Wine Cellar Fillers
The activity is open to members, applicants and guests, and is a great way to introduce a guest to SIR. CFWA cannot accommodate Spouses and SO’s at events held in members homes because of limited space. At times we do hold events at wineries or other larger venues when Spouses and SO’s are welcome, as they are at our other four wine activities, Bargain Wines or Wine Finders I, II, and III.
Please let me know if you will attend. I will send an email with the list of attendees and directions to my home. The cost varies with the number of attendees, but usually runs around $20.00. We really don’t know how much inflation will affect the cost of sandwiches and fixings, so my guess is subject to reality. When you confirm your attendance, there will be a cancel-by date after which you will be responsible for paying your share of the cost, on arrival at the event
It will be the usual format, starting at 11:30 AM with a simple lunch of sandwiches and fixings, followed by tasting of five white and five red wines. The price point for our wines is an average cost adjusted for inflation. Bring your glass(es). The wines are bought a few days in advance by a purchasing committee of the chair and co-chair and any interested members.
If you have questions, would like your name added to the mailing list, or would like to join the purchasing committee, please contact:
Chairman – Jim Sowell
(925) 457-7746
Asst Chairman – Dennis Mierzwa
dennis.mierzwa@att.com
925-938-5343
Scroll down for recent event reports and photos
June 2025
Nine members of SIR Branch 8 Cellar Fillers Wine Activity (CFWA) met at the home of Sir Jim Sowell in Alamo on May 30, 2025. We enjoyed sandwiches, potato salad, olives, home-made lemonade and Costco cookies. Several attendees were new to the event and became familiar with the process and shared their views and experiences with wines. The discussion and voting for the wines was balanced with the lively discussion of current events and activities.
Five of the wines for this event were from the Trader Joe’s on California Blvd in Walnut Creek and five from the Pleasant Hill Grocery Outlet. The attendees continued to show a preference for red wines; resulting in the five red wines earning an average rank of 4.4. The four white and one rose wines lagged behind with an average rank of 6.4.
The whites were divided 40% to 60% between “would buy” and “would not buy” votes, while the reds split 62% “would buy” to 38% “would not buy” votes.
The top ranked wine was the 2022 Famille Perrin GSM Rhone blend, produced and bottled in France. It is priced at $8.00. The second ranked wine, the 2022 Match Book Malbec from Zamora, CA, a small town in the Central Valley, was priced at $7.00.
As usual, the leftovers were raffled off to the attendees.
The rating sheet is attached to this email.
I would like to hold the next meeting of CFWA on a Friday; July 25 or August 22 or 29, 2025. Please let me know who would be able to be the host for 10 to 15 thirsty SIRs for either of these months, and your preferences for the dates.
Click link below to download Rating Sheet
RatingSheetMay30,2025CFWASirJimSowell
SinSIRly,
Jim Sowell, Chair, sowell4jim@aol.com, 925 457-7746, Cel
Dennis Mierzwa, Ass’t Chair, dennis.mierzwa@att.net, 925-938-5343, Cel
