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1 April 2013 Newsletter North Alabama Chapter of the American Wine Society (AWS) To Blend or Not To Blend April 28, 2013, 3:00 pm Hosted by Jack and Marj McCulley Join us once more on the river (pray for sun, no rain) for another trip to the Villa Toscano and Bella Piazza sister wineries in Amador County, CA. For our newer members, they specialize in Italian varietals brought over by their founders. We will use four of their varietals, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Montepulciano and Syrah to see what happens when they blend. Join the mystery - guess which of these are used to create two of their blends. 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. 181 Hughes Rd # 8, Madison, AL, , same shopping center with Hartlex Antiques Reservation Form is on the last page of newsletter 1

2 Results of the March 2013 Tasting The North Alabama chapter held a Virginia varietal tasting on March 24, 2013 at the home of Bob and Beth Garay attended by 30 members and guests of the chapter. Wines profiled were from all over Virginia and were hand selected by the Garay s. The afternoon started out with a Trump Sparkling Rose enjoyed by all. The other 6 wines, 3 white and 3 red were scored in two flights with overall scoring at the end, to include the aperitif. Wine Cost Flight Overall Favorite Favorite Apertif 2008 Trump Sparking Brut Rose $29. Flight # Winery at LaGrange Viogner $ Horton Vineyards Petit Menseng $20. * 2011 Barboursville Cabernet Sauvignon $28. Flight # Horton Cabernet Franc $ King Family Meritage $28. * * 2007 Barbousville Reserve Chardonney $28. Our Hosts (Beth and Bob Garay) Desert Table 2

3 Recipe from March 2013 Tasting Crostini with Mushrooms, Prosciutto, and Blue Cheese Ingredients: 3 tablespoons butter 1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and caps chopped 4 ounces crimini mushrooms, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese* Salt and pepper, to taste 1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) chopped thinly-sliced prosciutto 18 (1/2-inch thick) diagonal bread slices from sourdough baguette * Can substitute gorgonzola cheese. Preparation: In a large heavy skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add all the chopped mushrooms and garlic; sauté until the mushrooms are cooked through and brown, approximately 10 minutes. Add cream and boil until the liquid is completely absorbed, approximately 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the crumbled blue cheese and stir until the cheese melts. Mix in the chopped prosciutto and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the mushroom topping to a bowl. NOTE: Mushroom topping can be made one day ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange the bread slices on a large baking sheet. Bake until just golden, approximately 5 minutes; remove from oven. Mound one (1) generous tablespoon mushroom topping on each slice of toasted bread. Return to oven and bake until topping is heat through, approximately 6 minutes. Remove from oven. To serve, sprinkle with chopped parsley. Makes 18 crostini. 3

4 2013 From the Wine Cellar (Margaret Fall, Director) According to the calendar, spring is already here! But as we must wait to actually feel spring s warmth, we can at least look forward to April s tasting (at Jack and Marj's condo on the river) that will serve as the perfect seasonal kick off. We will be comparing wines, To Blend or not to Blend, that Marj and Jack have lined up for us. Just writing about this upcoming event reminds me of how fortunate we are to have such strong support from the membership with regards to hosting our tastings. As you have most certainly heard, we have hosts for the rest of the year's tastings as well as for several tastings next year. It would be great to have hosts for all of next year's tasting scheduled by the time of our annual dinner and elections that are held in October. If you are planning your first tasting, we have many knowledgeable members who will share their experiences. The Chapter provides the wine glasses and the pourers, and if needed can suggest foods such as cheeses, bread and fruit. While some of our hosts share their gourmet skills and indulge us with fine appetizers, we don't expect that at every tasting. After you've hosted a monthly tasting, you'll find that the preparation and wine selection is a great way to share your passion with your AWS family. A bonus to Host: For members who have hosted a tasting since the last annual dinner (September 2012), they will receive two tickets toward the drawing of several $50 gift certificates that we will have at this year s Annual Dinner (October 2013). One $50 certificate is from the Wine Cellar, one is from The Wine Rack, and the other is from Great Spirits. There are also some very important rules related to the drawing: 1. At least one host must be in attendance at the Annual Dinner when the drawing is performed. 2. Only one gift per host. In other words, if one of the tickets of a pair wins, the other is no longer eligible for the other gift certificate. 3. If you co-hosted a tasting, only one pair of tickets will be provided for the tasting and it is up to the co-hosts to decide how to split the tickets. I encourage everyone to make their reservations early as we have been experiencing wonderful turnouts at the tastings. Look into the future: Events to Mark on your Calendar August 2013 Membership Mixer at Highland Lakes Clubhouse hosted by your AWS Chapter Board - We re going to do something really different for the August tasting. Our Membership Mixer will be a no cost wine tasting event hosted by your North Alabama Chapter Board of Directors. The mixer is open to all active members, though you will still need to send in a registration form before the deadline. To keep the event free and fun, we ask you to bring two bottles of wine per couple and an appetizer paired to your wine. One bottle of wine will be opened and shared with the group. This wine should somehow represent your favorite type of wine. One bottle of wine will be added to the silent auction; other wine related items may also be donated in addition. AND We will be learning more about how to judge the wine we taste at our monthly tastings and how to score the Wine Evaluation Sheet (fortunately for me, and those like me, all of our Chapter s members are quite willing to share their knowledge and guide us to appreciate, love and evaluate 4

