I love sharing my love and zest for wine to others. My goal is to take the mystery out of wine so all can enjoy it.
When asked to speak at the 2009 Clay County Fair in the Creative Living Center I was thrilled. I had given a speech a few years there before in another venue; but this seemed perfect!
I got there on Sunday, September 13 to set up. Meeting me there was Bruce and Gayle Simons of Spencer. They are part of the coordinating force in the Creative Living Center at the fair. They know the ins-and-outs of the center and could assist me with any little question I had.
I began by setting up the laptop and Powerpoint along with the screen. Next came out all the accessories that I like to speak about during the speech/demonstration. I was done with plenty of time to spare and had a chance to talk to some people who were all ready sitting down ready for the speech.
I like to first start out by telling a little bit about myself and how I have gotten into the wonderful world of wine. Then start talking about the basics of wine making and why wines look and taste different. Next is the great accessories that come along with loving wine: different openers, racks and storage, and of course taking the mystery out of glasses. We also discuss how to open wine, temperatures of wine, and why certain things are done the way they are.
I then call up a person from the audience who really doesn’t like red wine but would like to. I selected a gal that was a lot of fun. We opened an Iowa red wine (I had permission to do this from the Clay County Fair) and I let her try the wine. Her nose wrinkled, she shook her head, and declared that she didn’t like it. This is when I begin to sweat! I bravely pour the same red wine through a wine aerator and ask her to try it again. I hold my breathe hoping that this works…you never know from person to person. I slowly hand her the glass. She sniffs it…looking at me like I am trying to trick her. She takes a sip and her eyebrows lift in surprise. She likes it!!! She declares to rest of the audience that she likes it. I go to reach for the little bit that is left in her glass as I am thanking her and she says “I’m drinking the rest!”. This brought a round of laughter from the audience!
A little bit later we finish up the speech and invite questions. There were quite a few. Then everyone was invited to come up and try a little wine with the aerator.
I enjoyed getting to know the audience…they were wonderful! And anytime I can talk to others about wine, well, it is a good day!
















What a fantastic and wonderful experience I just had! I accepted an offer to be on a panel of eight judges for the Iowa State Fair’s first ever Commercial Wine Judging.









