CELLARMASTERSLAMONTHLYJULY 2014

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Alvin Stokes
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1 Illustration by Saul Mandel 1950 s Suzy Mandel Canter s father. Suzanne Mandel Canter

2 Cellarmasters Homewinemaking Club LosAngeles July 2014 President s Message By Gregg O Summer is upon us. The season has turned, the weather will be changing soon from the May grey and June gloom to the blast furnace that July and beyond bring. My apples are finishing up (yes, my apples fruit in spring), the boysenberries are just getting going and the walnuts are big enough to make the French wine Vin de Noix (green walnut wine). The next several months will bring us a larger and larger bounty of fruits and we re blessed with the climate to support an amazing variety of the delicious delectables. Being winemakers we should be thinking about how we can turn these sweet and juicy treats into something fermented for next summer s barbeques. Helping us figure that all out will be Rex Johnson, our guest speaker at July s meeting. Rex is one of the most medalled home fruit winemakers in the country and will speak on his technique and approach on fruit winemaking. and the club will pick up the tax and tip. It s a really great event. There will be no Planning Party this month. As if that weren t enough, we are having a bus trip for the first time in years so block out Saturday July 26. Please see the flier in this newsletter for the details but it should be a great time. It ll be a busy Cellarmasters month right before harvest begins so please come out, participate and help celebrate the incredible opportunities we have available to us. Na zdrowie, GreggO So please come out to the refreshingly cool Old Oak Cellars in Pasadena (our summer home) on July 10 th, a week later than usual due to the 4 th of July holiday. Also, please come out to Café Bizou the next Thursday (7/17) for our annual dinner. Join the club for a delicious Prix fixe meal at the Valley s finest eateries. They will allow us to bring our wine with no corkage 2

3 REMINDER: We have a summer home. The July, August and September meetings will be held at Old Oak Cellars in Pasadena (2620 E Foothill Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107) on Thursdays at 7p. Despite how hot it is outside, it s always smart to bring a light jacket as you know wineries are kept pretty cool. The July meeting is the week AFTER the 4 th weekend because it was felt that no one would be here on July 3 rd because of the holiday weekend. Come listen to Rex Johnson talk about making fruit wines. Cellarbration changes. I know that it is FAR away and we ve got harvest and a wine competition to get through first, but I just wanted to alert you to the change in our annual Holiday party. Instead of a pre- Christmas holiday party, we are going to change things up this year and have a post- Christmas holiday party. We talked about it at the last planning party and there were a number of people who thought that the date that we were able to get at the Topanga Community Center was too late in the season being the Saturday before Christmas. So we decided to have a regular meeting on December 4 th (holiday themed of course) and the first meeting of January 17th will be the Pouring Of The Golds, big Potluck spread, the band and dancing. A true Cellarmasters Holiday celebration. Adjust your calendars accordingly. Cellarmasters Planning Party June 2014 Held at The Swanks Pizza Parlour and Winery. Nitty Gritty: Treasurer s Report: Stu reports that he hasn t received any receipts for DD yet. Newsletter: Due DatesJune 20. Filtration seminar? Name tags, Bus Trip, Summer meeting location change. Cafe Bizou flyer. Club Spending Policy - The board has knocked around the idea of: If an anticipated outlay of over $200 for an item for the club, an event. or whatever, you will need to get permission from the people who attend the Planning Party that you bring your proposal to. If an anticipated outlay of over $1000 for an item for the club, an event, or whatever, you ll need to pitch the full board of the club and get approval. Going forward, when discussing upcoming or proposed events at the PP, the financial impact of the event should be discussed and a discussion should be had as to go forward or not. All financial forecasts should be in good faith and understood that they are just that, a forecast and might not reflect the final profit or loss. Coming Up: Summer Meeting location change - Old Oak Cellars July meeting - Fruit Wines with Rex Johnson We need a hotel room for them, any recommendations? Movement to have club pay for hotel room? Passed. July Planning Party - None for this month, Cafe Bizou instead August Meeting - When to pick your grapes with Marc Cargasacchi from Jalama Winery. Bus Trip - any firm info yet? Change from Paso to Oxnard/Ojai Cafe Bizou - July 17, send checks to Stu Cellarmasters swag - Jean? Hanna Instruments - Jen, any headway? Oct. meeting is available Cellarmasters Competition - are we fine with the rules and categories as they exist currently? Are there thinigs that anyone would like to see changed or improved? Jen brought of the idea of moving the Cellarbration to sometime after Christmas because the only date we could get this year was so late in the season. The members voted and agreed to move the party to January and have the Pouring of the Golds at it. Jen will investigate a new date with the TCC. 3

