AMERICAN WINE SOCIETY
A non-profit corporation

John Marshall Chapter


NOVEMBER MEETING: Packaging and Marketing Hype, presented by Mike Schlosser

Mike Schlosser led us in a tasting of several interesting pairs of wines, where we compared unusual packaging and marketing hype to more “staid” presentations. We investigated which sounded more appealing and which really was.  First, we started with two social wines, then we started our "scientific study" of wine pairs.

Pair
 Producer
 Varietal
 Year
 Region
 Cost
 Comment
Social
 Yellow Tail Shiraz 2002 Australia $6.49 Nice red with lots of fruit
Social
 St. Germain Brut Sparkling Wine NV
 France $8.99 Very nice bubbly at the price; popular with the group
1
 Dry Creek Chardonnay 2001 Sonoma CA $8.00 Oaky butter;  group favorite of the two
1
 Koala Blue Chardonnay 2002 Australia $5.99 Pretty blue bottle; a bit dry and dusty/steely; a summer sipper
2
 Chateau Menaut Graves 2003 Bordeaux $9.99 Bit thin; bottle suggests serving at temps in the 50s;
probably to hide its lack of substance
2
 Stony Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2004 New Zealand $11.99 Screw cap bottle; rather fizzy; grassy nose; typical Sauvignon Blanc
character;  generally preferred by the group in this pair
3
 Washington Hills Dry Riesling 2003 Washington State $8.99 Steely nose; citrusy and sweet; a little thin
3
 Bonny Doon Pacific Rim Dry Riesling NV California $9.99 Strange label on clear bottle with screw cap; oaky nose; more typical
Riesling character;  generally preferred by the group in this pair
4
 Red Bicyclette Merlot 2003 France $9.99 Little dry and tannic; one-dimensional; fruit in the back
4
 Red Truck Red Table Wine NV Sonoma $10.99 Big, rich red with deep fruit;  group favorite in this pair and
generally for the evening


DECEMBER MEETING:  Christmas Party, hosted by Jennifer Crafts and Rex Bambling   (PLEASE RVSP if you plan to attend!)

Hopefully, everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is getting into the Christmas spirit. The chapter Christmas Party will be held on December 11th at Rex and Jennifer’s home in Lovettsville, Virginia.  We’ll start at 6:00 p.m., and go on until the wine runs out or they kick us out.  Our friends in the Northern Virginia Chapter are invited as well.  Dress is casual if you prefer, but feel free to dress up if you enjoy it!

As always, everyone should bring a dish to share with the group.  Jennifer would appreciate it if you let her know what you’re bringing so that she can try to ensure we have a somewhat even distribution of things.  She can offer suggestions if you don’t know what to bring.  Jennifer's email is craftsj@westat.com and her cell phone is (703) 597-6339.  Here are directions to the party:

From Leesburg:
  1. Take 7 West toward Winchester.
  2. Take exit for Route 9 West to Charles Town. At the end of the ramp at the stop sign, take a right onto Route 9, then travel 5.1 miles. **
  3. Turn right onto Route 287, the Berlin Turnpike, and travel 5.7 miles.
  4. Turn right, at the 7-11 store, onto West Broadway and go 0.5 mile through the town of Lovettsville. 
  5. At the fork in the road (the main road curves off to the left), take the fork that goes slightly to the right, Milltown Road. 
  6. Travel 2.1 miles to the mailbox for # 13439.
** There is a shortcut from the turn onto 9 that goes through Waterford by taking Clarke’s Gap Road.  These are not highways.  The directions are: 
  1. About 1/2 mile after the turn from the stop sign onto Route 9, take a right onto Clarke’s Gap Road, just before the Shell station, and travel 2.3 miles to the edge of Waterford. 
  2. At Factory Road, the first street inside Waterford, take a left.  Follow Factory Road as it curves through the town.
  3. At the stop sign, take a left.  Follow that road out of town bearing left across the small bridge. 
  4. Take the first right, at 1/10 mile, onto Milltown, Route 681.
  5. Travel 4.4 miles to the mailbox for #13439.
From Frederick: 
  1. Take Route 340 towards Charlestown.
  2. Take 17 South through Brunswick across the Potomac. This becomes Berlin Turnpike, Route 287, in Virginia.  
  3. Travel about 3 miles to the 7-11 store and turn left onto West Broadway then go 0.5 mile through the town of Lovettsville. 
  4. At the fork in the road (the main road curves off to the left), take the fork that goes slightly to the right, Milltown Road. 
  5. Travel 2.1 miles to the mailbox for # 13439.

Your deputy newsletter writer,

~ Chris Braun ~

P.S. Please feel free to forward this link to friends who share your interest in matters of the vine. Or, send webmaster@aws-va.com their names to add to our mailing list.

P.P.S. If you are no longer interested in getting John Marshall AWS news, please send a note to webmaster@aws-va.com and ask  to be removed from this email list.