Skim Milk, Whole Milk, Heavy Cream! By Mike Lozan

Can you guess from the title what this blog is about?

If you answered , congratulations, you probably were one of the 85 or so attendees at the “One Hour Wine Expert” featuring Kevin Zraly, hosted here on Friday, January 31.

What a fantastic event here at Sea Pines Country Club, put on in conjunction with the Hilton Head Island Chamber of Commerce Chef-to-Chef Weekend. Making it even better was the fact that we raised some money to help the people of the Bahamas with Hurricane Dorian relief. justKevin a few….was the star of the show, and his qualifications are too many to list, but here are

He ran the Windows On The World wine program from its inception in 1976 and was the only employee from Windows On The World from day one until closing on September 11, 2001.

Founder of Windows On The World Wine School, with over 20,000 students graduated!

Author of Windows On The World Complete Wine Course, with over 4 million copies sold!

One of two people in the wine industry with a James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award. The other is a little-known wine producer by the name of Robert Mondavi.

Members were treated to a delightful, funny, educational lecture about the 6 major wine grape varieties…, , , , and Cabernet!

This however, was not your usual , and Kevin really drilled down on the facts and had many funny stories, and even got many of those in attendance in on the act (especially those who tried to taste the wine before it was time, or that kept insisting that California was a state!) Don’t forget to remember that secret formula of half , half and a teaspoon of sugar for the next time one of your in- laws asks you for White ! After the conclusion of his presentation, Kevin stayed for almost 2 hours signing copies of his books, even though he had another commitment that evening, giving everyone that personal touch as they shared their wine stories with him.

I venture to say that after the event, the majority of the attendees found their way into the dining room for the usual Friday night happy hour shenanigans, and as I walked through the room, I could feel that energy or buzz that happens when you know you just witnessed something special. Many of you that I spoke with that evening seemed to agree.

A big thank you to everyone who attended, and we really hope to create more moments like that here at the club. Next time here, remember to order your favorite glass of skim milk, whole milk or heavy cream!

Cheers, Mike