4 Winemaking Tip #426: Start researching and planning your yeast and fermentation approaches now before items start selling out so you ll have it all on hand when the grapes decide to mature earlier than you thought. American Revolutionary Food Theme for the July Meeting on 7/10/14 at Old Oak in Pasendena! Hi! It s Monty and Linda Swayze here letting you know that we will be selling our grapes again this summer (by the pound or by the ton). We grow Grenache, Zinfandel, Alicante Bouschet, Tempranillo, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon. We will still be selling for $.50 per pound (minimum of 100 pounds) or $1,000 per ton you pick. We are expecting a harvest even earlier than last year, but we ll see. We also provide crushing/destemming for the small additional fee of $.10 per pound. This coming harvest we will have a small quantity of cleaned and de-labeled cases of bottles for $10 per case. We can be reached through our address: swayzevines@verizon.net or by phone: (661) Please contact us to be put on our brix update list. Hope to see you (again?) this year. 33 MPH IS THE SPEED AT WHICH A CORK POPS OUT OF A BOTTLE THAT IS STORED AT 64 F. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN JAN 2014 Thanks Darwin for this tidbit. 4

5 BOARD MEMBERS PRESIDENT Gregg Ogorzelec VICE PRESIDENT Jennifer Swank MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN Dave Lustig TREASURER Stu Lenoff ART DIRECTOR Suzy Mandel Canter NEWSLETTER EDITOR Suzy Mandel Canter NEWSLETTER COPY EDITOR Nancy Scott WEBSITE MANAGER Anne Bannon SECRETARY Elissa Rosenberg A book by Lum Eisenman provides beginning home winemakers with the basic how to instructions as well as providing an introduction to some of the more technical aspects of winemaking. Lum is an experienced winemaker, mentor, instructor, wine competition judge and former vineyard owner who has concentrated the technical material in a few chapters, so readers can easily ignore much of the technical content until an interest develops. There is a link to this free book on-line on the OCWS website under Homewine, select Winemaking Manual. From the Orange County Wine Society newsletter: Winemaker Manual by Lum Eisenman Most home winemaking books are written like cookbooks that contain winemaking recipes and step-by-step directions, but little technical information. 5

Saturday, July 26, 2014 9:00 am 8:30 pm Board the bus from the shop Tickets $90 pp includes Round trip transportation

Trip Come join us for a day filled with delights for all senses Enjoy the sights at the Mullin Automotive Museum by

winning during our bus ride raffle drawings Smell Enjoy the sounds short distance away Preordered Additional Raffle

order your tickets now! RSVP by 7/10 Gregg Smith eeclectics@aol.com Mail payment to: 11247 Orville St.

6 Saturday, July 26, :00 am 8:30 pm Board the bus from the shop Tickets $90 pp includes Round trip transportation Museum tickets Wine tasting at two stops Continental breakfast Picnic lunch Dinner 1 Raffle Ticket The First Annual Bus Trip Come join us for a day filled with delights for all senses Enjoy the sights at the Mullin Automotive Museum by enjoying a rare collection of furniture, sculptures, paintings and cars Taste newest appellation Touch victory by winning during our bus ride raffle drawings Smell Enjoy the sounds short distance away Preordered Additional Raffle Tickets $5 each or 5 for $20 Raffle Items to Include 15 gallon wine barrel Top quality wines More Space is limited so order your tickets now! RSVP by 7/10 Gregg Smith eeclectics@aol.com Mail payment to: Orville St., Culver City, CA Sell out expected so act now Planned and coordinated by: Gregg & Madeline Smith DeeDee Mathews & Bruce Kasson Peggy & Ric Wiles 6

