Vino Venerata 2009 “Wine Social” Calendar

 
January 31st 2009 Vino Venerata’s “Ciao” Potluck Social

This is an opportunity for our current members and anyone new, to connect with other wine club friends and fellow members who have a passion for wine and our fun evenings together.  I will take some time to briefly cover goals for the year, answer questions and take suggestions to make this a great year for all of us! Afterwards; it’s all about catching up and having fun!!!  Bring your favorite wine and a dish if you like and we’ll have some nibbles and things to contribute as always! “This is a member’s only event” RSVP Required!!  Please contact Vino Venerata at vinovenerata@yahoo.com or (360) 920-3638 for details. 

February 28^th 2009 Saturday Night Fights USA vs Europe!

In this social we’ll see our members bring wines from the USA and Europe to taste side by side.  I’ll provide an ongoing list
of what’s coming and we can pair accordingly.For example, let’s say I plan to bring a Primitivo from Italy and put that on the list, another member can bring a Zinfandel from California or Washington to compare.AS the number of members attending increase, so do the wines to partner which should make for a really fun and enlightening evening! Bring your wine and a dish if you like and we’ll have some nibbles and things to contribute as always! “This is a member’s only event” RSVP Required!!  Please contact Vino Venerata at vinovenerata@yahoo.com or (360) 920-3638 for additional details. 

March 28^th 2009. Spanish Wines from the Cataluna region

The Spanish wine region of Cataluna has within it the Catalan capital of Barcelona.  The area is renowned as home to Cava or Spanish champagne, but also produces outstanding white wines and good quality reds.  DOC’s for the region include Terra Alta, Penedes, Montsant, Priorat, and numerous others, so look for the DOC (Denomination of Origin) on your wine label! Our member’s will be asked to bring a Cava or one of the still wines from the region this evening. Barcelona is also home to some of the finest Tapas Bars, so my goal is to inspire those of us that like to cook to put together something “Tapas” to pair with your wine!  “This is a member’s only event” RSVP Required!!  Please contact Vino Venerata at vinovenerata@yahoo.com or (360) 920-3638 for additional details. 

May 9^nd 2009 29th, 2009 Saturday Night Fights II

This is the second of our horizontal tastings and in this one we’ll see our members bring wines from specific countries to taste side by side.  I’d like to see an example of Oregon vs. France, and South Africa vs. Washington State. Examples may be an Oregon Pinot Noir vs. a Red Burgundy or a South African Syrah vs. Washington. Bring your wine and a dish if you like and we’ll have some nibbles and things to contribute as always! “This is a member’s only event” RSVP Required!!  Please contact Vino Venerata at vinovenerata@yahoo.com or (360) 920-3638 for additional details.

July 18^th or the 25^th 2009 (dates to be determined) Kelowna BC Winery Tour!

There are over 70 wineries in the Okanagan producing wines that are often unavailable anywhere but the vineyards in which they are made.  It will be impossible to visit them all, but examples of a few are: Calona Vineyards, Quails' Gate Estate Winery, Mission Hill Estate Winery, Summerhill Estate Winery, St. Hubertus Estate Winery, and Gray Monk Estate Winery.  My goal for those interested is to get a “team” of us working together to make this the best organized and most enjoyable event I’ve ever done!!  This means good communication and solid early commitments in order to create the best lodging and winery tour package possible!  We’ll have more info as we gather it, and in the meantime, I need by the end of the year, volunteers to be part of the VV Kelowna Team!! “This is a member’s only event” RSVP Required!!  Please contact Vino Venerata at inovenerata@yahoo.com or (360) 920-3638 for additional details. 

August 29^th, 2009 Eat & Drink Puget Sound

This social is an opportunity for our members to bring their favorite wine from wineries located in North Puget Sound.  Some examples are Camaraderie Cellars, Chuckanut Ridge Wine Company, Carpenter Creek, Eagle Haven Winery, Lopez Island Vineyards, Mount Baker Winery, Olympic Cellars, Pasek Cellars, Vartanyan Estate Winery, Samson Estate Winery, San Juan Vineyards, Sorensen Cellars, Whidbey Island Vineyards and numerous others! In an effort to support our local growers and producers, let’s try to bring a regional or local Seafood, Fruit or Vegetable, Cheese or Bread etc. as part of our dish.  “This is a member’s only event” RSVP Required!!  Please contact Vino Venerata at vinovenerata@yahoo.com or (360) 920-3638 for additional details.

October 3^rd 2009 “99 Bottles” Bombastic Beer Tasting:

What better time than right after Octoberfest to celebrate beer! I found a fantastic beer shop on Whidbey Island that is absolutely a beer Mecca for those of us that love it!  It is called “Whidbey Beerworks”! They have literally hundreds of bottles and can get just about anything you’ve ever heard of.  Whether you find a great beer here or somewhere else, the challenge is to bring an artesian or microbeer you’d like us all to try and a dish to pair if you feel inspired!  I’ll have a signup sheet for us to see who’s bringing what and to avoid any duplication on the invite. (Word of note; if you have a beer “on lees” or with yeast at the bottom, let it sit upright for a few days to settle the yeast! It will help us all avoid any stomach problems!)  This is a member only event." RSVP Required.  Please contact Vino Venerata at vinovenerata@yahoo.com or (360) 920-3638 for additional details. 

November 7^th 2009 Vino Venerata Members End of Year Winemakers Dinner:

This is for all of us that made Merlot in October 2008 and the members who would like to help us celebrate the accomplishment!  I’d like to get us all together for a wonderful dinner celebrating the wines and have some nice dishes to pair with it! Let’s make this an opportunity for us all to experience the passion of winemaking! This is a member only event." RSVP Required.  Please contact Vino Venerata at vinovenerata@yahoo.com or (360) 920-3638 for additional details.