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  Washington, D.C. Tastings

SEPTEMBER, 27, HARBOUR SQUARE CLUB ROOM , Rheingau
OCTOBER 17, BOMBAY ROOM, Riesling Blind Tasting

 

Harbour Square Tasting:

Dear German Wine Society Members and Friends of German Wine,:

Please join us Saturday, September 27, at 7 p.m. for our tasting at 
the Harbour Square Club Room, which provides us a stunning view of the 
Washington skyline.  The price for this tasting is $30 for members, 
$37 for guests.

Although we cannot be in Frankfurt for the Rheingau Wine Festival, for 
this tasting we (virtually) visit the Rheingau to celebrate and learn 
more about this region's fine wines.

 From Wine by Andre Domini:  "Together with the Mosel, the Rheingau is 
the best known of the German wine-growing regions both at home and 
abroad.  It is hardly necessary to mention that the soils also 
influence the character of the wines, which do not have the light-
hearted fruitiness of the Mosel Rieslings, but often show more 
breeding and character, without resembling the even more powerful 
Rieslings of Alsace and Austria [as we saw demonstrated in earlier 
tastings]."

 From www.winecountry.com: "The mighty region of Rheingau is among the 
most famous of all German wine regions.  Its wines are majestic, firm, 
masculine, yet fine.  All vines are planted on south-facing slopes on 
the north side of the river Rhein, and are able to capture the 
sunlight to ripen.  The best estates here are Robert Weil, Franz 
Kunstler, and Wegeler."

And from our beloved Terry Theise: "In a space one can traverse by car 
in fifteen minutes, the Riesling grape gives ten or fifteen distinct 
and different expressions of its best, noblest self." And: "The 
“classic” wine of the Rheingau can possibly best be defined by what it 
is not: not as lavish or exotic as Pfalz wine, not as easy and fruity 
as Rheinhessen wine, not as delicate and tangy as Nahe wine. It is 
firm, contained, dignified; it is amiable, certainly, but it’s not 
eager to please."

The specific wines we'll be sampling are still being finalized.  Watch 
your inbox, we'll be providing you the list in just a few short days.

The address for our tasting is 560 N St SW, Washington, DC. 20024.  It 
is very easy to get to and park there.  The tasting is on a Saturday, 
so traffic should be light.

The deadline is Wednesday, September 24. Please send your check ($30 
for members, $37 for guests) with your reservation to ensure your seat 
is reserved for you.

All Society members and guests are reminded that alcohol consumption 
can lead to intoxication, and therefore Society members and their 
guests are expected to drink in moderation at Society events.  It is 
advisable to provide designated drivers or other modes of transit 
where available, or mostly to taste rather than consume alcohol when 
such drivers or alternative means of transportation are not available.

Event Coordinator: Marilyn Scarbrough, who has reserved this venue in 
her apartment complex on the waterfront in Southwest Washington, near 
Arena Stage and Fort McNair.

Please fill out the form below and send your check to
German Wine Society,
5607  Huntington Parkway
Bethesda, Maryland 20814

Please cut the reservation form - do not mail the entire page.

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RESERVATION FORM FOR GERMAN WINE SOCIETY FOR September 27, 2008, 
Rheingau Tasting and Tour

Member(s) Name(s)_______________________________________________

Guest(s) Name(s)_________________________________________________

Total Enclosed_______Day Time Phone Number_________________________

E-Mail__________________________________________________________

 

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BOMBAY ROOM TASTING, October 17

Dear German Wine Society Members and Friends of German Wine,

Mark your calendar now for our Riesling Blind Tasting, led by our own Carl Brandhorst.  The evening's tasting takes place in the Bombay Room on Friday, October 17, starting at 7:30 PM.  The price will be $35 for members and $42 for non-members.

At this tasting, the German Wine Society will present a blind tasting of Rieslings from several countries around the world.  There will be twelve wines in two flights, six wines to a flight.  There will be one German wine in each flight to satisfy those thinking that only German Rieslings are worth drinking.  In each flight, six wines will be poured for comparative tasting.   During the break between the flights, light hors d"oeuvres will be served. Only crackers and water will be available during the flights..