7 2014 High-End Old-World v New-World Wine Taste-a-palooza! After much planning and organizing, the Cellarmasters 2014 High-End Old-World vs New- World Wine Tasting is in the record books! All 30 Cellarmasters who wanted to attend were accommodated, 26 wines were sampled and evaluated, fantastic French hors d'oeuvres were devoured, a fabulous 4-string quartet provided ambience, and many, many laughs were had by all! The wines were paired by similar type, 1 Old World vs 1 similar New World, and they were tasted blind, in random order, with the wines revealed at the conclusion. It was fun trying to identify which wine of each pair was Old or New World, and when the wines were revealed many Cellarmasters were surprised as to which wines they preferred! The Wine Pairings: 1) Sparkling Peters/Pierre Brut Blanc de Blanca Champagne Cuvee de Reserve (FR) NV points, $55 vs Schramsberg Brut Blanc de Blanc North Coast (CA) points, $29 2) Riesling Wiemer Riesling Finger Lakes Dry Reserve (NY) points, $24 vs Emrich-Schonleber Riesling Trocken Mineral (Germany) points, $29 3) Chardonnay Boillot/Henri Bourgogne Blanc (FR) 2012 $30 vs Domaine Serene Chardonnay Dundee Hills Cote Sud (OR) 2010 $50 4) Viognier DuMol Viognier Russian River Valley Lia (CA) points, $54 Vs Villard Condrieu Les Terasses du Palat (FR) points, $50 7

8 5) Dolcetto Chionetti Dolcetto do Doglani Briccolero (Italy) points, $20 Vs Palmina Dolcetto Santa Barbara County (CA) points, $20 6) Grenache Juicy Rebound Grenache Sonoma County (CA) 2011 $30 Vs Piaugier Cotes du Rhone-Villages Sablet Les Brigueres (FR) points, $17 7) Red Rhone Blend Bonny Doon Le Cigare Volant Central Coast (CA) points, $32 Vs Janasse Chateauneuf-du-Pape (FR) points, $37 8) Pinot Noir Gros/Anne-Francoise Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Nuits (FR) points, $40 Vs Mt. Difficulty Pinot Noir Central Otago Bannockburn (New Zealand) points, $39 9) Nebbiolo Palmina Nebbiolo Santa Ynez Valley Stolpman Vineyard (CA) points, $37 Vs Bovio Baro9lo Rocchettevino (Italy) 2007 $50 10) Sangiovese Felsina Chianti Classico (Italy) points, $20 Vs Altamura Sangiovese Napa Valley (CA) points, $45 8

St-Estephe (FR) 1995 90 points, $80 Vs Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (CA) 2011 90 points, $38 13) Syrah

9 11) Merlot Ehlers Estate Merlot St. Helena Napa Valley (CA) 2011 $39 Vs De Chambrun Lalande-de-Pomerol (FR) 2009 $45 12) Cabernet Sauvignon Lafon-Rochet St-Estephe (FR) points, $80 Vs Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (CA) points, $38 13) Syrah Durand/Eric & Joel St-Joseph Les Coteaux (FR) points, $28 Vs Samsara Syrah Sta. Rita Hills Turner Vineyard (CA) points, $40 Thanks to all the Cellarmasters who made this such a special day! Andy Coradeschi 9

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12 Portrait Photo s by Suzy Canter 12

13 CELLARMASTERSLAMONTHLYJULY

14 LOGO NAME BADGE REQUEST PLEASE PRINT YOU NAME AS YOU WANT IT TO APPEAR ON BADGE. COMPLETE THIS FORM AND MAIL TO THE ADDRESS BELOW WITH YOUR CHECK FOR $10.00 MADE OUT TO CELLARMASTERS. MAIL TO: CELLARMASTERS % JACK FORSTER 2700 NEILSON WAY #1626 SANTA MONICA, CA

15 The fight over the Santa Monica Mountain wine industry Jed Kim May 9th, 2014, 5:33am THE FIGHT OVER THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAIN WINE INDUSTRY NO ONE KNOWS EXACTLY HOW MANY VINEYARDS EXIST IN THE MOUNTAINS. SOME ESTIMATE THERE ARE ABOUT 50. ABOUT HALF WOULD CLOSE UNDER A NEW COASTAL LAND USE PLAN. Please click on the below link to read the full Story. the-fight-over-the-santa-monica-mountainwine-indu Best, Kris 15

