Thursday, March 28, 2019

The Grape Unknown




As AWS members, we are usually familiar with wines on a restaurant wine list. Recently, though, you may have noticed some unfamiliar names along with the usual Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs.  Strange grapes from places where, until recently, many people didn’t even realize wine was made are now on wine lists.

If you attend our tasting regularly, some of the names, like Albariño from Spain or Grüner Veltliner from Austria, are already familiar to you. Now, the trendy names include Pinot Bianco and Raboso Piave, from Italy; Furmint, from Hungary; and Bobal, from Spain.
Wine has always been intertwined with geopolitics. Why, for example, don’t more people know about the delicious and good-value wines of southwest France, made from such grapes as Braucol from Gaillac, or Tannat from Madiran, or Négrette from Fronton?

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the merchants of Bordeaux began to see the wines of southwest France as a threat to their economic interests. So, Bordeaux, wanting to keep its dominance over the wine trade with England, decreed that no wine could be traded out of Bordeaux until the majority of Bordelais wine had already been sold. This dealt a crushing blow to the winemakers in southwest France, while keeping the Bordeaux wines, made from noble grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc, on top.

Join us as we “strike a blow” for the underappreciated members of Vitis Vinifera!  With the help of Joe and Ruth Barsotti of Barsotti Wines, we will be presenting five unusual (and delicious) grape varieties so that we can expand our palates.

“Curse the Zinfandels!” Take the leap into . . .

“The Grape Unknown!”
WEDNESDAY, 10, 2019
Evergreen Community Center

3430 Evergreen Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237

7:00

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR WINE GLASSES. 

 The cost for members or guests

$25

Please reply before April 6, 2019 to:


Or you may reply to:

 412-979-6565 or 
412-979-9594

Mail your check, payable to AWS to:

Robert Dering
38 Perry Lane
Pittsburgh PA  15229

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




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