AMERICAN WINE SOCIETY
A non-profit corporation

John Marshall Chapter


"Wine is the intellectual part of a meal, meats are merely the material part."
-- Alexander Dumas

APRIL MEETING

Robert Hutton added to his reputation. He arranged for his friend Manfred Novak to fly here from Germany and conduct a tasting of German wines that are not available in the USA. Manfred Novak described himself as a journalist who writes about wine and food. The wines he brought were mostly from the Pfalz region, and he gave us a great snapshot of winemaking in Germany today.

We knew that Riesling is the German staple varietal, but Manfred introduced us to a number of lesser-known varieties, including Bacchus and Huxelrebe (a cross between Muscadet and Gutedel, which is also known as Chassala). We tasted a wide variety of styles from dry to half-dry to dessert-style wines. The dessert wines showed a great balance between acidity and sweetness, along with layers of complexity.

Unfortunately, I was out of town for this great program so thanks, Tim, for your excellent perspectives and palate notes. And, Robert, as always, you bring a notable professionalism to our group!  Please thank Manfred for an excellent evening!
 

Year
Appelation
Varietal
Style
Quality
Award
Producer
Place of Production
1998 Baden  Gutedel Trocken Qualitatswein   Winzer Bacchus Kirchhofen
2000 Rheinpfalz  Chardonnay Trocken Spatlese Silver Holz-Weisbrodt Weisenheim
1998 Rheinpfalz  Riesling Halbtrocken Spatlese Gold V. Leiner Landau
1998 Mittelrhein  Riesling Trocken Spatlese Gold A. Lambrich Berirvesel
1999 Rheinpfalz  Chardonnay Trocken Spatlese Gold E. Schmitzer Esehbach
1999 Rheinpfalz  Silvaner Trocken Spatlese Silver V. Leiner Landau
1999 Rheinpfalz  Huxelrebe Trocken Spatlese   V. Leiner Landau
1996 Rheinpfalz  Bacchus   Spatlese Gold F. Fader Rhodt
1999 Rheinpfalz  Scheurebe   Spatlese Gold Pfirmann Landau
1999 Rheinpfalz  Huxelrebe   Auslese Gold K. Pfaffmann Walsheim 

 


MAY MEETING

On Sunday, May 6th, Yours Truly is presenting "Globe Trotting with a Hidden Theme." The wines under $10, but, the question is: How much under? You may be surprised!  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 the social commencing at 6:30 p.m..
 

FUTURE MEETINGS

Mark your calendars: On June 10th, plan on a 5 to 5:30 p.m. arrival for the BBQ, and a 7:00 p.m. commencement of the meeting. Marilyn and Kearney Shaw will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, plates, wares and soda pops. Guests that want to may bring their own beverage and a small dish to share. Please RSVP to the Shaws so they have a headcount for the food:  you can either phone (703) 754-2291 or e-mail kearneynet@erols.com.

Directions to the Shaw's home are as follows:

  1. From Interstate 66 Haymarket exit (exit 40), take Highway 15 north for 3.7 miles.
  2. Turn west (left) on Highway 601 (Waterfall Road) and continue for 0.6 miles.
  3. Turn north (right) on Highway 630 (Mill Creek Road) and continue for 1.2 miles.
  4. Turn right into driveway at 3417 Mill Creek Road. There is a brown fence around the property.
Note: Coming north on Highway 15 from Interstate 66, Waterfall Road is on the left.  There is a traffic light 200 feet beyond which is thee western terminus of Highway 234 (on the right) and a 7-11convieniece store. 3417 Mill Creek Road is a cream colored, brown trimmed Tutor style house set back ~200 feet off the road at the eastern terminus of Berkley Road (on the left). If you pass up the house, you will end up at a dead end cul-de-sac about 1200 feet beyond the house.


LIQUID ASSETS!

By Elif Kaban, European Private Banking Correspondent 

LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - Punters who have had their fingers burnt in collapsing equity markets may want to turn to another liquid asset that can provide corking returns -- fine wine. "World Wine Exchange, a UK firm that pioneered online trading in fine wine, said on Tuesday that the value of its portfolio of rare investment wines was up eight percent in the first quarter of this year."

"In another sign of growing investor interest in fine wine, French bank Societe Generale last week launched a mutual fund that will invest in the most prestigious French vintages over a period of seven years. With stocks of quality wine limited, an appreciating cellar could make a good investment although its success would depend on the vintages selected. There is much speculation, for example, on the 2000 Bordeaux vintages. Top quality wines rise in price as they get closer to maturity. For Bordeaux and Burgundy wines, analysts say the value surges a year after coming to market and prices then stabilize before rising again around four years later as the wines mature and consumers start drinking them."

After successfully slaving away to earn my daily bread, I was sittin’ at home getting relaxed by sippin’ my favorite beverage while perusing on-line wine news, and this article appeared on the screen. My first thoughts were to bid adieu to my beloved Bordeaux and Burgundy, thinking they will certainly exceed my cost threshold now, and I’m doomed to begrudgingly contrive some imagined virtues of Chateau Boones Farm and Domaine Wal-Mart.  Then, I recalled a recent article in the Post about the diminishing consumption of wine in France, which makes more of those precious elixirs available for export, and the speculation is that the prices should hold steady. Yahoo! I may still be able to afford a bottle a year of the revered stuff. And, of course, as the contrived nightmare subsided, I realized that the wine I was sippin’ was a well-made wine that retails under $10 a bottle.

There are great choices for us in the USA now, as imports increase. The top three consumers of wine in the world are: France 16%; Italy 14%; and USA 9.6%. In the USA, 80% of the wine consumption is done by 12% to 14% of the adult population. We are a burgeoning wine market targeted by every producer on this globe so, in reality, the price to quality ratio can only get better. For some examples of inexpensive well-made wines, come on out to the May 6th meeting!
 

See ya on the 1st!

Smile . . .

Fletcher