5 wines. With this said, the education section will be conducted by Marj McCulley and Kristen Lindelow. Another look into the future: AWS National Conference will be held at Kalahari Resorts and Conventions in Sandusky, Ohio, November If you have not attended, you should consider doing so. There are several members that will be happy to share a little about their experience. Journey to the Past AWS Conference: Last year Paul and I attended our first National Convention and we had so many great sessions, but one that we especially enjoyed, Chocolate and Wine: Marriage or Divorce? Chocolate and wine seem incongruous but through the years and many experiments later, it has been proven that these two delightful items pair very together. Professor and Chef Glenn Lemaire took the class on a journey with series of wine and chocolate pairings that delighted all palates. Chocolate dipped Strawberries, Chocolate covered Bacon, Cocoa Basted Rack of Lamb, White Chocolate Pate with Orange Muscat and Orange Zest, Dark chocolate cup with Raspberry mousse, and Petit Fours. It was fabulous, a real marriage! NOTE: look next month for another summary from 2012 Conference. 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 5

6 Blending - Making the Whole Greater than the Sum of its Parts (Marj McCulley, Education Chair) Making wine from a blend of grapes is a tradition that dates back centuries. In France's southern Rhone Valley village of Chateauneuf du Pape, just north of Avignon, winemakers use up to 13 varieties of grapes, including white ones, to make the heady red wine for which the village is famous. In Bordeaux, tradition mandates, and the law allows, as many as five varieties, mainly Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc, with smaller amounts of Petit Verdot and Malbec. In the 19th century, the Bordelais included a sixth variety, Carmenere, but opted not to replant it after phylloxera, the vinedestroying insect, devastated the vineyards. There are several reasons why a winemaker might want to blend wines: To enhance aroma To improve the color To add or minimize flavors and tastes To adjust the ph of a wine To lower or raise acidity To raise or lower alcohol levels To adjust the sweetness of a wine To correct a wine with too much oak flavor To raise or lower levels of tannin At its most basic, vintners blend wine made from different grapes in order to add more complexity to the flavor and texture of a wine. The goal of blending wine made in different vintages is more to balance out the flavor characteristics. Both reds and whites can be made from blends of varietals. In some cases, they may even blend whites and reds together in order to create the best possible combination of aromas and flavors. An excellent example of a wine blended from red and white grapes is Côte-Rôtie in France's Rhone region, which blends the red wine grape Syrah and the white wine grape Viognier. Some wine blends are made from classic recipes handed down from generation to generation. Other vintners create brand new blends in an attempt to produce a new and exciting wine that has flavor characteristics like nothing else on the market. Super Tuscan Blends Super Tuscans got their start in the 1970s when Italian winemakers decided to create a new exciting red wine. Producers of Super Tuscans decided to break the Italian rules and make a new wine blended from grapes of their choosing such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Syrah, Merlot and Petit Verdot. 6

