Well it’s been a long time since there was a report from club meetings so a catchup is necessary.

At the March 14 Meeting we all learnt the ins and outs of large scale making of kiwifruit wine from our member Tom who was involved in its production. By not treating kiwifruit like grapes a successful wine was made using new techniques which included a lot of monitoring and frequent lab tests. Quite involved and obviously one had to be properly setup to do it successfully.

The April 14 meeting was our AGM and all current office bearers were unanimously returned by popular vote. A social hour took place after the formal part was finished.

May 14 meeting had David, our top brewer, put together a line up of commercial ciders for a blind tasting. Included was a cider made by club member Bob. Well Bob’s cider was clean, crisp and not oxidised. The commercial ones were a disappointment in that most were oxidised, thin and unappealing. Well done Bob.

The June Meeting’s activity  was a faults session where brewers and winemakers bought along those products that did not meet their expectations. A very interesting night and a round table discussion was held to question the maker on his processes and to suggest ways to correct the problem and how to avoid it in the future.

July Meeting. The activity was a baking competition. This year it was dry biscuits and was won by Robyn after a tasting and a vote from the members present.

At all these meetings the monthly Points Cup competition for beer and wine classes took place with the winners points from each night accumulating till the end of the year where the winners receive trophies to be held for that year.