July 2019 Volume 6, Number 3
From The President – Message from Diane Vetter
Let’s Go Places – Outside Events – Jojo Grove
Kiva Club Events – Mike Hewitt
Home Socials – Jan Trella
Crowd Pleasers from our Chefs
Save the Dates – Dates of upcoming Wine Club Events
Let’s Go Places – Outside Events – Jojo Grove
Kiva Club Events – Mike Hewitt
Home Socials – Jan Trella
Crowd Pleasers from our Chefs
Save the Dates – Dates of upcoming Wine Club Events
From the President, Diane Vetter
I hope this finds everyone enjoying the summer either here in the desert or somewhere fun in this world. We have found ourselves enjoying the warmer temperatures with a tasty variety of wines we have purchased at the Tastings in the past six months. The white we purchased at the Australia/New Zealand tasting has been especially refreshing and tastes wonderful with the fish we have been grilling.
As we have done the past few years, we will not be having any events during July or August. Our next Wine Tasting (at the Kiva Club) will be September 29th. We are also hoping to have a Home Social on September 14th, but that will depend on having another home (or 2). If you are available to host that evening, please let Jan Trella know.
As you will read in Mike Hewitt’s article, we will continue to try new things for the Kiva Tastings. We will be having the October tasting on Friday, October 25th (rather than our normal Sunday). Because of the schedule change, we are currently planning on preparing a food pairing tasting for that evening. With Chief Robbie’s return, we have high expectations for that evening’s food!
Plus, mark your calendar now for the Holiday Party on Friday, December 6th. The committee is hard at work adding some new elements to this event. It should be one of the best Wine Club Holiday Parties yet!
With the year half over, we also are looking forward to the changes that will come in 2020. We will have three positions open on the Wine Club Board and are happy to report that we are talking to interested members to fill those positions. If you are interested in joining the board, please contact me. The positions we will be filling are:
Cheers!
Diane Vetter
As we have done the past few years, we will not be having any events during July or August. Our next Wine Tasting (at the Kiva Club) will be September 29th. We are also hoping to have a Home Social on September 14th, but that will depend on having another home (or 2). If you are available to host that evening, please let Jan Trella know.
As you will read in Mike Hewitt’s article, we will continue to try new things for the Kiva Tastings. We will be having the October tasting on Friday, October 25th (rather than our normal Sunday). Because of the schedule change, we are currently planning on preparing a food pairing tasting for that evening. With Chief Robbie’s return, we have high expectations for that evening’s food!
Plus, mark your calendar now for the Holiday Party on Friday, December 6th. The committee is hard at work adding some new elements to this event. It should be one of the best Wine Club Holiday Parties yet!
With the year half over, we also are looking forward to the changes that will come in 2020. We will have three positions open on the Wine Club Board and are happy to report that we are talking to interested members to fill those positions. If you are interested in joining the board, please contact me. The positions we will be filling are:
- Secretary: Responsible for the monthly board meeting minutes, maintains the Wine Club Bylaws, and occasional e-mail blasts to all members are some of the responsibilities. Requires the use of Word and uploading minutes to the shared Google Drive for club records.
- Outside Events: Research and plan restaurants/menus for Wine Club outside dinner events. Prepare and send out the event invitation to members. Consider other outside events that would be of interest to members.
- Membership: Maintains the Wine Club’s master membership listing including all changes throughout the year. Updates the membership form as needed and sends renewal information prior to year-end. Excel is used for the membership list.
Cheers!
Diane Vetter
Let’s Go Places, Outside Events – Jojo Grove
I hope you are enjoying new wines and fabulous cuisine wherever you are this summer.
The last outside event was in April at The Social on 83rd. What a great evening we had with 50 in attendance. Everyone really enjoyed the delicious entrées they offered.
The dinner started with a California summer salad that was really nice. The three main courses included 1) short ribs over mashed potatoes and haricot string beans, 2) a chicken dish with lemon and caper sauce plus broccolini, and 3) salmon over risotto with a white wine dill sauce! Dessert was crème brulee and it was divine!
The service was wonderful and they even gave us two free glasses of a red or white wine! That was a pleasant surprise on top of offering a discount on bottles of wine.
The Social on 83rd is a beautiful restaurant and normally closed on Mondays. They opened it just to serve us so we had the entire restaurant to ourselves which made it really nice.
