Hello fellow LWGA members.
There have been some very exciting activities in the LWGA of late. Where to begin.
First of all, the board of directors elections results are in and the following changes to the board have been made as follows:
Daniel Howsepian ; President
As incoming President, I am honored and pleased to have been elected by the board to be the President of the LWGA! My goals and priorities will be for the benefit and advancement of all the membership of the LWGA in the following ways:
– To promote and advocate a higher level of education and knowledge of grape growing and to encourage natural and sustainable methods;
– To promote and encourage a higher level of wine making from those wonderful grapes that we are producing; and to provide a processing location for the LWGA grapes;
– To provide an ongoing educational program, to provide a readily searchable growing data base on our website, to allow any LWGA member to access if they have any questions;
– To provide a vibrant and interesting social events everyone can enjoy!
– To put the Lamorinda AVA on the map as a source of high quality grapes and wine, and interesting social activities;
– In doing all of the above, and more, I believe that our membership will increase over time, helping us generate a stable level of revenue and working capital, along with other fund raising activities and efforts, to provide for a positive and active agenda for all.
Big agenda, you might say, but with the excitement we are now experiencing with the upcoming Lafayette wine production facility and wine tasting facility in the works, we will certainly see this to fruition. To help us get there, the new board is as follows:
Dave Rey; Vice President
Bill Scanlin; Membership Webmaster & Lafayette Chamber Liaison & former President
Larry Thal; Secretary
Leslie Ward; Membership & Orinda Chamber Liaison
Gerard Van Steyn; Meetings & Educational Director & Vineyard Consultant
Bill English: Wine making education coordinator & Consultant
David Hicks; Wine making, Wine Competitions & Vineyard Consultant
Amy Schofield ; Marketing, Branding and Moraga Chamber Liaison
Tim Wedlake; Treasurer
We would like to express our sincere appreciation of the outgoing board members, Susan Captain & Carol Haag for the many years of service to the LWGA Board and who have worked to bring us where we are today. The Board Members wish to continue to build upon this great foundation laid by those before us, and to make the LWGA an organization which serves our members.
Our most exciting news is that Larry Thal has been involved in a collaboration in the heart of downtown Lafayette, steps away from the Wine Thieves, to develop a wine production and tasting facility for the LWGA members which will also have the potential for a catering kitchen and two housing units in the former Napa Auto parts building on Mt. Diablo Blvd. This is a long awaited project which will help so many of our members to have a place to process grapes, produce and showcase their wines, and will put the LWGA AVA on the map! Larry had his first Lafayette Planning Commission meeting recently and it appears to be on a smooth and well received path to approval.
Our next LWGA meeting will be on March 29, 2020 and there will be a discussion on a subject we all dread, mildew control. Please check the website for details. https://lamorindawinegrowers.com/
The other exciting thing to talk about is the upcoming General Meeting: 4th Annual Lamorinda American Viticultural Area Celebration and Members Choice Wine Rating. We are looking at having hosting the event this year in the parking lot of the Wine Thieves with Food Trucks, Music, and lots of wine to taste and enjoy! This event will be an introduction to the future Wine Hub to be located, once built on the former Napa Auto Parts site, as an annual event! We are really looking forward to all this becoming reality in the near future at the new facility in planning.
So, save the date, May 31, 2020. All this takes a lot of planning and organization. We need help with this event from our membership. Volunteers who would enjoy helping in this AVA Celebration to please contact us on our website forum or to any board member, and we’ll get in touch with you on the details. Please get to us very soon to make this AVA event a success it deserves to be.
One more thing. We need your input on a new survey. Please take the time to go through this short survey. This is immensely helpful to us in determining what the board can do for you. Here is the link for the survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe888uotJqehhlhGcnXYBL3fQcZ1Cfammi0_wO97D-ZrslqXg/viewform?usp=sf_link
Thank you for your time!
Thank you for your attention!
Respectfully submitted:
Daniel Howsepian LWGA President
