Corsican Wine Tasting

Benvinuta!

On Thursday October 10, we’ll be visiting the Island of Corsica but without enduring the 6 hour ferry ride from Nice.  We’ll taste the wines of an island with a French/Italian heritage but it also has its own unique culture.  

Corsica is the birthplace of both Columbus and Napoleon, and was once part of the Roman Empire.  It was conquered by France in1769.  The grapes reflect the diverse history of the island.  We will taste two whites, a rose, and two reds and end with a specialty of Sardinia and Corsica for dessert.  Some grapes will be familiar and some will be new to us.

As they say on the island “U me battellu hè carcu d'anguili.”

We are limiting the number of attendees to 50.  After the cut-off date for reservations, which is October 1, 2013, we will accept guests, if we have the availability.

Make your reservations EARLY!

Members:   $25  Guests: $30

RSVP by October 1, 2013 to:

aws.pittsburgh@gmail.com

or

Kathleen Simpson - 412-657-1861

Make checks out to AWS and mail to:

Dr. Dennis Trumble 1302 Arch St. Pittsburgh PA  15212

Notes from the Chair

Notes from the Chair

The Rhone Valley is a huge, diverse area.  The range of wines produced is as large as the appellation. Aside from a myriad of wine styles, the region produces a wide array of wines in all price ranges.  Fortunately, we in the Pittsburgh Chapter of the AWS have a resident expert!  Barbara Johns took us on a tour of the Northern and Southern Rhone, and provided expert commentary on Rhone style wines from around the globe.  Thanks to Barbara for an informative and entertaining presentation.

Thanks, also, to our co-hosts for the National Tasting, Susan Colville and Michele Elder.  It takes a lot of effort and thought to provide food that compliments the wine.  And of course, thanks to our pourers, Tim and Britany Altimus for another excellent job.  I was wearing light colored trousers, and they were still light colored when I went home!

As we enter the fall season, my thoughts turn to Election Time, as do yours, I’m certain.  Yes, ‘tis the season for Board Member nominations.  To ease your journey into those thoughts, we are providing an online survey form, much like the survey regarding the upcoming program slate for 2014.  Simply click on the link below, and fill in your nominations.  You may nominate more than one person for each position, and some will be filled by multiple members.  So, nominate early and nominate often!

As Will Rogers once said, “We always want the best man to win an election. Unfortunately, he never runs.”  Hopefully, we’ll find that “best man” for next year!

Click the link below to post your nominations

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P8KXR3D

AWS Program Survey

We are very interested in your input and feedback regarding the programs that are presented at our meetings.  We’d like you to take this brief survey and make your opinions known.  It should take about five minutes.

Simply click on the link below and you’ll be directed to the survey site.  Your responses are completely confidential and will not be shared with any other organization.  You are not required to enter any personal information for this survey.  We simply would like to know what you think!

If you filled out the survey at the monthly meeting, please DO NOT submit an online survey response.  We want an accurate opinion from the membership.  Let’s make next year’s programs even better than this year’s!

If the link doesn't work on your browser, simply copy and paste it into the search field.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XGSQM59

Wine list from National Tasting

The wines sampled at the National Tasting, in the order presented, were:

1.    Guigal Cotes du Rhone Blanc – 2011 - $16.99

2.    Can Blau Celler Can Blau (Spain) – 2009 - $16.99

3.    Cline Cashmere (California) – 2011 - $15.99

4.    Ch. Fortia Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Southern France) – 2010 - $34.99

5.    Torbreck The Steading (Australia) – 2008 -$35.99

6.    Guigal Crozes Hermitage (Northern France) – 2007 - $31.99

These wines are available through Wine.com at www.wine.com so there are no PLCB numbers available.