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28 | OHCC LIVING | OCTOBER 2020 | Just in case: Check with your club contact to confirm meeting place, date, and time. Did you know there is wine being grown right here in OHCC? It's true. A club member (and former club president) and her husband have a pocket winery right here in Ocean Hills. Well, maybe we could call it a watch pocket winery. The Misterlys have experience with small wine production, having had a vine in a former residence in Orange County. "All it takes is one hardy Chardonnay vine." It's planted in an oaken barrel. No use subjecting a grapevine to the Diablo clay we have here (although grape vines do remarkably well in poor soil). The plant came from Lowe's, but it was a one-time deal. Donna went back for another plant, but they no longer had grapevines. They had also bought one in Trader Joe's in OC, but TJ stopped carrying them because people complained about how few grapes they were getting. Grapevines don't become fully productive until five years or so. Folks need to be patient. How did they learn to make wine? A lot of Google and a lot of experimentation, plus John's family back in Massachusetts had some experience with making wine in a basement. The grape juice will ferment by itself if you have enough patience and a cool and dry place to store it, but it helps if you have some yeast and some clean containers. They save screw-top bottles to use for easy storage. How do you protect the grapes from critters? They had no problems with birds, or rats, and apparently coyotes aren't big grape fans. There is a problem with ants though, but even that worked out because the ants don't go for the grapes until the grapes are ready. So, a quick harvest is essential if you see ants on the vine. How much wine do they produce? Well, it takes about 1,200 grapes to make one bottle of wine, and so this year's batch looks like it will be… just about one bottle. How long does it take to be ready to drink? That's the $64 question – probably several months or more. They are looking around for a way to put a little bit of oak wood in there, so as to give it the typical Chardonnay flavor. This is legal. Don't call Gavin. The Wine Tasting Club has tastings in members' homes each month… when there's not a pandemic. Wine Tasting Club For many of us who relocated here from the east coast or have visited that area of the country, this is a visually spectacular time of the year - fall/autumn. It is delightful to remember the beautiful changing colors of the leaves into shades of yellow, red, and orange, the tasty hot apple cider drinks, the delicious apple recipes, and the crispness in the air. There are so many fascinating and historical places to investigate in our own country… even if it is now from a favorite chair in our homes. We would like to suggest a web site "30 Best Places to visit in the United States." Here is the url: https://travel.usnews.com/ rankings/best-usa-vacations/ We continue to miss not being able to travel or visit with you. We hope you are still being social with phone calls to friends and family, visiting on Skype or Zoom, sharing new hobbies, discussing new plants you have discovered for your garden, and recommending books or movies you have enjoyed. All these activities help make the days pass more quickly and bring us happiness. Sending healthy and peaceful thoughts your way. Your Travel Club Board, Judy Harris, Donna Wessel-Graham, Lynn Opelka, Callie Dean, and Judy Buoniconti Travel Club