(An email from Barry P. Boothe, President, San Francisco Chapter, German Wine Society)

Just in case any members of the Capital Chapter of the German Wine Society are in the San Francisco area on July 27, 2019, I hope you will pass on this Email to your members.  Members of the Capital Chapter are generally considered Members for San Francisco Chapter Events and would pay the per person Member price to attend.

We have now settled on the impressive collection of wines we will be having at the San Francisco Chapter of the German Wine Society Saturday, July 27, 2019, Guided Tasting Event in the Artists Gallery in Building A at Fort Mason in San Francisco.  The guided tasting will be conducted by Dade Thieriot and Marion Groetschel of Dee Vine Wines.

This event is heavily subsidized and will feature Sekt wine during the reception followed by four flights of three wines in each flight.  Each of the four flights will feature wines from three of the most important wine regions in Germany – Mosel, Rheingau, and Nahe.

The first flight will feature three Trocken (dry) wines 

The second flight will feature three Kabinett wines

The third flight will feature three Spätlese wines

The fourth flight will feature three sweet style wines including an Auslese, a Beerenauslese, and an Eiswein.

We will also have our usual buffet spread of enough food to make a full meal, including desser.

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(Formal Announcement)
We are pleased to announce that the San Francisco Chapter of the German Wine Society will be conducting a Special Guided Tasting event on Saturday, July 27, 2019 at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.

This Special Guided Tasting will feature four flights of three wines each with Prädikat levels ranging from relatively dry to relatively sweet.  To guide the tasting, we are privileged to have Dade Thieriot and Marion Groetschel (who selected the wines) of Dee Vine Wines discuss the wines we are having in each flight.  Dade and Marion both have extensive experience, having tasted several thousand German wines.

Time:  Reception with Sekt wine at 7:00 p.m.; guided tasting 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Where:  Building A at Fort Mason – SF MOMA Artist Gallery

Cost:  $59 per person for members and one guest and first time guests who RSVP by July 19 with payment to the Treasurer by July 23.  Reservations made after July 19 (but in no case later than July 22) will be $69 per person with payment to the Treasurer by July 25 for those parties.  Reservations for all others will be $69 per person if received by July 19 (payment due by July 23) and $79 per person for RSVP’s after July 19, but in no case later than July 22, (payment due by July 25).  Note: We have a limited number of places for this Special Guided Tasting so reservations will be accepted on a “first come, first served” basis.

Food:  There will be enough delectable food, including dessert, to make a full meal.

Please send a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response to

Barry Boothe by the initial deadline of July 19. 

Barry‘s email (preferred):  barrypboothe@aol.com  

Phone: 415-346-5934

To confirm your attendance, send a check made payable to the German Wine Society – SF to our Treasurer: Harris Holzberg –

24 Hawthorne Lane, Corte Madera, CA  94925

Checks must be received by the dates noted above.

So act now to reserve your place and bring along any prospective members…it will be a good occasion to introduce them to the German Wine Society.

Please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions or allergies

All Society members and guests are reminded that alcohol consumption can lead to intoxication and therefore Society members and their guests are expected to drink in moderation at Society events. We suggest those attending either utilize designated drivers or other modes of transit where available, or mostly taste rather than consume alcohol when such drivers or alternative means of transportation are not available.          

Barry Boothe, President and Cellarmaster– barrypboothe@aol.com     Harris Holzberg, Treasurer  –  coachharris1@comcast.net    Henry Kim, Event Organizer – henrykimm@yahoo.com  Carlos Lopez, Assistant Cellarmaster and Website Organizer  –  carlos.alfonzo@gmail.com

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Directions:

From East Bay

Bay Bridge to Fremont Street Exit; on Fremont (100 yards north) take first right on Howard; left on Embarcadero & go 2 miles; left on Bay, about 2 miles, right on Buchanan. Cross Marina Blvd. & sharp right into Fort Mason Center.

From North Bay

Golden Gate Bridge (US 101) to Marina Exit; go 1.5 miles.  Turn left at Buchanan & turn right into Fort Mason Center.

From Peninsula/South Bay

US 101 North to 9th St. Exit; 9th across Market & left on Hayes; right on Franklin; about 2 miles. Turn left on Bay St, right on Buchanan. Cross Marina Blvd. & sharp right into Fort Mason Center.

Parking

There is ample pay parking ($10 for three hours) in the area around Buildings A, B, and C.  Previously, parking in the area just prior to reaching the Gatehouse was free, but now that area is also pay parking.

