Photo by Arlene Wong and Lawrence Schweitzer.
Arlene Wong
During September, members of the New York/New Jersey Club enjoyed an appetizer, wine tasting, trivia, and musical entertainment party at the home of Arlene and Mark Wong.
Guests were treated to a blind tasting of two white and two red wines and then voted on their favorite. The winner was a white Riesling from the Wagoner Winery from the Finger Lakes district in upstate New York. For an added surprise, a California red wine was thrown into the mix which coincidentally was the crowd pleaser.
The oldest winery in the U.S. is in Washingtonville, NY, however, the availability of New York wines was very limited, and no wines from New Jersey were obtainable in Arizona. Both New York and New Jersey have a long tradition of producing excellent, high-quality wines.
The group then tested their trivia skills with questions, such as when was the first corkscrew produced in the U.S., how many pounds of grapes does it take to make a bottle of wine, how many varieties of wine grapes exist in the world, and a lot more challenging questions. Winners were awarded with wine related prizes.
Next up was musical entertainment provided by our very own Ranch resident, Rick Still. Rick started playing guitar when he was eight years old when his grandmother, who loved Elvis, took him to a small music store in New Jersey and traded an old violin and some cash for a small acoustic guitar for him. At an early age he played in many bands and taught guitar. When he retired in 2003, he picked up the guitar again and learned how to lay down individual music tracks on a computer and mix the music to live sound. Now he has a “full band” sound and plays lead guitar with his band, The Phantoms! Whether dancing, singing, or toe-tapping, everyone loved his music.
If you’ve ever lived or worked in New York or New Jersey and would like to join our club, contact Kim Schweitzer at [email protected] or 516-428-8927. All inquiries welcome.