Chancellery

Summer Luau Chancellery Chapter

The Chancellery chapter decided to take on summer with a Luau themed gathering at the lovely backyard of Knight John and Lee Ford. The Ford’s are new members and are part of what we affectionately refer to as “The Spyglass Gang”. Spyglass Court, in Auburn, California is home to many members of the Chancellery and Lake Tahoe Chapters; a close-knit community with a shared love for comradery and of course wine! It was a cool fall evening and the weather was cooperating, for the most part that is. A mere 24 hours earlier, the Spyglass Court area was experiencing a severe thunderstorm, and thirty miles down the road in the Davis-Sacramento area, a tornado touched down. You may think that it’s not a big deal, but tornadoes are not a common thing in California. Outside and around the pool, we assembled for an educational program. Master Commander Chik Brenneman, now freshly retired, and still yearning to teach, put together a wine tasting of five different Zinfandel clones that were made as part of a public-private partnership between UC Davis and the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP). The project showcased the so-called Heritage Zinfandel vineyards that were located throughout California having been originally planted around the time of the gold rush. Over the years they have developed characteristics specific to the site and UC Davis and ZAP sought to undertake a scientific study on not only what made them similar, but how were they different. It was interesting to see which clone was the favorite and if people could tell if there was a difference. We’ll save revealing the crowd favorite, for another tasting at another time. You have to experience the wines to understand the irony. Absorbing all that knowledge was hungry business and everyone was ready to enjoy the dinner that Amanda from California Catering in Auburn prepared for us. We started the evening with a beautiful assortment of appetizers. The bruschetta bar was a hit, complemented with home-made onion dip, caprese skewers and herb roasted shrimp. We then enjoyed a buffet that included kalua pork, sesame chicken, island rice and a personal favorite, smoked chili scalloped sweet potatoes. We picked out some interesting wine to accompany the evening’s meal including an Austrian Gruner Veltliner and a South African Chenin Blanc amongst others. Just as we were finishing dinner and about to dig into some delish desserts prepared by some of the Spyglass ladies, the weather decided to play a role in the evening’s festivities. Before you could say “rain”, another thunderstorm came along and we engaged in the fastest cleanup you’ve ever seen and moved indoors. The tables, chairs, desserts and of course the wine quickly went into the garage and the party transitioned beautfully into the house. We didn’t miss a beat and the wonderful conversation continued by the fire in the family room. Thank you again to the Fords for hosting a lovely event at their home.