John Marshall Chapter of the American Wine Society

AMERICAN WINE SOCIETY
A non-profit corporation

John Marshall Chapter

For the majority of people, wine is like sex:
they've been partaking for years, deriving tremendous pleasure from it,
but they still do not come close to understanding all of its complexities.

Bob Blumer – The Surreal Gourmet Entertains

MAY MEETING

Glenda did an excellent presentation of Virginia Cabernet Francs. Her first action was to hold up a placard that read, "No Quiz," as Walt winced -- thanks for making the journey, Walt. Glenda then presented a star-studded array of Virginia wines to compare with two Cabernet Franc social wines from California.

Our thanks to Barboursville, Tarara, and Valhalla for providing verticals from their libraries. And Glenda, your presentation exhibited great concentration, depth, and character. Tanks Moocho!!!

Social Wines - California
Ironstone Napa	1997
Hahn Monterrey	1998

Comparison Wines - Virginia
Barboursville	1993, 1998, 1999
Tarara	1998, 1999, 2000
Rappahannock	2000
Ingleside	1998
Valhalla	1998, 2000

JUNE MEETING

Sunday, June 9th, is the day. Mr. Bruce Shaffer is presenting New York Finger Lakes lickin' good wines. As Bruce reports, "The trip to Finger Lakes was great! We came back with waaay too many wines -- needed 10 bottles, came back with 18, had to buy a new suitcase up there to get 'em home. Good whites AND reds, some surprises in the group. Will tell all on June 9. Pictures at 11."

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

July - no formal meeting, join July 4th celebration in Chris Pearmund's vineyard
August - vacation month
September 9th - Mike Schlosser conducting the annual AWS national tasting
October 6th - Mike and Mary Anne with wines from Yakima, WA.
November 4th - Ted and Catherine
December - on November 30th the Christmas bash (at Heritage Hunt, George?)

LOCAL GEMS

When was the last time you visited one of the wineries in your backyard? With summer upon us, it's a great time to visit Virginia Wineries to sample their elixirs.

Don't laugh now, but the rest of the world is becoming enviously aware of our local gems. In the May 2002 edition of "Wine Business Monthly," a three-page article about Virginia Wines gives glowing info on today's status of our growing wine industry. Comparisons were made to California Chardonnays and Cabernet Francs from both quality and price viewpoints, and it was mentioned that Viognier and Riesling do equally as well here.

The bottom line of the article is: "Virginia wines are good quality with reasonable prices and they carry an enormous amount of romantic history. It's time to get jazzed about them and expect continued growth in the Virginia wine industry." So ... when was the last time you visited one of the wineries in your own backyard?

See ya on the 9th!

Smile . . .

Fletcher