$50 per person

Guests are welcome!

RSVP with your entrée selection

before JANUARY 17, 2018

Choice 1:    Asiago Chicken

Pan-Seared Chicken with Prosciutto, Garlic & Lemon Zest, topped with Asiago Cheese

Choice 2:    English Style Orange Roughy

Broiled with Bread Crumbs and served with a Citrus Butter Sauce

Choice 3:    Flank Steak Roulade

Lightly Marinated Steak, Grilled with Caramelized Onions,

 garnished with a Honey Bourbon Beef Sauce

RSVP TO:

aws.pittsburgh@gmail.com

Mail your payment (check made out to AWS)

Dr. Dennis Trumble

1302 Arch St.

Pittsburgh, PA  15212

Check the blog for more news!

 http://aws-pittsburgh.blogspot.com/

NO MORE MILK AND COOKIES!

10 BEST REASONS TO LEAVE SANTA WINE & CHEESE

Have you ever wondered why people around the world put out milk and cookies for Santa Claus? Your friends at the AWS Pittsburgh Chapter have, because we think Santa deserves much better. This year, do the right thing and put out a little wine and cheese for St. Nick.

The guy has a tough job.

If you just slid down a chimney you’d need a real drink, too, especially if you were wider than the average chimney. When’s the last time you combed ashes out of your beard while sober?

Baby, it’s cold outside.

Nobody comes in from the arctic chill and chugs an ice cold glass of milk. During the winter, milk only belongs in a mug of coffee or hot cocoa. Folk, that sled ain’t heated! If anyone could use a winter warmer, it’s Ole Saint Nick.

Wine & cheese > Milk and cookies.
They say “there’s no use crying over spilt milk” for a reason. It’s just not that good. On the other hand, try spilling somebody’s wine and see how they react.

Santa is trying to lose some weight.
Every year Mr. Claus drinks millions of glasses of milk and eats millions of cookies, and you wonder why he can’t see his Christmas balls? Milk and cookies are all fat and sugar. Wine, on the other hand, is proven to lower cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. Plus, it’s full of vitamins and antioxidants (it is made from grapes after all). Help Santa help himself.

The reindeer do all the driving.

Think about it, Santa has nine designated drivers at his disposal. So they’re deer, so what? We’re not so sure that Blitzen would pass a breathalyzer test, but Dancer and Prancer can pick up his slack. Besides, that shiny-nosed Rudolph has been overcompensating for years now. He has the route memorized.

It’s a long way back to the North Pole.
We’ve all taken one for the road. Let Nick take one for the… sky.

We’re pretty sure he’s been hitting the bottle anyway.

Why do you think his cheeks are always so flushed? Help Santa taper off.

You’ve had enough to drink, haven’t you?

Save that fifth glass for somebody else. Your third run-through of “Bohemian Rhapsody” was evidence enough that it’s time to move into the coffee phase of the evening.

Nobody likes a stingy host!

Santa comes to your house from the North Pole with a sack full of gifts. Is all that you can throw his way some expired 2% from Giant Eagle and broken Chips Ahoy from the bottom of the sleeve? Give the man some wine, and make it the good stuff.

YOU’RE SANTA!

Who is it that really eats those cookies and drinks that milk? Well… whoever it is (it’s you) I’m sure they (you) would prefer some Chianti and a piece of cheese over some cow juice and a cookie. Making life better for Santa makes life better for you. Think about it.

Saint Nick will thank you.

Details to follow SOON!

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

I'm Dreaming of a Wine Christmas

I know, I know. Leftover wine? What's that? But if there is one time of year where you're likely to find yourself with a bottle or two of unfinished wine it is now, during the holiday hustle of parties and celebratory dinners. Other than guzzling it on the couch in a post-holiday-shopping stupor (a perfectly legitimate use) we have six more ways to make the most of those half-finished bottles of wine on the counter.

Freeze it.

Pour leftover wine into ice cube trays or muffin tins and freeze it to use in future recipes. Because of the alcohol content, the cubes won't be completely solid, but they are solid enough to pop out to transfer to a freezer-safe container for storage. These are perfect for recipes where you only need a tablespoon or two of wine.