16 For your wine needs in 2014 Get your order in, before we sell out! Mail, FAX or In Person at The Shop Only, Sorry, no web/ orders accepted Quantities of these superpremium varietals are very limited and we sell out very fast: It s first ordered, first reserved, until sold out Go to: Come and enjoy Camarillo Custom Crush Winery on the Ventura County Wine Trail The opinions expressed herein are those of the writers. The CellarMasters newsletter welcomes your letters and comments. Our website: The CellarMasters Home Wine Club is a volunteer organization dedicated to promoting the art and science of home winemaking. We provide a forum for the exchange of information on winemaking methods and personal experiences. Monthly meetings are normally held the first Thursday evening of the month at the Home Beer, Wine and Cheese Making Shop (our sponsor) in Woodland Hills, California. CellarMasters is the sole sponsor of the annual U.S. Amateur Winemaking Competition. This is the official CellarMasters newsletter. Annual subscriptions are complimentary with CellarMasters membership. We attempt to publish monthly but harvest, bottling, and/or purely educational wine-tasting may well deter us. 16

17 CELLARMASTERSLAMONTHLYJULY2014 "The Bottle Shock Open" ( has replaced the state fair, which doesn't do amateur wines anymore. Details at: rules-regulations-2/ Run by the previous directors of the state competition. Wines collected at Constellation, Lodi. Must enter On-line. The Shop is a collection point (due at The Shop by Sunday the 13th. Pay The Shop $15/6 pack to ship UPS and $10 for the shipping carton, pro rated. No carton charge if supplied by the entrant. Just pay the UPS charge. Include copy of entry form. TWO 750 ml bottles (or 4-375ml) are required for each wine you enter. All wines become the property of The Bottle Shock Open and none will be returned. Entry fees are: 1 wine $20 2 wines $18 3 wines $18 4 wines $17 5 wines $16 6 wines $15 17

18 Eli Locke (opening CellarSessions July 13th) is club member Traci Locke's son. 18

19 Grape Sources so far Home Wine Beer and Cheesemaking Shop Chard, Cab Sav, Merlot, Sangio, Syrah and Zin. Carl Hill - I have Merlot, Syrah, Sangiovese and Malbec in Moorpark this year. Depending on water this year price is going to be between and picked. average pounds over past years has been 3000lbs for each varietal. Malbec produces about 1000lbs. If you are interested let me know and how many lbs, I will continue to you as the year goes on. Let me know if you have any questions. Chill@vcccd.edu Swayze Vineyards Grenache, Alicante Bouschet, 19

20 Looking for assistance with Home Vineyard in Thousand Oaks CA: My name is David Hames and my father's new home came with about 60 assorted vines. We have been doing our best to take care of them this season but none of us have any experience. The only thing we are using for guidance so far is a book called "The Backyard Vintner." Some or our grapes look amazing and some not so much. If anyone would be willing to take a small amount of their time to come and offer a little guidance it would be greatly appreciated. The house is right off of Rancho Rd from the 101 freeway in Thousand Oaks CA, basically right where the 101 and the 23 freeways meet. If you are interested, please feel free to reach out to me. My name is David and my cell# is If you prefer , my address isdhames@wwexusa.com.

FOR WINE GEEKS ONLY Check out John Daume articles! www.

John Daume, owner/winemaker homebrew@homebeerwinecheese.

22 FOR WINE GEEKS ONLY Check out John Daume articles! Click on winemaking. John Daume, owner/winemaker The Home Beer/Wine/Cheesemaking Shop, since 1972 Camarillo Custom Crush Winery, since 1982

Message. 41st Annual Amateur Home Wine Competition Best of Show Winners

Message. 41st Annual Amateur Home Wine Competition Best of Show Winners I m portant Dates I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e : President s Message, con. Cellarbration details 2015 Board Members Guide to Syrah Wine 3 2 4 4 For Sale 5 Winning Recipe January 8th Board Meeting & Planning