, but the next day.
5)Buy a new "big-ass glass" to replace the wineglass I broke last month.
4)Write tasting notes for the new wines I try, especially the ones I like. Always carry my pad with me for this purpose.
3)Attend more wine tastings. It truly is the best way to learn.
2)Explore some new grapes. On my list: So. African pinotage, Chateauneuf du Pape, California cabs.
And my number one resolution for 2009:
1)Save enough money to take a trip to Napa Valley.
Feel free to share your wine resolutions as well; it'll be fun to compare notes.
Next week I'll send out the mail for our January Wine and Music Pairing meeting and Mom will outline how it will work.
Enjoy the rest of the holiday season.
