AWGA Wine Festival Event Part 2 of 2

Picture 4....We got there about 20 minutes early, but there were many people already there who had started walking the rows of tables to taste wine. A wine goblet and a wine bottle carrying bag are included in the entry price (even the designated driver gets one). By an hour after the event started, there were lines everywhere to get up to the tasting tables.

Picture 3...I edged my way to the winery employees side of the table to get this shot of Dad and Rob.

Picture 2.... There were 2 seminars about the Ariz Wine Industry and Dad and Rob were about to get seats in the second one. Wine Vinyards are a growing cottage industry here - mainly done by small growers who love what they are doing.

Picture 1.... We can't go anywhere without seeing an old vechicle. Look at this restored truck that the "Jerome Winery" brought down for the show. It was a real "Cherry" restoration too.

Ariz Wine Growers Assoc Event part 1

Wow, what a wonderful day. Yes, it went up to 88 degrees but we, me, Grandpa and Rob, spent the day at a place called "The Farm" in Phoenix. We were in the middle of an old grove of Pecan Trees, rolling grassy lawns, cool breezes, and free wine. I was the designated driver so Reg and Rob could taste wine to their hearts content. This year there was an even greater variety of things to see and do then there had been last year.

Picture 1....I went to the class on wine barrels put on by Russ Balda of Javelina Leap Winery. Which kind of Oak wood used to make the cask, , what wine was in the cask the previous year, how much sedament drops out and if you drain the barrel - clean it - and refill it to continue aging the wine - plus many other factors related to the cask - really make a difference in the wine itself. Big winery corperations make wine in huge aluminum tanks and throw in oak wood chips to mimic the oak barrel flavor.

Picture 2....The class about wine glasses was amazing. A drop of hot glass on the bottom of the glass itself formed a certain way will enable a bubblely wine to kep producing bubbles, a wide mouth glass verus a smaller mouth glass affects how your tongue interperts the flavor of the wine, etc. I may not drink wine, but I love all the science of wine making and drinking.

Picture 3.... Look who had a booth at the event. a new company in Tempe called Infusion Fine Teas. Now this was right up my alley. Their teas were wonderful and I am going to visit their store on University Drive close to the college.

Picture 4... We all had a great picnic lunch at a shady spot. See South Mountain in the background - what a clear day.