They have a full bar and specials during the week that you can check out on their website, https://thesocialaz.us. They did a wonderful job and everyone should give them a try.
There was no outside event for May or June, but we will have one ready for September!
Have a great summer, and try to stay cool!
Cheers!
Jojo Grove
The last outside event was in April at The Social on 83rd. What a great evening we had with 50 in attendance. Everyone really enjoyed the delicious entrées they offered.
The dinner started with a California summer salad that was really nice. The three main courses included 1) short ribs over mashed potatoes and haricot string beans, 2) a chicken dish with lemon and caper sauce plus broccolini, and 3) salmon over risotto with a white wine dill sauce! Dessert was crème brulee and it was divine!
The service was wonderful and they even gave us two free glasses of a red or white wine! That was a pleasant surprise on top of offering a discount on bottles of wine.
The Social on 83rd is a beautiful restaurant and normally closed on Mondays. They opened it just to serve us so we had the entire restaurant to ourselves which made it really nice.
They have a full bar and specials during the week that you can check out on their website, https://thesocialaz.us. They did a wonderful job and everyone should give them a try.
There was no outside event for May or June, but we will have one ready for September!
Have a great summer, and try to stay cool!
Cheers!
Jojo Grove
Kiva Events – Mike Hewitt
I have a few thank yous to report to the membership.
Chef Robbie, as he promised, has really stepped up the quality of appetizers at our monthly wine tastings. Thank you, Robbie, for making our experience much better. We look forward to enjoying them in the future.
I also want to thank Kelly Stewart for the serious amount of time he takes to prepare his remarks every month. He does not have a staff to make the slide presentations so he must do the research and put the presentation together single handedly. We are grateful for his knowledge and dedication to make our wine experience more enjoyable.
No club is successful without the participation of its members! Thank you to all of you who have greeted at the door, checked members in, poured the wine during the tastings, manned the sales table, prepped the tables, cleaned up the tables, washed the dump buckets and oh yea, opened the 100+ bottles of wine to enjoy. THANK YOU!!!
Thank you to the board...who have helped in every way to fast-track me. If you haven’t taken the time to meet the board members, please do so.
Your board has been exploring the idea of moving to assigned tables for the monthly tasting. Members having been showing up to get seats even before the tables have been prepared and it makes it more difficult to get ready for the tastings.
The May tasting used assigned tables and it was received with mixed comments. Nearly all the other clubs use tables assignments and it seems to work very well. Our annual Christmas party has used this method for years with no glitches. We will likely try it again in October when the groups are larger.
When I was asked to join the board my biggest concern was not living in Trilogy full time (yet). Lynne and Roger Petersen took that concern away and allowed me to serve you. They filled in for Cory and I while we are back in Washington State. A very big and special THANK YOU to Lynne and Roger for your many years of giving to the wine club and making it a very successful club.
We look forward to seeing all of you in the fall.
Cheers!
Mike Hewitt
Chef Robbie, as he promised, has really stepped up the quality of appetizers at our monthly wine tastings. Thank you, Robbie, for making our experience much better. We look forward to enjoying them in the future.
I also want to thank Kelly Stewart for the serious amount of time he takes to prepare his remarks every month. He does not have a staff to make the slide presentations so he must do the research and put the presentation together single handedly. We are grateful for his knowledge and dedication to make our wine experience more enjoyable.
No club is successful without the participation of its members! Thank you to all of you who have greeted at the door, checked members in, poured the wine during the tastings, manned the sales table, prepped the tables, cleaned up the tables, washed the dump buckets and oh yea, opened the 100+ bottles of wine to enjoy. THANK YOU!!!
Thank you to the board...who have helped in every way to fast-track me. If you haven’t taken the time to meet the board members, please do so.
Your board has been exploring the idea of moving to assigned tables for the monthly tasting. Members having been showing up to get seats even before the tables have been prepared and it makes it more difficult to get ready for the tastings.
The May tasting used assigned tables and it was received with mixed comments. Nearly all the other clubs use tables assignments and it seems to work very well. Our annual Christmas party has used this method for years with no glitches. We will likely try it again in October when the groups are larger.
When I was asked to join the board my biggest concern was not living in Trilogy full time (yet). Lynne and Roger Petersen took that concern away and allowed me to serve you. They filled in for Cory and I while we are back in Washington State. A very big and special THANK YOU to Lynne and Roger for your many years of giving to the wine club and making it a very successful club.
