Grads

Grads

Meg Houston Maker ’87 (MALS’09) presented an extremely enjoyable talk for the Hanover chapter of the International Women’s Club (IWC) at the Howe Library in February. Meg has wide-ranging interests, including nature, culture, food and wine, and she has recently added a study of cheese. She is the founder and president of Megmaker Communications, an independent writing and editing consultancy specializing in content strategy, editorial design and identity narratives. She works with both practicing writers and writing students to help them develop their craft. She also writes a prizewinning online journal at Terroirreview.com.

Meg’s talk to the IWC was divided into six sections to explain everything about winemaking, from how the vines are grown and nourished to howto properly appreciate the final product, the wine. All are necessary to produce a truly fine wine, and each section was illustrated with Meg’s slides. Her first topic was geography, where she showed slides of valleys with terraced hillsides and pointed out how the amount of sun can differ widely. Next was farming, which includes soil composition and the huge amount of labor that goes into tending and harvesting the plants. This was followed by an explanation of how the particular types of grapes matter. The grapes have to be adapted to the region where they are grown. This must take into account the timing of the first frost, the amount of expected rainfall, hail and, of course, climate change. Then she presented her “wine is food” section. Different cultures pair their wines with their own special, local dishes. (Every member of her audience was salivating while watching the slides during this section.) Then came the “wine is generous” section, where Meg showed how producers take such great pride in their finished product that they want it to be shared and appreciated. The “wine is about people” section was last, since this was very well illustrated by every preceding subject. Meg then explained that wine tasting is a multistep process and taught us the proper way. To really appreciate wine, you have to consider the color, smell and texture as well as the taste.

Meg has traveled through France, Italy, Portugal and Spain collecting stories, images and knowledge about their cultures. She would like to add Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and, of course, their wines to her travels. She lives in Lyme, New Hampshire, and the IWC is hoping Meg will give them another enthralling talk in the near future with her expanding knowledge of cheese.

The latest edition of Clamantis: TheMALS Journal is out. Find it at www.mals.dartmouth. edu/news-events/clamantis-mals-journal.

—Jane Welsh, 175 Greensboro Road, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-3789; m.jane.welsh.gr@ dartmouth.edu