The Grapevine
Spring 2021
From the Host
Dear Wine Society Members:
Thank you for your confidence and trust in allowing me to serve as this year’s Host. I am honored to have the opportunity to continue the long-standing traditions that have been carried forward by the prior past hosts including our immediate Past Host, Colin Mack-Allen, CCM, CCE. I was fortunate to have had the pleasure of working with Colin when we collaborated with Michael Thackerson of the Fort Worth Club, who hosted an incredible wine dinner in 2020, and was one of the last live events I attended prior to the onset of the pandemic! Thank you, Colin, for your friendship and never-ending devotion and leadership to the Society.
Conference - This year’s World Conference gave the Wine Society (WS) the opportunity to host the Wine Auction virtually, which proved to be an efficient format and one that will be given serious consideration in future years. Thank you to Matt Kurtas, CCM, CS, and Sara Thom for all their efforts in making this year’s auction a great success. In addition, Sarah Kuhl, CCM, organized the education portion of the Business Meeting with Peter Mondavi, co-proprietor of C. Mondavi & Family, who provided a fantastic virtual tasting and seminar.
Wine Dinner - Of course, it was very disappointing to not be able to work on the Wine Society dinner with Scott Fairbairn, CCM, CCE, who was scheduled to host the dinner this year at the Tampa Yacht & Country Club. Scott, we thank you for your offer and know that you will do an amazing job when conference returns to Tampa again soon!
Website – Please take a moment to check out the revamped Wine Society website in the Special Interest Groups section of the CMAA website. Sara Thom has helped to develop a fresh look with plenty of information for members to review.
Friends of the Wine Society – The “Friends” section has been updated as well and we are working diligently to develop national partnerships with our vendors that all WS members can benefit from. Friends of the WS can be a valuable resource when looking to host Chapter networking events, wine dinners at your club, or to provide staff training and education. On that note, Paul Smith has been working to finalize a relationship with the Gallo Family to offer “Gallo University,” a program that will be available for all WS members. And a big thank you to Amber Mihna, CS, National Sales Director of Staglin Family Vineyard, who has been presenting a series of educational webinars that have been very well subscribed!
Chapter Reps – The Chapter Reps continue to be an integral focus of the Board. We are hoping to share information and look for feedback from the reps as part of developing our membership and increasing participation. Many thanks to Ryan Brennan, CCM, who has set up quarterly calls with the Chapter Reps and the WS Board to collaborate with members at the chapter level. Also, many thanks to all of the Chapter Reps who have been engaged and who continue to promote the WS within their chapter.
As board members, we have a shared responsibility to our association, our members, our chapter reps, and our industry partners to provide robust education, mentoring assistance, and networking opportunities. I am proud to say that our board is a dedicated and passionate group that I know will always make themselves available to assist any of you. Please feel free to reach out at any time with suggestions, thoughts, or creative ideas as we strive to continue to increase awareness and enhance the value of the Society while growing our membership.
Please join me in welcoming Bret Coad, CCM, CCE, as our newest Board member, and in thanking Jason Asbra for his many years of dedication and commitment while serving on the Board. I would also like to recognize and thank Sara Thom for all her ongoing efforts and assistance.
And finally, best of luck to Jack Grehan and Blaine Burgess, CCM, CCE, who are already planning what will certainly be a spectacular dinner and celebration when we return to a live conference in San Diego in 2022!
Sante!
Karl Habib, CCM
2021 Host
Society Happenings
Welcome Our Newest Members!
This quarter the Wine Society welcomed eight new members:
- Mr. Aaron David Billingsley, Maidstone Club, Inc.
- Mr. Joseph Callison, Shadow Glen Golf Club
- Mr. Kemorr S. Condappa, The Landings Yacht, Golf & Tennis Club, Inc.
- Mrs. Katie Gusella, Short Hills Club
- Mr. Christopher J. Jackson, The Clubs at St. James
- Mr. Christopher Keane, Spring Lake Golf Club
- Mr. Cory Melroy, Spring Lake Golf Club
- Ms. Anahi Perez, North Shore Country Club
Do you know someone who might be interested in joining the CMAA Wine Society, but they’re not a CMAA member? They’re in luck with the Wine Society’s Associate Membership!
Associate Membership in the Wine Society shall be open to individuals who are 21 years of age or older and are not members of CMAA. These individuals must be from a club that has a CMAA and Wine Society member to sponsor them. The membership is nontransferable and nonrefundable if the individual leaves employment at the club and moves to a property that is without a CMAA and Wine Society member. They shall be admitted to membership following the receipt of a completed application, a sponsor endorsement, and payment of dues.
Upcoming Deadlines and Events
Take Five with Penfolds’ Chief Winemaker Peter Gago
By Karl Habib, CCM
Peter Gago has been chief winemaker at Penfolds and custodian of Penfolds Grange since 2002.
