Hello Lamroinda Wine Growers,

I am David Hicks and as the newly elected President of the Lamorinda Board I want to introduce myself to our membership. But first I want to remind all of our members about the associations Wine Fare on May 1st from noon to 6 PM. Six of our local bonded wineries will set up tents and be pouring at least 19 different wines made from Lamorinda AVA grapes. The event will be held behind Wine Thieves on Mt. Diablo next to Jack in the Box. We will also have two different food trucks for lunch and snack selection. A special thanks to David Rey, a founding member of our association, for making the space behind Wine Thieves available to us for the event. Amy Schofeld of our board has put together a first rate program for our members, their friends and guests, and very importantly the wine appreciating public.

Tickets will go on sale first week of April. We urge you to buy your tickets early. $30 for members, $35 for guests, $40 at the door. Amy will be emailing asking members to loan us tables and chairs for the event so that we won’t have to rent. Please contact Amy at 510.227.9312 to make arrangements?

It has been a challenge these past two years with our enthralling “zoom” meetings and the endless delays Larry Thal has experienced getting his permits to build his Local Vines project just down the street from Wine Thieves which is now underway. A special thanks to thank Daniel Howsepian for his two years as president during this crazy and occasionally stressful period for his leadership patience and creativity. We are looking forward to resuming our social and educational events in the months ahead.

My background in grape growing and winemaking is a bit different in that even though I’ve lived in Lafayette since 1978 my vineyard and winery are in the Red Hills AVA on the shore of Clear Lake. From 2002 to 2005 I took the entire Vet and Eno extension program at UC Davis, planting my vineyard in 2003 and making my first wine in 2007. Over the last 15 years I’ve made most of the common varieties of wine with grapes from my own and other CL vineyards. [left the Pinot Noir to Bill English]. Even tried Botritus Sauve Blanc [Sauturne] and once made brandy. Having a residence in Lake County and being a member of the local grape growers association has been a educational grape growing bonanza for me. It is my hope to bring some of those benefits to Lamorinda growers during my tenure.

Our immediate focus in on our May 1 event which is quickly approaching. We urge you to bring your family, friends, neighbors and extended social circles to this fun and delicious Wine event. You will be getting several email blasts about the event so round up your group and come to the party. On behalf of the board I want to thank all our members for their patience and attention and we look forward to seeing all of you Saturday May 1, behind Wine Thieves.

Regards,

David Hicks, President

This Sunday we will hold our Spring meeting at Wine Thieves parking lot. The meeting will be mainly social and wine tasting, so bring a bottle, or more, of your best wine for all to taste. There will be no formal presentations. We urge you to bring an appetizer to share with all? We will be providing wine glasses. May 1st is our Premier Public Wine Tasting event to be held from noon to 6 right here behind Wine Thieves. We will fill you in on our event progress. Amy will be sending out several notices to membership about the event with directions on pricing and ticketing etc, so watch for her blasts. She will also be asking for volunteers to assist us in putting on the event. We will definitely need your help to pull this off. I look forward to seeing many of you there and have asked the rain gods to hold off till 8PM.

Regards, David Hicks, President

Hi all, another call out to see if we could borrow a few things for the AVAnniversary event May 1, particularly event chairs. Here’s the link, please sign up if can! Tickets will be available for sale shortly

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f4babab2aa3f85-lamorinda

Offered via the Wine Industry Network. If you are interested, register directly using the link

The 2022 Growing Forward Series kicks off with our first session focusing on disease. As bud break begins, one of the biggest concerns for grape growers is around grape powdery mildew (GPM). As the growing season progresses, another major concern is around the limited availability of irrigation water. 

This session, led by Bryan Rahn, CPAg/SS, CCA and president of Coastal Viticultural Consultants, Inc. (CVC) will provide information and best practices on GPM and soil moisture monitoring that lead to more efficient GPM treatments and irrigation water use. The session will include vineyard managers from Silver Oak Winery and Trinchero Family Estates to share their experiences along with the results of implementing the programs presented.

As with everything, all things must come to an end. I have been the President of the LWGA for the past two years, and I have reached the end of my term.

I am happy to announce that David Hicks will be the new President of the LWGA. As a grape grower, a fine winemaker, and a great socialite, he will have the the experience and knowledge to take the helm and move us ever forward in our quest to serve our membership and put Lamorinda Wine Growers Association on the map!

Welcome David Hicks to your new position!

I have been very proud to have served as President and I hope that I have helped, together with the board, to improve the vision and services provided in the past and for the future years. I will continue on the board to help make LWGA a positive force in our community. Thank you for the privilege.

