2018 Nationality Dinner!

Let me take a wild guess and say your favorite European wine country is France. There’s also a good chance that it’s Italy. Or you could be one of those people who say Portugal because of our National Tasting Project, but probably not. I’d bet a bunch of euros that none of you thought, “Ooh! The Czech Republic!” I’m also willing to bet that you may be saying it soon because some of the most exciting wines in the world come from Central European countries. Our annual Nationality Dinner will be celebrating those countries.

Central European wines aren’t, but in many ways, they’ve been forgotten. You can blame the Soviets (Russians don’t just rig elections). That’s because, despite it being more than 30 years ago, the embargo on goods from behind the Iron Curtain is still having an effect, not only in physical importing but also in reentering the wine consumer’s consciousness.

Today we have an unprecedented amount of good and great wines to choose from at the State Stores. Not only from well-established and popular wine regions, but from lesser known appellations in traditional wine-making countries and also, from other areas that, while maybe veterans in vinous elaboration, haven’t got their moment in the spotlight. Yet. . .

APPETIZER

Ajvar (Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper spread)

SALAD

Couscous salad

MAIN COURSE

Pierogi

Chicken Paprikash with spaetzle

Halupki (Stuffed Cabbage)

DESSERT

Baklava

Austrian Apple cake

WEDNESDAY, November 14, 2018

Evergreen Community Center

3430 Evergreen Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237

7:00

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR WINE GLASSES. 

 The cost for members or guests is $35

RESERVATIONS LIMITED TO 30 DINERS

Please reply before November 10 , 2018 to:

kedred2006@gmail.com

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.

Click here for the homepage

Kraut by any other name. . .

"Gdzie jest barszcz i kwasna kapusta, tam chata tlusta."

- Polish proverb meaning "Where there is beet soup and sauerkraut, there is plenty."

History of Sauerkraut

The word sauerkraut is German for "sour cabbage" but it wasn't really invented by the Germans. It is believed laborers building the Great Wall of China over 2,000 years ago began fermenting shredded cabbage in rice wine to preserve it, so they would have a food source during the nongrowing season. Genghis Khan and his merry band of marauders brought it to Europe 1,000 years later.

In the 16th century, the Germanic peoples began dry curing cabbage with salt to extract the water from the vegetable and allowing the mixture to ferment, turning the sugars in the cabbage into lactic acid which served as a preservative. The process remains the same today. When sauerkraut was linked to the absence of scurvy in Dutch seamen, Captain James Cook, the French and other Europeans jumped on the sauerkraut bandwagon.

Early German and Dutch settlers brought their recipes for sauerkraut to the Americas along with a New Year's Day meal tradition of eating pork and sauerkraut for good luck in the coming year.

In the old days, usually in November, Eastern European families prepared for winter by putting up several barrels of sauerkraut. Depending on the size of the family and the size of the cabbage, they might ferment as many as 300 whole heads of cabbage in wooden barrels. Occasionally, along with the salt, spices like caraway seeds, wine or other vegetables were added.

By the late 1800s, the cabbage was shredded before being placed in covered crocks. If the family couldn't afford their own shredding tool, a peddler went door-to-door and performed this service for a fee.

After the cabbage had fermented to the household's liking, it was stored in a cool place and the housewife would pull out as much as she needed from the crock or barrel and prepare it primarily with pork if it was available or when times were lean and money scarce.

Sauerkraut by any other name would taste as great.

Bulgarian: kiselo zele 

Croatian-Serbian: kiseli kupus 

Czech: kysané zelí 

Latvian: skābi kāposti 

Lithuanian: rauginti kopūstai 

Polish: kiszona kapusta 

Romanian: varza murata 

Russian: kvashenaya kapusta 

Slovak: kyslá kapusta 

Slovenian: kislo zelje 

Turkish: lâhana turşusu 

Ukrainian, Hungarian: savanyú káposzta

What do the Board Members do?

The Duties of the Chairperson

1.      Meeting Facilitator

a.      Create agenda

b.      Preside at board meetings

c.       Communicate Board decisions to membership

2.      Oversee Committees

a.      Strategic planning of all committees

b.      Ensure that all activities meet the Association guidelines

3.      Community Relations

a.      As the primary public figure, the chair represents the Association

b.      Must be comfortable networking with other organizations

4.      Internal Mediation

a.      Resolve issues arising within the Association

b.      Find common ground to solve difficulties

5.      Blogspot Posting

a.      Regular posting of “Notes From the Chair”, “Wine Tips” and “Recipes” to update membership on events, tastings, and other news concerning the Chapter

