AMERICAN WINE SOCIETY
A non-profit corporation

John Marshall Chapter


Champagne: the great civilizer.
-- Tallyrand

JANUARY MEETING

Ted and Catherine tickled our noses with an international selection of sparklers. Sparkling wine is made universally the same way with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes, except in Spain. Yet each of the five presented had a distinctive taste. Thanks Ted and Catherine.
Banrock Station Chardonnay Australia $12
Rebuli Prosecco Extra Dry Italy $11
Gruet Chardonnay & Pinot Noir New Mexico $13
Cristalino Brat Spain $11
Trouillard Brut Rose Epernay, France $28


FEBRUARY MEETING

This is it, folks! A change in schedule brings to us Walt Rachele on his annual pilgrimage to The Plains on Sunday, February 4th. With a glint in his eye, Walt said that for a $22 per person tasting fee he could blow the dust off some bottles of Port for us. Need I say more about Walt and Ports?

We're meeting in the Parish Hall of Grace Episcopal Church. As always, if the parking lot isn't full of cars with wine related license plates then we're up the street at the Turner House across from the BP station. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. with our social commencing at 6:30 p.m..
 

FUTURE MEETINGS

Mark your calendars:

MISLABELING ERRORS?

Between celebrating the New Year and our January meeting, the members of this chapter must be civilized. That is, if we define the word "Champagne" in its generic usage meaning a "sparkling wine."

There are unfortunately less benign misrepresentations in the wine industry than referring to a sparkling wine made outside of Champagne, France, as "Champagne." The recent disclosures from Burgundy about some intentional mislabeling of bottles is a sad example. But, another mislabeling incident from South America exemplifies the inherent excitement of the wine world, the recognition of a new to us varietal.

Chileans have long grown and vinted Merlot. In 1991, it was discovered that as much as half of their Merlot is actually a semi-obscure Medoc varietal, Carmenere. It was widely planted through Bordeaux and the Medoc during the early 18th century for the rich soft textures it imparted. But Carmenere was not replanted after the phylloxera epidemic in the nineteenth century because of its penchant for low yields due to inherently poor "fruit set." Apparently, that malady called, "coulure" results in imbalanced carbohydrate levels in
vines and is also diagnosed in Grenache (Garnacha in Spain), Malbec, Muscat, Ottonel, and certain Merlot clones as well as Carmenere.

With its proven adaptation to Chilean terroir, Carmeneres proliferation is adding a wine to our selection with the charm of Merlot and structure of Cabernet. A revival much like with Petit Verdot, bringing another distinctive single varietal wine for our pleasure as well as another personality at the winemakers disposal for blending.
 

ELECTIONS AND THANKS

Actually, it was reported to me that some of the votes are still being counted.  No joke, I didn't ask. Here are the unverified end results. Mike Schlosser has accepted the Chairmanship with his campaign promises of another year with a robust economy, low unemployment, and perfect weather for a stellar vintage in 2001. Marilyn Shaw is his assistant. Kearney Shaw is The Keeper of the Sacred Membership Records. Barb Schlosser, the incumbent, will serve another year as Chief Financial Officer, and I was the lucky fifth caller during the phone -in contest so I'll be doin' the newsletter again. A new responsibility has surfaced. Mike and Mary Anne Wassenberg were drafted by default as the AWS John Marshall Chapter WebMasters. And Ted and Catherine, though relinquishing the Chairmanship will retain their titles as Keepers of the Key (to Parish Hall). And Bacchus smiled upon us for our gastronomic satiety shall be suffencifed through the coming year by Chef Jan Beakley and Chef BS (Bruce Schaefer).

Our sincere thanks goes out to those who gave their time serving the chapter to organize and pull-off our meetings this past year. Ted, Catherine, Mike, Barb, Kearney, Mary Anne, Mike, Jan, Bruce, and those who gave presentations through the year  .  .  .  Thank you!
 

See ya on the 4th !

Smile . . .

Fletcher