Busses by the Barrel, or Vanagons visit Viticulture

The 25th annual Santa Clara Wine Festival is Saturday April 29, 2000, from
12 PM to 5 PM at Casa de Fruita on Pacheco Pass Rd., near Hollister, Cal,
south of San Jose. The $30/person includes: wine tasting, barrel tasting
(pretty chewy?), 1:30-3:00 food including New York Steak, Pasta, many
other dishes, souvenir wine glass, live music, barrel race (running
barrels?), and other activities.  No pets, including those under 21 years
old.

Tickets are available at 800-548-3813 from the sponsoring Santa Clara
Valley Wine Growers Association, representing "The oldest continuously
producing wine region in the state"  (read "nutrient stressed old vines").
These small winery owners are neat people so it's a pretty folksy event.
By (almost) sheer coincidence some of them officially started their
wineries with fully producing vineyards in 1933, the year prohibition
ended, and they've been making excellent wine ever since.

We're attending and will stay overnight at the Casa de Fruita RV park in a
big pull through spot for a little (required content) Vanagon. $26/night.
800-548-3813 is the reservation phone number and the campground is filling
up fast. CdF is owned by a fun loving ranching family that creates an
enjoyable experience in a pleasant rural valley setting.

If anyone else is going, you can p-mail me and we can plan to get together
Saturday evening for a little sipping and conversing.

Cheers, Tom Neal '87 syncro with new clutch slave, clutch master, & brake
master, and now featuring as "leak of the week" the rear seal on the front
diff, not counting the omnipresent coolant leaks.