John Marshall Chapter of the American Wine Society

AMERICAN WINE SOCIETY
A non-profit corporation

John Marshall Chapter

SEPTEMBER MEETING: What Makes Italians See Red?, presented by Chris Braun

In September, Chris Braun treated us with her presention of Italian reds. We explored a good range of wines and grape varieties, selecting from some of the more affordable examples of the “big reds”, along with some nice everyday wines. The wines were complimented by Jennifer’s excellent food selections and are shown in the table below. Not surprisingly, most people enjoyed the higher-end wines such as the Barolo, though they were still too young for an optimum showing. However, the Folio Sangiovese (the first of two social wines) was a exceptionally nice value at only $5.99. And, the very moderately priced Salice Salentino received several votes for favorite wine of the night, especially after the prices were revealed.

Wine	Year	Cost
Folio Sangiovese	2002	$ 5.99
Torre Spina Sangiovese	2002	$ 5.99
Dei Vino Nobile di Montepulciano	1998	$ 19.99
Vasco Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino	1998	$ 34.99
Pozzi Montepulciano D’Abruzzo	2001	$ 8.99
Dr. Cosimo Taurino Salice Salentino Riserva	2000	$ 8.99
Tommasi Valpolicella Classico Superiore Viticoltori Rafaela	2000	$ 11.99
Antica Corte Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico	1999	$ 25.99
Rocca Felice Barbaresco	1998	$ 21.99
Villa Lanata Barolo Lo Zoccolaio	1997	$ 39.99
San Orsola Brachetto d’Acqui	NV	$ 12.99

OCTOBER MEETING: Portly Pleasures: Are 10 Year Olds Naughty or Nice?, presented by Walt Rachele

In October, Walt Rachele gave another of his wonderful Port tastings at Pearmund Cellars — thanks, Chris! The social wines were three reds: one from Virginia's Oasis Winery and two others from New Jersey's Westfall and Cape May Wineries. The Westfall was the crowd favorite, though the fruit flies, still around from the grape harvest, seemed to favor the Cape May.

After inspecting Chris's grapes and discussing how Port is made, we tasted six wines in a blind tasting. All were 10-year-old Tawny Ports — a blend of wines from different years, aged for an average of 10 years. These wines, one California and others from Portugal, may be found in the table below. The crowd's favorite was the Ficklin, with second place going to the Barros, and third to the Graham’s. Special thanks to Jennifer, who outdid herself with wonderful goodies to accompany these wonderful ports!

Producer	Cost
Ficklin (California)	$ 24.00
Warre’s Otima (500 ml)	$ 19.99
Quinta do Noval	$ 29.99
Taylor Fladgate	$ 28.99
Graham’s	$ 31.99
Barros	$ 23.99

NOVEMBER MEETING: Surprise ~ Grace Cathedral, The Plains, Virginia; Social, 6:30 p.m.; Meeting, 7:00 p.m. (PLEASE RVSP if you plan to attend!)

Mike Schlosser is planning an “anything goes” Schlosser extravaganza. No promises, except that these won’t be old standbys. Come try something new and different!

RSVP’ing works miracles. Knowing who-all is coming allows our host or hostess to bring a goodly number of wines and Jennifer to plan a memorable menu. Mary Anne has automated the process. Simply click on http://www.aws-va.org/john-marshall/RSVP.htm, and you are whisked to a special place where all you do is insert your name.

Directions:

From D.C., take I-66 to Exit 31, The Plains.
At the first stop sign, turn right.
Go 3 miles to the stop sign at the T-intersection in downtown The Plains.
Turn left, then go 2 blocks.
You can’t miss it — it’s the only cathedral in town.

DECEMBER MEETING: Christmas Party ~ Details TBA

Those of you who have been to our annual Christmas parties before know that this is an event not to be missed! This year the party will be hosted by Rex and Jennifer. As always, there will be a great selection of wines, and we’ll all bring a favorite dish to share. This is always a terrific event and a chance to celebrate the holiday season with our good friends in the wine community. Details and directions will be provided shortly.

Your deputy newsletter writer,

~ Chris Braun ~

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