January 21, 2004
Another Wine Class for a New YearUCSB Extension Offers Class for the Backyard Vintner
Back in the days when I lived in Santa Barbara, I used to teach wine appreciation classes for UCSB Extension. I liked teaching adult education classes a lot, because the students were there because they wanted to be there, and they always enjoyed my homework assignments. Occasionally, Extension still offers wine classes, and their publicist Jeff Wing sent me up a release on pruning.
There are many small "mom and pop" vineyards in the county, and grape vines, just like rosebushes, should be pruned and this is the time of year to do it. Save money and prune the vineyard yourself rather than hiring a crew.
In the cycle of the vine, after harvest, the plant goes dormant. I liken it to the sleep cycle for the animal. Bears hibernate for several months, I believe. For mammals such as humans we sleep about eight hours or one third of a day-or at least I do.
Saturday, January 31, 2004, Extension offers a one day class on pruning. Here are the specifics:
Saturday. In the morning, students will meet at Anderson's Pea Soup Restaurant in Buellton for a lecture on the science and technique of pruning grapevines. Following a break for lunch, the class will move to Gainey Vineyards for hands-on pruning under the tutelage of Eddy and Nancy Szyjewicz.
"Bring a pair of clean, sharp pruning shears and some work clothing and you will leave a pruning expert by day's end," Mr. Szyjewicz adds.
Eddy and Nancy Szyjewicz earned their Master's degrees from the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis, and have taught classes to thousands of students. They have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Wine Country Living. They own and operate DeVine Consultants, a custom home vineyard and winemaking company based in the Santa Cruz mountains.
The enrollment fee for this class is $175. For more information or to enroll, call 805-893-4200.
From the "I Didn't Know That File."
Will wonders never cease! Last Friday when I watched Michael Jackson be 21 minutes late for his court date before Judge Melville in Santa Maria, I learned from the cable news channel, MSNBC, that Santa Maria was the county seat for Santa Barbara County.
Bon Appetit!
Wine lover and Santa Maria Times Wine columnist, Bob Senn, lives in the bucolic Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium, six miles from Neverland.
