The Wines of Los Altos Hills

 

On Sunday afternoon October27th, 2019, under more-or-less perfect weather conditions,* the vintners of Los Altos Hills brought their wines to the 6th Biennial "Vines & Wines" tasting at Town Hall.

The event was held from 2-5 pm around the Heritage Oak Tree at the Los Altos Hills Town Hall, approximately 300 people attended.

All wines were either grown in Los Altos Hills or made in Los Altos Hills. There are over 112 micro-vineyards in the Hills. (Fastest growing enterprise in the town...)

Twenty-four vintners participated, sharing their wines, none of which are available commercially. (These Vintners are not bonded to sell.)

The attendees all seemed to enjoy the event hugely and encouraged the organizers to make it happen again.

Hills 2000 - Friends of the Hills were pleased to sponsor this wine event for the sixth time. The attendees enjoyed discovering the marvelous oenological offerings that Los Altos Hills harbors within its borders.

Some pictures taken at that occasion...

(*This weekend was dominated by "Big Wind Events" up North, and again our celebration of local wines was held against a backdrop of widespread fire tragedy occurring up North of The Golden Gate, with smokey air drifting down and making its presence known to the eyes and throats of the attendees.)

 

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Preparations started earlier on Sunday morning. The organisers had at least thought about contingency plans in case of rain, but dismissed this as unlikely. But instead they were faced with what the meteorologists charitably called a "wind event".

As the tables and chairs were being put out before the event, it became clear there was a problem.

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Hurriedly some bricks were "provided" by a rapidly organised "Strike Team" to help weigh down the table-cloths and signage for each vintner station

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The registration booth tent was firmly weighed down to stop it from blowing away, while the volunteers did their best to hold the papers in place

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The wind started to subside just in time, and smiles of relief could be seen...

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The vintners arrived with their wine in plenty of time before the official start of the event, giving them an opportunity to meet and greet their fellow vintners.

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And right on time at 2 o'clock - the first members of the public started drifting in.... Finally after months of preparation by the organisers, everything was in place and the event came to a successful start.

Houston - we have lift-off!

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Towards the close of the event, a tradition that had been established two years earlier was repeated and a spontaneous movement erupted to make donations for the victimes of the fires that were still going on up North of us. It started with a few bottles...

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The bottle collection grew apace....

9981  These spontaneously contributed bottles made it possible for Hills2000 - Friends of the Hills to send a check for $1,000 immediately to the Sonoma Community Foundation. The money is earmarked for use in helping victims of the Kincade Fire.

 

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Finally, as the sun faded into the west and the evening started to get a little chilly, the event wound down and people started drifting homewards.

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The photos on this web page were contributed by a number of people - but the page itself was put together by this fellow. Any errors, omissions or spelling misteaks, are all his fault, and his alone.

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However, if any blame is to be spread, here are the main co-conspiators who made it happen. But I repeat - There was no collusion!

We hope to be able to do this again in two years!

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Photo albums from previous related events may be seen here: