Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Reminder

Only a few days left to RSVP

Blends are some of the most complex and interesting types of wine. In order to learn more about the process, we will be presenting an interactive tasting, led by award winning wine maker Terry Germanoski.

We will have the opportunity to create our own white wine blend, and have that blend evaluated.  We will be presented with several single varietal wines, and the rest is up to us.  Terry will give us some general tips and guidelines, but the final result is your decision!

WEDNESDAY, February 8, 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 $20.

Please reply before February 3, 2017 to:


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.



Friday, January 27, 2017

February Interactive Tasting



No, not that kind of blending!

Blends are wines that do not carry a single varietal designation. Some of the finest wines in the world, from Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhone Valley in France, for example, are in this category, as are many high end wines from California. In some cases, the wine label will include the varietal components of the blend, sometimes with exact percentages. This is frequently the practice in Australia and Washington.

The practice of blending different varietals together to create a particular style of wine is hardly new. Winemakers have known for centuries that finely honed varietal blending techniques can result in a complex wine in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Bordeaux, the Rhone and Chianti have traditionally provided the models for these blends, yet modern winemakers have brought their own innovative concepts into play to entice the wine lover to try something new and exciting.

Blended wines are a symphony of grapes. Individual instruments can create beautiful music, but blended together in an orchestra, the music becomes more enjoyable. Blends are some of the most complex and interesting types of wine. In order to learn more about the process, we will be presenting an interactive tasting, led by award winning wine maker Terry Germanoski.

We will have the opportunity to create our own white wine blend, and have that blend evaluated.  We will be presented with several single varietal wines, and the rest is up to us.  Terry will give us some general tips and guidelines, but the final result is your decision!

WEDNESDAY, February 8, 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 $20.

Please reply before February 3, 2017 to:


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.





Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Everyone else is doing it


'Tis the season for predictions, so before January ends, we thought that we'd give you ours.  They are as valid as anyone else's, and equally as factual.  

Don't forget to mark you calendars (speaking of the future) for our February 8, 2017 interactive tasting to blend white wines.  We hope to see you there!



Wine of the Times 

More Public Wine on Tap

Here’s a trend I hope will continue, though I don’t think that Pennsylvania regulators will ever permit it: wine fountains.

In October, the Dora Sarchese winery in Ortona, in Italy’s Abruzzo wine region, created a fontana del vino, a "fountain" that flows with free red wine. The idea was to offer refreshment to those walking the popular 196-mile Cammino di San Tommaso pilgrimage route between Rome and the Ortona Cathedral. People enter into a large barrel structure and fill their glasses from spigots above a stone basin.

In Spain, Bodegas Irache in the Navarra region maintains one on a wall facing the pilgrimage route Camino de Santiago. Thousands have visited to serve themselves a free glass of wine. But the new Italian one in Ortona has captured the world’s attention.  It’s the first to be open 24/7.

Bigger Bottles

Expect more bang for your buck as more wine is available in 1.5 liter bottles rather than the usual 750ml. These magnum bottles will be a hit for those who love to entertain, offering more to pour and a great value costing less per ml than standard bottles.

Don’t judge a wine by its bottle

Cans, boxes, kegs, and tetrapaks - the list goes on. Alternative packaging is news this year, and I’m glad. To me it signals another step toward the demystification of wine. As long as the wine is great, I don’t care about the package. Not only are these trends great for the environment but they allow you to take wine to new places.  In addition, if you live in Pennsylvania, you will still have to drive hundreds of miles to enjoy a glass (or can) of wine by the ocean.

Lighter reds emerge

Enthusiasm for Rosé has combined with the natural wine movement to set the stage for the emergence of lighter reds. No longer are wines judged on their intensity, but rather on their finesse. Pinot Noir has some new fans. Look for Gamay, Trousseau, Grenache, Cab Franc and Nerello Mascalese to emerge in the coming year.

All sparkling everything

We need to celebrate life’s little moments more often, and sparkling wine is the ultimate celebratory drink. It’s refreshing and delicious with fried chicken (and popcorn!) and it sends an immediate signal to the brain that something good is about to happen. What’s left to ponder?

The Rosé Party won’t stop!

People just love rosé — the stylish color and the easy and refreshing feel. We’ve never seen anything else like it. It’s the kind of wine that’s a simple pleasure, but also has the power to elevate any occasion.

Au Naturel

“Natural” has to be the catchphrase of the year. Wine aficionados just can’t seem to get enough.  Our National Tasting Project this year will be on natural, organic and biodynamic wines. These wines tend to be light, fruity, punchy, and a pleasure to drink. The one downside is that “natural” wines are by nature all over the map in terms quality and style, so do your research.

Drink more Merlot

What grape is responsible for some of the finest expressions of age-worthy and complex Bordeaux? What grape will win a blind tasting 80% of the time when blind tasted against its more popular cousins? Merlot! Not only is Merlot delicious, it has just been so uncool for so long that it's time to be cool again. Sideways was released in 2004.  Let it go.

Orange is the new pink

Orange wines are the product of producing a white wine with a red wine making technique. The contact with the skins gives the wine a savory element, much like the dry finish of a red. They’re currently made in small quantities and tend to be more experimental, but the Rosé trend will likely lead to new styles.

Coolers are cool again

I’m not talking about Bartles and Jaymes (“Thank you for your support.) Wine coolers, ciders, flavored wines and spritzers are part of a new wave of wine hybrids. These drinks start as wine but are sparkled, flavored and tweaked to create something entirely their own. In the past they were frowned upon, but a few creative winemakers are in the process of turning that upside down.

Wine is not just from grapes

It’s also from apple, pear and quince. Are they beers or are they wines? It’s tough to say, but bet on the fact that we’ll see more experimental wines based on fruit other than grapes in the coming year.

Alternative is in


Since the beginning of time, Cabernet, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines have been the base of the California wine identity. Napa and Sonoma were the only areas known for high quality vineyards. Today, we have a new breed of winemakers who are changing the face of California. They’re searching regions like Lodi and Calaveras County to find pockets of alternative grapes. Albariño, Blaufränkisch, Picpoul, Mourvedre, and Dolcetto grapes are the foundation for a new trend that will continue to shape California wine.

Friday, January 20, 2017

Save the date! February 8, 2017



Blending Wines


Blended wines are a symphony of grapes. Individual instruments can create beautiful music, but blended together in an orchestra, the music becomes more enjoyable. Blends are some of the most complex and interesting types of wine. In order to learn more about the process, we will be presenting an interactive tasting, led by award winning wine maker Terry Germanoski.
We will have the opportunity to create our own white wine blend, and have that blend evaluated.  We will be presented with several single varietal wines, and the rest is up to us.  Terry will give us some general tips and guidelines, but the final result is your decision!
Specific details (cost, etc.) will follow soon.  Save the date!
Here are the 5 facts you need to know:
1. The difference between varietals and blends: A standard varietal like Malbec, Chardonnay etc., is made from the same type of grape. Sometimes winemakers will use grapes from different plots of a vineyard or different regions for a varietal, but they are all the same type of grapes. In the U.S. a varietal needs to be 75 percent of one type of grape, while in Europe it’s generally 80 percent and in Argentina it’s 85 percent. It’s possible for wineries to add other grapes to a varietal to enhance the elements and still call it a single varietal wine.
Blends are what their name suggests. They typically consist of at least 40-50 percent of one type of grape and a smaller mix of two or more other grapes.
2. Blending makes wines more complex: Blending is used to maximize the characteristics of a wine. It can enhance aromas, color, texture, body and finish, making it a more complex wine. If a wine doesn’t have a strong scent, for example, a winemaker can add five percent of a more potent smelling grape and can experiment with different types of varietals coming from other vineyards. They could have been aged in oak barrels, fermented in various kinds of vessels or just harvested in different phases of ripeness.
Creating the perfect blend also depends on the characteristics of the year and the expression of each grape. The possibilities of combinations that result in a quality blend are endless.
3. Some single varietals are made for blending: Winemakers will often make a batch of Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay or other wines solely for the purpose of blending. As the grapes are being harvested, a winemaker determines what they think will be the best formula for a blend. Allotting specific barrels for blending allows them to experiment in finding the best types of mixtures. The idea is to highlight each grape’s strength and complement the other grapes being used in the blend.
4. The timeline for mixing wines varies: Winemakers mix blends in a steel tank. Lower cost blends are rarely aged in oak. Some winemakers put blended wines into an oak barrel half way through the aging process, while others put the wines together one to two weeks before bottling. Some try letting the wines ferment together from start to finish. Again, the goal is to develop the best of everything in the wines and each winery determines what approach works best for them.
5. Some grapes aren’t used for blending: White wines tend to be pure varietals. However, there are some exceptions, particularly in certain regions in Europe where two or more white grapes are used.  We will be experimenting with some of those wines during our tasting event.

