lulu, hillsider companion

lulu, hillsider companion

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

California rain: too much, roo fast, and mostly in the wrong places; another really good sauvignon blanc (I know, I know) for poor people like us, and more golf stuff...

Well, we got some of that rain we've been hoping for; however, as usually happens to us California sinners, it didn't happen exactly as we had expected. What we got was another demonstration that even though the rain gods do have a sense of humor, it's a little skewed from center. Southern California, where very few of the state's major reservoirs reside, got hammered: water fell out of the sky in truckloads, then promptly raced down the drought-and fire-denuded hillsides, gullies, arroyos and canyons and blasted through homes, across roadways (burying hundreds of cars on I 5 in a sea of mud), and generally wreaking havoc before making its way to the ocean and disappearing.

Here in Norcal, however, where all of the state's biggest lakes and reservoirs sit virtually bone dry, just waiting for a Big Gulp, we got sprinkles and mist and one three or four minute deluge early Saturday morning that vanished into the parched earth so quickly that if you hadn't been awake to see it happen, you'd have no way of knowing that it did. And, to top it all off, those forecasters who are promising us a powerful El Nino this winter are also now saying that the rains it brings will likely be concentrated in the southern part of the state rather than way up here in the lonely and forsaken north, where we actually have the capacity to store it as water or, in the mountains, as snowpack. Thank you, rain gods, for another good laugh. We can only hope that if you see how hard we're trying to change our ways and be better people maybe you'll give us a break on this and move a few of those storms north of the Bay. . Just sayin'...

 Okay. Moving on. I'm reasonably certain that many of you are getting tired of reading about sauvignon blanc here, and I promise to lighten up after today. Problem is, sb is, like zinfandel, one of the few places to look in today's market for really good wines at honest prices, although I'm also seeing some new activity in petite sirah, tepranillo, pinot noir and gewurztraminer from developing (or not-yet-gentrified) growing areas in California and Oregon, as well as some very good, inexpensive reds from South Africa and Portugal. But, having said all that, I still have to congratulate the folks at SeaGlass for their 2014 Sauvignon Blanc Santa Barbara. Bright, fresh, aromatic, and lots of true sb fruit make for a nice white that's versatile enough to carry off cocktail duty before serving as an excellent accompaniment to everything from roast chicken to seafood gumbo. And, at $9.99 on sale, it's not only reasonable but a steal; I'd buy it up to $13 and feel good about it.

Back to golf for a minute. I ripped the good folks operating golf courses in Maricopa County, Arizona, in my last post for what was reported to be an unconscionable consumption of water in the maintenance and upkeep of those facilities. I'm not backing off that criticism, I want to be clear about that. However, I do want to mitigate what I wrote to a degree. After re-reading Ms. Shaffer's article, and trying to get all the details organized as best I could, I couldn't arrive at what I considered a fair idea of exactly how to interpret what I was seeing. For one thing, the article was written in such a way that it was unclear whether the 80 million gallons/day figure applied strictly to Maricopa County courses or to all those included in the "Phoenix area" which consists, apparently, of two other counties as well as Maricopa. Nor was I able to determine (or find anywhere else I looked) how many courses lie within Maricopa; according to the Arizona Golf Association there are 220 in the "Phoenix area", but exactly what that means, I don't know. Also, how many of that 220 are full 18 hole courses or equivalent? Again, don't know and can't find out without a lot of time and effort, which I don't have right now. One thing is certain: even though Arizona is a golf mecca for many, there ain't 220 regulation 18 hole golf layouts in any three counties, so we can put that aside. And, no natter how you try to explain it, 80 million gallons of water per day is an absurd number, and people need to get a grip on themselves. Maybe it's time for the operators in the area to give some serious thought to taking a more worldly approach to their management practices and begin looking at how many courses in other challenging climatic areas are maintained and presented. Sooner or later we're going to have to find a way to wean our playing population off the "Augusta mentality" that permeates American golf culture, particularly at the private club level. There are a number of designers, owners, managers, and superintendents who understand this and who have been trying to spread the gospel for years, but progress has been verrrrry slow, and resistance remains verrrrrrrry strong,particularly in most affluent clubs. The day of reckoning is approaching, though; water rights holders in California are already beginning to understand that they don't hold the sacred documents they always believed they did, and times are going to get tougher before they get better, if they ever do get better.

