September
News
September Membership Meeting
The September 2007 membership meeting of the Wisconsin Vintners Association
will begin at 7:30 PM on Wednesday the 12th at
Clifford’s
Restaurant, 10418 Forest Home Ave. The September’s program will be
presented by Charles McGonegal of the
AeppelTreow (Apple True) winery in
Burlington, WI. Charles and his wife, Milissa, own the winery which produces
Wisconsin grown and produced hard and fresh Cider from over 130 kinds of apples,
including uncommon and heirloom varieties. He makes award winning apple
and pear “méthode champenoise”, as well as fortified dessert and port style
wines.
Every month we award a bottle of wine to one of our members who had dinner at
Clifford’s prior to our meeting. The award wine this month is a 1989 (yes, you
read that correctly) German Riesling.
It's Annual Dues Time
September is the month for payment of dues. Please send
your check for $15 to Treasurer, Tom Courtney, 10709 N. De La Warr
Circle, Mequon, WI 53092 or bring it to the next meeting. Use this
payment form.
Grape & juice Offer
The
Wollersheim Winery will again graciously offer for sale
to the members of the Wisconsin Vintners Association white wine juices
and red wine grapes. As past participants of this program know,
availability, costs and delivery dates are "evolving" during this time
of year. White wine juices expected to be available are Vidal,
Seyval, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Riesling. Red wine grapes
expected to be available are Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Pinot Noir.
Cabernet Franc and Lemberger may also be available. Deliveries are
expected to take place from late September through early November.
Costs will be known within the next couple of weeks, but are expected to
be about the same as 2006. The one exception is Riesling which is
the "in wine" this year and will be more expensive.
If you have any questions about this program, or if you are interested
in ordering any of these juices or grapes, please contact Tom
Courtney at 262-241-6638 or tcandlac@wi.rr.com as soon as possible,
but no later than Thursday, September 6th. Only people who have
contacted Tom will receive further information.
Notes from the President
It's good to have Don Betlej back publishing the
monthly newsletter; our thanks to Tom Courtney for filling in the past
two months. This month we are resuming our get acquainted format by featuring a
new board member as well as one of our newer members. Thanks to Bill
Schneider, George Scovronski, & Tim Larsen for coordinating the picnic on
August 18 and finding a great new site. I had to work that day but am told
that over 60 of you braved the rainy weather and enjoyed fine food and
socializing. Thanks also to Howard Hasselkus who, along with Jeff Enders
from the Beer Barons, set up the winemaking and homebrew display at the State
Fair in the Wisconsin products building. Don added a nice laminated set of
all the entrants/winners for the public to view.
It's time to renew your dues and it's one of the best bargains around at only
$15 per membership. The board continues to operate within the annual budget, but
we need you to send in your renewals promptly because your dues cover our
operating expenses. With fall coming it's also time to start thinking about what
you can contribute to our potpourri wine for the dinner dance. This year’s WI
State Fair "Best of Show" winner Howard Hasselkus will be our winemaker.
Plan to bring your fruit/juice to the October meeting. With the resumption of
our program meetings on September 12 why not come early to join other members
around 6:00 PM for dinner and a chance to wine a fine bottle of wine.
A friend of mine shared a website www.winezap.com where you can enter the name
of a wine you're looking for or what you're having for dinner to get locations
and suggestions. This web site was mentioned on a radio show called The
Splendid Table by Lynne Rosetto Casper and you might find it useful.
Joanne
Annual
Harvest Dinner
November is the month for our annual WVA Harvest Dinner.
This year it will take place on Sunday, November 11th at
Clifford’s.
It’s always an enjoyable evening with good food and good wine (you’ll bring your
best to show it off). In previous years we’ve had quizzes to test our
knowledge of wine (a sort of wine trivia game). 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 please
consider bringing an extra bottle of your home wine as a gift to him.
Look for more information and a sign up sheet in next month.
Meet a Board Member
This month we’re featuring new Board Member-at-Large. Rick Markham.
Rick and his wife of 27 years, JoAnn, joined the WVA just last year but are
already making a major contribution to our club. Rick owns a very
successful company,
Markham and Associates Advertising, Inc.
that provides marketing communication services for multiple customers, including
large industrial companies. JoAnn works for We-energies, assisting their
new construction customers. In fact, JoAnn first heard of our club from
fellow worker and now WVA Vice-President, Tim Larsen.
Rick, Brandon & JoAnn Markham in front of grape processing
equipment at a Napa Valley Winery. (That’s Mary, their new
found friend originally from Wisconsin, on the left.)
Even with his busy schedule, Rick still has time to make wine from juice and
kits, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc. Rick
graduated from the University of WI with a Fine Arts Degree. Some of you may
have seen a result of this when he donated his own wildlife painting of a wolf
to last year’s Dinner Dance auction. Rick and JoAnn love to travel.
They, along with their son, Brandon, recently visited Napa Valley, a great place
to celebrate Brandon’s 21st birthday. Do we have a new home winemaker in the
making? Rick says “JoAnn and I really enjoy the wonderful people we’ve met and
the vast and differing knowledge each member brings to the club. Best of all,
everyone freely shares their expertise and there is some outstanding wine being
made by WVA members.” Thanks to Rick and JoAnn for freely sharing their talents
with us.
Meet a New Member
Dan & Helena Faraca joined our club in February and live in the
Kenosha, WI area. They also have a place on Pretty Lake, located between Eagle
and Dousman WI. Dan loves spending time at the lake, doing all kinds of water
sports. Dan works for Carthage College and knows computers.
Helena teaches 2nd grade in the Kenosha Unified School District.
Dan and Helena learned about our club from reading the
news article in the Milwaukee Journal
about club member, Howard Hasselkus. Dan is the winemaker of the family starting
with a pear wine. He continues to increase his winemaking knowledge by currently
having grapefruit, dandelion and elderberry wines in process. Helena loves, as
Dan puts it, “everything Martha Stewart.” She’s a great cook and baker and
loves to do fabric art including knitting etc. Dan likes having
discussions with the other winemakers in the club. You elderberry
winemakers should look him up to compare notes. We all look forward to
seeing the Faraca’s at next year’s February Dinner Dance where we hope to see
some of Dan’s contest award winning ballroom dancing techniques.
Calendar of Events
September 5, 2007
- Wednesday, WVA Board Meeting at the home of Rick & JoAnn Markham, 7:00 PM
September 12, 2007
- Wednesday, WVA Membership Meeting at
Clifford’s,
7:30 PM. Program: Charles McGonegal of the
AeppelTreow
(Apple True) winery of Burlington, WI
October 3, 2007
- Wednesday, WVA Board Meeting at the home of Bill & Karen Schneider, 7:00 PM
October 10, 2007
- Wednesday, WVA Membership Meeting at
Clifford’s,
7:30 PM.
November 11, 2007
- Sunday, Harvest Dinner at
Clifford’s,
5:00 PM
November 14, 2007
- Wednesday, WVA Board Meeting at the home of Erv & Bobbi
Herman, 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
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