Make wine syrup.

Mix leftover wine with sugar and reduce it to a rich syrup that can be poured over fruit, ice cream, and pancakes, or mixed into marinades and salad dressings.

Make wine jelly.

Take your wine syrup one step further by adding pectin and turning it into wine jelly! It’s just the thing to serve with cheese at your next party.

Make vinegar.

If you don't mind waiting a few months, your leftover wine or Champagne just needs a little time in a dark, cool place to transform into the best vinegar you've ever had.

Use it to flavor salt.

After reducing the leftover wine to syrup, use it to flavor salt.

To wine syrup, add 1 1/2 cups of coarse salt for every tablespoon of wine. The result is a richly flavored salt that makes a perfect seasoning for beef or duck and, when put in a jar with a card, makes a great hostess gift! Besides that, your house will smell amazing as it simmers on the stove, while you curl up on the couch and nurse your hangover.

Cook dinner with it.

A cup or two of leftover wine is all you need to make a comforting winter meal.  Look under the recipe tab for Spaghetti All'Ubriaco

There are a few truths:

1. All wine will live to drink another day at least 24 hours with a cork in it. Most wines will go three days, and richer wines a week, with proper care.
2. Wine will not "go bad" in a way that is unsafe. You will know if it has been kept too long because it won't taste as good. It will have less aroma, taste dull or even sour, but it won't hurt you.
3. The more wine in the bottle, the longer it will last. A bottle with a few inches of wine has more air and thus oxidizes faster. Buy a few of the half bottles that are popular now. After finishing those, save the empties for nights that you don't finish a 750ml bottle. Transfer the remains into the smaller 375ml bottle and it will keep longer.
4. Beyond vacuum and nitrogen devices, simple wine stoppers are essential tools (and perfect gifts). These corks and metal cones, with or without rubber rings, come with ornamental tops from Betty Boop to Christmas trees. Special stoppers for Champagne have wings that clamp around the bottle flanges and will keep the pressure and sparkle for a few days.
5. Sugar and high alcohol are preservatives too, which is why port, sherry, Madeira and dessert wines can last up to a year after being opened.
6. Wine that you don't like won't get better in the refrigerator or a stock pot. Pour it out.

Need a gift?

Last Minute Ideas for That Person You Forgot?

Your Go-To Shopping List

You just remembered that you didn’t buy a present for your brother-in-law/neighbor/ cousin/ (gasp!) wife! If they’re AWS members, you know the best gift is wine. It’s easy to get, doesn’t need to be wrapped (gift bags are cheap and easy) and it’s a five minute errand if they’ve got good cashiers at your local Fine Wine and Good Spirits store.

It could be even easier if you have something great in your cellar, but beware: some folk are self-professed wine snobs. (Example: You’ve been out to dinner with them and they won’t let you look at the wine list. They always order expensive, oaky California Chardonnays and Cabernets that don’t pair with the food. The same brands, every time. Needless to say, you don’t go out to dinner with them anymore). Be careful.

Enough about that.  You’re in a rush, so we won’t play around. We are not going to list brands because distribution varies in your local State Stores.

Here are six wine categories for someone special (or not so special):

Category I: The Big Red Lover

$40 or more

Chateauneuf-du-Pape from the southern Rhône Valley tastes like strawberry jam sometimes with tobacco, pepper, and earthy flavors.

Cabernet Sauvignon-based Bordeaux (look for something from Pauilliac, St-Julien, or Margaux).

Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.

Brunello di Montalcino, which is medium in style but ages very well so it’s a great gift.

Amarone or Barolo from Italy

$20 – $30

Vacqueryas from the southern Rhône Valley is a good approximation of Chateauneuf-du-Pape but cheaper!

You can still get Bordeaux in this price range. Look for vintages that won’t kill your wallet.

Australian Shiraz is great bargain at this price.

Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon is similar to a Napa Cabernet but for a lot less money.

