Fine Wines and Felines

By Suzanne Stofer

On July 13, thanks to the ingenuity of Jane and Bob Anderson, 35 of us found a delightful way to beat the heat! Off we went to Orfila Winery to mingle, sip samples of fine wines, and revel in the gorgeous scenery near the Wild Animal Park. Orfila's is owned by Alejandro Orfila, a former Ambassador to Argentina. Leon Santoro, named winemaker of the year in California, produces an excellent selection of Rhone Varietals.

Our Jaguars looked very classy lined up by the beautiful, blooming rose bushes. We learned that roses need the same care as grapes, so healthy roses mean healthy grapes, and these roses were outstanding! Orfila's went out of their way to treat us royally, setting up red checker clothed tables under vine covered arbors where we could relax, nibble on hors d'oeuvres and try five different special wines. We then embarked on a tour of the winery, learning about the process from vine to bottle, including the 'crush pad', where the juice is extracted. Alas, gone are the days of stomping by foot, although they still have a Lucy look-alike contest in honor of that great grape stomping episode.

We had plenty of time to chat and get to know each other better. Carolyn Clark brought Mag White in her 2000 S-type, and Suzanne Stofer brought 1st VP Hazel Beck in her 2002 X-type, which is running fine since it's recall rehab for electrical mishaps. Lou Lepis was happy not to have to drive on gravel, since he brought his award winning '67 E-Type Coupe. And speaking of winning awards, Dick Cavicke just finished teaching his annual class on Judging Jaguars....he had 14 in his two-Saturday class this year, including one person who had never attended before. Some come just to learn more about their own cars, some come to learn how to judge different types of Jags (one is not allowed to judge in their own category, for obvious reasons!). They also got a chance to tour Tom Krefetz's marvelous facility. Suzanne enjoyed chatting with Ginny Cavicke about antique hunting.

Rod and Lynn Sornson got their first car ding over with, and are now looking forward to driving the Jag to Las Vegas in August for Rod's birthday. Don't imagine it will be much hotter there than it is here today!

Nedra and Grant Rummell took a break from the move to their new home to attend. Nedra has been busy keeping up with potential new members for our club! Jay and Ann Stamets had an easy drive in their XK8 as they live just 5 minutes from Orfila's! Sammy and Wayne Nelson, although fairly new members, have become quite the regulars at these events, and are a great addition to the club. It was also good to see Barrie and Diane Strachan, who have a dark metallic green '67 E-Type (as well as a '65 Triumph Bonneville motorcycle). Rod and Winifred Melendez enjoyed the ride up in their '68 E-Type OTS with the top down.

Jay Eggers brought Norma Clark in his white '58 XK 150. When asked how it is running, he said that he has finally found a way to cut out the middleman ~~ he just dumps a quart of oil directly on his driveway himself. When he bought the car, the odometer showed 15,000 miles...he wasn't sure if that meant 115,000 or 215,000. He drove it downtown to work from his home in Point Loma every day for 15 years.

Pat and David Lokensgard have three Jags but two are not running at the moment ~~ they came in the '90 Soverign. The '90 Vanden Plas is in the body shop due to an accident. This is their first event since the JCNA event in Phoenix. On the rally to Sedona, they were the fateful first car after a wreck on the road caused a 36 minute delay in their time on the first leg of that rally!

David McIntosh and Susan Connell, our webmasters, entertained our table with tales of their extensive travels to exotic places around the world, and Barbie and Jerry Newmin told us about their recent trip to their new home in Florida.

After the tour we were treated to a buffet dinner and a glass of the wine of our choice from our earlier samplings. Diane (looking cool in tropical colors) and Roger MacDonald handled the raffle with humor. Roger Hightower won a $50 gift certificate to Coventry Jaguar, Pattie Lokensgard won the Calif. Thomas Bros Map Book, Lou Lepis won a wine cooler, Carolyn Clark won a BarBQue set, and then Lou won again, this time picking Jaguar playing cards. Barry Strachan won something small that was framed (blame my poor eyesight on all that wine!), and Sammy and Wayne Nelson won a parts catalog for a car they don't own. They were last seen finding the highest bidder to sell that prize to!

Hazel Beck ran a short business meeting including a vote to lower the annual dues to $59 to match the year the Jag Club started. She also announced the upcoming events for this year and the on-going planning for next year's events, to include two sanctioned rallies, two traditional dinners, high tea, and some surprises.