AMERICAN WINE SOCIETY
A non-profit corporation

John Marshall Chapter


 

You have only so many bottles in your life,
never drink a bad one.

– Len Evans

SEPTEMBER MEETING

This last month we enjoyed the AWS national tasting of Pinot Noirs. Sorry about the last newsletter stating a Chardonnay theme. We tasted six wines and had a lot of fun. The prices ranged from $13.00 to $24.00 a bottle.  We were a little surprised the higher priced wines were not much better then the $13 bottles. Below are the averages and ranges of scores for the wines. You will notice a wide range. However, to be truthful, I was very impressed with the responses on the score sheets this year. In the past, it was not unusual to find blank columns and blank final ratings. This year, all columns were filled, and the spread was caused by ratings of aroma and taste.  This is how it should be. To all in our chapter, I want to say thank you for participating. You should be proud of your growth in learning about wine tasting. The wines we enjoyed are listed below.
 
Winery
Locale
Year
Cost
Average Rating
Maximum Rating
MinimumRating
Rosemount Australia
1999
$12.99
12
15
  9
Mirassou Coastal Selection Monterey
1999
$13.99
10
14
  7
Joseph Drouhin Laforeta French
1999
$13.99
13
16
12
Handley Anderson Valley
1999
$24.99
11
18
  3
Alderbrook Russian River
1999
$19.99
14
19
11
Saintsbury Carneros 1999  $24.99
10
16
    5.5

The AWS also wanted to know if we agreed with descriptions on winery labels or reviews provided by wine experts. Overall, we decided both were simply salesmanship even though they sometimes hit the mark with our taste buds.  Notice that "our taste buds" were key. We wondered how long ago the descriptions and reviews were created and if that made a difference. We decided a wine is good if you like it - that is the bottom line. If you want to use a review as a guideline, take note of the date of the review and where it was done, then remember shipping and handling of wines can affect flavors. The review is only an opinion of a specific wine in a specific place on a specific date. It is only a guideline of what might be in a bottle you buy.
 

OCTOBER MEETING

On Sunday, the 10th, Mike and Mary Anne are presenting wine they brought back from their trip to Washington State. They always have a great selection so I hope to see you there.
 

FUTURE MEETINGS


Have good weekend,

Mike Schlosser