Less than $20

Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina. If you get one for more than $15, it will seem like a $25 bottle!

Wines from the south of Spain like Jumilla or Yecla are full and rich, and affordable!

Category II: The White Lover

$40 or more

A white Burgundy is amazing and can age. These can cost quite a bit, though. If you want to splurge, Montrachet, Corton, and Corton-Charlemagne are three exceptional places for Chardonnay.

Grand Cru Chablis (from Grenouilles or Valmur, for example) is great for someone who loves acidic wines, and these are great with food too).

Similar to a Burgundy but from California, Chateau Montelena’s Chardonnay is phenomenal at $50. (The Judgement of Paris wine)

$20 – $30

You can get a Burgundy from a larger area like Chassagne-Montrachet and it will be delightful.

Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley of Sonoma is slightly oaky with tropical fruit flavors.

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has grassy, grapefruit flavors, and great acidity.

For a wine with good acid and some different petrol and slate flavors, try dry Riesling from the Mosel in Germany.

Alsace Pinot Gris is oily, soft, floral, and spicy and great with food.

Under $20

Verdejo from northern Spain or Albariño are both light and great starters and seafood wines.

Torrontés from Argentina is great with cheese and terrific for folk who like aromatic wines.

Category III: Lighter or medium style reds

$40 or more

You can’t beat a bottle of Burgundy for a Pinot Noir lover. There is enormous range in style and price and especially vintage so research before buying.

Oregon Pinot Noir at this price is excellent as well (although at lower price points, not so much).

$20 – $30

A California Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley or from Mendocino will be excellent.

Lighter style Italian reds are great too. For example, a Chianti Classico, a Dolcetto, or a Barbera can be very high quality and still refreshing.

A Cru Beaujolais (NOT nouveau) is a fruity, easy to drink wine that people who like lighter reds will be sure to love.

Under $20

New Zealand Pinot Noir, even under $20, is outstanding.

Right Bank Merlot from St-Emilion doesn’t have to be expensive to be great. Plenty of great wines for below $20.

Some of the best lighter reds for under $20 are kind of unusual.  Zweigelt from Austria and Mencia from Bierzo in Northern Spain are great picks.

Category IV: Champagne and other sparkling

$40 or more

If you’re going to spend the money for Champagne, go for Dom Perignon.  Yes, its’s expensive, but it’s worth it if you’re going to be impressive.

Or, try Henriot, if you’re looking beyond the ubiquitous Veuve Clicquot yellow label.

If you want American sparkling wine, Iron Horse makes terrific wines.

$20 – $30

Although you normally can’t get Champagne for this price, there are some great sparkling wines (especially from California) in this price that will fit the bill for you. Roederer Estate from California makes great sparkling wine and is owned by the Champagne House in France. Go for the Rosé for something special.

J from Sonoma in California makes a great sparkling wine that’s more affordable and available.

Under $20

Cava.  Go to Spain and don’t look back for the best value below $20.

France also has delicious, inexpensive sparkling wine.  Cremant from Limoux or Alsace are both good values

Although a totally different (more fruity, bigger bubbles) style, Prosecco is always a fun wine to give as a present.

Category V: For something different (prices vary depending on quality)

Whites: Grüner Veltliner from Austria, Verdejo from Spain, Chenin Blanc from South Africa, or Viognier from California are each interesting and unique. Or try a southern Italian white like Fiano di Avellino.

Reds: Nero d’Avola from Sicily, Chinon (Cabernet Franc) from the Loire Valley in France, Petite Sirah from California, Priorat from Spain, or Shiraz from South Africa are each special for your red wine lover.

Category VI: Don’t forget dessert!

For a chocolate lover, go for Port.

For a sweets lover, try an Icewine from Canada or Eiswein from Germany.

For an interesting treat, Banyuls from Southern France.

For a special treat, Tokaji from Hungary or Sauternes from Bordeaux in France.

We hope that this helps you to select something fantastic for that wine lover you may have overlooked! Don't forget to check the blog often for news, tips, recipes and other information.