The session will be limited to 36 participants because the available wine is limited. After each flight participants will receive a list of the wines tasted. During the flights, sheets containing the modified Davis Scale, normally used in national wine judgings, will be provided  so that participants  can record their impressions based upon color, aroma, taste, finish and hedonistic impression.

The purpose of this educational tasting is to show that excellent Rieslings are produced in countries other than Germany, and for each partipant to determine which of the wines he or she prefers.  This is not an exercise to "pick out the German Riesling." In selecting the Rieslings for this presentation, the presenter tasted over 80 Rieslings generally available in the Washington metropolitan area to see which ones met his criteria.  The criteria will be stated at the beginning of the presentation. This listing of wines researched can be made available to all interested participants  after the tasting.

The tasting will be held in the Bombay Room of the NorthVanNess complex at 3001 Veazey Terrace,  just off Connecticut Ave and south of the Calvert Woodley Liquor Store.  It is close to the Metro line (Van Ness Station) and if you come by Metro rail, take the Connecticut Ave East exit, which takes you to the northbound L2 metro bus stop. On the right is a CVS, then Calvert Woodley and then Windom Place. To get to the main entrance of the NorthVanNess complex, turn around and walk a few steps to the next intersection. There are traffic lights and a gas station across the street. Turn left into Veazey Terrace and go all the way to the back.

Parking at the Van Ness Center (Giant) garage costs $7.00.  The entrance is on Veazey Terrace, turning left before driving up to the main entrance of the complex.  Street parking on Connecticut is allowed after 6:30 PM and more can sometimes be found west on Van Ness Street or east on Upton Street.

When you enter the complex, tell the receptionist you are going to Klaus Teuter's party in the Bombay Room (don't mention GWS). Take the left hallway to the elevators and ride down to the 2nd floor (the lobby is on the 5th floor). Turn left and take the hallway to the right, which ends at the Bombay Room.  It is a comfortable room and provides an excellent venue for our events.

The deadline is Friday, October 14.  Please send your reservation ASAP, so we can finalize planning. 

We are united in our love for German wines. As you sample, savor and score this event's selection, consider the contributions by many to the planning and execution of this event. Respect the stage we've provided our participants. Allow our fellow oenophiles the experience they've anticipated. Listen, discuss the wines quietly, then listen again. Let's all enjoy and learn together.

All Society members and guests are reminded that alcohol consumption can lead to intoxication, and therefore Society members and their guests are expected to drink in moderation at Society events. It is advisable to provide designated drivers or other modes of transit where available, or mostly to taste rather than consume alcohol when   such drivers or alternative means of transportation are not available.

Please fill out the form below and send your check to German Wine Society, 5607 Huntington Parkway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814.  Please cut the reservation form - do not mail the entire page.

Event Coordinator: Carl Brandhorst

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

RESERVATION FORM FOR GERMAN WINE SOCIETY FOR 17 October 2008 Riesling Blind Tasting in the BOMBAY Room  

Member(s)  Name(s)_______________________________________________

Guest(s)  Name(s)_________________________________________________

Total   Enclosed_______Daytime Phone   Number________________________ 

E-Mail__________________________________________________________

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PHILADELPHIA/SOUTH JERSEY

Nik Weis of St. Urbans-Hof @ Lamberti, Oct. 10

Our next event features a return visit from our very good friend, Nik Weis, winemaker/owner of Weingut St. Urbans-Hof. With holdings in the Mosel, the Saar and Ruwer, the winery is dedicated to producing Rieslings that capture the individual terroir of the estate's vineyard sites. Great care is taken in the vineyard by Nik Weis and his vineyard manager Hermann Jostock in order to adhere to the belief that the truest expression of a wine's quality lies in the authenticity of its origin.

In Nik's words, "the highest quality wines are a result of hard work over the entire year. Intensive soil cultivation, precise shoot positioning, leaf thinning, crop reduction, selective hand-picking and late harvesting are all fundamental steps which must be taken in order to ensure that the wine reflects the character of the land on which it is grown." The estate focuses on two single vineyard wines: Ockfener Bockstein from the Saar Valley and Piesporter Goldtröpfchen, the Middle Mosel. Another Mosel vineyard, the Leiwener Laurentiuslay has been added to the lineup of Erste Lage, or “First Growth” vineyards. Since the 1998 vintage, St. Urbans-Hof fermented with indigenous yeast. In 2007, the vineyard-designated Rieslings were also fermented in traditional 1,000-liter neutral oak fuders (German casks that are more than four times the size of the standard oak barrel used in wineries). “We like to use them in vintages where the acidity is good,” Nik explains. “They allow enough oxygen into the wine to create flavors that the acidity can enhance.”

