Our April 28 meeting was in the Tap Room at Michael's on Main. We had about 25 Rotarians plus our guest speaker on site and 2 zoom attendees.
For the non-attendees- the Tap Room is very well lit and airy, high ceiling with a piano that is not subject to random confiscation by the management and a bar.
The walk from the buffet in another room is about the same as at Seascape.
Our guests were Constantine and Anders . Supervisor Manu Koenig guested from Seascape, unclear as to why he didn't get the memo and attended the meeting physically in his supervisorial district from a venue in Zach Friend's district.
Julie and Lowry reminded all that the Pickle Ball tournament/fundraiser at Willowbrook Park is on May 22. The suggested donation is $45 whether participating or not. We are also offering sponsorships for $250. We are working on the logistics for food and beverages. Reminder- no alcohol allowed.
For the non-attendees- the Tap Room is very well lit and airy, high ceiling with a piano that is not subject to random confiscation by the management and a bar.
The walk from the buffet in another room is about the same as at Seascape.
Our guests were Constantine and Anders . Supervisor Manu Koenig guested from Seascape, unclear as to why he didn't get the memo and attended the meeting physically in his supervisorial district from a venue in Zach Friend's district.
Julie and Lowry reminded all that the Pickle Ball tournament/fundraiser at Willowbrook Park is on May 22. The suggested donation is $45 whether participating or not. We are also offering sponsorships for $250. We are working on the logistics for food and beverages. Reminder- no alcohol allowed.
Lowry's birthday was April 1. Much better to be born on April Fool's Day than conceived on it.
Dr. Art's thought for the day was a moment of silence in remembrance of Holocaust Day. Never Forget.
Al led us in a birthday song to Lowry and the Welcome Song. He also played some great background tunes while we were socializing before the meeting, inspiring $3 in his tip jar.
There was no joke of the day so your author has a short sub-G rated one- Why did Captain Cook cross the road? (answer below)
Michele filled in as detective and predictably was marvelous. The topic was Pickle Ball. Members knew some of the answers and some myths about the sport were dispelled- good to have clarity in this era of rampant disinformation
Pickle ball was invented 1965 in the state of Washington by Joel and Bill (?) because their teenage sons were bored. The legend that it was named after a dog named Pickles is untrue- per the inventor, he made that story up. Because(???) Surprising (and disappointing) that such scandalous revelations have not knocked the Kardashians out of national media prominence. The original equipment consisted of a whiffle ball, ping pong paddles and a badminton net. There was a debate about the scoring system that will apparently will not be resolved.
Our super-stand in guest speaker was Kaylene who agreed to speak at the last minute when Carrie Partch was injured. She introduced me to herself by saying "Kaylene, like 'K' and I leaned over." Really. It's Gaelic....and that was just the start
Dr. Art's thought for the day was a moment of silence in remembrance of Holocaust Day. Never Forget.
Al led us in a birthday song to Lowry and the Welcome Song. He also played some great background tunes while we were socializing before the meeting, inspiring $3 in his tip jar.
There was no joke of the day so your author has a short sub-G rated one- Why did Captain Cook cross the road? (answer below)
Michele filled in as detective and predictably was marvelous. The topic was Pickle Ball. Members knew some of the answers and some myths about the sport were dispelled- good to have clarity in this era of rampant disinformation
Pickle ball was invented 1965 in the state of Washington by Joel and Bill (?) because their teenage sons were bored. The legend that it was named after a dog named Pickles is untrue- per the inventor, he made that story up. Because(???) Surprising (and disappointing) that such scandalous revelations have not knocked the Kardashians out of national media prominence. The original equipment consisted of a whiffle ball, ping pong paddles and a badminton net. There was a debate about the scoring system that will apparently will not be resolved.
Our super-stand in guest speaker was Kaylene who agreed to speak at the last minute when Carrie Partch was injured. She introduced me to herself by saying "Kaylene, like 'K' and I leaned over." Really. It's Gaelic....and that was just the start
Kaylene has her PhD in chemistry and has transformed that into a career as a wine expert as a researcher and in consulting and sales. She was fun, informative and charismatic without any slideshow, power point or even props.
