WINO, Ventura County Chapter
WINO History
WINO for me started when my husband, Ken, and I saw an advertisement for a new restaurant, deli, and wine establishment located close to what is now Trader Joe’s in Camarillo. The article noted The Family Picnic Basket served wine by the glass – what a concept that was in Ventura County in the mid-Seventies! Of course, Ken hurried right down there to meet the owners, Frank and Susan Loaiza. We loved the food and the atmosphere and enjoyed Frank’s enthusiasm, especially when it came to trying different wines. One day he said to us, “You’re the ones!” Little did I know how that statement would change our lives!
Frank had been a representative for Mirassou Winery and had met Jerry Mead, who a few years earlier had started a group called WINO, an acronym for Wine Investigation for Novices and Oenophiles. Novices and Oenophiles are wine lovers who want to learn more about wine. Jerry could have spelled Oenophiles with an “e” but decided to thumb his nose at wine snobbery and use the letter “o.” WINO commenced with a group of friends meeting at the Mead house enjoying wine paired with food. That became the Orange County Chapter and was followed by the Long Beach Chapter. Our Ventura County Chapter would become number three, after Frank Loiza introduced Ken and me to Jerry Mead.
Our first WINO meeting was held July 28, 1975, at the Colonial House restaurant in Oxnard. If you look closely on the west side while driving on the 700 block of Oxnard Boulevard you will see a fireplace with ivy growing on it inside a fenced-off lot. That is all that is left of the building.
Mondavi was our first winery and the event was called, “An Evening with Robert Mondavi.” Robert not only furnished all the wines, he put on a component tasting for the group. A local newspaper, the Press Courier, printed an article about the dinner and to our amazement, more than 130 attended. The price for the dinner was $7.95. The menu is lost somewhere in my memory but I do remember the dinner finished the Colonial House’s famous grasshopper pie. In the program the aperitif was listed as a 1974 Gamay Rosé, followed by dinner wines listed as 1973 Chardonnay (unfiltered), 1974 Chenin Blanc, 1973 Gamay and a 1972 Pinot Noir.
Part of the tradition in those early years of WINO was the directors hosting everyone who had been at the dinner that evening at their home for the “after party.” At the time, the wineries furnished the wine and brought an abundant amount. We brought all the wine that was left back to our house and my kids made gallons of guacamole, cut up cheese and apples, and put out piles of chips and crackers. I’ll never forget the day the county assessor came to see the house the day after WINO. He probably still is wondering why there were dozens upon dozens of wine glasses in the kitchen, dining room, living room and upstairs in the library. I never explained why.
After Jerry started his wine group he also got into writing, eventually becoming a syndicated columnist. This sounded like a great idea to Ken and the next thing I knew we were writing two columns every week for the Press Courier. The columns, known as “Wine Words” and “Dine Words,” made for very busy times as we both were teachers as well as being involved with our children’s lives and activities.
Somehow, 20 years of WINO went by and in 1995 a committee headed by co-directors, Ed and Diane Keay, planned a surprise party for Ken. It was probably one of the most special events in Ken’s life. It was held at Capistrano’s in Oxnard under the capable direction of Jean-Claude Guererin, a dear friend. The committee thought of everything: they sent out invitations, planned table directions, took reservations, planned seating, and contacted friends and speakers. They also rounded up big bottles of wine – signed by the winemakers or owners – for a rigged raffle with Ken holding all the winning numbers.
The saddest change of all for WINO was the loss of Ken Bartlett, also known as the Silver Fox. Ken died December 20, 1999, after a valiant battle against colon cancer. On February 6, 2000, WINO held a Celebration of Ken’s Life at the Marriott, with Jean-Claude at the helm and Ken Brown from Byron supplying the wine. More than 200 of us gathered to toast Ken with a glass of his beloved Zinfandel. With that dinner I decided that I could and would carry on his dream by continuing to organize our monthly dinners.
WINO’s 30th anniversary brought another surprise, this time on me. Boy was I fooled! I thought I was going by car to Paso Robles with several longtime WINOs – the Kincaids, Hillmans and Thompsons – for a wine tour. We were to stay somewhere near the coast and then tour the wineries by limo. I thought I was on my way to Paso Robles driven by Greg and Carla Kincaid, to a strip mall parking lot supposedly for Greg’s forgotten medications and there was a bus with 50 friends holding a sign saying, “Thirty Years of WINO--Thanks Jeanne!” Once I recovered from the shock and we were all seated in the bus I turned around to see who was seated directly behind me, and there was my son Michael and his (then) fiancée Pam, who had secretly driven in from Las Vegas.
Ed and Diane Keay, co-directors of WINO, had put in over a year planning the event – and what fun it was! The bus first took us to the new facility of Byron Winery, where we ate a fantastic lunch accompanied by a special tasting of Pinot Noir clones on the outdoor terrace overlooking the vineyards. We journeyed on to the Adelaide Inn where we stayed and got ready for a dinner in the Caves at Eberle Winery. At Eberle were our first co-directors, Bruce and Barbara Van Dyke. The morning found us on the road to Sunstone where we again dined in the caves on a spectacular brunch accompanied by their stunning Rhone Varietals. One of the best parts of the trip was that Diane made me a scrapbook, not just any old scrapbook but a work of art with pictures for me to cherish.
Now somehow July 19, 2009, found us celebrating our 34th anniversary. What I thought would be one event, a celebration of Ken Bartlett’s life, has turned into almost 10 years. When I look at the file containing the flyers of all those dinners on all those Sundays it makes me very proud that I have been able to continue Ken’s dream.