Monday, September 23, 2013

Letter from Jamie Fish, membership officer FBV

Dear members and Prospective Members,

Peter Fland, our new president, along with the French Broad Vignerons board members have been working hard to provide a schedule of wine education, discovery and resources along with friendship and fun in the upcoming year.  We have an events schedule that combines the best of all of these.  Gatherings are intended to occur bi-monthly and there will be one special meeting annually for the election of officers and the approval and discussion of the budget.  Alan will also schedule FBV Training Sessions that will be topic specific for those months we do not have a regular membership activity.  More information will come for these sessions shortly.

Schedule as we understand it so far.  Additions and adjustments may occur.

October 19th   Wine Tour and Tasting

 Burntshirt Vineyards 2:00 PM for tour and tasting, Saint Paul Vineyards at 5:00 PM for tasting and tour.  Covered dish dinner at Alan and Heather Staton's home. 

December 7th  Bring on the Bubbles

Discussion of several varieties of sparkling wine, their history and origins and how they compare and differ.  Please bring a bottle of sparkling wine, glasses will be provided.  We will also have a covered dish dinner at the home of Bill and Jamie Fish.

February The Price is Right

 Wine Focus Fund Raiser - We will not raise much.  Each person who attends needs to buy a $10 ticket.   At the meeting we will serve and compare (blind) wines retailing at $10, 20, 30 and 40. Your ticket covers the purchase of the wines and the remainder goes into the treasury. The purpose is to introduce interesting and quality wines that may be out of the mainstream that would be worthy additions to your cellars.
Location and dinner plans to be announced.  

April    Wine and What!   Ladies Night (Husbands by invitation)

Class on Camembert making by Kelley.  This event will discuss the pairing of wine and how to make food and wine compliment each other.  
Location and date to be announced

June   Wine Tour and Dinner 

Another Friday or Saturday event where we will take a bus to tour a group of selected wineries.  We will feature NC wineries initially, but we can investigate trips to surrounding states as well. 

August. Summer gathering

Event to be announced. 

The six general membership meetings will have a fixed format for each event. 
Short educational presentation by Alan or designee

Structured wine tasting - Please remember to bring your wine glass kits.  This could be a blind tasting or particular style of a wine selected by Alan or designee to demonstrate a type, a feature, a fault or some unique quality.  On occasion we may include an additional wine or grape related products.

Question/answer opportunity.  

Sharing - Each member may rise and briefly talk about the wine or value added product that they brought to the meeting to share.

Covered dish dinner or restaurant selection.

Board Report with follow-up discussion as needed.  This will occur after everyone has had something to eat and it is intended to be short.

Event reports - A form of committee report especially when the chair would need extra assistance or if there is major project news to share..

In addition to our great activities, FBV membership also saves you money. As of now we have the following for our value added program and we are continuing to work with other stores and restaurants to secure a discount for our membership.  You will receive a specific notice when the program officially starts.

Table Wine - 10% off wine purchases
Falderal - 10% off winemaking supplies
Jewel of the Blue Ridge - 10% off on vines

We hope our schedule of events, education, support and savings will make belonging to FBV a fun and rewarding experience.  If you have not sent in your membership form and dues please do  so to continue receiving information and updates on events.   We will look forward to seeing you at our kick off tour and tasting  October 19th. 

Jamie Fish







French Broad Vignerons Membership Application
Name________________________________________________________
Address______________________________________________________
Telephone(Land)_________________________Cell__________________________
Email__________________________________________________________________
Do you have a vineyard or orchard? Y___N___
Do you intend to have a vineyard or orchard? Y___N___
If you have a vineyard or orchard, what are the GPS coordinates?
________________
Do you currently make wine from either grapes or fruit? Y___N___
Do you intend to make wine from either grapes or fruit? Y___N___
Do you intend to produce any other fruit or grape products? Y___N___
To Join FBV, please return this form and a check for $25 to: Judy Fland, 362 Webb Drive, Marshall, NC, 28753

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Letter From the President of FBV






Peter Fland, President
ontheroadpj@yahoo.com  or 908 406 2503
 
 
 
Dear FBV Members;
Your Executive Board met on 8/27/13 to finalize the By-Law revision.  You may
review the revision on our blog site shortly and submit any questions or concerns for
additional consideration.  The blog address is:
http: www.frenchbroadvignerons.blogspot.com

We are now moving forward with our membership initiative.  Jaime Fish has agreed
to serve as membership chair and coordinate the initiative.  In conjunction with that
effort the Board has funded a gift basket of wine for a drawing between members
who bring in new members during the period of the initiative.  You will hear more
about this from Jamie shortly. In the mean time, if you know of people you think
should be members, feel free to approach them and encourage them to join and
bring them to our October meeting. 