Kaylene is a Santa Cruz native who developed an interest in wine well before legal drinking age but has clearly benefitted from the early start. (She certainly looks young enough to be carded).
Her 30 minute presentation ranged from the scientific to the practical and whimsical. Clearly she loves her work, but then again, who wouldn't?
Academically, she is researching ways to introduce proteins into wine that do not trigger autoimmune responses.
Professionally, she is the wine director at Deer Park and Seascape and works at a wine lab and as an assistant wine maker
Not surprisingly, she knows Anissa, whose connections are astounding. During the presentation, Anissa, Julie and Michele sat at a table in the back engaging in an impromptu "lab" regarding the subject of the speech. Troublemakers always sit in the back.
Kaylene explained the chemical composition of alcohol. It mostly ethanol alcohol which is converted from glucose and/or fructose- the residual sugar is what makes a wine sweet or dry. The natural sugar levels are below human sensory perception but give the same feeling. The perception of sweetness can come from sugar or the viscosity of the wine.
Wine also has acids, mostly tartaric. Low acid wines reduce the mouth's production of saliva, are less "mouth watering." High acid wines, like champagne, cut fat. The Ph of white wines is generally around 3.2, reds are 3.5. The Ph of saliva is 6.8-7.2, which means it is basic.
Wines also contain phenalics; color compounds which also provide the "drying" sensation perception.
The alcohol in the wine must always be in balance with other ingredients.
Kaylene emphasized that wine selection is personal: what do you like to taste? How does it feel in your mouth? What foods are you planning to eat with it'? what is your price range? She said, "it's not just what's in your glass and your spit." A bit more elegantly, she said the selection should be based on how the wine in your glass interacts with your body to make you feel good.
She noted that some wines taste like dirt and mushrooms- which has its niche clientele, but the source of those taste sensations is not understood. She did not ask for volunteers for continued research but perhaps that could be explored.
The second highlight of the week was the Uno de Mayo party at Keith's house (please don't ask when it happened).
About 30 people attended though President Ken brought liquor for about 60. There was great food and an abundance of liquid cheer and a good time was had by all. As befits the duties of President which are otherwise being sorely under-served, your author made frozen daquiris, kamikazees and quarantinis, with great help from Mardi.
Inadvertent tragicomedy: Mardi was bringing a blender and the first blender at Keith's house didn't work so Ken texted Mardi as follows: "SUBJECT Blender; Keith's died. Hope you will be here soon." Mardi did not see the SUBJECT, only, "Keith's died. Hope you will be here soon." As though Keith has passed on before his party, but we were carrying on anyway (not sure if that would be as Keith would want it and/or the Capitola Aptos Rotary sprit, but if that happens with me, please wait to tell the coroner and party on).
Catastrophe averted: Bill and Rita Witmer were hit by a wrong way driver leaving the party but were not seriously injured. President Ken was accused of ambulance chasing but to be fair, the ambulances were parked.
Today's lunch is at Michael's on Main again. It is important to be there as we will be deciding whether to make that permanent.
If Manu Koenig contacts anyone, please make sure he is clear this time
See everyone there then.
To get to the Second Hand Store
Inadvertent tragicomedy: Mardi was bringing a blender and the first blender at Keith's house didn't work so Ken texted Mardi as follows: "SUBJECT Blender; Keith's died. Hope you will be here soon." Mardi did not see the SUBJECT, only, "Keith's died. Hope you will be here soon." As though Keith has passed on before his party, but we were carrying on anyway (not sure if that would be as Keith would want it and/or the Capitola Aptos Rotary sprit, but if that happens with me, please wait to tell the coroner and party on).
Catastrophe averted: Bill and Rita Witmer were hit by a wrong way driver leaving the party but were not seriously injured. President Ken was accused of ambulance chasing but to be fair, the ambulances were parked.
Today's lunch is at Michael's on Main again. It is important to be there as we will be deciding whether to make that permanent.
If Manu Koenig contacts anyone, please make sure he is clear this time
See everyone there then.
To get to the Second Hand Store