I am well aware of the need to consistently put content on this blog. I’ve missed the deadline I give myself a couple of times including last week. I hate to miss a week just so you know. I want to take a moment to thank Leonard (I hope I spelled it the way he does) who is always encouraging me with his compliments on my writing. It’s good to know that there are people out there who read my articles. Of course, there are many others, including my wife Susie who also encourage me to keep it up. I mentioned Leonard because he came up with a great idea for an article. He thought it would be good to write about my personal cellar, what I store away and include some pictures. What wine regions of the world do I favor in my stash? I agree with him that this is a subject that would pique the interest of my readers. It would be nice to add another dimension to my blog, so I am off and running on an article about my buying habits and what I store away for future enjoyment. If any of you out there have ideas for my blog, things you would like to read about, let me know. I am open to suggestions.
The San Juan County Health Department has announced that as of June 27th the mask mandate will be lifted in our county. We were one of only two counties in Washington State that kept the mask mandate in force (the other was King County) after Governor Inslee lifted it for the state over a month ago. I was a bit concerned when I heard that Frank James, our local health department officer decided to keep the mandate going. San Juan County has the highest vaccination rate in the country. We have had very few cases over the past year, zero deaths and maybe one admitted to the hospital. Almost all the cases were from locals, not tourists. Keeping the mandate in force longer just adds to the insecurity of people that think for some reason we are in danger if we take the masks off. It is so refreshing to go to the mainland and shop, eat and function without a mask. Sure, there are still a few businesses that continue to require masks. However, there are many that don’t and that feels good to me. We are headed back to normal.
Speaking of normal, I should be able to once again have in-person wine events at the Mullis Center. I am shooting for August with my fingers crossed. I have been using Zoom over the past year and it works well for tasting events. However, the amount of time it takes to get ready for one of the Zoom events is incredible. I’ve cleaned and filled over 5,000 sample bottles in the past fourteen months and let me tell you, that takes a lot of time. A few of my participants have expressed to me that they enjoy the Zoom events quite a bit. I will keep the Zoom option in my back pocket, but as soon as I can get back to in-person events, I’m doing it. I also am planning a Riesling education class. I have a lot of older Rieslings in my cellar and would love to educate people on this liquid that doesn’t get the respect it deserves. It will be a small group of about fifteen to twenty. If this is something that would interest you, let me know. There will be an entry fee, but it will be well worth it. Further details to come.
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man