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

Mulled Wine

But, Baby, it's cold outside!

The most wonderful time of the year hasn’t truly started until you’ve indulged in your first cup of mulled wine. It’s a winter treat enjoyed since antiquity. People continued enjoying it throughout the Middle Ages and it remained a Yuletide fixture in Victorian England. We still can’t get enough of the stuff, especially once it’s time to deck the halls and don your gay apparel (Not that there’s anything wrong with that. . . ).

Wine has been a major part of human culture since we first discovered it. Unfortunately, weather can be fickle. Sometimes a bad harvest hits a vineyard and the grapes are underwhelming. Heating wine and infusing it with spices has long been a favorite strategy for masking flavors from spoiled wine or weak vintages. Thanks to the rise of trade through Istanbul during the Roman Empire, new spices like ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg flooded into Europe and improved food and drink across the Continent.

The practice of mulling survived the fall of the Empire and medieval Europeans liked it even more than the Romans did. Europeans found that steeping herbs, spices and other ingredients in wine for medicinal purposes made a pretty potent drink. Heating it was an effective way of fighting off winter chill, at least for a little while. So it’s no surprise that mulled wine took off bigly in countries like Germany, Austria and Scandinavia. The German’s glühwein is still a staple in Christmas markets and the ever-popular Nordic glögg is often taken to the next level with the addition of akvavit, brandy or vodka.

At what point did mulled wine become equated with Christmas? We have Charles Dickens to thank for that. He included a passage which mentioned Smoking Bishop, a popular mulled wine of the day, in his classic A Christmas Carol.

Today the method remains the same. Cheap red wine + spice + something sweet = mulled wine. Why cheap, you ask? It’s best not to waste the good stuff in your cellar. The sugar and spices mask a wine’s finer points.

If wine isn’t your thing, try mulling cider this winter, or cranberry juice, to (w)assail your senses and warm your spirit. You may not be able to bottle holiday cheer, but a hot cup of mulled wine is a great way to get Christmas in a glass and survive the season with a comfortable glow.

Check the recipe tab (http://aws-pittsburgh.blogspot.com/p/recipes_25.html)

Merry Thanksgivoween

It’s that time again.  It’s the season when we all fret about which wines to serve with our holiday feast.  Well, your friends at the American Wine Society Pittsburgh Chapter are here to tell you to relax.

Forget the usual chardonnay and pinot noir. This year, whether your menu involves Cajun fried turkey, prime rib, creamed kale or Grandma’s candied yams, serve an unexpected wine. Your friends and family expect you to be the wine guru, so pop the cork on a Grenache or Cinsault based rosé or another lesser-known varietal and toast the holidays in style.

• Rosé: Pink wines are experiencing a well-deserved popularity surge. That’s because these crisp, fruity and dry wines are the perfect food-pairing choice. Side dishes such as roasted Brussels sprouts or creamed spinach, kale or corn can present pairing challenges, but dry rosé easily steps up to the plate. Serve it as an aperitif or throughout the meal.
• Grenache: This soft, red fruit-driven wine with strawberry notes pairs well with just about any Thanksgiving course. 
• Touriga: You may know this varietal as Touriga Nacional, one of Portugal’s main Port grapes. But on its own, dry Touriga has violet aromas, with blueberry, plum and baking spice flavors, and a hint of mint. 
• Barbera: This rustic grape is a perfect pairing for burgers and barbecue, but it works well with holiday menus, too. 
• Mourvedre: Move over cabernet sauvignon. This French Rhone varietal works well with spicy turkey or medium-rare prime rib with horseradish. 
• Sauternes-style wine: You can’t have Thanksgiving without pie, and this dessert wine is the perfect match. Traditionally made in the French Bordeaux region, Sauternes-style wines are popping up in the US now, as California winemakers craft their own sweet, small-batch wines in that distinctive style.

This holiday season, cherish the food, the moments, the wine and your people.

Pro vs. Joes

It’s the David(s) and Goliath of wine tasting –an intense battle of the palettes—and a tradition of ours since the late forties.  It’s the Pros vs. Joes Professional/Amateur Wine Tasting.