What is your management philosophy?
At Penfolds, we work as a team as we are greater than the sum of our parts. We learn and evolve from the past (indeed, drawing from Penfolds 177 years in the wine business), and continue to question and experiment. One simple and constant caveat – the wine comes first!
Were you in leadership roles when you were younger?
I’ve worked with Penfolds for the past 32 years, and as Chief Winemaker for the past twenty. Does that qualify as younger? During my younger formative years in my previous teaching career, I was lucky to lead teams who invariably were almost always older than myself.
How have your parents influenced your leadership style?
My parents are thankfully still alive and well. My 91-year-old father still to this day sings in a Welch choir - memorizing the Welch lyrics off his computer. Sensitive communication and ‘active listening’ have always been urged by both… borrowed wisdom.
What were some early lessons for you as a young manager?
As custodians of Penfolds, as per above - it’s important to honor the past, while looking to the future. We often have retired Penfolds winemakers return to still sit in on annual post-harvest Classification tastings that help create blends, and maintain our House Style and contribute to our eight editions of Rewards of Patience (the ‘form-guide to all things Penfolds’). It’s good to be reactive and respond quickly. It’s also oftentimes prudent to ponder and take a longer-term view.
Where did you go to college?
Initially Melbourne University (Career I), and later Roseworthy, now part of The University of Adelaide (Career II).
What’s the biggest challenge facing the wine industry today?
Climate change and weather extremes —e.g., devastating fires that have recently yet again affected both Australia and the United States.
Tell us about your family and children.
I’ve been married to my wife, Gail, for almost 40 years. Happily, I might add!
What don’t most people know about wines from your region?
The Barossa Valley is home to some of the oldest Cabernet, Shiraz, and Grenache vines in the world —original plantings that date back into the 1800s. South Australia, the driest State of the world’s driest continent, with a winter-dominant rainfall that is ideal for grape-growing. The vine scourge, Phylloxera, has never penetrated South Australia.
What is your favorite bottle of wine?
That is so hard to answer being an avowed Champagne addict. But, which one to nominate? Maybe I shouldn’t. Bordeaux, but of course, but again which commune, which decade? Burgundy. But then I don’t want to sound too pretentious. I could play it safe and select a bottle from the Penfolds stable or specify a beloved Napa Cabernet to only disenfranchise other Napa winemaking friends. Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, or Austria? Hopefully by now, you’re worn out and no longer reading a response to this question!
What is your favorite food?
For someone oft associated with the red wines of Penfolds and a region that loves lamb and beef, my favored food selection nevertheless must include seafood and must include South Australian King George Whiting, crayfish, marron, and oysters!
What is your favorite vacation spot?
So many places to choose from. Yet, one of my most memorable trips was into the wilds of Alaska where we were fortunate enough to take my parents-in-law.
What is your favorite part of the job?
Quite honestly, and without wishing to sound glib, no two days are the same. Harvest – the chaos, the ferments, the smells, the embryonic wines; The Launches – the countries, the reactions, the people; The Tastings – the wine, oh, and the wine! And I get paid to do this?!
Are you a golfer?
Sadly not. I’m normally not in one place long enough to enjoy a game of golf but I do love running and embarrassing myself in the gym – the best cure for jetlag!
Any final thoughts?
At Penfolds, we’re so lucky to have been welcomed and embraced by the US, most profoundly when we were awarded Wine of the Year in 1995 by Wine Spectator Magazine for our 1990 Penfolds Grange, Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s Winemaker of the Year 2005, and last year’s Robb Report Best of the Best for the 2015 Grange.
Wine Industry Trends, News, & Stats
Whiskey and War Stories
Clubs are offering a wider range of tasting events these days as spirits become more high-end and alluring.
Zinfandel Advocates & Producers Launch The California Zinfandel Trail
In late March, the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) announced that it officially launched The California Zinfandel Trail. Zinfandel lovers and the Zinfandel-curious now have a powerful new tool to explore wineries and plan custom itineraries. This new platform is designed to boost tourism and raise interest in wineries that produce America’s time-honored heritage wine, Zinfandel.
The Zinfandel Trail website includes an easy-to-use interactive map of California’s Zinfandel wineries for plotting and planning itineraries to vineyards across California. In addition to winery listings are featured winery to winery routes with beautiful
Zinfandel vineyard images, regional travel blogs, points of interest, and winemaker stories.
ZAP is also creating virtual tours and tastings offered for sale to those wanting to sniff, swirl, and sip while enjoying a themed tour on Zoom hosted by travel experts. The first three-part series will begin in late April with a tour of Sonoma Valley, followed in May by sessions on Women in Wine and in June, Vineyard Tours.