August 2018 PRESIDENT S CORNER Well hello everyone, I hope you are all having a wonderful summer. It s that time of year again to start looking ahead to harvest and I will talk a bit about that in just a bit. But first, I want to give a Big CCHVA thank you to everyone who attended and helped out at the Summer Picnic, with a special thanks to our cooking crew (Gary Stanley, Ron Redman, and Jim Bentivegna) who provided and excellent feast for all who attended. If you missed the summer picnic you still have a chance to attend a couple more CCHVA events before the end of the year. I m not going to detail all of them here because you can read more about them elsewhere in this newsletter but know that the educational event at Jim Allen s House will help new and intermediate winemakers learn how to scale up and make larger and larger batches of wine with less effort than you may be using now with carboys. And the pizza event at Jim and Norris Bentivegna s House is sure to sell out with the limit of only 50 CCHVA members. Be sure to RSVP for both of them so you are not left out of these two exciting events. Crush is just around the corner and while it will likely be a bit later this year than in years past, CCHVA has some strict deadlines of when you can order and pay for your grapes. This allows us to put our total order in with our grower partners in a timely manner. The deadline to order grapes is September 1 st AND TO HAVE YOUR PAYMENT to Jim Ford. Don t call later in the month and expect us to make an exception because we can t. This is a firm deadline. We expect the first white grapes to come in mid to late September and the red grapes coming in Late September to Early October. I wouldn t be surprised if we were still getting grapes in November this year. Experienced winemakers know NOT to take vacation in September or October because when the call comes to get your grapes, you have to answer. Wine waits for no one. If you have any questions on the process of making wines, our mentors are listed on top of the coop order form. All of them are happy to help coach you through your first batch. That s it for now, good luck on sourcing your winemaking supplies and I look forward to seeing you all soon. Fred Carbone CCHVA Club President
CCHVA founding member Jim Allen has seen it all from the very beginnings of our club in the 1980 s through today. Throughout his winemaking career Jim has always asked that question most of us have asked at one time or another. What Happens Next? How do I step up my Game to make even bigger and better tasting batches of wine with less effort? Well, Jim is going to be answering that question on Saturday September 8 th at 10 AM. Jim will be talking about how you move from carboys, to tanks and barrels. How can you go from gravity racking to pumps. What does it take to bottle large volumes of wine? Each step has both its challenges and its benefits and Jim has tried it all. Jim will also be talking about how you can source your winemaking equipment at more reasonable prices than retail. Jim anticipates talking to any and all interested Club members for about 2 hours after which he will be sharing some of his wine. The club will spring for cheese, crackers and munchies to match. No need to bring anything and no cost. For Club Members Only. Location: 1305 La Quinta Dr., Nipomo Please RSVP to decshoe1@gmail.com Grape orders!! The deadline is quickly approaching for both grape orders and payments. You won t want to miss the Sept 1 deadline. The grape catalog was sent out to everyone on July 30. Just in case you missed it, I m attaching another copy to the email containing this newsletter. September 1 st CCHVA 2018 Events Calendar Get out your calendars and mark em up! Updated 7-12-18 All Grape Co-op orders must be turned in and PAID! September 8 th, 10am Beginnings of CCHVA to today @ Jim Allen s October 20 th, 2-5pm 1305 La Quinta Dr., Nipomo, CA 93444 Pizza Dinner and Wine Sharing @ the Bentivegna s. 3540 Pinewood Rd Santa Maria Nov. 10 th, 11:30-1:30 Tour of Hancock College Winery and Tasting. December January 26 th, 2019 Nothing. Way to busy drinking our wine for holidays. Annual Members Meeting San Luis Obispo Yacht Club in Avila Beach - at noon.
Summer Picnic! If you were like me and were unable to attend the Summer Picnic in August, we missed a great day of friends, food, and wine! Just check out the pics taken by Cathy DelRe. Thanks Cathy! Thank you to all the volunteers who made the picnic possible!
Board Meetings Board Meetings are held the first week of the month on either a Wednesday or Thursday at a board members home. Meetings are open to the membership. If you would like to come at any time simply contact a board member for the date and location of the upcoming meeting. Your Club Board and Committee Chair persons for 2018! Contacts * = Board Member (Save this information as it will not be posted on the website) President Fred Carbone* drfredcarbone@msn.com Vice President Kathy Sullivan * Ksulli2026@aol.com Secretary Cathy DelRe * cjdelre@mac.com Treasurer Paul Klock* tictocfive@gmail.com ASSIGNMENTS / COMMITTEES Communications Mary Michael * msmarymike@aol.com Equipment Jim Ford* pjford412@verizon.net Supplies Mark Plassard dilplass@aol.com Website Linda Rickett * Itis17@msn.com Grape Co-op Jim Ford pjford412@verizon.net Board Member Gary Stanley * Gary.Stanley.bear@gmail.com Seminars Hank Rickett rickett.hank@gmail.com Fairpark/Judging Coordinator John Larson * chemdem@sbcglobal.net New Members Jeff Mathieu * Jeff.mathieu@tetratech.com Events/Picnics Claire Shoemaker * decshoe1@gmail.com Board Member Steve Rau* fourbrotherswine@verizon.net Other important info! P.O. Box 271 Santa Maria, CA 93456 E-Mail: cchva2014@gmail.com LIKE US ON FACEBOOK - CCHVA Facebook Like We re on the Web! See us at: www.cchva.org Follow Us on Instagram: Search for CCHVA1 to follow Tag your photo with CCHVA1 to post Hashtag your post to build up the CCHVA pictures (#CCHVA1 or hashtag any CCHVA) Have an article you think might be appropriate for this newsletter? Send it to cchva2014@gmail.com
CCHVA PIZZA & TIRAMISU NIGHT (Please use this form for your reservation) P.O. Box 271 Santa Maria, California 93456 PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM AND MAIL TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS WITH A CHECK MADE PAYABLE TO CCHVA Reservations Deadline is October 15, 2016 Location: Bentivegna Home, 3540 Pinewood Rd Santa Maria CA 93455 Date: October 20, 2018 Time: 2:00-5:00 p.m. Cost: $15.00 per person LIMITED TO 50 PEOPLE, SO CCHVA MEMBERS ONLY Menu: Various Pizza s cooked in a stone pizza oven. Deadline: August 15, 2018 (no refunds for cancellations after this date) # of persons @ $15.00 per person Member(s) Name Address Phone Number E-Mail Address Amount Enclosed What to bring: Lawn Chairs, Wine Glasses and of course Everyone bring your best bottle of homemade or a commercial wine of your choice to share with the group. Plastic ware will be provided if you seriously don t want to eat your pizza by hand. Movie on the Lawn directly following the Pizza Event if the weather Permits!!! Don t forget your glass and a bottle of wine to share!! Directions to Jim and Norris Bentivegna s House: From Highway 101 in the South: exit Clark Ave, drive all the way to the end at Highway One. Turn Right on US Highway One and travel 7 miles north to turn right on Sandalwood Drive. Follow Sandalwood to the end and left turn on Pinewood. From Highway 101 in the North: Take the Betteravia Road Exit and head west about 3 miles. Slight left at the Y onto Mahoney Road which becomes Black Road. Follow Black Road to the intersection with Highway One and turn left. Then Left turn on Sandalwood and left turn on Pinewood.