6.      Relay communications from AWS National to appropriate parties

a.      Include communications from RVP

The Duties of the Vice Chairperson

1.      Wine Procurement

a.      Obtain list of required wines from speaker

b.      Purchase and store wines until the meeting

c.       Bring to meetings ready to pour (e.g. cooled whites)

2.      Manage wine-related items (bottle openers, pourers, blind-tasting bags, etc.)

a.      Clean after use

b.      Store

c.       Bring to meetings

3.      Wine Pouring

a.      Determine the correct number of bottles to open based on attendance

b.      Determine size of pours based on attendance, number of bottles available and number of wines being tasted

c.       Pour wines in correct order, as specified by speaker

4.       ‘Manage’ leftover wine

a.      Drink it up! Open bottles are yours to take home and enjoy!

b.      Keep the unopened bottles that didn’t sell for future use as auction items for fund raising.

The Duties of the Secretary

1.      Take notes during meetings/tastings

2.      Present report during meetings/tasting re: minutes; business matters

3.      Report findings of National Tasting Project in a timely manner to the National Office.

The Duties of the Treasurer

4.      Keep records of monthly revenues and expenditures

5.      Present report during business meetings re: income, expenditures, and balance

6.      Maintain checking account

a.             Make deposits

b.                        Write checks

c.              Track balance & verify with bank statements

7.      Pay all bills in a timely manner (< 1 month from date of receipt)

a.             Reimbursement of purchases for monthly

b.                        Payment of rental fees and permits

c.              Catering for special events

d.                        Speaker fees/gifts

e.              AWS Education Fund

The Duties of the Program Chair

1.      Plan and coordinate the 8 events per year

a.      6 regular meetings, including National Tasting and 2 special events

                                                              i.      Nationality dinner (May or October) and Holiday dinner (January)

2.      Advise Vice Chair of wines to be procured and served

3.      Choose a presenter for each event

a.      Checklist for presentations

4.      Choose hosts for each meeting

a.      Advise hosts of wines being served, number of attendees

b.      Provide input for table decorations and other sundries

5.      Provide wine costs to Chapter Chair three weeks prior to tasting

The Duties of the Membership Director

1.      Maintain list of current members

2.      Maintain record of guests and guests that become members

3.      Send a welcome email explaining the use of the website and how to enroll for email updates

4.      Prepare name badges for monthly meetings

5.      Present report during business meetings re: membership levels & new members

6.      Cross-check lists of national and chapter members to ensure all Pittsburgh chapter members have also paid national dues (for insurance purposes)

The Duties of the Procurement Director

1.      Procure and maintain ample supply of wine glasses for tastings

a.      Manage distribution of wine glasses and carry bags to members

b.      Provide spare wineglasses for tastings

c.       Keep record of glasses out for cleaning or on loan

2.       Maintain supply of serving items, plates, napkins, table covers for tables

Make your nominations here

NEW PRICE!

If someone were to ask me about regions that produce great wines, what often comes to mind are Italy, Australia, France, Argentina and Napa Valley. When you ask people to name some common wine varieties, Zinfandel, Chardonnay and Cabernet are usually first.  If they listen to rap music, they may mention Moscato.

I probably would not have mentioned Vranac, Blatina or Plavac Mali! These are grapes from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, was ranked 54th for wine production volume.

Our next tasting, on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, will be presented by Indira Bayer, Founder and Executive Director of Wines of Illyria, a company she founded in 2014 to import and sell wholesale fine wines from Balkan countries. The company is named for Illyria, an ancient region in what is now the Balkan Peninsula.  Her goal is to teach people about these varieties.

(By the by, it’s Vrah-natz, Blah-tee-nah and Plah-vatz Mah-lee)

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2018

Evergreen Community Center

3430 Evergreen Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237

7:00

PLEASE REMEMBER
TO BRING YOUR WINE GLASSES.  

 The cost for members or guests is $20.

Please reply before February 9, 2018 to:

finance.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.

CLICK HERE FOR THE HOMEPAGE

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

2017 Nationalities Dinner

Each year, one of our most popular and well-attended events is our Nationality Dinner.  Through the years, we’ve visited the cuisines of Greece, The Balkans, Portugal, Turkey, South Africa and the hills of Montalcino. This year, we’re going on a slightly different dining adventure.

Join us as we sample the food and wine of Spain, Turkey, Italy, Germany, and the good ol’ U.S.of A.  Each course will have an appropriate wine to accompany it.  Our dinner this year is Nationalities, not Nationality.  It promises to be an exciting event, and reservations will fill up quickly.  This event is a dinner, not a tasting, so there will be larger portions of food, and larger pours of wine.

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