Wine Finders 3
Members/spouses volunteer to hold the tasting at their home and they select the month they would like to host and the varietal to be tasted. So the venue moves around and we taste different wines from all over CA and the world.
Always interesting, educational and fun.
Wine Finders 3 meets on the third Thursday of the months and we start at 6pm and end around 8:00 PM.
Chairman – Larry McEwen
(925) 939-3216
Scroll down to see recent event reports and photos
November 2024
Chardonnays at the Dominguez’s
On Thursday, November 21, fourteen members of Winefinders III gathered at the home of Gayle and Leo Dominguez. Guests included SIRS Ron Maciak & Linda Guwara and Thom Watkins and Paula Murphy and Leo’s friends Diane and Cobb Bennett. The hosts provided pallet cleansers of Prosecco to placate the guests while the tasting got organized. There were two winners : 2021 Clos du Bois provided by Guests Cobb & Dianna and a 2021 Butterknife Chardonnay brought by Margo and Jeffrey Peckham and available at $12 from Total Wines. Second place was awarded to Jim Sowell and his daughter, Lisa, who brought a 2023 Carneros Grand Reserve Chardonnay, available for $13 at Trader Joe’s.
A wonderful layout of goodies, featuring a bottom-less shrimp plate, Jim Sowell’s famous Compresee Salad, Amy Rizzo’s tasty Chinese noodles with hot sauce, Margo Peckham’s Pomegranate Xmas log, and Mardi Lockwara’s spicy meat balls. The evening was capped off with Leo’s scrumptious home-made Key Lime Pie.
Although the weather was threatening, we still were able to wander around Leo’s huge back yard and admire the last days of his array of roses and other flowering bushes and trees. Things finally broke up around 7:30 when Leo presented guests with a sample of his Key Lime Pie filling and all were able to make it home before it got too dark.
August 2024
On August 22nd nine SIRS and their guests assembled around 5 at Margo & Jeffrey Peckham’s to sample Rose wines. The hosts greeted everyone with a pallet-cleanser of Champaign to pacify the guests while we set up the tasting in their wonderful back yard. Margo treated guests to a tour of her verdant vegetable and flower garden. The clear winner of the day was Jim Sowell’s Le Rose Ile de Conas which, at $8 from Trader Joe’s, was a real bargain. Accompanying the wines was a delightful selection of goodies featuring the hosts’ spiced watermelon, Jim Sowell’s famous Caprese Salad, Mardi Lockwara’s classic meatballs and Kathy McEwen’s prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe and Humboldt County Fog cheese. To finish off the affair, Margo Peckham produced a yummy pluot-laced tart.
April 2024
On Thursday afternoon, April 18, 11 SIRS members and their better halves gathered under the Wisteria at Kathy & Larry’s home to evaluate Cabernet Sauvignons. The hosts provided pallet cleansers of Flyway Sauvignon Blanc to placate the drinkers while the wines were being set up. As always, the wines were accompanied by a collection of goodies ranging from guacamole & chips, meatballs and various dips to Jim Sowell’s signature Camprese salad with heirloom tomatoes. The winning wine was a ’22 Precision brought by Leo & Gayle Dominguez, regularly priced at $25 but available on sale for $15 at Costco. Second place was awarded to Pete and Dale Jordan for their ’19 Semi available at the winery for $20. The day was finished off with both a chocolate cake and cherry cheesecake from Sweet Affairs bakery at the Ygnacio Valley Road shopping center across from Heather Farms.
Updated 12/06/24 by MLF
