02/20/14 John Beals and Dale Berry

02/27/14 Sally Beals and James Briggs

03/06/14 Judy Budi and Tom Broadwell

03/13/14 John Callander and Gerry Eastabrooks

If you cannot greet on the day assigned, contact Kitty and she will schedule a replacement

 

 

Feb.13, 2014, Centerville Rotary at The Clubhouse at Yankee Trace

Centerville Rotary Club president Judy Budi opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Sivaji Subramaniam gave the prayer and Ron Hollenbeck led the singing of God Bless America.

The guests at the meeting included Irene Ullmer, mother of member Kitty Ullmer, and Sharon Senney, wife of Jeffrey Senney. Also, Franklin Rotarians David Edwards and his father Pat Edwards, a past District Governor of Rotary, were in attendance. Kelli Davis became our newest member today.

 

President Judy Budi announced that the District Conference will be April 4 and 5.

Member John Callander passed around a sign-up sheet for anyone wishing to volunteer to help out one day this Spring at The House of Bread...It would involve standing and working for at least three-to-four hours.

 

Lee Hieronymous stood in for Erich Eggers, the club's Sgt.-at-arms, collecting Happy Bucks for the Eagle Scout project at The Castle.

 

President Judy Budi said that the club will be collecting new shoes and socks starting in March for donations as in the past. She said the club also needs to consider what it wants to put in the club basket for the upcoming auction. Last year it made a wine basket and that may be done again, although other ideas will be considered, she said.

She said the funeral for long-time Centerville City Councilman and Centerville Rotarian Jim Singer would be the coming Sunday at Tobias Funeral Home.. .

 

Harvey Smith led the induction of Kelli Davis as our newest club member. She is the community relations director of Elmcroft, an assisted living facility in Washington Twp. She said her specialty is working with the Alzheimers patients.

She is Sa Bellbrook resident.  She said she has three daughters, ages 16, 13, and 11. She grew up in Anderson, Ind., and attended Anderson University, studying Education, but became a full-time mother while her children were growing big. 

 

Speaker: Todd Templin, Director of Beer and Wine Sales for Dorothy Lane Market

Todd said he grew up in Oakwood and went to Ohio State University and learned much of what he knows about wine from our club member Ed Flohre, who runs the Springboro DLM.

 

Todd said he just got back from the wine country of France and has traveled to the wine country in Germany, Italy and the Napa Valley among others. He has 20-plus years in his wine career, he said.  He believes in the swirl, sniff and swill method of finding the wine you like, but was unable to bring samples to the Yankee Trace meeting, as the facility's rules do not allow that with its liquor permit.

 

Todd said one's preference in wine is like one's preference for art work. Everyone has their own individual preference, developed over time and many wine samplings.

There are more than 6,000 different grape varieties to make wine from so there is bound to be something for everyone, he said, from a Cabernet Savignon to pinot noirs and corked bottles to screw top bottles. If reading about wines, you need to find a writer with your same palette so you will be on the same page for trying what you might like, he said.

You can also talk to a sommelier and ask about wines when dining out. You do not have to follow old standards of pairing white wines with fish and red wines with meat, he said. Do what suits your fancy and your own tastes.

Wines can cost from $5 to thousands of dollars, he said. Much of the cost is in the growing of the grapes and making of the wine, and in its aging process, he said. American Oak gives wine a coconut taste, whereas European-grown oak vessels add a different flavor over the years. Wine can be aged in various vessels, from stainless steel to concrete, he said. Land costs for growing the grapes vary greatly, and can be up to a quarter of a million dollars an acre in the Napa Valley, compared to the same land costing about $10,000 in France. If wine is grown on hills and has to be harvested by hand rather than mechanically, then it will cost more too. Everything takes time, and an investment in grapes, takes at least four years before the first harvest, he said. 

The Coca Cola company quickly got out of the wine business after finding that the returns took a lot longer than its signature product, he said.

 Todd said that aged vintage wines are often re-corked every 20 years to keep them at their best quality over the years. 

He said wine grown on hills often make the best wine. Still, everyone can determine what is best in their own judgment and price range, he said. 

 

Did you know you don't even have to be on Facebook to see what's posted on the Centerville Rotary Facebook page? You can get to it easily by clicking on the FB link on the home page of the club's website.

 

Each week in the eBulletin, we'll make it even easier for you to connect through social media, by including links to our Facebook, website, and LinkedIn.