One of the things we enjoy is drinking wine.  However, when we get together as a
large group this can inconvenience our hosts.  I am suggesting that we all come
equipped with our own glasses suitably marked whenever we get together.  We are
expecting a donation of glasses and we will distribute them among any members
that may want one.  You may even want to have a tasting kit consisting of wine
glasses, some crackers, and a corkscrew in your car.  By doing this, we can make
things a little easier for our hosts.

We are developing a value added benefits program for members.  This may take the
form of a coupon book or use of a membership card that would result in discounts
and accommodations for our members at supporting businesses.  It may take a while
to set this up, but I am hopeful that we can pull this off.  We already have worked
out a deal on wine and vine purchases and winemaking supplies.  We will let you
know as we move forward with this.

The Board will announce a meeting schedule for general membership meetings in an
email shortly.  Some of these meetings will be more like an event instead of a
meeting. The form of the meeting will also be modified so that there is more time
for wine tasting, information exchange, socialization and our regular pot luck dinner.
In preparation for the Asheville Wine and Food Festival and other evaluation events
we purchased a set of stemware, pitchers, waste bowls, bottle tools, and a cooler for
use by our evaluators and at training classes.  In addition a hand truck and plastic
storage containers have been donated.

Our major activity this month was the Asheville Wine and Food Festival.  We
evaluated the wine competition and staffed a both for the French Broad Vignerons. 
Tom Mincarelli served as the Wine Evaluation Coordinator and he assembled the
judging panels, coordinated the training and scheduled the actual tastings including
the “Grand Tasting” on Saturday.  The only way to describe the results of his efforts
would be - “flawless”.  Thanks to all who made this effort a success.

Please be on the lookout for notes from Jamie about meetings and membership.
Please do not forget to pay your dues we are starting to use the treasury for our
activities now.

Pete

Board Minutes August 2013



Peter Fland, President
ontheroadpj@yahoo.com  or 908 406 2503
Minutes of the Board Meeting of 8/27/13
The meeting began at 6:30
Present were Pete and Judy Fland, Chuck Blethen, Alan Staton and Jamie Fish.
Treasurer’s Report - Several major expenses had been incurred to cover the cost
of stemware, bottle tools, badge making materials, award ribbons and PR
materials.
Opening Balance - 767.27
Expenditures - 254.02
Dues Income -
Closing Balance - 782.35
Membership - Jamie discussed several aspects of the membership drive. 
Included in this discussion was the format and content of bimonthly meetings,
the value added component and the membership drive.  Jamie was authorized to
move forward with her plan.  Previously the board had authorized a three bottle
wine basket at $30 for a raffle for the current FBV members who bring in new
members into the organization.
AWFF - The Board reviewed the Asheville Wine and Food Festival.  It was agreed
that the wine competition was done at a high level of excellence.  It was also
discussed, and placed on the agenda for the September, that we should review
the entire judging program.
Donations - We have received a hand truck and two plastic storage boxes for our
wine evaluation materials and glasses.
Policy - The Board decided that only members in good standing could represent
FBV at any event. 
Policy - The Board reaffirmed the policy that a non-member may attend two
meetings or events prior to joining FBV.
By-laws - The Board finalized revisions to the By-laws and agreed to place them
on the Blog for member comment.  The comment period will be the month of
September.
New Members
Michael Swindle

Proposed By-Laws of the French Broad Vignerns

By-Laws of the FRENCH BROAD VIGNERONS, Inc.

Approved for submission to the membership at the board meeting of

August 27, 2013 by posting the By-Law Proposal on the Blog of the

French Broad Vignerons.

