On the last Sunday of October, a special event was organized in Los Altos Hills. Unique
in the annals of this town, it was cunningly designed to appeal to the sybaritic proclivities
of residents (in particular, a taste for the fruit of the vine) with a counter-balancing of healthfull
exercise (striding up hill and down dale in the fresh air).
The ruse worked, and approximately a hundred hardy souls presented themselves at the starting
gate, all anticipating a leisurely afternoon of wine-tasting at local vintners, with possibly
a leisurely stroll to work off calories between sips.
Five wineries were represented:
- Lupine Valley
- Belle Époque
- Molly's Vineyard
- Byrne Park
- Cloudstone
The first of these made its presentation in the picnic area of Westwind Barn, while
the other four tastings took place in the cellars of their respective wineries.
Each taster was assigned to to a group of around ten co-imbibers and given a map
with directions. The various sets of directions were cleverly arranged so that
the various groups would each start at a different winery and subsequently arrive in rotation
at the other wineries during the course of the afternoon.
The day dawned with perfect weather - slightly overcast with a promise of rain in the next
day or so, but mercifully dry for the actual occasion. Ideal weather for hiking.
Given the superb organizing skills of the primary plotter and her assistants, the registration,
handing out of maps, and donning of obligatory badges occurred on time and with nary a hitch.
Then the fun began - small groups of hikers clutching wine-glasses spread out across the hills in
search of fermented grape-juice. Some made it as planned, some of the more navigationally challenged
opted to linger in any winery successfully located. Others less used to hiking the
bad-lands of Byrne Preserve and surrounding hills, collapsed gratefully back at Westwind
Barn and sat out the rest of the proceedings there - pretending to be members of each
new group as it arrived at this point of the tour.
All afternoon long, small bands of trekkers could be observed weaving their
way through the hills. As the afternoon wore on, the pace of progress decreased while
the degree of weaving increased.
But at the end of it all, it was a happy band that unanimously declared the event
a rousing success. Much good wine was sipped and compared. Learned comments were
swapped about fruitiness, earthiness, pettilance, cheekyness and similar attributes.
At the same time, (or at least as soon as the effects of the alcohol were deemed
to have soothed the breasts of the sweatier hikers) a subtle appeal was made for donations
to support the "Westwind Riding for The Handicapped"
program. Wallets were duly lightened
and a good cause benefitted substantially from this marvellous occasion.
A small album with pictures of the actual proceedings may be viewed by
clicking here.
Video is also available. Several copies of the video tape are available and may be borrowed on
request. Contact Webmaster
to borrow the video tape.
Video is also available online in Windows Media Player format.
HILLS 2000