Wellington Bay Residents Savor Wine | Socializing and Learning at Wine Club Meetings
September 16, 2024
What better way to unwind than at a wine club? That’s the feeling among a fun-loving group of residents of Wellington Bay, a luxury senior living community near West Palm Beach, Florida, who gather monthly to taste and learn about wines –and enjoy each other’s company.
The Wellington Bay Wine Club was started about two years ago by a few residents, including Rose Hinrichs, who’s a certified wine specialist.
“We were asked about our interest in a variety of clubs,” Hinrichs says. “We wrote down what we’d be interested in, showed up for the first meeting and took it from there.”
The resident-run club, which now has 30 members and a waiting list of six, tastes a selection of four wines at each hour-long meeting that takes place on the last Thursday of every month at Wellington Bay. “We meet at 4:30, so then we can slide down to dinner,” says Hinrichs with a laugh.
Members pay a fee of $25 per six months, which covers the wine’s cost. Wellington Bay provides the room setup, wine glasses, and other assistance as needed.
Since she has the expertise, Hinrichs generally leads the meetings at which she educates members about each wine –describing or providing visual presentations on the region or country the wines come from, the types of grapes used, techniques for growing the grapes or making the wines and explaining other mysterious lingo associated with wine such as legs and tannin.
“She’s able to pull out and explain the aroma, texture, legs and tannin,” says member Jerry Volin, who describes himself as a novice when it comes to wine.
The club is open to anyone, regardless of their wine expertise. Volin says being part of the club has helped him feel more at ease when he’s dealing with a wine list at a restaurant.
“I know more about what I’m talking about now compared to previously when my list had only one wine on it,” he says. Coming in with a bit more wine knowledge, member Brenda Braley, who’s visited wineries in Napa Valley and Long Island, says joining the club was a no-brainer for her. “My husband and I liked to dine out, and we liked fine wine so when I saw that a wine club was forming, I said, ‘count me in,'” she says.
From Ports to Chardonnay to Merlot and more, the wine club is pleased to try them all, estimating that they’ve tasted 75 different wines to date. /
Tim D’Antuono, Culinary Director at Wellington Bay, is always on hand to help the wine club set up their meetings and has used his industry contacts to help them snag various wines. He’s also turned to them for assistance on occasion. The wine club helped him develop a list of 24 wines for the community’s dining venues, including The Pub, where small plates, beer and wine are served, and The Grill, which features fine dining with such specialties as made-to-order fillets and pan-seared tuna steaks. “It’s nice to bounce ideas off of them and see what they like,” says D’Antuono, who also helped the club organize a food and wine pairing that was offered in the spring and another that will be offered in the fall. “A wine distributor came and did a presentation. It was an educational experience and enjoyable. We felt quite pampered,” Hinrichs says. The club also hosts a Christmas event featuring sweets and a selection of wines.
“A big favorite is anything bubbly. And we like our sweets,” Hinrichs adds. During every meeting, the members vote on which wines they like the best, and sometimes even come across a wine that they agree they love and ask D’Antuono to add it to the community’s wine list.
While wine is the focus of their meetings, the club’s conversation often expands to other topics, such as their travels to far-off places where the wines they are tasting are from. As much as they enjoy sipping wine and learning about it, the club members say the friendships they’ve made are even more important to them. “The camaraderie among the group is amazing,” Braley says. “We’ve made a whole bunch of friends that we wouldn’t have had otherwise, and it has introduced us to wines we wouldn’t have tried otherwise,” Volin adds.
Wellington Bay
Wellington Bay is a rental retirement community featuring luxury apartments on a palm tree-shaded campus in Wellington, Florida– named by Money Magazine as one of the “Best Places to Retire,” and known for its golf courses, thriving equestrian community, and lovely homes. Wellington Bay offers independent living that supports a vibrant lifestyle for active seniors. Lisbet Health Center, located onsite, offers assisted living and memory care.
Wellington Bay is owned and operated by Liberty Senior Living, LLC, a division of Liberty Health that specializes in senior living and retirement communities. To learn more about Wellington Bay, visit www.WellingtonBayFl.com. To learn more about Liberty Senior Living and the communities they offer, please visit www.LibertySeniorLiving.com.