Questions and concerns may be directed to the board prior to September

30, 2013 using the email address - ontheroadpj@yahoo.com and they will



be considered at the October board meeting. If no substantive changes

are made, the By-Laws will be voted on during the month of November.


ARTICLE I: NAME AND LEGAL PURPOSE

This organization shall be known as the French Broad Vignerons, Inc. and shall operate as a nonprofit

LLC.

ARTICLE II: GENERAL OBJECTIVE

The specific objectives of this corporation are to:

1. Establish and develop an open membership organization whose goal is to foster the growth of



quality grapes and fruit and production of quality wines and diverse value added products.

2. Focus their efforts in the mountain counties of North Carolina and beyond.

3. Develop initiatives that would include lectures, seminars, online informational support, hands-on



training, and other appropriate means of reaching and engaging the membership base and

product consumers.

4. Engage in those activities designed to enhance the perceptions of mountain county wines, fruit,



and value added products.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013
ARTICLE III: POWERS

The French Broad Vigerons shall be empowered to do all things and conduct all business, necessary

to carry out the general objectives of the Corporation as set forth in these Bylaws. The French Broad

Vignerons shall operate as a non-profit organization.

ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

Section 1. Membership

A. ACTIVE- Any individual engaged in or interested in wine or growing grapes and/or other fruit

for use in wine production and fruit products in the mountain counties of North Carolina and

adjacent regions.

B. STUDENT - Individuals registered in, and actively taking courses at an accredited

educational institution.

C. SUPPORTING - People or organizations who wish to support the organizations goals while

not taking an active role in the governance of the French Broad Vignerons. They shall be

recognized on the various publications and electronic media associated with the French Broad

Vignerons.

Section 2. Dues

Annual dues for the various classes of membership shall be determined from time to time by the

Board (of Directors.) Annual dues shall be due and payable during the month of January of 2014 and

annually thereafter. Membership for the period of July 1, 2013 shall be half of the annual membership

fee and forward credit will be provided.

Dues shall be established at the following minimums:

A. ACTIVE- $25.00 annually per membership, which shall include the member’s partner

provided they reside at the same address.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013
B. Additional members representing the same enterprise or organization may join for an

additional $20.00.

C. STUDENT-$20.00 annually. College or graduate students shall be entitled to the privileges



of full membership.

D. Supporting members shall pay a minimum of $100 annually or an equivalent in goods or



services.

Any member failing to pay annual dues shall have all rights and privileges suspended after a 30 day

notice.

Section 3 Membership Year

The membership year shall be from January 1 through December 31 of the calendar year beginning

in January, 2014.

Section 4. Privileges

Active members shall be entitled to all the privileges of the Corporation, provided membership dues

have been paid. Student members may vote but not hold office. Supporting members may not vote

or hold office.

Section 5. Membership meetings.

An annual membership business meeting will be held each year in the month of November to provide

for the election of officers, approve the proposed annual budget and to discuss other matters as

determined by the board or raised during open discussion period of the meeting.

Other meetings shall be held to provide education, information and socialization of the membership

and they shall occur bi-monthly.

ARTICLE V: ELECTED OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS

The business of the Corporation shall be conducted by a board not to exceed nine members and

shall include:

Tuesday, August 27, 2013
A. The President, Vice President for Public Relations, Vice President for Education, Vice President for

Membership, Vice President for Marketing and Development, Secretary, and Treasurer.

B. Two at large member(s) of which one shall be the immediate Past President. The at large

members shall be identified by the officers and approved by the membership at the annual meeting

with any adjustments using the rules for interim appointment.

C. To provide for continuity all officers and board members shall serve 2 year terms beginning in

January of 2014. However, 4 officers elected in 2014 shall serve one year terms followed by two

year terms - they shall be President, Vice President for Education, Vice President for Marketing and

Development, and Treasurer. The Vice Presidents for Membership and Public Relations and the

Secretary shall be elected for a two year term initially and thereafter. At large members shall always

serve 2 year terms.

ARTICLE VI: DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1. Duties of the President

The President shall:

Serve as the Chairman of the Board

Be chief executive officer of the French Broad Vignerons

Sign contracts in the name of the French Broad Vignerons with the prior approval of the Board

Sign all documents and checks which have been authorized by the Board, annual budget, or

approved activities of the organization.

Preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors and the general membership meetings

Perform duties usually pertaining to the office

Represent the organization in all appropriate settings

Design, in coordination with the entire executive board, the annual budget for the coming

year.

Shall, in cooperation with the Secretary or a designee, maintain the records and documents of

the French Broad Vignerons in such a way as they may be passed on to the in-coming

President or physically brought to any meeting at which they are needed.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Section 2. Duties of the Vice-Presidents

The Vice-President - Education shall:

Represent the President in his absence

Assist the President in conducting the administrative affairs of the French Broad Vignerons

Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the President.

Plan meeting programs, locations, and other activities of the French Broad Vignerons as

requested

Design and implement the annual education programs of FBV

The Vice-President - Public Relations shall:

At the request of the President or the Board interact with all external bodies and contacts

Develop and distribute press releases and advertising

Prepare and staff all booth representations at public events

Cause an annual audit of the Corporation’s books to be conducted. The annual audit shall be

conducted in house until such time as the treasury exceeds $25,000, not including pass

through fundings, and shall report the findings of the audit to the executive board and the

entire membership.

The Vice-President for Membership shall:

Develop and maintain the membership data base in coordination with the secretary and

treasurer

Represent, along with others, the French Broad Vignerons at all public functions and

events which may result in additional members for the organization

Maintain, supervise and expand as appropriate the French Broad Vignerons “Value Added”

membership program

Shall perform all notifications for and about the collection of dues and shall forward to the

treasurer dues money as it is collected

Shall partner with the Vice President for Education to plan the bi-monthly membership

meetings and the content for those meetings

Tuesday, August 27, 2013
The Vice-President for Marketing and Development shall:

Maintain, supervise, and expand as appropriate the Best of the Appalachians Program

Shall interface with all wineries, vineyards, and producers of value added products to identify

and develop programs or opportunities for assistance and support

Shall coordinate activities with local colleges and organizations that would result in improved

products or marketing opportunities for members.

Section 3. Duties of the Secretary

The Secretary shall:

A - Record the minutes for all meetings of the Board, the annual membership meeting and any

special membership meetings and distribute them appropriately after approval by the

President or designee.

B - Provide (at least three weeks in advance), timely notice of all Board and general

meetings to all members and interested parties as determined by the board.

C - Perform such other duties as the Board may authorize, including generating and

distributing by mail or email any information deemed to be in the interest of the general

membership by the Board.

D - Establish in coordination with all other appropriate officers an annual calendar of executive

board meeting dates and general membership meeting dates and distribute them in printable

format to the members and other interested parties

E - Shall maintain, in cooperation with the President or a designee the the records and

documents of the French Broad Vignerons

G - Shall only post or distribute information when approved or requested to do so by the

President or Board

Section 4. Duties of the Treasurer

The Treasurer shall:

Tuesday, August 27, 2013
A - Receive and keep an account of all monies belonging to the Corporation and deposit them

into the corporation account

B - Disburse funds of the Corporation as authorized by the Board

C - Maintain all records of the financial business of the French Broad Vignerons

D - Give a full and correct report on the financial status of the Corporation at all meetings of

the Board and the annual meeting of the membership

E - The Treasurer shall provide an annual report to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the

Corporation each year

F - Coordinate with the Vice President for Membership and the Secretary the data base of paid

and non-paid members, sponsors, and value added supporters and shall issue dues invoices

annually to all existing members

Section 5. Interim Appointments

In the event of the death, resignation, disability or disqualification of the President, a Vice-President,

Secretary, Treasurer or an elected at large Board Member, the Board shall make an interim

appointment for the balance of the unexpired term or until next annual meeting.

ARTICLE VII: Governing Board

Section 1. Composition

The executive board shall be composed of up to nine members: The 7elected officers and 2 at large

members shall constitute the executive board. The immediate Past President shall automatically hold

one of the at large seats unless elected as another officer of the association in which case there shall

be two at-large members.