Time use our heads and get ahead of the curve, boys and girls. More to come...

By the way for those who have asked for off-site email contact, it's cliff@hutchinsongolf.us.    

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Visit from the relatives, venting some anger at certain of my professional family, a nice sauvignon blanc from Sterling at a really nice price, and the drought...

I'm back, if you missed me (and even if you didn't) after a long-awaited visit from my sister and brother, and their respective spouses, all the way from my (our) home turf in the great state of Texas, which I love dearly. It was good to see them; we don't see much of each other at all these days, mostly weddings and funerals, because of the distance from here to there, so we always want an opportunity to be well-enjoyed by everyone. Unfortunately, due to the significant level of chaos caused by the millions of fires (seems like that many, anyway) burning across Northern California at present, we didn't get to do the wine country tour they had been looking forward to, and I'm sorry for that. I hope we get a chance to do it for them sooner rather than later.

Moving on, I have to take an opportunity to vent some steam toward a handful of my professional brethren, who continue to put the golf industry in the crosshairs of environmentalists and conservationists (and lots of other people, as well) by way of their unconscionable waste of water during times of drought when tens of thousands of Westerners can't get enough water to perform some of life's most basic functions. I have in front of me an article by Brandi Shaffer published several days ago by Club and Resort Business magazine in an online posting, which highlights the fact that the Phoenix area golf community of courses (Maricopa County) were found to have used an average of slightly more than 80 million gallons of water per day in a 2010 US Geological Survey report, which is more than twice as much as the second place water guzzler, Riverside County (California), at least according to this article. I would tend to believe that Ms. Shaffer is accurately reporting the survey's findings, since C&RB has proven reliable in the past. This report is compiled every five years according to the AP so we should see an updated version in the near future, which will, we can hope, reflect a substantial reduction in that number as superintendents, boards, and management companie respond to the worsening crisis caused by the devastating drought impacting the western states.I feel certain that this will be the case, because at heart most professional property managers in the golf industry are responsible individuals who are conservationists at heart. Most of them will, if allowed to do so, and if funds are available, do as many of the things that they know will reduce their property's demand for water as possible and practical. Taking certain areas off the irrigation grid and allowing them to return to native grasses and other vegetation, installing more drought-tolerant turf cultivars, eliminating some "aesthetic" water features, increasing mowing heights in some areas, as well as at least a dozen other initiatives on the part of course owners and managers can have significant positive impacts on water consumption with absolutely no decline in playing conditions (and many times conditions are improved through these actions). I know that there are a lot of people scrutinizing the activities and actions of those of us in the golf industry each and every day, as they should, and articles like the one I've just highlighted only serve to enhance that scrutiny. Therefore, I urge each of my fellow industry professionals to do all possible, and to proselytize relentlessly, to persuade those controlling the purse-strings and making decisions regarding policy and planning, to find new, more, and better ways to manage our resources and be better citizens. Our game has struggled with image in the past, and still does at times, but it's changing as the public becomes more aware of the initiatives and day-to-day efforts of golf facilities to lead and innovate as we work our way through these times and position ourselves for the future, so let's turn up the volume.

On a different subject, I can,t remember the last time I tasted a wine from Sterling Vineyards that really impressed me until recently, when I picked up a bottle of their 2013 Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley.This is really tasty stuff, especially at the price ($14.95 here in Norcal, which puts it squarely in the "workingman's wine" category that we love so much ($25-28 max); problem is, it may be drying up as I'm not sure how close they may be to a vintage change. So I urge you to get in touch with your Sterling wholesaler if you're an F&B type, or just hike on down to your friendly local wine merchant's place of business if you're simply a wine lover, and pick up a bottle or two before it disappears. Bright color, a mature citrus-and- wet stones nose, and lush, firm fruit that is typical Napa-ish in character, with Meyer lemon and a long persistent finish that is perfect with chicken any way you want it, but seems particularly suited to a curry dish.Try it, you'll like it...and take care not to overchill it...

The drought marches on. although most people continue to do what they can to be responsible and continue to reduce their usage. More next time...

By the way for those of you who jumped on Chef Dan's wonderful white cheddar meal-in-a-bowl soup a couple of weeks ago, we'll see if we can't persuade him to do another contribution in the next letter.

Cliff  



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