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| OHCC LIVING | JANUARY 2021 | 27 Just in case: Check with your club contact to confirm meeting place, date, and time. Happy New Year! We look forward to a new year where we will hopefully defeat the COVID-19 pandemic with the help of at least two vaccines. Unfortunately, it is still hard to predict when we will be able to safely conduct our monthly meetings in Abravanal Hall and begin exciting "day-tripping" around our wonderful Southern California area. Just know that your Board is really anxious to get some great trips on our calendars. We will continue with our monthly newsletters to members and our OHCC Living articles to keep you updated on what we plan to do and when. We have made it through a very tough 10 months, don't stop now! Please continue to stay safe and practice social distancing. Most importantly… Here's to a great 2021 for all of us! Your Travel Club Board, Judy Harris, Donna Wessel-Graham, Lynn Opelka, Callie Dean, Judy Buoniconti. Travel Club Group 5 has been doing virtual wine tastings this year due to our social distancing restrictions. In an effort to try something different, I looked online to see if there are companies that offer virtual tastings. One website, LIQUOR.com, had a write up of the seven top Virtual Tastings (https://www.liquor.com/best-virtual-wine- tastings-5025086). 1. Wine.com ranked top in their opinion. When I looked at the Wine website, they had links to upcoming virtual tastings and there were links to past virtual tastings. Tastings are free but you need to buy the wine to participate. The three bottles they had for a holiday tasting cost $89 plus shipping. 2. Seneca Lake Wine Trail was dubbed the best value. At that website, they had wine tastings and other offerings throughout 2020. I would check back to see if they will continue into 2021. As an example, there was a Wagner Virtual Tasting set up for May 2020 where Facebook was used for the tasting and a link was supplied so you could order the wines for the tasting. 3. Priority Wine Pass offers fully customizable tastings with a choice of date, time, and choice of wine. They work with the wineries to get the best price, coordinate delivery, and provide a Zoom link for the presentation. They use wineries from Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, Oregon, Virginia and more. 4. Orange Clou was voted best for natural wines. The site had three packages for virtual wine tasting. The first had three different orange wines at a cost of $135 with a minimum of 10 participants. The second was a tasting of six different orange wines for $295 with a minimum of five participants. The final offering was a fully customizable tasting. 5. Far Niente Winery. They offer weekly wine tastings from December to Feb. 6, 2021 from 4 – 5:15 pm PST for $215. 6. Best on Social Media: Wine with Chas. Chasity Cooper, a Chicago-based wine journalist, has several videos about wines as well as other subjects with the focus on wine. 7. Best for Sparkling wines: Chandon. I looked on Chandon's website but did not see anything for a virtual tasting. There were options to join one of two of their wine clubs. Not seeing the cost, I opted out. Please note that Group 5 is charging $15 per person for our virtual tastings, which is a bargain. Wine Tasting Club Village Vets A Happy New Year to everyone. We want to thank the Recreation Department for our Veteran's Day Celebration and providing lunch for the participating 1st ANGLICO military and OHCC volunteers. So many of our veterans, their spouses and widows are unaware of the benefits they may have earned and are available through the Veteran's Administration in the way of health services, spousal care financial assistance, veteran homes, or burial services. I urge veterans, or their spouses or widows to check with the VA online or by phone to determine how they can take advantage of these benefits. We are conducting a membership drive for old and new members for OHCC veterans, their wives, and those who just want to assist our veterans and active military to join with us as members. Our Treasurer, Bob Smith has set up a special box inside his front gate at 5059 Dassia Way for 2021 dues. As you may be aware, we continue to provide support to our military friends even during these difficult times. Our dues are $10 per person. Please include your phone number or email on your check so we can contact you for any additional information, and mark it "2021 dues." When we are again allowed to have general meetings, we have lined up some very worthwhile, and informative speakers for our members, an off-site program and a party with participation from Navy and Marine personnel.