TASTING REMINDER

Please join us at the beautiful home of our co-vice-chair humans, Tim and Brittany Altimus, for a casual tasting to learn more about olive oil and, more importantly, to enjoy the incredible taste of Extra Virgin olive oil! 

While you’re there, you can taste, and learn to bake, fresh, rustic bread.  Terry Germanoski, our Master Baker, will be giving instructions on how to create some of his fabulous bakery items, and each person attending will get a small batch of bread to take home and finish in their own oven.

We would like you to bring your favorite wine to enjoy, and we will provide the wine glasses, tasting cups for the oil, and appropriate palate cleansers so that you can savor the difference among the wonderful oils that will be on display.

The tasting is June 17, 2016 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

Make your check out to American Wine Society

and  mail your check to:

Casa Altimus

11017 Babcock Blvd.

Gibsonia PA  15044

RSVP BEFORE JUNE 10, 2016

Only $10 per person!

vicechair.aws.pittsburgh@gmail.com

Don't forget to check the blogspot often for tips and news!

http://aws-pittsburgh.blogspot.com/

21 DAYS TILL THE OLIVE OIL & BREAD MAKING TASTING!

Please join us for a casual tasting to learn more about olive oil and, more importantly, to enjoy the incredible taste of Extra Virgin olive oil! 

While you’re there, you can taste, and learn to bake, fresh, rustic bread.  Terry Germanoski, our Master Baker, will be giving instructions on how to create some of his fabulous bakery items, and each person attending will get a small batch of bread to take home and finish in their own oven.

We would like you to bring your favorite wine to enjoy, and we will provide the wine glasses, tasting cups for the oil, and appropriate palate cleansers so that you can savor the difference among the wonderful oils that will be on display.

The tasting is June 17, 2016 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

Make your check out to American Wine Society

and  mail your check to:

Casa Altimus

11017 Babcock Blvd.

Gibsonia PA  15044

RSVP BEFORE JUNE 10, 2016

vicechair.aws.pittsburgh@gmail.com

Did You Know?

• In order to produce one quart of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 11 pounds of olives need to be pressed.

• On average, an olive tree can live between 300 and 600 years.

• One olive tree can produce around four liters of oil every year for hundreds of years.

• All olives start out green and then turn black or a dark purple as they ripen.

• On average, the world consumes approximately 2.25 million tons of olive oil each year.

• Baked goods will last longer when you substitute olive oil for butter.

• The annual consumption of olive oil in the United States increased from 30 million gallons to nearly 70 million gallons a year in the last two decades.

• Processing olives below 86 degrees Fahrenheit keeps their aroma and oxidation levels intact.

• There are three towns and one city in the U.S. that are named “Olive Branch.”

• California is responsible for producing 99% of all olive oil produced in the United States.

• The flags of seven nations, four U.S. states, and the United Nations feature an olive branch.

• Greece is the world’s third largest producer of olive oil and the world’s largest exporter of extra virgin olive oil.

Olive Oil Tasting & Bread Making

Olives have been important to mankind throughout history and the tremendous health benefits of olive oil are being universally accepted and lauded.  Please join us for a casual tasting to learn more about olive oil and, more importantly, to enjoy the incredible taste of Extra Virgin olive oil! You’ll see that Extra Virgin olive oil does taste different than what you purchase at the store.

While you’re there, you can taste, and learn to bake, fresh, rustic bread.  Terry Germanoski, our Master Baker, will be giving instructions on how to create some of his fabulous bakery items, and each person attending will get a small batch of bread to take home and finish in their own oven.

Join us at the beautiful home of Tim and Brittany Altimus on Friday June 17, 2016 from 7:00 to 9:00.

RSVP BY JUNE 10, 2016 to:

vicechair.aws.pittsburgh@gmail.com

Only $10 per person!

Space is limited, so make your reservations EARLY!  We would like you to bring your favorite wine to enjoy, and we will provide the wine glasses, tasting cups for the oil, and appropriate palate cleansers so that you can savor the difference among the wonderful oils that will be on display.

