AWS Annual Dinner Reservation Form

Transcription

1 October 2013 Newsletter North Alabama Chapter of the American Wine Society (AWS) Annual Dinner & Election of Officers October 26, 2013, 6:00 pm 1892 East Restaurant & Tavern, 720 Pratt Avenue Huntsville, AL AWS Annual Dinner Reservation Form Reservation Form is to be completed and mailed in with check to: AWS, North Alabama Chapter, P.O. Box 461, Madison, AL ** Reservations deadline for October Annual Dinner is October 16, Dinner choices must be mailed in and No Cancellations or Refunds, ** Any questions please call Joy Suttles. AWS Members: Guest(s): Phone #: Phone #: Guests, is this your 1 st, 2 nd or 3 rd time as a guest? Total number $47.00 each. =. Attendance is limited to 50. The price of $47.00 includes tax, gratuity, and corkage fee. Feel free to leave a little more if the staff does a great job. Don t forget to bring a wine or two to share with your fellow AWS members! Please print the menu (on next page for each member & guest with their dinner choices (circled) and mail in with reservation. 1

2 Name: Salad (Choice of one) 1. Caesar Salad 2. Seasonal Soup Entrée (Choice of one) 1. Roasted Chicken Breast with mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans, zucchini, and yellow squash, and pan jus 2. Grilled Scottish Salmon with red potatoes, sautéed green beans, zucchini, and yellow squash, and a citrus beurre blanc 3. Grilled Regional Beef Tenderloin with mashed potatoes, sauteed green beans, zucchini, and yellow squash, and sauce au poivre Dessert (Choice of one) 1. Cinnamon Bread Pudding with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream 2. Chocolate Pot de Creme with fresh whipped cream Name: Salad (Choice of one) 1. Caesar Salad 2. Seasonal Soup Entrée (Choice of one) 1. Roasted Chicken Breast with mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans, zucchini, and yellow squash, and pan jus 2. Grilled Scottish Salmon with red potatoes, sautéed green beans, zucchini, and yellow squash, and a citrus beurre blanc 3. Grilled Regional Beef Tenderloin with mashed potatoes, sauteed green beans, zucchini, and yellow squash, and sauce au poivre Dessert (Choice of one) 1. Cinnamon Bread Pudding with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream 2. Chocolate Pot de Creme with fresh whipped cream 2

3 From the Wine Cellar (Margaret Fall, Director) I heard the WINE DINNER BELL Have you MARKED YOUR CALENDAR for the October Annual Wine Dinner and sent in your RSVP with menu selection? It will be on Saturday, October 26, at 6:00 pm, at 1892 East Restaurant and Tavern. Reservations are needed. Remember, the tradition of our Annual Wine Dinner is to bring 1 or 2 bottles of a wine you would like to share with your fellow wine lovers; as well as electing 2014 Officers for the Board. This month we are exercising a very critical and special function. I encourage each of you to participate in the election of new officers. This process has two key ingredients. The first ingredient is to recognize those within our organization that give of their time and skills and volunteer for a Board position. Without these volunteers the North Alabama Chapter would cease to exist. While this year s slate of officers will be finalized at our annual dinner, I want to encourage each of you to consider becoming more involved in the operation of the Chapter and look to 2014 to volunteer as a host for a tasting or consider a board member role. It s not that hard! The other ingredient is that members must vote for the election of officers. The polls are only open for the length of time it takes for us to enjoy our annual dinner on October 26. So bring your favorite wine to drink with dinner or to share with others and bring out the vote. At the annual dinner we will thank the hosts of our monthly tasting by putting all the months hosts names in the hat and drawing 3 names for a special prize. Remember, this is a bonus for Hosting, so book your month for 2014 and Like a great bottle of wine, membership in AWS is better when shared with friends. So, spread the word to those wine-loving friends and neighbors you have. Tell them to go to the "Join Us" page at And a Special Thanks goes to Dave and Kim Russell, Tim and Joy Suttles for September s tasting and the Starkloff s for allowing us to share their home on a Sunday afternoon. We had a great time, enjoyed Stephanie Bolton from the University of Georgia, food was great and as always, we appreciated our hosts for a great tasting. 3

