Notes From the
Vintner
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Welcome
to our column. We hope that you will return to
learn interesting notes on wine, and related
subjects. Wine is a great gift from God to be used
for the enjoyment of man. It is a food, and should
be treated as such. It is meant to lift up the body
and lighten the soul. 12/1/02
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Well it
was off to Texas… to
taste some fine homemade Texas wine. I was invited to judge
the First Annual East Texas Wine Competition
in Tyler, Texas. This event is sure to become an outstanding
competition for home wine makers.
I arrived in Tyler
the night before and was treated to some fine food and
drink. Now these folks know how to start an event! It was
great meeting new people and visiting with old friends. The
fellowship was one of the best things of the event. These
people have a love of making wine, and it shows.
The judging was on
Saturday, after lunch. I was treated to a tour of the town
and even purchased a few rose bushes. Tyler is known for
good roses. I was also given a tour of the local winery and
area round the winery. After a bit to eat I arrived at the
judging, ready to see what they had pulled together for this
first contest. The judging was held at a local
restaurant.
I want to tell you
here and now that these people know what they are doing. For
a first time, they had the event under control. A team
logged in the wines. Then they were placed into categories
on a long table to make it easy for the assistants to pour
the wines for the judges. All the bottles were opened, and
the judging was ready to start. They had about 60 wines in
this first event.
The judging took a
couple of hours, and then they had to tabulate the scores to
refine the point spread for the winning classes. At 6:00
that evening, they had a banquet to award the winners and to
celebrate the event. There was fine food, good wines, and
tons of fellowship. Visit their web site to get more
information : www.ethba.com.
I am very happy
they invited me to be a part of this event. After a great
breakfast the next morning, I was on my way back to Paris.
But first I had to make a stop and check on some history,
which turned out to be a very good stop. I am interested in
history and enjoy it very much.
Now, let's
raise a glass of wine in honor of Texas.…Enjoy ! !
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