2006

• 14 September 2006 Meeting: 3-6pm:  “Hillside Farming”, including erosion control and cover cropping.  With speakers Jim Howard and Rich Casale from the NRCS.  At Clos de la Tech, Woodside.  Rex Geitner, vineyard manager will tell us the story of this amazing vineyard.  Bring a bottle of wine to share.  Meeting details and directions.  
                  Vineyard Tour at Clos de la Tech                                 Rex, vineyard manager, addressing group

   

• Santa Cruz County Fair (12-17 September 2006): Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, Watsonville.  VASCM will have a display booth in the agricultural Harvest Building.  This is the 3rd year the VASCM is exhibiting at the Fair.  We need volunteers to help at the booth.  For more information and to sign up, click here.
• September is California Wine Month!  Celebrate harvest in the Santa Cruz Mountains at the Santa Cruz County Fair.  Week-long educational exhibits and displays by the SCMWA and VASCM, judging results of the amateur and commercial wine competitions, and wine tasting on Saturday and Sunday, 9/16-17.   Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 East Lake Ave, Watsonville.  Tues.- Fri. noon – 11pm; Sat. 10am-11pm, Sun. 10am – 10pm.  Note:  Various wineries and vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains are planning special harvest events for California Wine Month.  For a list click here.
• 28 June Meeting: “Growing Organically”, Silver Mountain Vineyards.  2:00pm – tour Silver Mountains’ organic vineyard with Jerold O’Brien.  3:00pm – meeting with guest speaker Derek Dahlen, vineyard manager for Frey Vineyards in Mendocino.  Frey is the first certified organic vineyard and winery in the U.S. (since 1980), and the largest as well.  Derek will speak about organic viticulture, its benefits and how to make it work in your vineyard.  Meeting flyer with directions to Silver Mountain Vineyards.
• Pinot Days (23-25 June): Fort Mason, San Francisco, Pinot Noir tasting, winemaker dinners, appellation tours, etc.  A dozen Santa Cruz Mountains wineries will represent our appellation at this major Pinot tasting in San Francisco, pouring appellation wines in a regional VIP tasting preceding the general afternoon event:   Alfaro Family Vineyards, Beauregard Vineyards, Burrell School, Thomas Fogarty, Hunter Hill, Pelican Ranch, Rhys, Savannah-Chanelle, Silver Mountain, Sonnet, Testarossa, Windy Oaks.         
               Pouring Santa Cruz Mts. Pinot at Pinot Days’ regional tasting, June 2006.
  VASCM display showcases our appellation wines.
• Energy Efficiency Workshop for Vineyards & Wineries, 1 June, sponsored by the Sustainability Alliance and PG&E; at Cooper-Garrod Winery, 8:30-2:00pm.  Space limited, so RSVP is required.
• 27 April Meeting: 3:00pm “Mildew Control”, with a presentation by Larry Bettiga, UC Extension Farm Advisor. At Alfaro Family Vineyards, Corralitos  1:30: Walking tour of the vineyard with Richard Alfaro.
• Pinot Paradise (26 March): was a huge success.  SJMN article by Laurie Daniels.
  • The morning technical sessions organized by Jim Schultze of Windy Oaks Estate featuring
    • Randall Grahm’s latest thoughts on Pinot Noir in the Santa Cruz Mountains plus a tasting of his “Transfusion” (Pinot Gris juice fermented on Pinot Noir skins!),
    • a panel discussion on Pinot Noir with Michael Martella of Thomas Fogarty Winery, Jeff Emery of Santa Cruz Mountains Winery, Prudy Foxx of Foxx Viticulture and Jim Schultze of Windy Oaks Estate, and
    • an overview of Burgundy winegrowing with a horizontal and vertical tasting of three red Burgundies along with two Santa Cruz Mountain Pinot Noirs: a 2002 Mount Eden and a 2003 Windy Oaks.
  • In the afternoon two vineyard vignettes organized by Prudy Foxx:
    • John Schumacher of Hallcrest discussed and tasted four of his award-winning Pinot Noirs from VASCM member vineyards: Veranda (Frank & Nancy Remde), Terra Serena (Pete & Barb Woodruff), Belle Farms (Steve &Marguerite Remde) and Vista del Mare.
    • Tony Craig of Sonnet Wine Cellars and Ed Muns of Muns Vineyard presented a Pinot Noir clonal review, vineyard description and barrel tasting of four Dijon clones from the 2005 harvest.
  • In the tasting tent, Mary Lindsay and Prudy Foxx set up the new VASCM display booth describing winegrowing in our AVA.
• Sustainability workshop on Ecosystem Management (23 March):  Habitat (cover cropping, vegetation); Beneficial insects; Water quality/watershed management.  At Cooper-Garrod Vineyards, Saratoga.  8am-12noon, with lunch following.  FREE.
  1:00-3:00pm – optional Sustainability Self-Assessment Workshop (if you have not already done it).
• 24 February Meeting: “History of Santa Cruz Mountains Vineyards” at Mountain Winery, Saratoga.  3:00pm vineyard tour with Jeffrey Patterson; 4:00pm presentation by Charles Sullivan, historian and author, “Like Modern Edens”.