Section 2. Meetings

A - The Board shall conduct the business of the organization at monthly meetings with all

business reported in the minutes which shall appear on the FBV Blog and distributed by email

to all active members and interested parties regardless of class after approval by the President

or designee.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013
B - Membership meetings shall occur bi-monthly for purposes of education, socialization,

special project status and discussion, and information. The Board may also seek input from

members on significant issues or special projects. All general membership meetings shall

have minutes reported in abbreviated form except for those issues when input from the

members is directly sought.

C - A quorum, if called for, shall consist of one half plus one of board members present

provided that all sitting board members have received timely notice of the meeting. A member

shall be considered present if they are using an electronic tool such as Skype to participate in

the meeting as it is being held.

D - The annual meeting shall be held in November for the specific purpose of electing the

officers of the French Broad Vingerons, approving the proposed at-large board members and

approving the proposed annual budget as prepared by the Board

Section 3. Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Board shall include determining all matters of French Broad Vignerons

policy, insuring proper conduct of administrative affairs, and compliance with the By-Laws of the

Corporation.

Specifically the Board shall:

Approve all projects involving appropriation of funds

Oversee the proper functioning of any designated committees

Approve all expenditures which occur outside of the annual budget

Section 4. Vacancies

Resignations - Resignations of elected officials shall be in writing to the President; resignation of the

President shall be in writing to the Secretary. Resignations shall become effective upon receipt of the

written letter in the absence of an effective date provided in the letter.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Removals - Any Board member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings of the Board may be

removed as a Board member for cause as voted upon by a majority of the entire Board.

Any Board member may be removed with or without cause, by a majority vote, by mail, of the

Members of the association.

Section 5. Compensation.

No director shall receive compensation for any service he/she may render to the Association.

However, any director may be reimbursed for actual board approved expenses incurred in the

performance of duties.

ARTICLE VIII: COMMITTEES

The Board may establish committees, consisting of a Chairperson and two or more Members to

undertake special projects or activities of the French Broad Vignerons. There shall be no standing

committees and existing committees shall, if needed, be reappointed at the January meeting of the

Board.

ARTICLE IX: ELECTIONS

Section 1. Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee, shall be appointed by the President each September and shall consist of

a chairperson and two members. The committee shall submit to the Secretary prior October 15th a

list of nominees for the vacancies to be voted on at the next annual meeting. The Chairperson shall



solicit from the membership other nominees which shall be submitted and received no later than October 30th.

Section 2. Notice of Elections

The Secretary shall publish a notice of election and the names of all nominees for all offices in the

form of a ballot. The notice of election shall set a return date for the ballot if a voting member shall not

be in attendance at the annual meeting. Actual voting at the annual meeting shall occur by submitting

ballots upon entering the annual meeting. The President shall call for any unsubmitted ballots at the

Tuesday, August 27, 2013
start of the meeting and then verbally close the submission of ballots so the nominating committee

and the Secretary may tally the ballots.

Section 3. Ballots

The election shall be conducted by ballot issued to all members in good standing. All balloting shall

be submitted by mail (or e-mail) prior to the annual meeting or at the annual meeting. Any member

shall be entitled to write in the name of any member in good standing as a write-in candidate for any

office on the ballot. The President shall close the submission of ballots at the beginning of the annual

meeting.

Section 4. Notice of Election Results

The Secretary shall publish the results of the election as soon as they are known by posting the

results on the FBV Blog and issuing a results notification by email. Newly elected officers shall

assume duties on January 1st.

ARTICLE X: OBLIGATIONS AND INDEBTEDNESS

Section 1. Authority to Incur Obligations of Indebtedness

Only the officers or members of the Board or persons authorized by the Board to act on behalf of the

French Broad Vignerons, shall incur any obligation or indebtedness in the name of the organization.

No elected Officer, Board Member, or any other person authorized to act in behalf of the French Broad

Vignerons shall incur any obligation or indebtedness in excess of the sum of $50.00 without prior

approval of a majority of the Board, except for the following purposes:

A. Printing, mailing, postage and other expenses of the French Broad Vignerons which have

been approved by the Board prior to expenditure.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013
B. Emergency purchases necessary to implement an active project with the verbal approval of



the President, appropriate Vice President and the Treasurer.

