Reservation Form is on the last page of newsletter

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1 January 2013 Newsletter North Alabama Chapter of the American Wine Society (AWS) Exploring Unique Grape Varietals for the New Year January 27, 2013, 3:00 pm Chalice Wines by Margo Boyd Hosted by Judy and Karl Starkloff The New Year is upon us!... a time of anticipation for achieving those new goals, having new experiences, establishing new friendships! In the wine world, we have our familiar "friends" ~ the world's "noble grapes." They are familiar and produce top-quality wines the world over. We love them! Right?... How about a New Year's resolution to make new "friends?" Now, at the beginning of the new year, is a perfect time to delve into some unique grape varietals and savor new "friendships." A revolution is occurring in the wine industry. There are young generations of vintners and winemakers who are the sons and daughters of traditional wine growers. They are bursting with enthusiasm, traveling the world, achieving high degrees of education in modern viticultural techniques. Come to the next wine tasting and experience some unusual wines - both single varietals and blends from Europe and the U.S. You won't regret it. There is a wealth of untapped flavour sensations in grapes originating out of the mainstream. You don't have to know everything about these wines to enjoy them; you may find your own diamond in the rough ~ And will be able to impress all your tried & true friends by saying you poured a [Weird Wine Grape Name]! Marguerite "Margo" Boyd, owner of Chalice Imports, Inc. / Chalice Wines, Madison, AL, looks forward with excitement to present some unique grape varietal wines to the North Alabama Chapter of the American Wine Society. Reservation Form is on the last page of newsletter 1

2 A New Year (Margaret Fall, Director) Greetings to the members of one of the best Chapters in the AWS! With our high number of attendees at the 2012 National Convention and the harmonious work between the Board and the membership, our ship has been sailing smoothly though the transition of officers and I am sure it will continue to do so! First, please join me in thanking Edwin for a great year as Director. He did a magnificent job, and we have a stronger Chapter today than we ever have. Second, I would like to offer Congratulations to the Normans on Tracey s new job, in Georgia. We are sorry to see you go but are excited that you may be able to start a new chapter in the area. Do keep in touch. Our Chapter is growing! Every year we have several new members join this is great! I m glad that we provide programs that are interesting and educational. Based on member feedback, we are now including the registration for tasting not only in the newsletter but in the as well; keep the good ideas coming! I know it s a long way off, but I d like to encourage our newer members to think about taking a Board position for 2014 one big benefit is that the Board meets in between tastings, and as a result we get to drink more wine! 2013 is already lining up to be one of the best years for the chapter. With the diligent work of our previous and new Programs Chair, the tasting portion of our event calendar has now been filled for the entire year and we are even looking at filling dates for That in itself is encouraging as it shows the high interest level in our chapter by our members. Remember also that annual dues were due to National on January 1 st. So if you have not renewed your dues, you can do so online at Just log in with your account (which should be the address National currently sends your newsletter to). While you are there, take a look at your user profile and make any needed changes - mistakes may have occurred when National initially imported the membership information into their new WebSite last year. If you are a previous guest that may be interested in joining, now is the perfect time - just select the Join Us link on the far right of the menu bar and that will take you to the proper page. If anyone needs help, give National a call, (888) , or if you feel better contacting someone local, just send me an , originalmargaret@yahoo.com and I will try to help the best I can. Finally, I would like to thank the North Alabama Chapter of the AWS for the confidence placed in me as your 2013 Director. My work will be easy because I have such an excellent Board to work with a team of elected and designated Board members who are very motivated and carry out their responsibilities efficiently. Thank You for that, and I ll see you at the January tasting! 2

3 Results of the December 2012 Holiday Tasting The North Alabama Chapter held a Champagne Holiday tasting on 2 December 2012 hosted by Chip and Sheila Boling attended by 31 members and guests. Flight #1 1) Gruet- Demi Sec NV Flight Favorite (Sparkling Wine from New Mexico) *Toasty bouquet, light and elegant with good acidity, exotic fruit flavors. A dessert wine for those with a sweet taste seemed to be a big hit with members, OVER-ALL Winner. 2) Paul Goerg Demi Sec Premier Cru-NV $37.44 (*80% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir) Flight #2 1) Frank Bonville Blanc De Blanc Grand Cru Tie for Flight Favorite $37.44 (*Blend from different years) 2) Robert Moncuit Grande Cuvee -Blanc De Blanc $64.19 (*100% Chardonnay, from 50 year old plants) 3) Mailly Blanc de Noirs NV-Grand Cru- NV Tie for Flight Favorite $53.49 (*hand-picked crop) Flight #3 1) Bernard Bremont Grand Cru Ambonnay- Brut-NV $42.79 (*80% Pinor Noir, 20% Chardonnay) 2) Mailly Grand Cru- Extra- Brut-NV Flight and Overall Favorite $42.14 (*75% Pinor Noir, 25% Chardonnay Remember with moderate consumptions of Champagne may help the brain cope with the trauma of stroke, Alzheimer s and Parkinson s disease, per joint study by the University of Reading and University of Cagliari, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 18 April AWS North Alabama Chapter Logo Our chapter logo has been digitized and ready to embroider items of your choice. You may either take or buy items at the shop. Logo can be 3 or 4 inches, cost for the logo is $9.50 for your choice. (256) Located: 181 Hughes Rd # 8, Madison, AL * Closer to HWY 20; same shopping center with Hartlex Antiques 3

