November 2008 News
 

There will be no Wednesday membership meeting of the Wisconsin Vintners Association this month.  Our annual Harvest Dinner will take place on Sunday, November 16, 2008 and will be held at Clifford's Restaurant. You still have time to send in your reservation. Please use this Sign-up Sheet (PDF). It’s always an enjoyable evening with good food and good wine (bring your best to show off). Doors open at 5:00 PM with appetizers and the grand buffet dinner is served at 6:00. There will be raffles, games and door prizes throughout the evening. It’s a great deal, only $10.00 per person, as half of the cost of the meal is paid by the club's general fund. 

As a thank you to Jack for allowing us to hold our monthly membership meetings at Clifford’s for no charge, please consider bringing an extra bottle of your home wine as a gift to him. Thanks to Jerry & Doris Horzewski and Diane Brodzik for their work in organizing this event.
 

President's Blog

November 16th is the date of Harvest Dinner. Get your reservations in by November 10th. Please bring a bottle of your best to give to Jack in appreciation for our use of Clifford's as our meeting place.

Jerry Wanty did not get enough fruit at the October meeting to start the potpourri wine, so if you forgot to bring the fruit in October please bring it to the Harvest Dinner.

If you missed out getting grapes or juice from the Wollersheim Winery, the Tropic Banana has a good selection of both red and white California grape juice for sale in six gallon pails.

See you at the Harvest Dinner.

Howard Hasselkus
 

Two years ago a committee of WVA members et multiple times to discuss and make decisions related to changes in the judging process used at our annual club wine judging and also at the WI State Fair Amateur Winemakers Competition that out club runs every year. We worked hard to modify the judging sheets, making to changes to the various wine categories, adding multiple entry drop-off locations and redoing the published rules and regulations.

It's time we made a few modifications again, based upon suggestions received and a continuing drive to make the judging process as meaningful and fair to the amateur winemakers participating. If you would like to be involved in this process, please let our club president, Howard Hasselkus, or me, Don Betlej, know of your interest. We'll talk more about this at the Critical Wine Tasting and Evaluation Program scheduled for the upcoming December 10th membership meeting.
 

Membership dues for this year have been due and if you haven't paid yet, please send a check for $15.00, payable to the Wisconsin Vintners Association, to our WVA Treasurer, Mike Bell, at 612 Fairview Ave, South Milwaukee, WI 53172. Use this Payment Form (PDF). You can also look for Mike at the next meeting and give him cash or your check. Remember that the $15.00 is for the family membership (two adult household).