Section 2. Property

No property rights shall accrue to any member or person, and in case of dissolution, all property or

assets, after payment of all debts, shall (accrue as provided in the charter) be distributed to the

members or a successor organization.

ARTICLE XI: AMENDMENT OF BY-LAWS

Section 1. Amendment of By-Laws

These By-Laws may be amended by a majority of the votes cast in a referendum of the membership,

which shall be conducted by mail using paper ballots or at the annual meeting. The 2013 revision of

the By-Laws shall be approved at either the October, November, or December membership meeting

as determined by the Board.

Section 2. Proposed Amendments



The Board or members in good standing constituting may propose amendments to these By-Laws.

Amendment proposals from the general membership shall be signed by at least 25% of the

membership and shall be automatically placed on the agenda of the annual meeting. Amendments

proposed by members shall be submitted to the Secretary in writing and shall be signed by each

proposing member.

Section 3. Notice of Proposed Amendments and Referendum



The Secretary shall cause to be published any proposed amendment submitted by the 25% of the

membership. The proposed amendments and the explanations and needs shall be published prior

to the annual meeting. All proposed amendments shall be discussed at the annual meeting and voted

upon by ballot within the 2 weeks after the annual meeting.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Section 4. Ballots



Votes for or against a proposed amendment to the By-Laws must be returned by each member to be

tabulated. All ballots shall be mailed to the Secretary and must be received no later than the date set

forth in the notice of referendum. A simple majority of ballots returned shall constitute a valid adoption

or rejection of the proposal.

Section 5. Tellers



The Secretary and the annual nominating committee shall jointly tabulate the votes cast in the

referendum within 15 days of the return date on the ballot. The Secretary shall schedule and convene

the tabulation meeting.

Section 6. Notice of Vote of Referendum Results

The Secretary shall publish the results of any vote or referendum on a proposed amendment on the

blog and in an email to all members.

ARTICLE XIII: Miscellaneous Provisions

Section 1. Dissolution

In the event of the dissolution of the French Broad Vignerons, all assets shall be distributed by the

Board after paying or making provisions for the payment of all debts, obligations, liabilities, costs and

expenses. All remaining assets shall be disposed of equally to all current members of the French

Broad Vignerons. In the event of dispute that cannot be resolved, the Board shall seek the assistance

of a mediator to resolve the matter.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Asheville Wine Food Festival 2013


Asheville Wine Food Festival 2013
Second Home Winemaker Competition
August 24, 2013


A "Consumer Wine Quality" panel of judges from the French Broad Vignerons attended the Asheville Wine and Food Festival Home Winemaker Competition for the second year.
"Consumer Wine Quality" training sessions have been open and free to the public for the past two years, and provided by the French Broad Vignerons with their own instructor, Chuck Blethen.
Thirty-Four wines of various styles were donated by eleven home winemakers from Asheville and surrounding areas of the state.
Judging the large quantity of wines was accomplished in three "flights" on August 19 and 21 at two local locations, and the final judging flight was on 8-24-13 from 12-5 PM at the Asheville Wine Food Festival in the US Cellular building in downtown Asheville, N.C.
Thomas Daniel Mincarelli was the "Chief Wine Judge" and "Wine Evaluation Coordinator" at all three of the judging flights.  John Kinnaird and Bill Gertz assisted Tom with the event.
The French Broad Vignerons judged and displayed the 34 wines at a large booth at the Asheville Wine Food Festival Home Winemaker Judging event.
A benefit of this kind of local event is that home winemakers from across the state are provided opinions and recognition from trained wine experts that can assist them in enhancing their winemaking skills.

Wines can be made in many styles from dry to sweet, and anywhere between as was the case again this year!