4 Chapter Web Site (Jay Wilson, Webmaster) When you have time, check out the AWS web sites for both the National ( and our local chapter ( If you haven t been to the North Alabama Chapter of the American Wine Society web page, you are missing a fine opportunity to explore not only our Chapter s history but a lot more. For example, there is a Tab that can explain how to conduct a wine tasting. Here you can find out it is not as hard as you may think to host a tasting. On several other Tabs, you can see the schedule of future tastings, as well as photos of past events. There are archive Tabs for the monthly Newsletter and Education articles going back to The Recipe Tab has almost 50 delicious recipes that tasting hosts have generously provided. There is even a tab where you can contact directly any member of the Board. A lot of effort and time has gone into this website and it is recognized as one of the best in the AWS. To help you find your way, the monthly Newsletter is posted in both PDF and HTML formats, easily downloaded to your phone, to review driving directions to the tasting or re-read Marj s Education page for the month. Our Chapter web site belongs to us, take a few minutes and explore. Chapter 2013 Board of Directors Director Margaret Fall Director Elect Jay Wilson Secretaries Susan Coddington and Kristen Lindelow Treasurer Chip Boling Programs Tim and Joy Suttles Education Marj McCulley Newsletter - Karl Starkloff Webmaster - Jay Wilson WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN AND WHERE HAS IT GONE (Marj McCulley, Education Chair) Fermented beverages have been preferred over water throughout the ages: they are safer, provide psychotropic effects, and are more nutritious. Some have even said alcohol was the primary agent for the development of Western civilization, since more healthy individuals (even if inebriated much of the time) lived longer and had greater reproductive success. The history of wine spans thousands of years and is closely intertwined with the history of agriculture, cuisine, civilization and man himself. Evidence of the earliest European wine production has been uncovered at archaeological sites in Macedonia, dated to 6,500 years ago. These same sites also contain remnants of the world s earliest evidence of crushed grapes. In Egypt, wine became a part of recorded history, playing an important role in ancient ceremonial life. Traces of wine dating from the second and first millennium BC have also been found in China. 4

5 Little is actually known of the prehistory of wine. It is plausible that early foragers and farmers made alcoholic beverages from wild fruits, including wild grapes (Vitis silvestris). This would have become easier following the development of pottery vessels in the later Neolithic of the Near East, about 9000 years ago. Exactly where wine was first made is still unclear. It could have been anywhere in the vast region, stretching from North Africa to Central/South Asia, where wild grapes grow. However, the first large-scale production of wine must have been in the region where grapes were first domesticated, Southern Caucasus and the Near East. Most Vitis species are found in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in North America and Asia with a few in the tropics. Of the over 60 identified Vitis genus, Vitis Vinifera grapes became those widely preferred for wine making. The wine grape Vitis vinifera originated in southern Europe and southwestern Asia. Some believe that all the species of Vitis Vinifera evolved from ancient Muscat clones. Migrating humans took along their vines and seeds. Some adapted, some didn t because of climate, disease and pests. Some adapted by hybridizing with native Vitis vines such as Vitis labrusca, the Fox grapevine Eastern United States and Canada, Vitis riparia, the Riverbank Grapevin, native to the entire Eastern U.S. and north to Quebec or Vitis aestivalis, the Summer Grape, native to the Eastern United States. This process exploded with the help of humans intent on producing viable grape vines that would survive and produce desirable grapes for wine making. From these beginnings wine production has exploded around the world with understanding of terroir, where and what to plant and how to cultivate to achieve ever better wines Programs (Tim & Joy Suttles, Programs Chair(s)) Happy New Year to everyone and welcome back to the 2013 AWS North Alabama wine tastings. The themes for 2013 cover a wide range of topics as you can see on the tasting list below. I hope everyone is looking as forward to these tastings as much as we are. Hosting a tasting can be a lot of fun. Those that have never hosted will find that there is no better way to learn about an intriguing wine subject than using it as the subject of your tasting. Wine is a subject of great complexity and there is plenty of material to explore for our tastings. The process of trying several wines and selecting the best ones to illustrate your theme is a very pleasurable task. As you can see the 2013 calendar is already full so we will be recruiting hosts for the 2014 year. With full Chapter participation, members would only need to host every 15 to 18 months. We need your participation to keep the Chapter fun and interesting. If you have had an idea for a theme or you would like to host a tasting and need help with a theme, please let us know. As Programs Director(s), it is our job to help you as much as possible in the selection of the theme and the wines. You can contact either of us during any tasting or any other time. 5