We look forward to seeing all of you in the fall.
Cheers!
Mike Hewitt
Home Socials – Jan Trella
We are taking a break from home socials for July and August. The next home social will be on September 14th. We have only two homes and they are smaller so it looks like the maximum we can accommodate will be 60. We need another home so that we can accommodate those who want to go—last year we had 124 attend in September. We had only two homes for June but both felt comfortable with 50 guests each so 99 were assigned. If you can host in September, please let me know by July 15th.
.
This spring we had four homes in April, three in May, and two in June. A thank you to Bob & Muriel Alford (last minute hosts when we needed another home) Rick & Denise Wysocki, Gordon & Sue Rule, Mark & Kim Nance, Mike & Janelle Morris, Bernie Binder & Karan Schmitz, Greg & Sandy Zipf, Tom Bergantino & Nancy Hancock, and Pete & Traci Van Egmond. We appreciate all who have hosted this year and those who have already signed up for 2020.
The home socials are a wine club activity that is optional for members, but if you elect to participate you do need to take your turn in hosting. Only those who have not hosted since 2016 received the appeal I sent out in April. If you received the appeal and want to continue with home socials you will need to sign up for 2020. We have approximately 350 people who have signed up for home socials (that would be 170+ homes with about 36 hosts each year). Do the math and it shows that you only need to host every four years. There are people who request to host before the appeals go out and some who sign up every year because they enjoy it so much. I also have a short list of those who I can contact on short notice to fill in and this is very important, too.
A couple items have come up with the last couple of home socials, so it looks like we need another reminder. You are expected to bring a bottle of wine per person and the wine needs to be valued at $10 or more per bottle. We have been told that some are bringing inferior wines, leaving them and drinking the better wines that others have brought. Also, all couples are expected to bring an appetizer to share. The socials are from 6 to 8 pm so check with the hosts if it is okay to stay later—many enjoy having the party continue but some are ready for it to end so let’s be good guests. Also, one final item—the host’s driveways should be used for dropping off but not for parking. There are many who have trouble walking by cars in the driveways with wine and food in their hands, so please drop off those who cannot walk from down the street.
Enjoy your two months off from home socials and if you are here this summer, why not get some friends together and do your own home socials.
See you at the socials!
Cheers!
Jan Trella
Crowd Pleasers from our Chefs
At a spring home social, many of us were treated to a fabulous key lime pie. I tracked down the baker to get the recipe. She offered to provide it as long as her identity was not revealed, it is so easy, she said it was embarrassing.
So if you are looking for an easy, fabulous dessert, enjoy this like we did!
For a zestier taste, always prepare the pie a day before you need it. Top with freshly whipped cream and garnish with fresh lime zest.
So if you are looking for an easy, fabulous dessert, enjoy this like we did!
- 3 egg yolks (whites not required)
- 8 ounces of softened cream cheese
- 4-5 ounces Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice (more for tangier pie)
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 9″ graham cracker pie crust
For a zestier taste, always prepare the pie a day before you need it. Top with freshly whipped cream and garnish with fresh lime zest.
Save the Dates – Upcoming Wine Club Events
September
• Saturday, September 14 ~ Home Socials 6–8 pm
• Sunday, September 29 ~ Kiva Club Tasting Event 4–6 pm
October
• Saturday, October 12 ~ Home Socials 6–8 pm
• Friday, October 25 ~ Kiva Club Tasting Event 4–6 pm
November
• Saturday, November 9 ~ Home Socials 6–8 pm
• Sunday, November 17 ~ Kiva Club Tasting Event 4–6 pm
December
• Friday, December 6 ~ Holiday Party 6 pm
• Saturday, December 14 ~ Home Socials 6–8 pm
September
• Saturday, September 14 ~ Home Socials 6–8 pm
• Sunday, September 29 ~ Kiva Club Tasting Event 4–6 pm
October
• Saturday, October 12 ~ Home Socials 6–8 pm
• Friday, October 25 ~ Kiva Club Tasting Event 4–6 pm
November
• Saturday, November 9 ~ Home Socials 6–8 pm
• Sunday, November 17 ~ Kiva Club Tasting Event 4–6 pm
December
• Friday, December 6 ~ Holiday Party 6 pm
• Saturday, December 14 ~ Home Socials 6–8 pm