4 Results of the September 2013 Tasting The North Alabama Chapter tasting was the AWS National Tasting Project, Rhône Style wines held on September 22, The tasting was hosted by Dave and Kim Russell at the home of Karl and Judy Starkloff. This was a fun event with 34 members and guests in attendance. A special guest was the chapter s scholarship winner, Stephanie Bolton from the University of Georgia. Stephanie was the chapter s fourth scholarship winner and the first to visit our chapter. Stephanie, pictured with the chapter s Board of Directors Every year the American Wine Society conducts a nationwide tasting of the same wines with the goal of gaining a larger view of what wines members in each chapter prefer. The AWS National Tasting Project committee provided a list of 15 wines from which to select six for the tasting using the following guidelines: - A white Rhône A Californian Rhne An Australian Rhône A Spanish Rhône Two French Rhônes (one from Northern Rhône and one from Southern Rhône) To achieve consistency among all chapters, an additional set of specific instructions were followed to level the tastings from chapter to chapter. Here is how we conducted the tasting: 4

5 1. The wines were tasted in random order and were not arranged wines by region or cost. 2. All capsules were removed from the bottles completely. 3. Each bottle was placed in bags that were numbered to keep track of wines. 4. The wines were opened approximately two hours before the tasting began to allow them to breathe. All corks/screw caps were kept hidden during the tasting. 5. Each bottle was placed in the proper numbered paper bag to correspond with the list and taped at the top so the wine could not be identified. The Blind tasting provided the opportunity to see how our chapter graded the wines compared to the other chapters across the country. Be sure to look for the national results on the National website and in the AWS newsletter. The afternoon started off with a Rosé Cava apéritif costing $11. Below are the wines that were tasted and the average score of each wine. Vintage Wine Name Country Cost Average Score 2011 Guigal Cotes du Rhône Blanc French $ Torbreck Cuvee Juveniles Australia $ Guigal Crozes Hermitages French $ Cline Cashmere California $ Can Blau Celler Can Blau Spain $ Dom. Grand Veneur Reserve French $ 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. 5

6 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 Starklof Webmaster - Jay Wilson SCARY WINE, SCARY WINE??? LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT (Marj McCulley, Education Chair) Just a few centuries ago I received the following invitation by special delivery, Vampire Bat Express. Your Presence is Commanded by Gomez and Morticia Addams at 0001 Cemetery Lane for a Grand Tour of our (sur)prized Wine Cellar Located in the Caves Beneath our Breath Taking Mansion (please ignore the condemned signs). Tour and Tasting will Begin Promptly at the Stroke of Midnight on Halloween. They're creepy and they're kooky, Mysterious and Spooky, They're all together spooky, The Addams Family. Their house is a museum Where people come to see 'em. They really are a scream, The Addams Family. So get a witches shawl on, A broomstick you can crawl on, We're gonna pay a call on The Addams Family. Arriving shortly before midnight our brooms were valet parked by their pet Vulture and we were whisked away to the caves by Lurch the butler. We were met by the charming Addams Family, Cousin Cackle, the Cellar Master, and Uncle Festus the Vintner whose wines we were to taste. Lurch began to play the harpsichord and Thing emerged from his box to serve. Immediately our nostrils were assailed by a musty, moldy odor. Uncle Festus quickly smiled and told us of the special routine they employed to chlorinate the corks so they could get just the right taint to get that beautiful corked aroma. Someone then asked if Cousin Itt had been cleaning the cellar with vinegar. Oh no Festus replied, we encourage the production of volatile acid to give our wine that extra bite. Then as our noses detected ethyl acetate, we looked to see if Morticia was removing her nail polish. No, no Festus explained we always encourage our acetic acid to react with the ethyl alcohol so it can add richness and sweetness to a wine. But don t you think when the wine smells like glue it may be a bit much. Festus replied that there could never be too much of a good thing! Gomez, Morticia sighed, you ve lit your amazing cigar. No dearest, he replied I just popped the bung on a Hungarian oak barrel containing the remnants of that older than Dracula cab. Oh, how divine! She swooned, I remember him well. Moving to the Pinot vat there was the unmistakable smell of hydrogen sulfide. Don t you just love the wonderful bouquet of rotten eggs? I take special care to make a reductive fermentation to get the best. Deprive it of oxygen and phosphate and choose just the right yeast. Over here we have my pride and joy! With special care I achieved enough hydrogen sulfide to react with a super abundance of sulfur compounds to get mercaptans. Don t you just love that odor of onion, rubber and skunk? And don t forget the dimethyl sulfide; it contributes to the wines fruityness, fullness and complexity. Yes, but did it go too far, it smells like cooked cabbage. NO, there can never be too much of a good thing-that s my philosophy! 6