Sincerely:

Daniel Howsepian

former President, LWGA

Hi all,

Our 5 year +1 AVA celebration is coming up on May 1. There are a few items that we would like to borrow rather than buy or rent. If you have any of the items on our event wish list, please sign up via Sign Up Genius.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f4babab2aa3f85-lamorinda

A separate email for on-the-day volunteers will be sent closer to the time.

We’re looking forward to the celebrations!

Hello Fellow LWGA Members:

 On January 29, 2022 @ 3 PM,  LWGA held its regular member meeting via Zoom.  I know, we’re all very tired of the Zoom meetings!  Especially when there were some technical problems as we have experienced that day.  We’re very sorry about that!  With the easing of the Covid mandates, there’s a really good chance of our next meeting in March to be in person!  

However, once everything got worked out,  about 15 people logged on.  We were very mindful of the AFC game and we tried to make it brief so that the members could watch the game.  Too bad that our efforts were in vain and not rewarded with a good outcome for our team. 

A brief discussion about the elections for the board by Bill Scanlin was presented.  I am happy to report that all the candidates were elected to the board and we now we also have a new board member, Brian Cherry. Welcome Brian to the Board.

Gerard began his presentation about “What to do in the vineyard in the spring”  and was disrupted by computer problems!  Uhhhh! Gerard followed up with an email to the membership to replace his planned presentation. 

We would like to offer an in person pruning session very soon.  Anyone interested in joining this session please respond to David Hicks message which will be emailed to you very soon. He will set up a time and date that’s convenient for all.  

Larry Thal then spoke briefly about the progress on his Local Vines project. He is currently waiting for his Contractor to start with the work, hopefully March 1! We are all anxiously waiting for the grand opening! 

Sunday, May 1, 2022, from Noon to 6 PM, will be our long awaited public LWGA-AVA Celebration at the rear parking lot of the Wine Thieves! We have been working on this for quite some time and we a lot to be proud for this event. Amy will be sending out an informational message about the event, and also will be reaching out to the membership for volunteers to help out. Should be a lot of fun with food trucks, local wines presented, soft music and some fun things for kids of parents attending the event. We look for seeing everyone there!

 
We look forward to a good springtime season for everyone!  

Best Regards!

Daniel Howsepian

LWGA President

We encountered some technical difficulties during the last Zoom meeting, so attached to this post are photos of their vineyards that members submitted for the meeting. This time of year, it is helpful to walk through your vineyards and look for areas wherein your cover crop is less healthy or yellowing. That often is a sign for areas with low soil nitrogen or soil nutrients. Also, if you have gopher activity, with the dry weather, now is a great time to trap gophers. Finally, I encourage you go stick a shovel in the ground in a few spots. A sign of healthy soils is if you have multiple worms in each shovel!

Bill and Penny Pence (Tempranillo), with their new bird-proof nets rolled under the vines:

Ewa and Derek Wojnar (Cabernet and Merlot):

Brian Cherry (Pinot Noir):

Marek and Petra Fibrich (Syrah):

Hello LWGA Wine Folk

During our next meeting this Sunday, we will be discussing in general, what to do in the vineyard this time of year. This will include how to prepare for the season and perhaps how to improve vine health or address deficiencies, such as soil nutrients. Also, it could be fun and interesting to have a short picture show of member vineyards, or any other pictures you wish to share with the group, such as flowers in bloom, birds or animals on your property, worms in your soils, how your vineyard ground/cover crop is looking, other plants or trees on your property, or whatever else you wish to share)

So, please take a picture or two of your vineyard, or whatever you wish to share with the group. And if you have an issue of concern or question, such as how to prune a certain vine or unhealthy looking weeds or cover crops, send a picture of that as well.

Please send your pictures to gerardvs1@gmail.com

Hello fellow wine growers and lovers!

I can’t believe that January is almost gone! The hills are beautifully green, Oak trees are about to blossom and it’s almost time to prune back those marvelous vines. What a great place we live in!

So you may remember that we will be having our regular LWGA General meeting on January 30, 2022 @ 3 PM. The COVID epidemic continues to hinder personal meetings, so the Zoom meeting is our only alternative, for now. I have already sent out the the agenda for this year’s General meetings, but in case you have not read it yet, topics this time will be mostly focused on social meeting & mixing, with some discussion about the board elections nominees, then a short presentation by Gerard about “What to do in the Spring in the vineyards“. There will be a break out session about pruning and the time and place to be decided at the meeting for those who are interested.

Please join us at 1/30/22 @ 3 PM:

https://warriortrading.zoom.us/j/9252007676

I look forward to seeing all of you again there!

Thank you!

Sincerely;

Daniel Howsepian

Pres LWGA