Ron is Moving On

Dear Friends & Colleagues,
I am not a poker player but there are times to hold them and times to fold them. Thirty years ago Jonathan Levine and I started what was then known as the East Side Chapter of Les Amis du Vin. Those were fun years as we were unique in providing education and affordable wine tastings and dinners to our members. For various reasons Les Amis folded its tent and Jonathan and I moved over to Tasters Guild along with many former LADV chapters. Five years ago Jonathan decided to retire & his half of Tasters Guild NY was passed to Vivian Tramontana and her husband Richard. They had been long time LADV/TG members and both had recently retired from their financial services jobs.

It is 2009 and the clock says it is time to move on. Thirty years running the same organization has been enough time to accomplish everything I could have hoped for when we started in 1979. I want to leave at the top of my game. I still teach my wine & spirit classes (15 years) at Fairleigh Dickinson University, write over 30 articles a year on wine, spirits, restaurants, sports and travel, and make more than 15 trips a year, both domestic and foreign, for my research. I am proud that my oldest nephew John Kapon has been the largest wine auction person in the world for the past two years and that my family's retail business, Acker, Merrall & Condit, is the oldest wine shop in America. You might find me helping them with their educational efforts.

May 5th was my last “official” Tasters Guild NY event. I can still be reached at vinoron@yahoo.com as well as through my personal website www.ronkapon.com. Check it out to see what I have been doing and where I have been traveling. My phone number will stay the same- (212) 799-6311. I plan to attend as many TG events as Vivian & Richard will allow and I just might sneak back as a speaker, if asked.

Please address all checks and inquires dealing with Tasters Guild NY AFTER June 1st to Vivian Tramontana - 108 West 78 Street, Suite 3, New York, New York 10024 - viviantgny@aol.com - (212) 501- 7823.

In Vino Veritas- Ron
Ron Kapon
The Peripatetic Oenophile
www.ronkapon.com