AWFF Wine Categories
1-  DR-Dry Red: May be a pure varietal or a blend of grapes and fruit.
2-  DW-Dry White: May be a pure varietal or a blend of grapes and fruit.
3-  SR-Sweet Red: May be a pure varietal or a blend of grapes
4-  SW-Sweet White: May be a pure varietal or a blend of grapes and fruit.
5-  MS-Muscadine/Scuppernong: Pure varietal or a blend.
6-  DP-Dessert Wine: Residual sugar higher than 3% and fortified grape wines.
7-  LQ-Liqueur: Any fruit/nut vegetable or combination.
8-  SP-Sparkling Wine: Any non-still wine.
9-  FW- Fruit Wine: Any fruits or combination not including grapes.
10- HM-Mead:  Any honey-based wine.
NOTE: (Semi-Dry or Semi-Sweet may also be a charachteristic of a wine style)

Scoring of the wines were designated in three categories of quality:
Blue Ribbon: 18-20 points.
Red Ribbon: 15-17 points.
Yellow Ribbon: 11-14 points.
No Ribbons are awarded with less than 11 points scored.
The score numbers were averaged without rounding up or down of the numbers. All scores were double checked for accuracy.
This years home winemakers were awarded 25 Yellow Ribbons and 9 Red Ribbons.
Achieving a Blue Ribbon is not easy as this years scores revealed!

Winemakers-Wines-Awards
1- Tony Gaddis  
Dry Red Style:
Malbec 2012- Yellow Ribbon
Petite Sirah 2011- Yellow Ribbon
Cabernet Sauvignon 2011- Yellow Ribbon
Carmenere 2012- Yellow Ribbon
Pinot Noir 2011- Yellow Ribbon
Dry White Style:
Pinot Grigio 2012- Yellow Ribbon
Sauvignon Blanc 2012- Yellow Ribbon
Dry Muscat 2012- Yellow Ribbon

2- Bill Gertz 
Dry Red Style:
Merlot 2011- Yellow Ribbon

3- Thomas Daniel Mincarelli 
Dry Red Style:
Grenache 2012- Yellow Ribbon
Merlot 2011- Red Ribbon
Merlot 2012- Red Ribbon
Beaurdoux Blend "Mystery Blend" 2012- Red Ribbon
Beaurdoux Blend 50% Malbec x 50% Cabernet Sauvignon 2012- Yellow Ribbon

4- John Kinnaird 
Dry White Style:
Blend of Petite Mansing x Sauvignon Blanc 2012- Red Ribbon

5- Ken Chrismon
Muscadine/Scuppernong Style:
Semi-Dry Scuppercham 2012- Yellow Ribbon
Sweet Scuppercham 2012- Red Ribbon
Semi-Dry Scuppernong 2012- Red Ribbon
Sweet Scuppernong 2012- Red Ribbon
Scuppernong/Muscadine Blend 2012- Red Ribbon
Dry Red Muscadine 2012- Yellow Ribbon
Semi-Dry Red Muscadine 2012- Yellow Ribbon 
Sweet Muscadine 2012- Red Ribbon
Fruit Wine Style:
Strawberry Select 2013- Yellow Ribbon   

6- Cornelius Ashe 
Red Semi-Sweet Style:
Steuben 2012- Yellow Ribbon
Chamourcin 2012- Yellow Ribbon
White Semi-Sweet Style:
Catawba 2012- Yellow Ribbon
Fruit Wine Style:
Red Raspberry 2012-Semi-Sweet  Yellow Ribbon

7-JD Diefenbach  
Dry Red Style:
Blend Chambourcin 90% x Zinfendel 10% 2010- Yellow Ribbon

8- Marc Williams 
Honey Mead Style:
Metheglin 2012- Yellow Ribbon

9- Alan Staton 
Dessert Wine Style:
Sweet Red Port 2013- Yellow Ribbon

10- Kristin Moyle
Dry Red Style:
Pinot Noir 2011- Yellow Ribbon

11- Jackie Fontaine 
Dry Red Style:
Cabernet Sauvignon 2010- Yellow Ribbon
Dry White Style:
Chardonay 2011- Yellow Ribbon

A Special Thanks to:
Bob Bowles and the 2013 Asheville Wine Food Fesstival
The French Broad Vignerons & Trained Consumer Wine Judges
The 11 Home Winemakers that donated their wines!
Thomas Daniel Mincarelli
John Kinnaird
Bill Gertz

Cheers soon!

