San Francisco

W h a t a y e a r t h i s h a s b e e n s o f a r ! By Pat Pingitore

San Francisco San Francisco

I think the best comment I’ve read (after lightning sparked record sized wild fires in California in mid August!) was: “Has anyone considered just turning off the year 2020, waiting for 10-20 seconds and then restarting it again?”(aka “rebooting”). If only it could be so!

As with most of you, there has been little opportunity for friendly gatherings with wine tastings among friends; however, the San Francisco/Bay Area Chapter did manage to squeeze in one live event before the shut down and one Zoom Virtual tasting with one of our Supreme Knights during this first part of the year. We unfortunately had to cancel our planned Assemblage at DeLoach Vineyards which was to cap off the National meeting scheduled in late April. To be revisited for sure!

Our first event of the year was facilitated by Ian Devereux White, a musician, wine and travel writer (Wine Director for San Francisco and Silicon Valley Magazines and former contributor to Wine Enthusiast, 7x7, Edible, Psychology Today, Lonely Planet and more) and now vintner since 2011. Smith Devereux farms vineyards in St. Helena, and sources additional grapes from across the Napa Valley and as far as away as Mendocino to balance out their blends. Ian makes an excellent variety of well-made and very affordable wines. Because of scheduling conflicts, we were unable to sample all of Ian’s portfolio at JaM Cellars in downtown Napa (a future event will be planned), but he managed to collaborate with Anne Marie Howle of Peju Winery which also owns a beautiful Carneros property, Calmére Winery Estate, overlooking San Pablo Bay in Napa so on a sunny February afternoon, members of our Chapter as well as the Tahoe Chapter Master Commander Ernie Grossman with Master Lady Margaret Lewicki, Gentle Lady Stephanie Harris with husband Pete, enjoyed a reception and fabulous tasting of Calmére Estate Sparkling Rose, followed by a seated tasting of Calmére’s Pinots and Chardonnays as well as two of Smith Devereux’s Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, all paired with a delicious array of small bites, prepared by Peju/Calmere’s resident chef Sarah Sabatano.

This was all followed by a sumptuous lunch served family-style with a revisiting of any of the wines of course! Generous discounts were offered for those wanting to take some of these delicious wines home with them.

Later in the spring, we were afforded the opportunity to meet via Zoom with Supreme Knight JeanCharles Boisset. In the spirit of a true national organization, at least 6 chapters (representing somewhere between 30 and 40 appropriately socially distanced members), participated, simultaneously, in tasting three delectable wines from the JCB Collection and enjoyed an hour of stories and Jean-Charles’ passion for food, wine and life as no one else can regale.

Members of Chancellery, Tahoe, Nation’s Capital, Houston, Los Angeles and, of course, the SF/Bay Area Chapter all ordered and tasted JCB No 81 Chardonnay, JCB Passion Red Wine (a Bordeaux blend) and JCB No 13 Sparkling Brut.

To enhance the experience, JeanCharles referred us to his Alchemy

of the Senses Book for some ideas on food pairings.

It was a welcomed diversion from the forced “stay at home” orders most of us were faced with. Many thanks to Jean-Charles for the opportunity and to Jen Lombard, of the Boisset Collection team for making it all happen, including shipping wines on time all over the country .. from the west coast to the nation’s capital, to North Carolina and Texas!

Stay tuned (hopefully by the time you read this article) for a reprise of this event with Supreme Lady Gina Gallo, featuring her handpicked Gallo Premium Series wines. It will be an outstanding opportunity to visit with one of the legends of winemaking rarely afforded but available to KOV members only. If timing is right, JeanCharles may join his wife for the event!!

Ian Devereux White