Purple Footnotes

Newsletter for "The Purple Foot" Wine Club Dedicated to the Art of Fine Winemaking - for over 40 years!

December 2011

Holiday Banquet
The annual club banquet is scheduled for Saturday, December 10, 2011, at Croatian Hall, at 6:00 pm. This is a multi-course event, and each course is paired with an appropriate wine. The entre this year is prime rib the full menu is available on the club website, and it looks really yummy! In addition to the usual attractions, we will be entertained this year by PizPor the Magician! He has performed at the MN Fringe Festival as well as Renaissance Festivals. The available tickets to the banquet have all been sold at this point. If you havent bought your tickets yet, youll just have to resolve to act more quickly next year! For those who are attending, you are encouraged to bring a bottle or two of wine as a token of appreciation for Eunice and the staff. And dont forget to bring items for the raffle, as well as the Silent Auction. This is one of the clubs main fundraisers we rely on proceeds from this event to keep our dues low.

Faults and Finishing Clinic & Apple Competition

Date: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 Place: Croatian Hall 445 2nd Ave S, S. St. Paul (see map on website) Time: 7:00 pm

Have you ever thought your wine would taste a little better if you could only tweak it a little, but you didnt know exactly what to do? Does it need a little residual sugar, or a little acid, or tannin? Please join us on January 11th at 7:00 pm for a workshop-style program to discuss finishing and wine faults. Bring two bottles of each wine to share and work with. Well supply an array of acids, residual sugar additives, tannin and other chemicals to help finish your wine. We will also discuss the various tests available to measure residual sugar, acidity (T.A. and pH), why you might want to use them and when they may not be necessary. This is a very practical session on tips and techniques to improve your wine-making, outside of the annual competitions. Its perhaps our most down-to-earth practical event of the year, so dont miss it! We will also conduct the annual Apple Wine Competition at this meeting. Please bring your entry to the meeting, and submit it to Wine Steward Gerry Blume before the Faults and Finishing session starts.

Club Web Site: www.purplefoot.org

To access the members-only section of the site, use: UserID: winemaker Password: Malbec11 This is a new password, for the 2011-2012 club year.

Beyond the Cellar

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by Pete Steinke

2011-2012 General Membership Meeting Programs & Schedule

Date December 10 January 11 February 8 March 14 April 11 May 9 Program Holiday Banquet Workshop Finishing & Faults Winter Wine Competition & Rhubarb Challenge Annual Meeting & Potluck Ros and Blush Wines Nouveau & Old Wine Competition

Kim Schiller brought this dessert to the March Potluck and it was a hit! They not only look fancy but are relatively easy to make but watch out, theyre addictive. They would be a lovely addition to any holiday dessert plate.

Oreo Cookie Balls

Ingredients: /1-18oz package regular Oreo cookies 12 oz cream cheese, softened 1 package white chocolate (bark 12 cubes) Toothpicks Colored sprinkles (optional) Directions: 1. Add Oreos to food processor and blend til fine. Small batches are better. Transfer to bowl. 2. Add cream cheese to Oreo crumbs and blend until dough-like. 3. Form into bite-size balls, place on waxed-paper lined cookie sheet and stick a toothpick in each ball. 4. Chill for at least 30 minutes. (Kim usually puts them on the porch overnight.) 5. Melt white chocolate in double boiler. (Kim has found that 9 of the "cubes" work well, so one will have a bit left over.) 6. Dip chilled balls in melted chocolate, let chocolate drip off, and place back on the waxed-paper lined cookie sheet to harden. 7. Sprinkles can be added at this time, if desired; do it, however, before the chocolate hardens. 8. Because of the cream cheese, store the balls in a cool - if not cold - place. Makes approximately 48 balls.