Thomas Daniel Mincarelli CEO
"Eagles' Nest" Sustainable Micro-Home Winery & Vineyard

"Consumer Wine Quality" Judge Training Sessions 101 (2013)


"Consumer Wine Quality" Judge Training 101
Session #3 (August 14, 2013)
Minutes

Newly Elected Officers Conduct Second Meeting


FBV Officers Meeting
#2 (July 29???, 2013)
Minutes

Location: EarthFare in Asheville, N.C.
Date: 7-29-13
Time: 6:30 PM

Officers Present:
President-  Pete Fland
Vice President of Public Relations-  Chuck Blethen
Treasurer-  Judy Fland


FBV Business Items Reviewed:

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Letter from new FBV President



Dear Members,

The new officers of the French Broad Vignerons met on July 2 to plan for our second formal year of activities.  During the meeting we reviewed our experiences and began to formulate an action plan for our organization that would improve governance, expand member participation, and move us toward our goal of support for grape and fruit growers and product producers of our region.  This letter will outline some of the changes we are implementing.  

A review of the existing by-laws shows that we have been operating outside of the original plan. The officers have agreed to operate in the spirit of the current by-laws while we refine and revise them.  The most significant change is the fact that the by-laws call for an organization run by a board.  This would make membership meetings more informative, less tedious, and provide more time at meetings for the things we find most enjoyable - spending time with one another in a useful way.  Therefore we have begun to operate as a board driven organization.  

We are currently considering meeting on a bimonthly basis with a far more interesting and inviting agenda for the members that attend.   Each meeting will be devoted to a review of the actions of the board and then member centered activities involving education, product tastings, evaluations, and demonstrations.  We will ask you to respond to a question about meetings shortly.

During the meeting of the board we established a formal budget, identified tasks and people responsible for them, and agreed we need a membership drive.  The specifics of  these actions will appear as minutes on the FBV Blog.

While we are in transition, the board agreed to suspend the meeting for July and to plan a recreational activity for August/September.  The next regularly scheduled membership meeting is now scheduled for September.  In July we will conduct our second wine evaluation training session.  In August we will actively participate at the Asheville Wine and Food Festival by operating an information booth and judging the wines submitted for the wine competition.

While we recognize that we are making some significant changes, we feel it is in the best interest of the organization and the members.  We look forward to a very busy year with expanded membership, clearly stated goals and objectives, and a purpose driven plan.  We look forward to your support and we will be taking some specific initiatives to assure that all members are fully aware of the actions of the board and the organization.

We hope you will be supportive of this plan.

Pete Fland, President
French Broad Vignerons


Current Officers:

President - Pete Fland - OnTheRoadPJ@yahoo.com - (828) 649-1264

Vice President - Chuck Blethen - Chuck@JeweloftheBlueRidge.com             (828) 606-3130

Vice President - Alan Staton - BuildaPool@Gmail.com - (828) 243-3512

Treasurer - Judy Fland - JudyFland@yahoo.com - (828) 649-1264

Secretary - Tom Mincarelli - tomm@ren-works-energy.com                            (828) 777-9501


******* PLEASE SEND US AN EMAIL VOICING YOUR OPINION ABOUT BI-MONTHLY MEETINGS RATHER THAN MONTHLY.  
YOU CAN RESPOND TO PETE AT   ontheroadpj@yahoo.com

PROJECTS:

Membership Drive - We need to expand the organization to be as inclusive as possible.  There will come a time in this next year when we will begin applying for grants to do specific things.  The larger the membership the better our opportunity.
Fruit, Product, and Vineyard Census - A compilation of as many vineyards and grape and fruit product producers as possible.  The rational is the same as above.  We need to have the support of those we are trying to represent and we can only do this when we know who and where they are.

Complete Vineyard Maps Using GPS Coordinates - This is both a data base and a tool to help electric companies, railroads, road departments and others that maintain “rights of way” to know where they need to exercise care when spraying and defoliating.

 The Best of the Appalachians - A project to help publicize and support makers of products that would be deemed superior from a consumers point of view.  This will be both a marketing assistance tool for producers and a small fundraising activity for FBV.

Expand Our Group of Trained Consumer Wine and Product Evaluators - This would expand our trained base so that we may undertake a variety of consumer product evaluations to support our members and our industries.

This will be a very challenging year to say the least.