Make your check out to American Wine Society

and  mail your check to:

Casa Altimus

11017 Babcock Blvd.

Gibsonia PA  15044

Which Oil?

http://aws-pittsburgh.blogspot.com/

Do You Know What Good Olive Oil Tastes Like?

"PROMOTING APPRECIATION OF WINE THROUGH EDUCATION"

The statement above is the purpose of the American Wine Society, but man (or woman) cannot live by wine alone.  Occasionally, we need a bit of diversity.  Here at the Pittsburgh Chapter, we’d like to introduce a few related items to our education.

The reality is that many people don’t know what a good olive oil is supposed to taste like. And since there are many recipes that include olive oil, we thought we would give some tips on what to look for in a good olive oil. We always hear that good food comes from fresh ingredients. Olive oil in the Mediterranean diet is an ingredient that’s in almost every recipe. Greeks are the highest consumers of olive oil in the world, and for a reason. Olive oil is added everywhere!  Apart from flavor, good olive oil is important for its health benefits. Old olive oil lacks those valuable antioxidants that are responsible for most of its health benefits.

You may think that you would know just by tasting if an olive oil is bad, but that’s not the case, particularly when olive oil hasn’t been part of your daily diet. A study from the University of California, Davis had found that 44% of consumers in the U.S. liked defects like rancidity, fustiness, mustiness and winey flavor in their olive oil. The authors indicate that this may be due to the large amount of defective olive oil labeled as extra virgin available to consumers. In other words, because there’s such a large amount of defective oil in the market and people are used consuming it, they think that this is what olive oil is supposed to taste like.

So the lesson here is that by not knowing what good olive oil tastes like, you may be missing out on not only taste but also the health benefits.

Good Characteristics

Fruity
Don’t forget that olives are fruit, so a good olive oil needs to have some degree of fruitiness. This can come from ripe olives or unripe (green) olives. Olive oil should taste fresh, not heavy and “oily”.

Bitter
Yes, it’s true. Bitter is good. Bitterness is a characteristic of fresh olive oil. Olives are bitter. The degree of bitterness depends on how ripe the olive is. So, bitter olive oil is a positive thing. However, depending on your taste, you may want to find an olive oil that has a balance of fruity and bitter that you can tolerate.

Pungent
This is a peppery characteristic that you’ll feel at the back of your throat when you swallow the oil. You may even cough. Many people think this is bad but it isn’t. It signifies the presence of certain antioxidants. This peppery sensation should go away fairly quickly, it shouldn’t linger.

Bad Characteristics

Olive Oil should not have the following characteristics:

Fusty
This is a common defect that appears when the olives are gathered in piles that may cause advanced fermentation. Fusty smells like or tastes like sweaty socks or swampy vegetation.

Musty
This is a moldy flavor that appears when the olives were stored for several days in a humid environment and developed yeast and fungi.

Winey-Vinegary
Exactly as described, your olive oil should not taste or smell like wine. This fault is due to fermentation of the olives.

Metallic
This is a taste that reminds you of metal. Usually it’s a result of prolonged contact with metallic surface during production but also storage.

Rancid
This is the most common defect in olive oil.  It’s basically olive oil gone bad and you may have come across this taste when you eat old nuts or stale crackers that are made with fat.

Little Miss' Abilene Chuck Wagon Stew

Out West (and, in Texas, you can refer to "out West" and still be talking about your own state), stews are mighty well thought of.  Naturally, in a state with traditions of cattle raising, when a cowboy thinks about eatin', he's thinkin' about beef, or something with plenty of beef in it!

The originator of this recipe was an "imported" wife (from the East). There was talk around Abilene town that the frail beauty wouldn't survive the hard life of a rancher's wife.  But, "Little Miss", as the ranch hands referred to her, took to Texas ways pronto!  She longed, however, for the refinement of fancy Eastern restaurants and homes, so she thought that she'd do a little "pioneering" in her kitchen.

Stew seemed to be the best way to begin, so she created Abilene Cowboy Stew.  Now, how could any cowpoke refuse to eat something with a name like that?  They couldn't!  The best compliment came from one of the cowboys who asked Little Miss "Ma'am, when are we gonna get more of that Abilene stew you served up last week?"

If you'd like to sample some of this grub at home, click the Recipe link below for the instructions on how to make those vittles.

