AMERICAN WINE SOCIETY
A non-profit corporation

John Marshall Chapter


 
This is not a test. There are no wrong answers.
Think of your high school friend Bruno driving through a red light rationalizing,  "They're only guidelines."
Drink malvasia with mutton, see if we care.
We submit this missive mostly to encourage experimentation. ("Please play with your food Billy")
If any one tells you that mourvedre doesn't go with turkey, hit them over the head with a drumstick.
 
-- The Official Bonny Doon Vineyard Guide to 'Pood and Fine Warings'


I've been hearing a lot of hype lately about "All Natural" wines, especially in advertising. As of yet, those espousing natural wines haven't
been able to explain what the term 'natural wines' means. Some of them even go so far as to tell me they don't add sulfites.

Sulfite, or sulfur dioxide, is an organic preservative and disinfectant that is a natural by-product of fermentation. The wine maker potentially
adds sulfur dioxide to the juice at any time from crush to bottling not only as a disinfectant but also for its anti-oxidation properties. It has
been added to wines for centuries. Two millennium ago the metal 'copper' was submerged in aging wines as a disinfectant. So, can some body please explain to this illiterate X - Pensive Wino what is 'natural' wine?
 

NEXT MEETING

Our next gathering is on Sunday, April 2nd in the Parish Hall of Grace Episcopal Church (if the parking lot isn't full of cars with wine related
license plates then we're at the Turner House up the street). Meeting starts at 7:00 pm with social commencing at 6:30 pm.  Ted and Catherine (our fearless leaders) are taking us to Australia, I think. The title of the presentation is "Thunder Down Under".

Thunder Down Under. Now I gotta be honest and tell ya that since the word 'wine' wasn't mentioned I'm wondering if the 'thunder' has anything to do with the ramifications of Ted's consumption of beans the day of the meeting decidedly exceeding his gastronomic satiety. Be there Sunday, April 2, to hopefully taste some of Australia's skillfully crafted wines.
 

SUMMARY OF THE MARCH 2000 MEETING

Chris Pearmund and I presented eight Spanish wines with a cava (sparkler) for the social. We had returned from Spain the week before full of facts, figures, stories, and wines. With two exceptions the wines presented are harder to find in the states than a Pat Buchannan campaign button in a Mexican border town.

In Walts' tradition we initiated the meeting with a quiz. Jerry Motter impressed us with his extensive knowledge of Spanish wines and their
history. He received a split of Ochoa Moscatel, a 16% alcohol sticky for the most correct answers. Endorsing his proselytizing on the educational
benefits of quizzes, Walt e-mailed me saying that he could not attend, but would I please send him the quiz any way. As it turned out Walt tied Jerry, sorry you weren't there, Walt. Chris and I would have come-up with a second split for ya that is a close kin of your beloved ports. The wines of the evening were:

Aside from tasting wines, Chris and I talked about what we had experienced. The first four days were booked with three appointments per day at bodegas (wineries). The scope of the Spanish wine industry blew my mind. One bodega had a barrel room of 10,000 barrels, another 18,000, and the coup de gras was a bodega with a single room containing 30,000 barrels. At most bodegas seventy thousand-liter stainless fermentation and aging tanks (with and without jackets) were lined-up every where like soldiers. A bulk facility answered Chris's question of what is the most pounds they had de-stemmed, crushed, and pumped to the fermentation tanks in one day. Answer; Two Million Pounds.

This was my first experience on a pure wine trip to an 'Old World' wine country. First of all it was apparent that even with 3,200 years of
vineyard and wine making experience in Spain, the Virginia wine industry is right up there with them in individual stylistic thumb print and terroir
appreciation. Moreover though, several of the bodegas have been operated by the same family for over three hundred years and some of their buildings are older than the United States. And the ambiance is an extenuation of the world they live-in, they were born to the world of wine with a smile and will die there with a smile. If you enjoy wine I highly suggest a wine trip to the 'Old World'. It's enlightening on the palate and the spirit.

I must say that this was the funest thing I've ever prepared for. Believe me, gathering those wines and assembling the program was pure pleasure. I
want to thank Chris for his participation and sharing the knowledge he gained in Spain with us.

Virginia vineyards have mostly completed pruning by now. In the wineries, bottling some of the '99 harvest is running full tilt boogie, lots of
things to see. The weather is turning toward summer, a good season to visit a winery with a picnic basket and a corkscrew before the hoards of
mosquitoes descend upon us.

See ya on the 2nd !

Smile

Fletcher