Vineyard Journeys

We normally have some very interesting wine picks and this meeting was no exception.  The theme of our meeting was Mardi Gras.  The first wine was the 2007 Francis Ford Coppola Director’s Merlot.  This wine from Sonoma County is a rich merlot with succulent flavors of plum, blueberries and cocoa.  The ripe flavors are offset by supple tannins and a moderate display of spicy oak.  I could certainly taste the blueberries right away and I love in a merlot.  This is a velvety soft wine paired with the duck liver and chicken mousse with port wine.

The next wine we had is in a much higher class of wine.  The 2006 Casalino Brunello di Montalcino is pure silk.  This 100% Sangiovese wine contains flavors of toasted almond and sweet black cherry.  When paired with the cranberry organic goat cheese the result was a phenomenal  elegance you wouldn’t believe.

Our final wine was the Graham’s “Six Grape” porto.  This is a finely complex wine with dark red colors and tastes of ripe plums and cherries.  It was paired with a Mardi Gras King Cake which is a traditional dessert in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras.  Hundreds of thousands of King Cakes are eaten in New Orleans during the Carnival season.  Many are shipped throughout the U.S. for those displaced New Orleanians longing for a taste of Mardi Gras.  In fact, a Mardi Gras party wouldn’t be a Mardi Gras party without a King Cake.  A plastic baby is baked inside the King Cake, and the tradition is whoever receives the baby in their piece of cake must buy the next King Cake or throw the next party.

Timing is an important part of a Toastmasters meeting. It is your duty to help the speakers stay within their timing limits by providing visual clues to let them know when their time is up. The Toastmaster will call upon you at the beginning of the meeting to explain your timing role. Use the following points as a guide when you are called.

Project #4 “Time Management” in your Competent Leader (CL) Manual — remember to bring for a written evaluation & “credit”; give to a fellow member for written evaluation.

When asked to explain your role by the Toastmaster of the Day (TM or ToD), Stand Up and describe something to the effect of “Time management is a critical skill to learn, both in leadership & communication – in Toastmasters we practice both.  As Timer, I will pay special attention to signaling the Opening & Closing Toasters, Educational Minute Speakers, Prepared Speakers, Table Topics Speakers, & Evaluators.  Toasters, Educational Minute Speakers, & Table Topics Speakers: will see Green @1min, Yellow @1.5min, Red @2min with 30 secs to wrap up; The Speakers have designated their signal periods: Speaker #1 will speak for #-# min; Speaker #2 will speak for #-#min; Evaluators: will see Green @2min, Yellow @2.5min, Red @3min with 30 secs to wrap up.  Mdm/Mr Toasmaster.” [BE SURE to SHOW the signals as you say G/Y/R]  Be seated.

When asked to give your report by the TM or General Evaluator (GE), it’s sufficient to say “All Speakers/Table Topics Speakers/Evaluators qualified [“except X who was under minimum/over maximum time” if applicable] within time” rather than the individual timings.  However, write down the times for each so that if individual speakers/evaluators want their minutes, you can provide it them privately.  While there is no verbal report for the Opening & Closing Toasters or Educational Minute Speakers, your signals will be essential to help keep the meeting flowing!