Ralph (Bo) Patey

I have about 4 years of winemaking experience. I discovered a patch of wild blackberries down the road , that no one was picking and couldn't resist them. I picked so many with the thorns sticking my fingers that I had to shave my fingers with a razor to remove the thorns. I filled up every bit of the room in my wife's deepfreeze. She asked me what I was going to do with all those blackberries. Thinking quick (for me) I said I am going to make wine with them. Being accustomed to my forays into the unknown, she naturally scoffed. But I did it. I scoured the internet for info on the subject, bought 15 books,14 Mountain Valley water bottles and 2000 other items that I wont list here and made a good Blackberry wine. I then made a apple that was deemed good enough to drink by friends and I was on my way. I planted 20 grapevines of 8 varieties (something I don't recommend anyone do) (just plant 1 or 2 varieties) in 2 rows of 10 vines each. I now have 51 vines with 30 more to be planted this spring. I have Cayuga White, Baco Noir, Concord, Niagra and Reliance as my main varieties. To be planted this spring are 10 each of Foch, Traminette and Chardonel. I study the subjects of Winemaking and Grapegrowing always trying to improve my skill at the arts. There is so much that can be learned on the subjects that will enable you to make a quality wine. It is my goal to make a better wine for myself, to help you in any way I can and for all of us to have fun with this group.

IN VINO VERITAS
[there is truth in wine]

David G. Penrod (and family)

Best described as a novice or beginner, I am just getting started in winemaking and grape growing. My only experience in viticulture would be from helping my father with his stand of 20 or so Muscadine vines, 8 or so Blackberry vines, and pear trees. Originally the fruits were planted just for harvest and jam/jelly. When we heard the winegrowers club was forming in this area, it peaked my father's interest and he mentioned it to me. Well, I have enjoyed drinking wine for a long time. I would not consider myself a connoisseur, but I do enjoy a good bottle of Merlot, Muscadine, or Shiraz every now and then. Anyway, my father and I attended the first meeting and were intrigued by the offerings of help and knowledge from the club. From that moment we were hooked.

At that first 2005 meeting, I met "Bo" and offered my services in web development. Under the category of "everyone needs a good computer geek every now and then" we decided to take a team approach to building the website you see before you. I have been involved with electronic systems, computer networks, and programming for years. I have done everything from network administration to security, telecommunications, and Internet development. When offered the chance to help with this site, I jumped at it. Generally, I take care of the behind the scenes programming, layout, and the like while Bo provides the never ending source of knowledge of all things winemaking. Personally, I think we make a good team. Take a look around the site and we hope you find it helpful.

For those interested, this is a basic HTML based site. While there are java scripts embedded, the primary pages are not PHP or ASP driven. The bulletin board (PHPBB) and photo gallery (Gallery) are PHP coded. The bulletin board is running from a MySQL database. The entire site is hosted and runs on Linux FreeBSD with Apache web services. Most development is done within Dreamweaver and Fireworks takes on image modification duty. To much information? As I said, I might not know much about wine, but everyone needs a good computer geek every now and then. Hopefully, the wine knowledge will come as dad and I get started in our winemaking endeavors. In the mean time, I'll keep enjoying the fruits of other's labor as they share at the meetings and learn all I can. Come joins us at the next one, you might just get hooked too. :)