Charting an Abundantly Cautious Path to Celebrating Friends, Food & Wine By Tom McGurn, Monterey Chapter
Monterey
The Monterey Chapter of the Knights of the Vine used what Master Commander Richard Kehoe calls a nimble display of event planning to continue enjoying friends, food and wine during the days of abundant caution that challenged everyone in the second half of 2021. The Monterey Peninsula is blessed with pleasant weather throughout the year so a majority of events were held outdoors. Pebble Beach’s Pier at Stillwater Cove event attracted 85 mem‑ bers and guests for the an‑ nual Pier Party. Wines from two vintners were poured including Gary Lyons and Stacey Schrad‑ er of Mesa del Sol and De‑ nis Hoey of Odonata. Lil‑ li-Anne Price, a noted lo‑ cal plein air artist, created a painting of the bay and Pebble Beach Golf Links which was auctioned to the participants. The pro‑ ceeds of her work and a silent auction enabled the chapter to continue its tradition of providing scholarship funds for the viticul‑ ture department at the University of California-Davis. Friday Night Flights has become another tradition for the Monterey Chapter. In the second half of the year we were hosted by Scratch in Carmel Valley, Windy Oaks in Carmel Valley and De Tierra in Carmel. Scratch’s winemaker, Sabrine Rodems, loves her ability to utilize four geologically distinct areas in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties to craft her wines. Dan McDonnal and Alix Lynn Bosch, owners of De Tierra, use the translation
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“of the land” as the cornerstone of their winery. It is in a section of the Salinas Valley that was often used by John Steinbeck in his writings. Dan is a recent member, having been inducted into the chapter at the November Assem‑ blage. The Schultze family, owners of Windy Oaks, were featured in the last edition of The Arbor. James Schultze, who manages the Carmel and Carmel Valley tasting By Trish Hagner rooms, is a member of our Chapter. The social focus of the chapter shifted from the informal outdoors and Fri‑ day Knight Flights events to the formality of The Assemblage in Novem‑ ber. Two icons of the area’s wine culture were elevated to Supreme Knight. Ted Balestreri, originally from Brooklyn, moved to the Monterey Peninsu‑ la in 1957, and over the years became a national figure in the restaurant and tourism industries. Ted is founding CEO and Chairman of the Cannery Row Company, Sardine Factory Restaurant, and Inns of Monterey – overseeing enterprises that attract more than 4 million visitors each year. His wine cellar at the Sardine Factory is consider as one of the best, if not the best, in the country. Scheid Family Wines is celebrating its 50th anniver‑ sary in 2022. Founded by patriarch Al Scheid, it operated for its first 15 years as the Monterey Farming Corporation and sold all of its grapes to area wineries. Then it turned to using a grapes to glass approach. Al, children Scott
The Arbor
