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AWS Educational Foundation
Dick Marsden
Winemaker’s Journal
Lee Baldieri
Greetings from the AWS Educational
Foundation Trustees
The Rochester Conference is over and with it the
2011 AWSEF Annual Meeting held at the Saturday
breakfast. We sincerely appreciate all those who came to participate
in th is meeting, the checks that were received from
chapters and regions at this meeting, and the s ilent auction
participants! Funds received at the annual meeting and the
auction will go directly to scholarships in 2012 and furt her
into the future! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR DEDICATED SUP-
PORT!
The following promised contributions were also accepted:
Cleveland Chapter $3,500
North Alabama Chapter $2,000
Pittsburgh Chapter $1,000
Donation in memory of Dr. Shady $100
Total promised $6,600
I want to especially recognize the major contributions of outgoing
AWSEF Trustee Eileen Tobias who will be completing a
four-year term as a trustee at the end of 2011. Eileen took
on the responsibility of cond ucting the silent auction held at
conference each year of her term. This meant devoting considerable
time soliciting donations, finding a plac e to ho use
the items, and then devoting the entire first day of conference
to setting up, monitoring bids and answering qu estions.
Following the close of ea ch auction, she located each of the
winning bidders to let them know of their success and ensure
their winnings were tak en with them. Eileen performed this
exhausting task with great skill and ultimate grace. Eileen
had wonderful AWS supporters who helped her in many ways
including Jack Tatum, Julie Hasson, Patricia Green and Joyce
Vecchioli. The l ast 4 s ilent auctions netted over $18,000 to
fund AWS Ed ucational Foundation scholarships! Our thanks
go to Ei leen and her work er/supporters, and to her AWS
member supporters.
In 2012, 3 new members will join the Foundation: Incoming
AWS President Jane Duralia, former and new Trustee Carl
Shively, and new Trustee and Treasurer Elisabeth Tozin.
All AWS Regional Vice Pr esidents know J ane well for her recent
work to strengthen the RVP roles. Carl was a member of
the initial AWSEF Board of Trustees from 1994-1997 and has
been elected to serve ano ther four-year term. We’re extremely
pleased to have his experience both as a many -time
AWS amateur wine award winner and as a former trustee.
Elisabeth comes to us from the Huntsville (AL) Chapter/
Southeast Region. A nat ive of Brooklyn, New York, Elisabeth
worked for Tiedemann Investment Group (TIG) on Wall Street
AWS News—December 2011
2011 Grape Harvest Update
By the t ime this Newsletter is publ ished, the
2011 California grape harvest will be over. This year was a bit
difficult for the growers a s well as the winemakers—the harvest
came 2-3 weeks later than normal and California grape
growers are experiencing shortages in grape output.
Jon Ruel, Director of Vi ticulture & Winema king at Trefe then
Family Vineyards recently reported, "Early in the season it was
very wet and very cool , cooler t han usual. That really slowed
down the development of the grapes and that is why w e were
in a few weeks later, two to three weeks later than average."
Here is a breakdown of monies received during conference:
At Cakebread Cellars, President Bruce Cakebread says, "We
Silent Auction $5,525
started the Sauvignon Blanc harvest, and we're see ing nice
Named Scholarship Funds $3,362
fruit thanks to a moderate gr owing season. We are seeing
Other General Fund $1,050
good quality but not a big crop. 2011's smaller crop and later
Total $8,937
harvest is due to this year's spring rainfall during the bloom
period. The moisture combined with the coolness meant there
One of the Named Scholarship Fund checks received was
was less than average fertilization and not every flower turned
from the C entral Pennsylvania Region, which directed the
into a grape. Looser grape clusters equals fewer grap es at
AWSEF to open a new scho larship in their name wi th the
harvest.” (Reported by Kerrie Cassini, weather.com)
$1,000 check written from the Mt. Nittany Chapter. The Foundation
was a sked to initially identify this scholarship in
memory of Tom Pelick and Fred Coombs.
From a personal point of vi ew, the quality of t he grapes we
purchased and fermented so far was excellent,
as Bruce Cakebread reported. We fermented 30
cases of Peti te Syrah and 3 0 of Old Vine Zin -
fandel and made very few adjustments to either
of the gr apes. The grape numb ers (brix,
pH, TA) were very good right out of the case.
(Continued on Page 20)
As of October 27, 2011, and we haven’t received the Cabernet
Sauvignon or Merlo t grapes we previously ordered. Hopefully
the grapes will show up by week’s end. Normally this would
not be a be a problem bu t we ferment ou tside and the evenings
on the east coast are becoming very cool. This presents
a new challenge for a winemaker beca use maintaining heat in
the fermenter and s electing the correct yeast that w ill work
under colder temperatures makes additional work for the winemaker.
I’m hoping all will go well and the fermentation will
complete as normal.
Since the last issue I received questions from two winemakers.
AM from Milwaukee, WI asked, “I noticed that yeast packages
show expiration dates, how important are these dates? If I
continue to use the yeast beyond the expiration date, will it
affect the fermentation?” I don’t like using yeast that is either
close to or has gone beyond the expiration date becau se fermentation
is the foundation of the winemaking process and it
is best to use fresh and quality products. Prior to harv est we
take an inventory of our wi nemaking supplies and order new
products that will make the winemaking process successful.
From JJM, Cranston, Rhode Island, “I’m new to wine making
and I would like to ask if recycling corks is a good idea? Will I
run the risk of ruining my newly bottled wine?” Recycling corks
not a good th ing. Used corks can carry mold and wh en the
cork contacts the newly bottled wine it can create a nasty aroma
making the wine undrinkable. Also, older corks dry out and
may cause the wine bottle to leak while it is resting on its side
or allow air to enter the bottle and turn t he wine into vinegar.
Recycling corks sounds noble, but it is not a good idea.
Happy Holidays to my winemaking readers. Serve your best
wines over the holidays to your family and friends.
Lee Baldieri
Winemaker@AmericanWineSociety.org
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