August 2011

Winemaking talk

Friends of the Vineyards hosted Vice-President Norman Petermeier's presentation, "An Introduction to Winemaking Disciplines: Viticulture & Enology," at the Livermore Public Library on June 8, 2011. Enology has been Petermeier's secondcareer for the past 8 years after a colorful electronics background. Previously he was a design engineer, university
instructor, co-founder of an electronics company, director of 5
electronics companies, and co-holder of 35 US patents. He is currently the enologist at Ruby Hill Winery and ownerwinemaker at Villa Per Due’ Winery, both in Pleasanton, CA.

A fully occupied room confirmed strong interest in his topic, so important to the local economy. The audience journeyed from the Tri-Valley region with at least one member traveling from the Peninsula and one from San Francisco. Future talks may feature wine tasting, wine pairing, or the history of winemaking in the Tri-Valley. Let us hear your preference!

Winery visits

The eight members of our Board periodically visit Livermore wineries to distribute our brochures, inquire about recent news, and negotiate discounts for our members. It has been fun for us to visit the various wineries, learn about their wines, and best of all, taste some wine while sharing news about our organization.

Our visits are in progress at this time.

Bylaws

We have updated our Bylaws to be more streamlined since the inauguration of our organization in 1981, when email, Facebook, Twitter and the Internet were not even imagined by the general public. Originally known as “Save the Vineyards,” this organization was a major supporter of the South Livermore Valley Area Plan. Now Friends of the Vineyards advocates for open space and agriculture in the Tri-Valley and performs a watchdog role against urban sprawl and land use that is inappropriate re County Measure D or Livermore’s Urban Growth Boundary. The Bylaws will be available on our web site for your inspection shortly.

Visit us on Facebook/Twitter

Friends of the Vineyards is staying in step with the Information Age! Thanks to the efforts of Board Member Meredith Miles, members can now visit us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter! We are continually working on the content of our Facebook page with organizational information and interesting links. Please “Like” us on Facebook and “Follow” us on Twitter as we build our Web presence.