Tasting wine in Johnsonville since 1980.
Francesca Menzies celebrated her 80th birthday a wee while back. Francesca doesn’t attend Club events very often these days, (a bit difficult now that she lives in the Nelson region) but she has been a member of our club since the very early days and is one of our valued life members. She has served on our committee as well as having terms as Vice President and President of the Club. A somewhat belated congratulations Francesca.
Best wishes and keep well.
Every once in a while the Club creates its own news, or at least things happen to members that are newsworthy. This month I have opted against searching out a New Zealand wine story in favour of a little celebration of our own. Back in May Derek Thompson (a foundation Member of our club) turned 80. He had a small celebration to mark the occasion at which the birthday cake pictured below was a feature. There are three things worthy of mention about the cake. Obviously the first is Derek’s achievement at reaching 80, the second is that the prints on the cake represent his dedicated companion, Hershey the cat, and thirdly, but by no means lastly, the cake was provided by Adeline Porter, a fellow member. I knew there was a good reason why Derek surrounds himself with women at the top table.
As mentioned in my Email last week, Simon Bell from Ash Ridge has stepped in at short notice.
We want to encourage as many members as possible to attend so we have fixed an entry price of only $14 (in total) if a member brings a guest.
Please line up someone who has shown an interest in win and bring them along on Wednesday. It will be a great tasting. This Winery has now been awarded the HB Winery of the Year Award for two of the last three years (See “In the News”). They have also received accolades from NZ Herald Wine writer Jo Byrzynska as one the best boutique wineries. This is great going for a relatively new winery.
Note: This is what happens when you reach a significant birthday. Can’t even blow out my own candles even though they generously only used two.
Cheers
Robin Semmens, Editor