6 The calendar for 2013 and first half of 2014 are below: 2013 January 27 Wines for the New Year Chalice Wines/Starkloff February 24 Let s Shout Olé! Núñez March 24 Virginia Wines Garay April 21 To Blend or not to Blend McCulley May 19 TBA Wilson June 23 Beer Tasting Baltar July 28 TBA Drake August 25 At the Auction Celebrating our Members Fall September 22 TBA Suttles/Russell October TBA Annual Dinner Programs November 17 Kickoff to the Holidays Young/Suttles December N/A No Tasting N/A 2014 January 26 TBA Open February 23 TBA Open March 23 TBA Open April 27 Derby Party Fall/looking to partner May 25 TBA Open June 22 TBA Open Chapter Bonus The Wine Cellar, The Wine Rack and Great Spirits will give any North Alabama AWS member 10% off their purchase when you show your active membership card at the time of your purchase. So carrying your card is worth the room in your wallet. We re holding a raffle at every tasting We hold a raffle at each monthly tasting to help increase our annual contribution to the AWS Educational Foundation (AWSEF). The purpose of this fund is to assist graduate students in continuing their studies that support the American wine industry. We all enjoy the fruits (well, wines) of their labors! Just bring your raffle item(s) to the tasting each month and we ll raffle them off. Tickets are $1 each or 6 tickets for $5!! Remember, all money we raise through the raffle goes towards the AWSEF fund. Thank you! 6

7 December Raffle Thanks to everyone who donated items for our December raffle and who bought raffle tickets. Our members showed their generosity this month with the number of raffle prizes donated; it looked as if Santa had stopped by! We had ten raffle prizes and played Dirty Santa. Marisol Nuñez chose a gift bag that held a Christmas-themed lotion, candle and hand towels. Kim Russell selected a green bottle bag that held tea candles and a Christmas cheese spreader. Michelle Norman picked the lovely wrapped gift basket only to have it stolen by Giselle Wilson who soon lost it to Walter Collier. Giselle Wilson initially won the 2010 bottle of Côtes du Rhone Domaine de Dionysus from France but Cathy Baltar then Ann Coulter took it. Ann Coulter had originally chosen the 2009 bottle of Pinot Noir de Reserva Bodegas Carrau from Uruguay but Walter Collier stole it and Cathy and Jim Baltar ended up taking it home. The 2006 bottle of McLaren Vale The High Tree Cabernet Sauvignon locked in the wooden puzzle swapped hands several times, too. Chip Boling initially selected it, Cathy Baltar promptly took it, but Tim Coddington eventually took it home. After having their initial selections taken several times, Chip and Sheila Boling went home with the Grenache wine accessory kit. Jim and Cathy Baltar had two winning tickets over the course of the afternoon and also took home the box of German Larochell chocolates. Michelle Norman took home the box of German Weinbrand-Kirscher chocolates and Giselle, after having her initial choice stolen, selected the mystery wrapped gift. The heavy package turned out to be an assortment of at least two dozen different corkscrews from Steve Young s collection! Chapter AWS Educational Foundation (AWSEF) For the November 2012 tasting, $130 was raised from the raffle, $76 from the amount added to the tasting cost for a total of $206. The balance in the chapter s AWSEF fund is $319. Our chapter is committed to supporting the AWSEF. As most of you are aware, we add $2 to every tasting and this money is designated for the AWSEF. At almost every tasting we hold a raffle of items donated by the members. The AWSEF scholarship award amount is $3,500; our chapter s has started raising money for our 5 th scholarship. We donated $1,500 at the 2012 conference to reach our goal of $3,500, so our 4th scholarship will be awarded in our chapter s name this year! 7

8 Reservation Form for this Month s Tasting (January 27, 2013) Reservations deadline Saturday, January 19 th AWS member names Phone Guests names Phone (Guests, is this your 1 st, 2 nd or 3 rd time as a guest?) Total number $19. =. Attendance is limited to 36. (NOTE: $2 of this cost goes to the AWS Educational Foundation Fund and is Tax Deductible) Additional contribution to AWS Educational Foundation: (Add to amount above and include total in check; make check out to AWS, North Alabama Chapter) Please mail your check and reservation form to: AWS, North Alabama Chapter, P.O. Box 461, Madison, AL Cancellation Policy: To receive a refund, you must cancel by 5 pm on the Wednesday prior to the tasting, unless you have a compelling emergency. To cancel, call our treasurer, Chip Boling (phone number and are listed under AWS North Alabama Chapter 2013 Board of Directors paragraph). 8