7 Over here we have a specially heated vat so we can get rid of that awful fruityness and get that wonderful flat, insipid, brick colored wine. Oh, by the way, I changed to florescent lighting just so I could get just the right flavors of cardboard and wet wool by lightstriking my champagnes. But come down deeper into our caves where we will partake of my pride and joys- the Microbiological wonders: Brettanamyces (band-aids, horse stable, smoke, bacon), Geosmin (earthy, musty, turnip), Diacetyl (butter and butterscotch), Mousiness and my favorite the slimy ropiness that shimmers on the wine. We begged the lateness of the hour and asked if we could partake of these jewels at a later date. We did not leave a forwarding address!!! 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. Madison Monogram LLC Address: 181 Hughes Rd # 8, Madison, AL (same shopping center with Hartlex Antiques) Telephone: Programs (Tim & Joy Suttles, Programs Chair(s)) We have most of the slots filled for next year with only June, September, and November open. Please do not be shy about hosting a tasting. If you have never done it, we will assign a veteran member to help with the AWS chapter providing the glasses, pourers, and any advice or guidance you may need. Many people do not know the details of hosting a tasting, which are simple. First, the host/hostess select a theme/wines for the tasting (help is readily available should anyone need ideas). The host purchases three bottles of each of the wines selected, normally six wines in total in addition to the warm-up aperitif meaning 21 total bottles of wine. The AWS will reimburse the hosts based on the number of bottles of each wine actually served which depends upon the number of attendees, traditionally we get approximately 14 pours per bottle therefore if we have over 28 attendees (counting the hosts) reimbursement is for three bottles of each wine (receipts are required) and the hosts do not pay for the tasting. All shipping and taxes are also covered for each wine served. Second, the food reimbursement is a straight $5 per person based on the actual number of attendees, which is known a few days prior to the tasting. The hosts also need to provide 2 articles for the newsletter; one before the tasting and one after. The Programs chair will assist you with the articles. You can contact either of us during the tasting. 7

8 The calendar for the remainder of 2013, 2014, and Jan 2015 are below: 2013 October 26 Annual 1892 East Programs November 17 Kickoff to the Holidays Young s/suttles December N/A No Tasting N/A 2014 January 26 Italian Fabby s February 23 TBA Suttles March 23 TBA Baltar s April 27 Derby Party Falls /Peirce s May 18 Southern Hemisphere Garay s June 22 TBA Open July 27 TBA Coddington s Aug 24 At the Auction Celebrating our Members Wilson s Sep 28 National Tasting Open Oct TBA Annual Dinner Programs Nov 16 TBA Open Dec N/A No Tasting N/A 2015 Jan 25 Open 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! September Raffle We had several terrific prizes for the September raffle. As our first winner, Walt Collier selected the 2012 Willamette Valley Vineyards Whole Cluster Pinot Noir donated by Karl and Judy Starkloff. Edwin Nunez then selected the 2009 Villa Antinori Toscana donated by Walt and Therise Collier. Marj McCulley was our next big winner. She selected the 2010 Rias Baixas Vionta Albarino donated by Steve and Beth 8

9 Young. Continuing the tradition of the winning McCulleys, Chris McCulley selected the Brancott Estates Sauvignon Blanc donated by Edwin and Marisol Nunez. As our fifth winner, Wayne Gardner selected a Jack-o-lantern wine bottle stopper donated by Paul and Margaret Fall. Kim Russell selected the Copain Chardonnay donated by Wayne and Bonnie Gardner. Our final winner for the day was Tom Gainey who received an apron embroidered with the North Alabama AWS chapter logo donated by Marj McCulley. Thanks to everyone who brought prizes for the raffle and everyone who bought tickets. Our education fund is thriving by your generous donations. Chapter AWS Educational Foundation (AWSEF) For the September 2013 tasting, $102 was raised from the raffle, $64 from the amount added to the tasting cost for a total of $166. We also received a sizable contribution from Dennis and Bonnie Dilworth, lifetime AWS members. The balance in the chapter s AWSEF fund is $3,870. 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 6 th scholarship. We will donate $3,500 at the 2013 conference to award our 5th scholarship in our chapter s name in next year s selection! 9