7 As a result of these vintners' rogue wine blends, the DOCG stuck Super Tuscans in the lower class "table wine" category because they did not conform to DOCG regulations. Eventually, these wines got a designation all their own, the Indicazione Geografica Tipica or IGT. Wines in this classification fall between what may be considered (but not always the case) higher quality DOCG classification and the lower quality "table wine" classification. Bordeaux Blends In France, the only grapes allowed for use in a bottle labeled "Bordeaux" are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petite Verdot, Carmenere and Cabernet Franc. If the vintner uses any other grapes, the wine cannot be labeled Bordeaux. Winemakers generally choose two to three different grapes from the approved Bordeaux list, but rarely, if ever, use all six grapes. Winemakers all around the world copy Bordeaux's blending style into blends known as meritage. Meritage The word meritage is a blend of the words merit and heritage. Meritage wines found their beginnings as a result of vintners outside of Bordeaux producing a Bordeaux style blend of wine. Only wine made in Bordeaux can bear the name Heritage. Just like its French counterpart, there are rules to labeling a bottle Meritage: The vintner must produce 25,000 cases or less of Meritage wine per year (vintage). It must be considered one of the wineries higher quality wines. Wineries must be approved by the Meritage Association in order to use the name on the label. Meritage blends are made in the same style and using the same grapes as the Bordeaux blends described above. Rhône-Style Blends France's Rhone region blends up to 15 different grapes to make sublime red and white wines. Primary grapes include Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Viognier. The Rhone is divided into subregions that all have their own blends, including: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which are Grenache-based wines blended with many other grapes. Côtes du Rhône are red wines made up of a spicy and rustic blend of red wine grapes. Côte-Rôtie is a blend of fragrant Viognier and spicy Syrah. Winemakers around the world are becoming extremely innovative in their wine blending techniques. New World winemakers often create daring blends from grapes not traditionally combined, creating new and exciting flavor and aroma profiles. If you're in the market for an exciting wine blend, talk to your local wine shop to find one that suits your palate. 7

8 How to Judge Wine Workshop for TVOS Marj McCulley presented a two-part workshop titled How to Judge Wine to a sold out session at the Tennessee Viticultural and Oenological Society s ( TVOS ) annual meeting in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday morning, March 2. The first session covered the basics of wine judging, including etiquette -- such as not wearing perfume or other scents-- and reminders to judge a wine based on its own merits, not whether it is your favorite varietal or not. Marj also went over common wine faults, how they may occur and the difference in a flaw versus a fault. In the second session, Marj had each workshop participant judge a white wine, a red wine, and a fruit wine and discuss the judging process along the way. Kristen Lindelow assisted Marj and Scott Montgomery helped with wine pouring. The sessions were very well received, if the lengthy applause and questions were any indication! Several TVOS members were interested in the American Wine Society and were given brochures Programs (Tim & Joy Suttles, Programs Chair(s)) If you have 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. 8

9 The calendar for 2013 and first half of 2014 are below: 2013 April 28 To Blend or not to Blend McCulley May 19 Rosé wines today are not the same as what your parents served! Wilson June 30 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 18 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! March s Raffle Thanks to everyone who donated items for our March raffle and who bought raffle tickets. Members donated four different bottles of wine and Marj McCulley s number was drawn first. She selected the 2011 Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand to take home, donated by Jay Wilson. Marj then drew Steve Peirce s number and he picked the Los Rocas Garnacha from Spain that Edwin Nunez had donated. Steve picked the next number and Jodie Stephens was the winner; she chose the Mercat Cava donated by 9

10 the Paul and Margaret Fall. The last number belonged to Tim Suttles and he went home with the 2010 Carran Granache Rose donated by Steve Young. I m looking forward to seeing what raffle items everyone brings to our April tasting. Chapter AWS Educational Foundation (AWSEF) For the March 2013 tasting, $90 was raised from the raffle, $68 from the amount added to the tasting cost for a total of $158. The balance in the chapter s AWSEF fund is $771. 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! 10

11 Reservation Form for this Month s Tasting (April 28, 2013) Reservations deadline Saturday, April 20 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 $21. =. Attendance is limited to 30. (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). 11