 Check the blog often for news, tips, and general information.

Monday, January 16, 2017

Thank you for coming and we hope that you had a great time!


We’d like to thank everyone for attending our annual Holiday Party, and we hope that you enjoyed your evening.  It was a wonderful event!  The food, wine and music were fantastic, and the venue was delightful.

We send special thanks to Ellen and Wendell Barner for getting the wines that we enjoyed with our meal.  Thank you to Marie Pietraszewski for getting the desserts, and for taking care of the details of the wine auction.  Our gratitude to Tim and Brittany Altimus for storing the auction wines, too.

The Wines:

La Marca Prosecco - 000003636
Dreaming Tree Chardonnay - 000021124
Simi Sauvignon Blanc – 000009255
Sterling Cabernet Sauvignon – 000004657
Coppola Claret  - 000006758
Mark West Pinot Noir – 000007725


Our next tasting will be held on February 8, 2017 and we will be learning to blend white wines.  The event will be presented by our own Terry Germanoski.  Look for more details soon.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

"A Bottle of Wine and Patsy Cline"


If it weren’t for food, pairing music with wine would be the ultimate matchmaking game. Much like a good meal, music is all about the intangibles: Your mood, the setting, and the people you’re with. It’s that moment with those influences all coinciding at once that make up the experience.

Some nights require a little rock. On other evenings, experimental jazz is what you’re craving. Tomorrow could be hip-hop or Pink Floyd. You just don’t know.

Whatever you might be pining for, we’ve gathered up all of the artists who were so inspired with the vino that they named songs after it, one way or another. Because in a perfect world, to quote The National: “All of the wine is all for me.”

Most often, I listen to a variety of music that I enjoy, and that happens to be wine related.  Here are some suggestions in a number of different genres.   Perhaps you’d like to add some suggestions via the comments section at the bottom of the blog.  We’d love to have your ideas!


“All That Wine Is Gone” – Leon Daniels and El Venos
from the album Nothing Takes the Place of You


“Bottle of Red Wine” – Eric Clapton
from the album Eric Clapton


“Lilac Wine” – Nina Simone
from the album Wild is the Wind


“Summer Wine” – Ville Valo and Natalia Avelon
from soundtrack of Das Wilde Leben


“Blue Champagne” – Teri Thornton
from the album Devil May Care


“Two More Bottles of Wine” – Emmylou Harris
from the album A Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town


“The Days of Wine and Roses” – The Oscar Peterson Trio
from the album We Get Requests


“Wine Do Yer Stuff” – Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen
from the album Lost in the Ozone


“Bottle of Wine” – The Fireballs
from the album Bottle of Wine


“Hey Brother, Pour the Wine” - Dean Martin
from the album Hey Brother, Pour the Wine


“Drinkin’ Wine Spo Dee O Dee” – Choo Choo Charlie Williams and the Spitfires
from the album Harpin’ My Life Away



Don't forget to check back often for news, tips, and tasting notes!

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Deadline for RSVP Extended



We have extended the deadline for reservations!
Reply by January 4, 2017 
with your entree selections.
RSVP NOW!

Schedule
5:00 to 6:00  Dance Lesson
6:00 to 7:00  Hors D'ouevres
7:00 to 8:00  Dinner
8:00 to 10:00  Dancing


The Silent Auction will take place during the entire evening, so don’t forget your checkbooks!