 About the 2007 vintage in general, Nik had this to say: “It has beautiful, bright, shining acidity and fresh flavors because of the cool nights. There is also a salty minerality that makes the wines thirst-quenching. Most of all, they are low in alcohol.” Nik has proposed to take us through his magnificent 2007 vintage. I visited the estate in March of this year, and can personally attest to the extremely high quality of the vintage at his estate. In early June, Bruce Sanderson of the Wine Spectator wrote a column on his blog about his tasting of the 2007 vintage with Nik, and providing unofficial scores for the wines, which appear below next to the tasting line-up:

 

2007 Urban Riesling - 87 points

2007 Riesling Qba - 89 points

2007 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett - 90 points

2007 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Kabinett - 91 points

2007 Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Erste Lage - 91 points

2007 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Spätlese - 92 points

2007 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese - 93 points

2007 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Auslese - 93 points

2007 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Auslese - 94 points

 

The tasting will be held at the award winning Cafe Lamberti in Cherry Hill, NJ. Recently honored by the Wine Spectator for their wine selection, our Chapter has enjoyed the wonderful service and outstanding food at this location in the past. We have reserved their newly renovated tasting room on the first floor. For this event, a cold anti pasta buffet will be included with the tasting.

 

DATE: Friday, October 10, 2008

TIME: 7:30 p.m.

PLACE: Cafe Aldo Lamberti

2011 Route 70 West

Cherry Hill, NJ 08002

856-663-1747

PRICE: Couple Members and Single Members with one guest, $45.00 per person; Non-members and additional guests, $52.50 per person.

RESERVATIONS: By e-mail to bcs@jersey.net or call 856-228-7330 and leave a message by Tuesday, October 7th. While it is possible to check space availability after October 7, we cannot guarantee that space will be available. Please let us know of your intention to attend at your earliest convenience. Payment at the door by cash or check payable to German Wine Society is acceptable, but you MUST reserve in advance - no walk-ins.You will not want to miss this extraordinary opportunity to explore the wines of St. Urbans-hof with the charismatic Nik Weiss.

Please make your reservation today to avoid disappointment.

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

 From Philadelphia and points West, take the Ben Franklin Bridge, and exit from one of the two left lanes. Follow signs to Routes 30 - 130; stay in one of the two left lanes. Two miles East of the Bridge, the highway divides at the top of a ramp. Bear left, towards Routes 38 & 70.

At the bottom of the ramp, move over one (or two) lanes to your right, to stay on Route 70 East. Go straight for three miles; 1/4 mile before you come to the restaurant, you will see a sign for Grove Street.

Lamberti's is on your right on Route 70 at the Grove Street turn.

(Traffic is normally light on 70 East from the Bridge to Grove St., and the normal ride is 7 minutes.)

 

 From NJ or points South, take Route 295 North to Route 561, Haddonfield/Gibbsboro, and turn left towards Haddonfield. Follow 561 until it ends, at Kress Liquors. The road will fork to your left; stay in the right lane and bear left onto Potter Street. Follow Potter to the light at Kings Highway, then jog across onto Grove Street. Stay on Grove Street through Haddonfield, and across the bridge over Cooper River. As you are approaching the intersection of Grove Street and Route 70, right before 70 you will see a sign on your left for Commerce Bank. Turn left into the bank parking lot, and continue straight past the bank into the back parking lot at Lamberti's.

  Beth Sheligo

Chapter Chairperson

 

All Society members and guests are reminded that alcohol consumption can lead to intoxication and therefore Society members and their guests are expected to drink in moderation at Society events. We suggest those attending either utilize designated drivers or other modes of transit where available, or mostly taste rather than consume alcohol when such drivers or alternative means of transportation are not available.