Wisconsin Vintners Association

Wisconsin Vintners Association

(Home Wine Makers Club)

Why Come to the Dinner Dance? A Great Value!

The WVA Dinner Dance costs just $35.00 per person. What do you get for your hard earned money?

Outstanding Food: Hors d'oeuvres starting at 6:00 PM including cheddar-port cheese & assorted crackers and market fresh vegetable & seasonal fruit trays. At 7:00 PM a fantastic, all you care to eat, buffet including tossed greens with all the fixings, warm rolls with whipped butter, a special penne salad, tri-colored cheese-filled tortellini salad, roast pork with sherry-portabello sauce, Chicken Maryland with a rich sour cream-vermouth sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted Yukon gold potatoes and Caribbean blend vegetables .... and of course, the chief's delectable dessert table.

Live music: Show your dance moves on a large dance floor with the music of Eddie Vidmar and his band from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM.

Chances to Win: The WVA annual dinner dance is our only fundraiser of the year. Have fun playing the games and bidding on the auction items while helping our club raise funds needed for our yearly programs.

We will have a drawing for a two night stay in a two bedroom condo at the Landmark Resort in Door County WI, donated by Dave and Pat Steinbach. This resort is on the bluffs above Egg Harbor and it overlooks the water. It can be used any time during the 12 months starting February 15, 2010, except for holidays and not during July & August & festival weekends, based on availability.

The Finest Homemade Wine: Not a winemaker yourself? No problem. This year we will again have a special table with multiple cases of WVA member's wines for people to sample. There will be homemade Cabernets, Malbecs, Rieslings, Chardonnays and other red & white homemade varieties. Want to try a country fruit wine? Have a glass or two. Jerry Wanty, this year's Potpourri Wine maker, has created another winner. Each table will have a bottle of two of this wine made from a multitude of different ingredients, making this a unique treat. All of this at no additional charge. Please bring your own wine glasses. Club logo glasses will also be available for purchase.

As for the club winemakers, here is your chance to showcase your own wine and share your creations with the guests. While the Radisson asks that only our homemade wine is served and not to open any wine won as a prize during the evening, as you can see, our homemade wine will be the highlight of the party! Beer, mixed drinks and soda however can be purchased from the hotel bar.

When: Saturday, February 6, 2010

Where: Radisson Hotel Milwaukee West , 2303 N. Mayfair Road, Milwaukee, WI, (414) 257-3400. Doors open at 5:30 PM, Appetizers at 6:00 PM, Dinner at 7:00 PM, Live Music from 8:00 to 11:00 PM. Cost: $35 Per Person

There are no tickets, just send in your RSVP form and money before February 1, 2010. Don't have one? Click here.

Invite your friends and relatives and be sure to include their names on your RSVP card indicating who will be seated together. Have fun playing the games and bidding on the auction items while helping our club raise the funds needed for our programs throughout the year.

Items are still needed for the dinner dance silent auction. Auction items can either be purchased and donated, or may be handcrafted where you can show off your other talents! Please get them to one of the board members by January 25. Attach the name of the donor and the approximate dollar value to each donated item. This will help with record keeping and will also give the set-up committee an idea for a minimum bid. Please do NOT bring any items to the dinner on Saturday night because the set up will be completed the afternoon of that day. If you have any questions please contact Joanne Ziarek who is again this year’s chairperson and is looking for a lot of help. Please let her know if you’d like to get involved.

President's Blog

The weather turned against us, so we had to cancel the December meeting. We will have to reschedule the critical tasting as we have some nice wines to taste. The dinner dance invitations should have been mailed by now. We are back at the Radisson Hotel on February 6th, 2010. Save the date. We can use lots of help. Please volunteer by calling chairwoman Joanne Ziarek or any board member.

The Radisson has donated a room for the night of the dinner dance. At our January meeting you will be able to purchase a $5.00 chance to win this room. The drawing will be held at the January meeting. I f you cannot attend you could call Sally Hasselkus to get you into the drawing. Happy New Year to everyone.

Howard Hasselkus

Welcome New Members

Let’s all welcome our newest members: Adriana Galavan & Chris Levas of Milwaukee, Trish Gutmann of Richfield and Ervin & Caroline Paczkowski of Big Bend, WI.

Annual Club Judging is Sunday, March 14

This year’s Club Judging will be held on Sunday March 14, 2010. This annual competition is open to all club members. Please mark down this date. We will be looking for members to help out with set up, wine stewarding, judging (apprentice judges welcome) etc. No experience necessary for most of the jobs.

The purpose of this event is threefold:

• An opportunity for club members to have their wines evaluated in a formal manner, based upon similar judging criteria used by major wine competitions around the country.

• Club members can get an early indication of their wine’s potential to receive an award at the Wisconsin State Fair that is held later in the year.

• The Club Judging provides a training opportunity for prospective wine judges and stewards. The WVA provides the judges and stewards used in the WI State Fair competition.

2010 Rules & Regulations (PDF)

The ribbons awarded to the winners are created by the club and there is a traveling wall plaque for the Best of Show winner, currently in Larry Legare’s possession.

Board of Directors for 2009/2010

President: Howard Hasselkus (one year)
Vice President: Thomas Courtney (one year)
Recording Secretary: David Brandt (one year)
Corresponding Secretary: Don Betlej (one year)
Treasurer: Mike Bell (one year)
Sergeant-at-Arms: Mary Howell (one year)
Trustees: Len Montalbano (two years), George Scovronski (one year)
Board Members-at-Large: Rick Markham (two years), Mike Szabo (two years), Erv Herman (one year), F Jerry Wanty (one year)

Calendar of Events

January 27th Wednesday - Board of Directors meeting at the home of Don Betlej, 7:00 PM

February 6th Saturday - WVA Annual Dinner Dance at the Radisson Hotel Milwaukee West, 6:00 PM

March 3rd Wednesday - Board of Directors meeting at the home of Dave Brandt, 7:00 PM

March 10th Wednesday - WVA membership meeting at Clifford’s in Hales Corners, WI, 7:30 PM

March 14th Sunday - Annual club wine judging, 9:00 AM at Clifford’s, Hales Corners, WI.

April 7th Wednesday - Board of Directors meeting at the home of Howard & Sally Hasselkus, 7:00 PM

Special Thanks To Clifford's For The Use Of Their Hall!

10418 W. FOREST HOME AVE

HALES CORNERS, WI

(414) 425-6226

www.cliffordsfinefood.com

Map

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ABOUT THE WISCONSIN VINTNERS

ASSOCIATION

The Wisconsin Vintners Association of Milwaukee was organized in 1970. Membership is open to anyone over 21 years old who has an interest in wine making. Our mission is educating our members in the many styles of wine and techniques while promoting the responsible use of alcohol.

Regular monthly meetings are held the second Wednesday of each month at Clifford's Supper Club, 10418 West Forest Home Ave. Hales Corners, WI. at 7:30PM. Usually we feature a speaker and offer tasting and evaluation of different varieties of wines.

To join our organization please click on and complete the following:

WVA Membership Application (PDF)