Recipe Tab

YEE HAW!

It was a rip snortin’, rootin’ and tootin’ good time at the Evergreen Ranch last night!  We were all as happy as a gopher in Soft Dirt!  (Can I get a YEE – HAW!)

Buffalo John Eld was the head ranch hand, and he shared his claim on the Wines of the Wild West.  You all know how generous this cowpoke is. Long as he got a biscuit, you got half!  The room was so dry that the trees were bribing the dogs, but John didn’t let us down.  Well, Parners, last night Buffalo John brought these wines:

Gruet Blanc de Noir (Sparkling), New Mexico - 49664: $17

Silver Buckle Chardonnay - California - $19

Outcast Winery 'The Drifter' Chairman’s Selection (Red Blend) - 78079: $18

Plum Creek (Cabernet Franc) - 2011 Colorado - $16

McPherson Cellars (Red Blend) - Les Copains ('The friends') - Texas - $12

The crew from the Chuck Wagon was workin’ hard, too.  Of course, Mary Eld and Carole Katelan are so sweet that if they sat on a fence, the birds would feed them!  And, Jim Katelan was helpin’ with the vittles, too! All I got to say is “Boy, Howdy!”  That was some fine grub.  We’re beholdin’ to the whole crew, and you all of ya’ll that joined us for the hoe down!

Don't forget to check the website for

wine news, tips, and general information!

http://aws-pittsburgh.blogspot.com/

New RECIPE TAB is up and running!

http://aws-pittsburgh.blogspot.com/p/recipes_25.html

Wild West Wine Fest!

Only two days until the Wines of the Wild West!

Here are some clever little bits to drop into the conversation at the tasting on Wednesday so that you can sound like a real Cow-person.  Use them at any opportune moment.

Don’t squat with your spurs on.

Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Always take a good look at what you’re about to eat. It’s not so important to know what it is, but it’s sure crucial to know what it was.

A gun and three of a kind always beats three of a kind.

There’s many theories about arguin’ with a woman.  None of them Work.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

Behind every successful rancher is a wife who works in town.

Don't worry about bitin' off more'n you can chew. Your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger'n you think.

Q:  Do you like the wine?

A:  Does a duck with one leg swim in a circle?

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR WINE GLASSES.

The cost for members is $25 and the cost for guests is $30.

Don’t forget to visit the website for directions, useful tips, and recipes.

aws-pittsburgh.blogspot.com

ONLY A FEW DAYS LEFT!

What comes to mind when you think of the American West? Old movie images of cowboys? Wide deserts? Tumble weeds? Sprawling cities with friendly, laid back populations? People that talk “funny”? Whatever you think of, you're probably right: the American West is diverse.

For the purposes of wine, the American West region consists of New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Nevada and California. That means the region encompasses a lot of variety. You can find bamboo forest and rocky cliffs in the same national park in Texas, so just imagine what kinds of wine you'll find in these large Western states

The culture of the West is as varied as its geography. Along the Rio Grande, you'll find pueblos, missions and Spanish language speakers. New Mexico is still officially bilingual. Elsewhere, you'll see ranches, cowboys, and oil wells, the iconic images of Texas. Austin has a thriving, bohemian music scene, and the arts flourish in Taos and Silver City, New Mexico. Other areas are corporate and conservative.  Sedona is Reiki world!  And, of course, "Vegas, Baby!"

What can unite such diverse groups? Well, the love of wine is a good start.

Break out your best cowboy duds and Boot Scoot to the Evergreen Ranch on Wednesday, May 11, at 7:00 for a sampling of the Wines of the Wild West.  Buffalo John Eld will be presenting and discussing a variety of wines from this up and coming region.  (Cowboy attire is optional but clothing is required.)

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR WINE GLASSES.

The cost for members is $25 and the cost for guests is $30.

Please reply before May 4, 2016 to:

aws.pittsburgh@gmail.com

Or you may reply to 412-657-0777.

Mail your check, payable to AWS to:

Dr. Dennis Trumble

1302 Arch St

Pittsburgh PA  15212

Don’t forget to visit the website for directions, useful tips, and recipes.

aws-pittsburgh.blogspot.com