Note: Meetings at Croatian Hall will start at 7:00 pm

Board Meeting Schedule

Most Board meetings this year will be held on Sunday afternoons, 2:00 pm unless otherwise indicated. Maps are available on the club website. December January 22 February 19 March 25 April 22 May 20 (no Board meeting) Larry & Shirley Moore Bob & Barb Parke (TBA) Lee Peterson Larry & Shirley Moore

Welcome New Members !!!

The following new members joined in November: David and Darlene Broughton of Anoka Terry and Joyce Hochsprung of Stewart, MN David Kurzman and Erin Kelly of Minneapolis Gregg and Dawn Teeter of Victoria, MN Welcome to you all! As new members you are entitled to a free wine glass make sure to pick one up when you attend your first club meeting!

Unusual Grape Varieties

The topic for the November meeting was Unusual Grape Varieties. Doug Hudson presented the De Long Wine Grape Varietal Table as one tool to compare and relate different grape varieties. We tasted four white wines (all starting with the letter V), and four reds. All the wines were sourced locally, and for less than $15 per bottle: Vernacchia di San Gimignano (Tuscany) Rocca delle Macie, DOCG Verdelho (Amador Cty, California) Miss Independent, St Amant winery Grner Veltliner (Austria) Nigl Freiheit Viognier (Oregon) Witness Tree Zweigelt (Austria) H&M Hofer, 2008 Tempranillo (Spain), 2009 Campos Reales Pinotage (South Africa), 2008 Simonsig Nero dAvola (Sicily), 2008 Feudo, Principi di Butera The wines were tasted in the order listed, which is in order of increasing body (whites first). There was a good

diversity of opinion on the wines, but the Grner Veltliner and the Nero dAvola were probably the most popular wines overall. Thanks to Bob and Barb Parke for helping choose the wines, and Gordon Rouse for suggesting the topic. Note that spare bottles of all of these wines will be featured in the Silent Auction at the Banquet in December!

Wine Wisdom
I drink Champagne when I win, to celebrateand I drink Champagne when I lose, to console myself. - Napoleon I drink Champagne when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty. - Madame Lilly Bollinger If you drink, dont drive. Dont even putt. - Dean Martin

Board Update
The Board regretfully accepted the resignation of Ellyn Koenig from her position as Director, at the November Board Meeting. Gordon and the Board would like to thank Ellyn for her service to the club over the past year. Kellie Kroll has been appointed to fill the remainder of Ellyns term as Director.

2011 2012 Officers and Directors

President Gordon Rouse 651-636-3039 gfrouse@gmail.com Vice President Steve Kroll 651-322-1430 steve@kroll.net 2nd VP (Wine Steward) Gerry Blume 651-738-7672 gebweingut@aol.com Secretary Shirley Moore 952-474-6376 shirleyamoore@mchsi.com Treasurer Nancy Wood 952-890-5969 nancyelliswood@gmail.com Past President Pam Glubka 651-459-5851 rglubka@comcast.net Director (2011-2013) Sylvia Beach 651-697-1282 sylviabeach651@hotmail.com Director (2011-2013) Doug Hudson 763-536-0971 dfhudson53@gmail.com Director (2011-2013) Andrea Van Hoever 651-373-4048 duaneshotbabe66@yahoo.com Director (2011-2013) Maureen Janke 651-688-6267 maureen.janke@state.mn.us Director (2011-2012) Kellie Kroll 651-322-1430 kellie@kroll.net Director (2010-2012) Larry Moore 952-474-6376 larry.moore@mchsi.com Director (2010-2012) Joe Palla 651-257-8385 Director (2010-2012) Lee Peterson 651-731-8162 petersonlj@q.com Newsletter Editor/Publisher Doug Hudson 763-536-0971 dfhudson53@gmail.com Librarian Gordon Rouse 651-636-3039 gfrouse@gmail.com Changes or corrections to the list, please notify club Secretary Shirley Moore

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS!
UNUSUAL GRAPE VARIETIES BEYOND THE CELLAR BANQUET PREVIEW WELCOME NEW MEMBERS WINE WISDOM BOARD UPDATE