WHNetwork Blog

Well our inaugural event was a huge success and we had so much fun! Marilyn Chapman of Delectables Fine Catering, and her husband, Kenneth Chapman win our "distance award" - they came all the way from Florida to attend!

Thanks also to Heather & Ted Van Doorn from the Starlight Wine Bar & Restaurant in Sebastopol for bringing a huge chaffing dish of their fabulous gumbo - they win our "best cuisine" award!

Thank you to the following for donating to the raffle:

* Gustavo Trace Winery / Gustavo Brambila
Gustavo is a major character and is played by Freddie Rodriguez in the movie!
* Larkmead Winery / Daniel Petroski
* Laird Winery / Wendy Fantozzi
* Ron Lykins Photography
* Azur Wines / Julien Fayard
* Ferrari-Carano / Cheryl McMillan
* West Coast Wines
* Wildside Cellars / Peter Fitzharris
* Brenda Lhormer / Bottle Shock
* Domaine Chandon / Juli Barron
* Wilson Winery / Dawn Dolan

Check out the photos on Ron's page on the network!

It was fantastic to see all that turned out last Thursday night for the potluck & movie premier. We had a good idea of how many people to expect but to actually see everyone there in force was amazing! My only regret is that I did not have time to hang out, mingle & taste but there were so many people to check-in that I couldn't break away for more than about 5 minutes! Next event I'll ensure that I have more time to meet you all properly.

Thank you to those that took time out to drop by the check-in table with wines for me to try.. namely Julien Fayard (winemaker), who brought along a taste of his Azur Wines Rosé and Michael Mercer of Tonnellerie Leroi, who introduced me to the '05 Pinot Noir made by the daughter of William Selyem.. I can't recall the name.. help me out Michael! (I want more.) There were two bottles donated that never made it to the draw. They were confused for wines meant for the tasting table but the good news is that they got to be enjoyed by all and not just one lucky raffle ticket holder. Thanks to Juli Barron from Domaine Chandon for the bottle of delicious bubbly & to Dawn Dolan from Wilson Winery for their gift of a bottle of their '05 reserve Zinfandel.

The wine tasting table contained more industry insider secrets than Wall Street! Many attendees brought limited releases, private selections as well as personal favorites to share and I am here to tell you that there were 3 (yes, only 3) bottles left on the tasting table (with no more than a 4 ounce pour in each) by the time everyone migrated across the street to the Theatre. Hard to believe but true. I'm sure the libations made the movie even more enjoyable and hopefully not too many bathrooms breaks were necessary.

Many of you received notice of the event either via this ezine or via a friend in the network. We hope that you enjoyed the evening as much as we did and that (if you have not already) you will join us here on our online community soon so that we can continue to network together.

Future events will be open to network members ONLY so if you want to do this again (and it sounds like you do based on the feedback) you need to be a member to receive an invite!

Thank you all for coming out to meet us and for making our first event in the history of the network, in my opinion, a roaring success!

Cheers,

~michelle