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| OHCC LIVING | JULY 2020 | 25 Just in case: Check with your club contact to confirm meeting place, date, and time. The club has not been able to have tastings in members' homes since the outbreak of COVID-19 began. The requirements for social separation, the ban on gatherings, and the governor's edict to stay at home all pretty well prevent having our typical in-home wine tastings. But some club members have gotten creative about finding an alternative. Using a website and software product called Zoom, it is easy to put together a virtual meeting where everyone can see and hear each other. Zoom is used by corporate entities and by families. There is a free version that can accommodate up to 100 guests for 40 minutes. A paid version has no time limit. Zoom is the top free app downloaded from the Apple App Store. Some of our groups have met using Zoom. Group 5 met on May 21, which would have been our regular meeting day, with a dozen or so attending, just to see some familiar (and unmasked) faces and talk about the wine they were having at home. Group 2 takes the trophy for having two Zoom meetings – one on the regular third Tuesday in April, with no particular agenda. They liked it so much they had another one two weeks later, talking about good take-out food recommendations, good TV programs, and, of course, what wine is recommended. Another is planned for June, and attendance has been strong. Group 7 had a Zoom meeting on May 22 and hope to have another in June. Half a dozen couples attended, to talk about activities and how we are all coping with the current emergency. It's not the same as meeting 'live' and the appetizers are a bit lacking. One possible way to have an actual wine tasting, with everyone having the same thing, would be to order some 'tasting kits,' which have maybe five or so two-ounce samples of different wines. LaFleur's winery, in San Marcos, sells kits like this for $18; presumably there are other locations offering a similar service. Some day we'll meet again! But it will probably be outside. Wine Tasting Club