Houston

Who could have known?

… but before all that …. we started with our Assemblage Weekend January 24-26 and it was one of our very best! We were excited to have so many guests from other chapters join us and to bring in six new knights and gentle ladies. Our featured wines were Galante Family Vineyards and Dawn’s Dream Winery and we were fortunate to have Supreme Knight Jack Galante and Master Lady Dawn Galante with us for the entire “Rodeo Knights” weekend. It all began on Friday evening at the home of Commander and Master Lady Buddy and Trish Hagner with live country music, 55 guests and a fajita buffet. Those gathered enjoyed the warmth of the fireplace and the night under the stars with Dawn’s Dream wines that included 2017 “Escolle” Chardonnay, 2018 Pinot Noir Rosé, 2017 “Rachel” Pinot Noir and 2017 “Bel Sogno” Pinot Noir. Special thanks to Tyri Schiek Centanni for arranging for our cowboy singers and to she and Jack Galante for grabbing guitars to add to the music of the night. Glorious!

By Trish Hagner Houston

Saturday found our Assemblage committee continuing their great work. From centerpieces to setting up our silent auction, it was true teamwork. The committee included Tyri Centanni, Ginger Covington, Jim and Lulu Curtice, Trish Hagner, Susan Loberg, Leigh Ann Manz, Nan McCreary, Kimery and Raymond McKaskle, Wanda Schaffner, Lois Van Vooren and Michelle Wise.

Our Enthronement Ceremony included not only our cadre, but special guests from other chapters who entered the room as the fanfare played. Commander John Boothby and Vice Commander Rich Moss from the Gulf Coast Chapter, Commander Jeff Price from the North Carolina Chapter, Commander Bob Bennett from the Tennessee Chapter, Vice Commander Russ Davis from the Nation’s Capital Chapter and Vice Commander Janet Hamilton from the Los Angeles Chapter all honored us with their presence. We followed traditions and increased our chapter with the addition of Gentle Ladies Janet Misamore, Debra Price, Leslie Sjurseth and Deborah Thompson, as well as Knights Charlie Ham and Bartt Thompson. Following the Enthronement, 84 members and guests, 20 of them from other chapters, entered the Grand Ballroom at the Royal Sonesta Hotel to view an abundance of great silent auction items and the sounds of our favorite band, Checkered Past. With the generosity of our donors and

bidders, we were able to raise nearly $14,000, which benefited the University of Houston’s Conrad Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management and the Southern Smoke Foundation. Special thanks to Miguel Cabrera and all those from the Hilton College who helped with the silent auction, cork pull and raffle.

Our dining began with passed appetizers and Galante 2017 Kick Ass White and 2017 Kick Ass Red as guests mixed and mingled. Our first course for dinner was fig, prosciutto, melon and honey paired with butter poached lobster corn velouté and 2018 “Wagon Wheel” Sauvignon Blanc. That was awesome and followed beautifully by glazed duck with cherry coulis and parsnip puree with 2018 “Almond Flat” Pinot Noir. After an intermezzo of strawberry and grapefruit sorbet, our entrée was delicious beef Wellington paired with whipped Yukon gold potatoes and both the 2014 “Blackjack Pasture” Cabernet Sauvignon and 2014 “Ace High” Malbec. The finale was a 2014 Galante “Bulls Eye Red” with whipped brie, triple blu cheese and deep-fried truffles! This is all going to be hard to top .. now we can’t wait until next year!

Sunday saw 43 hardy souls gathered for our traditional brunch. This popular event gives us a chance to recount our memories from the night before, hear from our winery reps from across the country, meet our scholarship recipient and say our goodbyes over a breakfast buffet and mimosas. Miguel Cabrera updated us on programs at the Hilton College, our scholarship recipient told us of his plans, Jeff Price gave us updates on the North Carolina wine industry while Bruce Misamore did the same for Arizona’s wine region and David Miller, a Houston member living in Mexico, shared information about the developing wine industry there. Jack and Dawn Galante updated us on the happenings in California and trends they are seeing across the country. How truly fortunate we are to have so many knowledgeable people so willing to share.

Before declaring the weekend over, a small tradition was continued to take out of towners who remained to a meal of TexMex and margaritas at The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation! We can’t wait for 2021!

Our next event found thirty-eight members and guests were excited to try something new! So on March 9 at Café Lili Lebanese Grill, we shared wines from Kosovo and traditional Middle Eastern food. The owners of Stone Castle Winery, brothers Avdi and Avni Gecaj, and their US representative, Bruce Stewart, were present to share the history of the region and their winery while highlighting the nuances of their wines. With dinner we had a 2017 “Reserve” Chardonnay, 2018 Pinot Noir, 2018 Merlot “Selection”, 2017 “Gjergj kastrioti” Vranc, 2015 Shiraz, 2017 “Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon, and a 2016 Red “Owner’s Choice”.

Who could have known that shortly after that dinner things would change so dramatically and for a group of friends who gather so frequently and enjoy each other so genuinely, taking a break from each other was very, very difficult. Like so many, we had to find ways to share and we found a number of ways to do that. Personal hand-written notes of encouragement and friendship, phone calls and emails and a chapter newsletter to highlight what members were doing during these trying times were all important to staying connected. And Zoom! Most of us had never even heard of Zoom before Coronavirus, but we learned and we adapted. We held a couple of cadre meetings via Zoom and two tastings.

Our first Zoom tasting was with Phil Staehle of Enkidu Winery. Four wines were featured at discounted prices and several members invited a small group to share at their individual locations. In total, we had 21 people participate and learned about the wine directly from the winemaker with a question and answer period that allowed for more in-depth discussions than might otherwise be able to happen. Friends shared Enkidu 2018 “E” Sauvignon Blanc, 2017 “E” Old Vine Zinfandel, 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2018 “Humbaba” Red Rhone Blend.

Our second Zoom tasting was actually hosted by Master Commander Pat Pingitore, commander of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, with Supreme Knight JeanCharles Boisset. This special Zoom event was just for KOV and offered to all chapters across the country. It was great to see so many KOV friends; Houston had 10 of our members participating.

But virtual gatherings are not the same and so in mid-June when winemaker and Master Knight Bradford Cowin (Washington State Chapter) emailed to say that he would be in Houston to visit his father and was available “if anyone was interested,” a quick email went out to members and the response was quick and positive…. YES! So, on June 17, in a wine warehouse where social distancing was easily managed, 40 friends gathered for a buffet dinner and Adega Northwest wines. With masked and gloved servers, the comfort food buffet of Caesar salad, Merlot chicken, grilled pot roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cookies and brownies was wonderful with the Adega NW 2017 Albarino, 2015 Tempranillo, 2016 Malbec and 2015 “Firethorn” Cabernet

Sauvignon. The best part of the evening … the smiles on so many happy faces.

In preparation for our Annual Business Meeting held every August, our Board of Directors met in July to review all of the chapter’s business. In our effort to help support restaurants in our area that so desperately need it and have been so kind to us and hosted us and our events over the years, we held our Board meeting at Café Benedicte. Owner Vahid Navissi could not have been more generous and accommodating and we can’t wait to bring everyone back as soon as possible.

Plans for our 2021 Assemblage continue and we invite all of our friends to join us for our Assemblage Weekend January 22-24, 2021. It will be, as always, a great celebration. You do not want to miss it! www. kovhouston.org