May 2014 - "Queen For A Day - Champagne Brunch & Tea"

Susan M's beautiful home was the perfect setting for our May event - a champagne brunch & tea in celebration of Mother's Day.  Susan assisted Connie B (our very own 'chef extraordinaire') in preparing a brunch that was truly "fit for a Queen"!  Three different sparkling wines were served. 

Our very special thanks to Connie for all her hard work in making this a special day for all of us - Susan Miller, Kelly Hines, Debbie Huber, Christy Caldwell, Vicky Woods, Connie Bandstra, Cathy Hasson, Pam Coulter, Rosie Marchi (Vicky's guest), and Daryl Laux.

And I am happy to report we finally found a sparkling wine that seemed to appeal to all - including Christy!  Kaching!  (For the record, the 'winner' was Ballatore Sparkling Moscato Rose). 

The pictures really do say it all - don't miss Daryl & Rosie's hats! 

The Table is Set...

The Chef is At Work....

The Ladies Are Seated

Scones, lemon curd, & clotted cream - what's not to love?

Cream of asparagus soup, fruit medley, tea sandwiches, & 4 desserts!

April 2014 - "Sonoita Wineries & Overland Trout"

Eleven WWW ladies carpooled to Sonoita for a day of wine tasting and lunch.  Our special thanks to Kelly Hines, Susan Miller, and Ruth Naponick for being our designated drivers.

First stop Dos Cabezas Winery - where we tasted 10 different wines (primarily reds), all made with Arizona fruit.

Kelly H, Carolyn W, Susan M, Judy M, Daryl L, Cathy H, Sharon T, Carole D, Ruth N, Christy C, Pam C, 

Kelly our tasting room expert explained a bit about each wine that we tasted.  Yummm!!!

Dos Cabezas - Kelly & their wines!

From there it was on to lunch at Overland Trout where we each selected our choice from their unique gourmet menu.  Great food, but don't eat there if you are in a rush!   Followed by (of course) a brief stop in their lovely gift shop.

 

And then it was off to Arizona Hops & Vines where we tasted 5 wines and 1 bubbly, each paired with various flavors of potato chips or cheetos.  How fun!  AZ Hops & Vines is run by two sisters and a funky little place to visit and they serve a great goat cheese sampler.   I think the "fluffer" sparkling wine paired with cheetos was everyone's favorite!

Chilling out at AZ Hops & Vines

Heck yeah!  We'll take the job!

March 2014 - "U of A Art Museum & Lunch"

March 2014 - Our very first road trip -  to the University of Arizona Art Museum to see their "Unfolding Legacy" exhibitions.  Connie & Cathy were kind enough to be our designated drivers and after meeting up at Madera, off we went - (Some of us were even had a scenic tour & taxi ride!)   Much of the artwork (which ran the gamut from Calder & Miro to Dali & Renoir) has not been exhibited for several decades, with most donated by generous benefactors.   Although some of the art was totally lost on this blogger (? what the heck is that ?), we all found much to appreciate - and an unexpected bonus of live music - as one of the exhibition rooms was being used for guitar recitals.

Debbie H, Sharon T, Christy C, Kelly H, Vicky W, Cathy H, Daryl L, Connie B, Ruth N

Georgia O'Keefe

Guitar Recital

 After perusing the collections, it was off to lunch at the Blue Willow - on their patio deck where we had great food, conversation, and wine!  Highly recommended!

Clockwise from left - Cathy, Christy, Daryl, Vicky, Connie, Kelly, Debbie, Sharon, & Ruth

February 2014 - "Red, Wine, & Chocolate!"

February 2014 - WWW and their guests met at Vicky W's in celebration of Valentine's Day - and how better to celebrate than with  chocolate and wine pairings!  White, milk, dark, & bittersweet chocolates were paired with 8 different wines, as follows:  White:  Cook's Sparkling Moscato & Washington Hills Late Harvest Riesling 2011;  Milk:  Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling 2011 & Columbia Crest Grand Estate Merlot;    Dark:  Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet 2011 & Bogle Zinfandel Old Vine 2011;   Bittersweet:  Bridgman Syrah 2010 & Chocolate Shop Red Wine.  To balance the sweet, various cheeses, buttered nuts, and crackers were also served.    Although votes were not cast for favorite pairings, everyone must have found something to enjoy - all bottles were emptied!  Each gal received a wine glass with chocolate truffles and heart shaped sunglasses to remember the day.   

 The nibbles

 

Pam Coulter, Cathy Hasson, Sharon Thompson, Vicky Woods, Theresa Esemann, Sandy Hedlund, Ruth Naponick, Carole DeRivera

Daryl Laux, Connie Bandstra, Judy Madison, Kathy Stacken, Susan Millier, Carolyn Walters, Debbie Huber, Christy Caldwell

Those fah-bu-lous sunglasses!

January 2014 - "Bring in the Bubbly!"

January 2014 - WWW met at Connie B's to ring in the New Year  - and our first blind tasting - of sparkling wine!  Each of 7 "bubblies" was sampled with each WWW gal casting three votes (OK, pennies) - one for each of her top 3 favorites.  After voting was complete, the results were tallied and the bottles revealed.  And (drum roll here), the top 3 WWW picks are:  Cooks Spumante & Roederer Estate Brut - Anderson Valley (tie for 1st place with 6 votes each) with Moet Chandon Imperiel Brut a close second (5 votes).  Fabulous food and more bubbly followed.

Connie Bandstra, Tari Wright, Daryl Laux, Debbie Huber, & Christy Caldwell

Ruth Naponick, Cathy Hasson, Vicky Woods, Susan Miller, & Sharon Thompson

Yum!

The Results Are In! The "People's Choice Christmas Tree" is "Women Who Wine"!

December 15, 2013 - After two weeks of community voting in the People's Choice Christmas Tree Contest, the results were announced.  Of six entrants, the "Women Who Wine" tree was awarded the distinction of being the "People's Choice".   Connie Bandstra accepted the award on behalf of WWW.

The Women Who Wine Christmas Tree in the Madera Clubhouse

The iron tree was decorated with ornaments made from recycled wine corks & faux grapeleaves and lit with white mini lights.  The "tree skirt" was loose wine corks corraled with a WWW banner in red & white.  Wine & champagne glasses with red tinsel - and unique cheese spreaders - were also added for a touch of color and  'realism'   (Who has wine without food?)  Of the contest entrants, the WWW tree was located closest to the bar (which somehow seemed fitting).  

December 2013 - "Christmas Is Coming"

"Christmas is Coming" - December 10, 2013 - Some of the WWW gals gathered at Christy Caldwell's home to view her WOW "over-the-top" Christmas decorations - and to enjoy some gal time before the holidays.

 Victoriana

 Santa & Baby Bottle Collection

Christmas Dining at it's Finest!

Connie B played Mrs. Santa by providing the wines, with the rest of the WWW bringing scrumptious holiday snacks to share.  After a "loss of wine" accident, replacements were found and the gathering was on!   Christy's collections of hand painted gourds, antiques, Victoriana, and other Christmas ornaments had the gals oohing and aahing all afternoon.  Christy also surprised each WWW gal with a special treat - a gift of a handcrafted wine glass cozy/coaster. Wine on!

Daryl Laux, Ruth Naponick, Connie Bandstra, Cathy Hasson, Kelly Hines, Debbie Huber, Christy Caldwell