| Pompous
Twits: The Way it Works
Since 1990, the workings of the Pompous Twits
have evolved in a natural way. No one person or committee decided how it
would work. These days, coordination of Pompous Twits tastings and events
happens almost entirely by email or by way of this website. All tastings
are on a volunteer basis and nearly all of the following year's hosts are
selected at an annual dinner tasting and calendar meeting, which might
either be held at our default location (Restaurant
Rue de Main Francais in Hayward), or at another location of the host's
choosing, such as their home. At the annual meeting, participants can volunteer
for a given month, either as a solo host or in cahoots with other Twits.
If the volunteers have a theme in mind, they can state it at that time,
or decide later.
For any given month, the host generally obtains
all of the wine for the tasting and notifies the de facto coordinator
(see below) by email or by telephone with details for the event, such as
specifics about the theme (if any) and might provide a list of the wines
that will be tasted. In lieu of purchasing all the wine, a host might
might choose to do a "BYOB" tasting, with or without a theme. If
for any reason a host must drop out and is unable to fulfill their hosting
duties, the coordinator will petition the membership to see who is willing
to step forward and assume hosting duties for the month in question.
Although some Pompous Twits have been around since
its origins at the old Vintage Wine Cellar in Hayward back in 1990, there
is no fixed membership and new oenophiles or people wanting to learn more
about wines are always welcome, provided there is room (that is, sufficient
wine) at any of our tastings. There are no dues and there is no formal
membership beyond the mailing list.
Communication
via the Internet
Tom Regner and Jerry Rose maintain the email
mailing list (notify one and he will notify the other to make the lists
redundant and current), and Tom does most of the announcements prior to
a tasting, as well as posting a web page (if there is sufficient time)
about the event. The current
calendar is maintained
and made available on the web at:
http://pompoustwits.home.comcast.net/Twits2003.html
The simplest way to contact all Internet-connected
members at once is to open a recent mailing from Jerry Rose or Tom Regner.
If you click on "Reply All" (or its equivalent) a new note will open addressed
to everyone, although you may have to remove all of the quoted text from
the mail note.
Other web pages include:
-
Reviews & Notes(info
about scheduled Twits tastings, reviews from members)
-
Special Notices, Pictures,
Fun Stuff ...
Clicking on "Reply All" (or the equivalent) for any
recent email should also produce a mail note with all of the current addresses
intact.
Time & Place
The majority of Pompous Twits events are "hosted"
tastings, held on the third Saturday of each month at 6:30 pm. The
venue is nearly always the Rue de Main
Restaurant Francais in Hayward. Hosts may elect to hold tastings elsewhere,
such as their home or at another venue of their choosing. Again,
the default venue information is:
There is a per-person corkage fee associated with
all events held at Rue de Main (see BYOB Events
below), which includes the selection of hot appetizers that are passed
around and shared during the tasting. The appetizers might be slightly
different for each tasting, but typically would include hot brie, fresh
bread, chunks of chicken or beef, sausages, and so on.
Host
Responsibilities
Hosting is done on a volunteer basis. The
overall calendar for the year is decided at a special Pompous Twits Planning
Dinner in December of each year. Potential hosts negotiate for any
given month during the year, and generally pick a theme for the tasting.
Themes may include (but aren't limited to):
Wines by appellation (Napa, Rhone, Tuscany, Portugal,
etc.)
Wines by grape variety (usually a specific year,
like "1992 Cabernets")
Wines by type (e.g., dessert wines, aperitifs)
Double-blind tastings (like "Surprise and Legerdemain")
Educational (such as "Faux Bordeaux")
Themes are announced by email and on the calendar
after the planning dinner, if necessary. Hosts should notify Tom
Regner or Jerry Rose when
themes are either decided upon or changed.
A couple of weeks prior to the tasting, hosts
should begin soliciting confirmations from Twits or other guests so that
an accurate headcount can be obtained. Solicitation is now done exclusively
by email, and should include an RSVP.
Hosts either let Tom Regner or Jerry Rose know
the headcount, or refer RSVPs directly to them. They will coordinate with
Stella Loi at Rue de Main for tastings
there. If both Jerry and Tom happen to be unavailable, the host will have
to take on that duty that as well. Stella needs to have the correct
headcount no later than noon on Thursday prior to the tasting so that they
can do the shopping for the food that they provide for the tastings.
Host Benefits
In most cases, hosts do all the research, legwork
and purchasing of the wines for the tasting. Hosts also bring all
the wine to the tasting and see to it that it is opened, bagged, divided
into flights, or whatever else might be needed to start the wines moving
around the table(s).
All of this work is compensated by charging the
attending Twits for the tasting, such that the total dollar amount for
the opened wine is recovered by the host. The host need only pay
his or her share of the corkage (see BYOB Events,
below) or tips. At present, there are no guidelines regarding maximum
charges for wine, but hosts are asked to use some discretion so that events
stay within reason. It is also recommended that the host give members
some notice if the wine costs per person will exceed $25 (not including
corkage and tips) as a courtesy.
BYOB Events
Some events are BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle),
rather than hosted. For BYOBs, a member will take on the "host" duties,
except for supplying all the wine. This can include notifying folks,
collecting RSVPs, settling with the restaurant. (Rue de Main charges
us $8/person, and many Twits add $2 tip, so a host would divide the wine
cost and add $10 per person, collect from everybody, and pay the restaurant.
(Some Twits like to tip the musicians too, when there is live music.)
Information
and Handouts
Whatever a host might want to provide to the
group at the tasting in the way of handouts relating to the theme, tasting
notes and ranking sheets, or other information, is up to the individual
hosts. It has varied from multiple pages of info to nothing.
(For Jerry & Carol's "Surprise and Legerdemain" tastings, they supply
only a blank form, since they don't give any advance info on the wines
on purpose!)
On the other hand, it is a nice gesture if you
write up a little summary message or report to distribute after the tasting.
One could either take notes, or collect them from others and summarize,
or whatever.
Any advance information that a host would like
to share can be sent via email to Pompous
Twits so that it can be posted to the web site. Tom or
Susan will update the appropriate web page and let everyone know by way
of email. The same holds true for any subsequent information (tasting
summaries, notes, wine ranking, etc.) that might be interesting.
Many of our regular members are also part of the
Diablo
Tasters Guild, an international organization devoted to enjoying outstanding
food and wine pairings, as well as enjoying outings to neighboring wine
regions where the participants can meet the winemakers, taste the wines,
and feast on a variety of picnic goodies. If you are interested in learning
more about the Diablo Tasters
Guild, visit their website at http://www.diablotastersguild.org.
The absolute, MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember
about any Twits tasting is to HAVE THE MOST FUN POSSIBLE!
That, and the fact that -- "A
Twit Don't Spit"!
This PageAuthored by Jerry
Rose and Tom
Regner
Last updated: July 4, 2003
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