On Wednesday, November 8, at 7:00 PM., wine quaffers from around the Pittsburgh area will gather at the Evergreen Community Center to test their taste buds with a zintillating selection of arteszinal wines produced by amateurs and one commercial wine.  (Amateurs are defined as not having worked in the wine industry.)

The event begins with all participants rolling up their sleeves and preparing their noses and tongues for the test.  Our award winning winemakers will match their products against a professional wine.  Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to identify the pro!

PLEASE REMEMBER
TO BRING YOUR WINE GLASSES.  

 The cost for members is $20.

Please reply before November 3 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

Varietal View

Zinfandel

For years Zinfandel was thought to be America’s own noble grape. It arrived on the East Coast and made the trip to California by the mid-1800s along with the 49ers. When Prohibition and the Great Depression hit the nation, Zinfandel’s roots were lost and people called it as American as baseball, hot dogs apple pie and Chevrolet.

But seeds of doubt began to grow. Historians found records showing that Zinfandel was first imported from an Austrian nursery sometime in the early 19th century. For a long time, that was as far as they got. By the 1960s, theories said that the grape was same as the Italian Primitivo. Ampelographers (one of John Eld’s favorite words!) compared the two and noted that Zin looked a lot like Primitivo, and enough so to declare them the same.

During the 1970s, it was thought that Primitivo was an Italian clone of the Croatian grape Plavac Mali. Although this wasn’t true, researchers did discover Zin was a parent to this variety, which drove them to see if there wasn’t some truth in the idea that Primitivo/Zinfandel was Croatian. After searching the Dalmatian Coast and comparing DNA from local vines, they found the missing link, the pre-Primitivo Crljenak Kaštelanski. Also known as Tribidrag, Zinfandel was confirmed to be Croatian and cultivated since at least the 15th century. It took until the ’90s for grape geneticists to determine that Primitivo and Zinfandel are clones of the same variety.

But how did it come to be the symbol of Californian wine? While many other vines were uprooted during Prohibition, Zinfandel found a spot in the homemade wine market. In the jug wine days of the US wine industry, Zinfandel fell to the wayside and probably would have stayed there if it weren’t for that wine that people love to hate, White Zinfandel.

For anyone out there who has ever made a snide comment about White Zinfandel, it’s time to stop. It’s thanks to the sweet blush that many of California’s old Zinfandel vines got a stay of execution. Winemakers are going to plant whatever is most lucrative. Producing wine is expensive, so it’s easy to sympathize. But there are casualties to this pursuit of profit. Across the globe, both old vines and indigenous grape varieties which grow nowhere else in the world have been uprooted in favor of the popular international varieties and disappeared forever. And so it would have been for California’s Zinfandel vines, some of which are over 100 years old, if it hadn’t been for the exceptional popularity of White Zin in the ’70s and ’80s.

Today, the interest is in making premium old vine reds from the grape. Zinfandel is the second most planted red grape in California after Cabernet Sauvignon according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s annual grape acreage report. Outside of the States, Italy is the other major country for the grape, and both made wines across the entire range of dry to sweet.

However you like to drink it, Italian, Croatian, rosé, late harvest, old vine, homemade, or out of a box, Zin is a winner that, like most of what made America great, has international roots.

International Nationality Night Dinner

Gracias! Teşekkür Ederim! Grazie! Ευχαριστώ! Thank You!

Our International Nationality Dinner was a great success!

We would like to thank Ellen and Wendell Barner, Terry Germanoski, and Thom Harding for the appetizers that we enjoyed before the meal. Our appreciation to Mary Ann Hirt and Thom Harding for the salad. A great thanks to Ellen Barner, Kevin Dering and Mary Eld for the pasta and beef stew, respectively. And a sweet thanks to Santina Ballestreire for the walnut cake dessert.

As usual, Kevin and Bob Dering did a fantastic job with the wines, with expert advice from John Eld.

And, in particular, we would like to thank ALL who attended!

We raised over $300 for Fund It Forward!

The Wines

Presque Isle Falling Waters (Near East, PA) – NV – 12% (Traminette, Seyval Blanc, Valvin Muscat) - $16

Kavaklidere Cankaya (Turkey) – 2015 – 13.5% (Emir de Nevsehir , Narince, Sultaniye) – Blackwell - $14*

Villa Locatelli Pinot Grigio (Friuli, Italy) - 2016  - 12.5% Dreadnought Wines - $16

Parducci True Grit Reserve Petite Sirah (Mendocino, CA) - 2014 - 14.5% PLCB #78672 - $15

Sandeman Founders Reserve Porto (Portugal) - AV -20%  PLCB #6332 - $21

* Indigenous Wine Grapes of Turkey

Emir de Nevsehir

§  Grown in Central Anatolia

§  Refreshing and easy to drink

§  Suitable for producing dry, early harvest and sparkling wines

§  Wines of this kind are greenish-yellow

Narince

§  Grown in the Tokat region for its sandy soil

§  Often consumed as table grape

§  Suitable for dry white wine with a balanced structure

§  Greenish-yellow when young and have  a fruity aroma

Sultaniye

§  Globally known as Sultana

§  Seedless grape grown in the Aegean region

§  Sultaniye wines are light with fruit aromas

§  Not suitable for aging, should be consumed within a year of bottling

Do it today!

LAST DAY TO RSVP!

Our International Nationality dinner is next week!  This is also our charity event for the season.  The charity is Fund It Forward.  Bring your checkbooks!

WEDNESDAY, October 11, 2017 at 7:OO

Evergreen Community Center, 3430 Evergreen Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 

REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR WINE GLASSES!

The cost for members and guests is $25.

Please reply before October 4, 2017 to:

secretary.aws.pittsburgh@gmail.com

Mail your check, payable to AWS to:

Marie Pietraszewski

133 Longmount Drive

Pittsburgh PA  15214

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

  

aws-pittsburgh.blogspot.com

Our Charity Event for 2017

Each year, as you know, the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Wine Society dedicates one tasting to a charitable cause.  This year, we considered several, including the Oenocenosillicaphobics Anonymous, the Winemaker’s Overseas Aid fund (I’m a winemaker, I want to go overseas, and I need aid), and many others.  We chose, however, to support Fund It Forward.

Before our dinner on October 11, we will have a brief presentation about this wonderful organization, and you will have the opportunity to see some of their products at the tasting.  Representatives will be there to explain what they do, who they help, and why you should donate.  Please, take a few moments and visit their website.  The link is at the end of this post.

Fund It Forward is a fundraising based non-profit that partners together with families and holds small scale fundraisers to raise money towards their request. The request must be a medical device that is not covered by insurance (families do need a denial letter from insurance before we can begin the process).

Once the device is confirmed, along with the pricing - that's where the fun begins! The family will determine what type of fundraiser they will do. There have been fundraisers put together as golf outings that generated well beyond the goal - and there have been Pizza-Hut donation dinner fundraisers. Families are encouraged to fundraise within their comfort zone, as it can be overwhelming.

At the same time, Fund it Forward is consistently holding fundraisers throughout the year. The family is responsible to raise at least 50% of their goal, and Fund it Forward will donate the other portion, through their efforts. Once the monetary goal is raised, the request is submitted to the board for approval, and then the item is ordered and shipped to the family.

Mission and Vision

Fund It Forward's mission is to ease the burdens of families with children with special needs by raising money for adaptive medical equipment not covered by insurance.

Fund It Forward’s vision is to build bridges within the vast community by enabling families to reach beyond their own circumstances and into the lives of others to build a community of compassion, empathy, and advocacy.

Families often hold fundraisers on a much smaller scale to help raise money for expensive medical devices not covered by health insurance. By fundraising under Fund It Forward, individuals unite behind a common purpose so the money raised has a greater opportunity to benefit a large community of people with similar circumstances and needs. Volunteers also help to raise community awareness for both our organization and children with various special needs diagnoses.

http://www.funditfwd.org/