Public Transportation Information

Bay Area-Wide: www.511.org or call 817-1717 or 511 from any area code
East Bay BART: www.bart.gov (510) 465-2278
North Bay Golden Gate Transit: 
www.goldengate.org (415) 455-2000
Peninsula/South Bay CalTrain: 
www.caltrain.com (800) 660-4287
San Francisco MUNI: 
www.sfmuni.com (415) 673-6864

For additional information go to the Fort Mason website – https://www.fortmason.org

German Wine Society Members and Friends, our next event will be one that you do not want to miss. We will be hosting representatives of 10 wineries from the German/Austrian portfolio of Terry Theise Estate Selections in an unprecedented opportunity for you to sample wines from the 2018 vintage before they are offered for sale, and to meet wine makers and estate representatives to whom you can direct questions you may have in a one-on-one conversation. We have had to change our regular time and location to accommodate the schedule of the producers, but wanted to make every effort to allow as many of you as possible access to these wines and the people pouring them.

Our format for this event will be “walk-around,” meaning each producer will be standing behind a table with the wines they are pouring. You will arrive and take a glass, then make your way around the room from table to table, in whatever order you like. There will be a total of 40 wines for you to choose among to sample, all from the top estates in their respective regions. The estates and producers are:

  Terry Theise’s 2018 vintage report comments

E & M Berger – Erich Berger (Kremstal, Austria)   “Best liter bottles”
Donnhoff – Sasha Schomel (Nahe, Germany) “Wine of the vintage” (Germany)
L. Hiedler – Ludwig Hiedler, Jr. (Kamptal, Austria) “Winery of the vintage” (Austria)
Kunstler – Enrico Saam (Rheingau, Germany)   “A top 3 wine of the vintage”
Loewen – Christopher Loewen (Mosel, Germany)
Ott – Patrick Laister (Wagram, Austria)    “A top 3 wine of the vintage”
Setzer – Hans Setzer (Weinviertel, Austria)
Spreitzer – Andreas Spreitzer (Rheingau, Germany)
Strub – Sebastian Strub (Rheinhessen, Germany)   “Greatest values of the vintage”
von Winning – Andreas Huetwhohl (Pfalz, Germany) “A top 3 wine of the vintage”

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! As we are back on DST and looking towards spring, we are extremely fortunate to host TWO distinguished vintners from the Mosel: Stefan Steinmetz of Weingut Gunther Steinmetz and Christian Hermann from Dr. Hermann. Both are operating family businesses with long histories – Dr. Hermann was founded 400 years ago, and Weingut Gunther Steinmetz is a relative new-comer at 100 years. Stefan specializes in bringing lesser known top sites from “the old days” back onto the map with expressive crus. He has run the estate since 1999, when he was 18 years old. Dr. Hermann has been  managed by Rudi Hermann since 1967 with son Christian joining in 2001. The Hermanns’ specialize in old vine, ungrafted Riesling grown on steep rock slopes. To host both of these winemakers for the first time is an outstanding opportunity for our Chapter, and we are hoping that our membership will come out to meet them, taste their wines, and display the hospitality we are known for.

The wines we will be tasting are:

Steinmetz and Hermann Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Alte Reben 2016
Hermann Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Kabinett 2016
Hermann Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett 2015
Hermann Dr. H Riesling 2018
Steinmetz Brauneberger Riesling 2016
Steinmetz Brauneberger Juffer Riesling 2016
Steinmetz Kestner Paulinsberg Riesling Spatlese 2016

We will also taste two Pinot Noir from the Steinmetz estate as a preview prior to release.

The tasting will be held at the award winning Caffe Aldo Lamberti in Cherry Hill , NJ . Recently honored by the Wine Spectator for their wine selection, our Chapter has enjoyed the wonderful service and outstanding food at this location for the past several years. For this event, a cold anti pasta, hot appetizers and pasta  served family style will be included with the tasting. Please plan to join us and welcome Stefan Steinmetz and Christian Hermann to our chapter for this very special event.

DATE: Tuesday, April 9, 2019
TIME: 7:30 p.m.
PLACE: Caffe Aldo Lamberti
2011 Route 70 West
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
856-663-1747

PRICE: Couple Members and Single Members with one guest, $50.00 per person; Non-members and additional guests, $57.50 per person. Please note that you must have paid 2019 dues to be admitted at the member rate.

RESERVATIONS: By e-mail to bsheligo@germanwinesociety.org or call 856-228-7330 and leave a message by noon on Thursday, April 5th. While it is possible to check space availability after April 5th, we cannot guarantee that space will be available. Please let us know of your intention to attend at your earliest convenience. Payment at the door by cash or check payable to German Wine Society is acceptable, but you MUST reserve in advance – no walk-ins. Please make your reservation today to avoid disappointment.

2019 dues are due! If you have not yet renewed, please forward your dues ($35.00 for a single or couple membership) via check payable to German Wine Society to 24 Shadowstone Drive, Blackwood, NJ 08012.

SAVE THE DATE: Our annual Tony Lawrence Dinner will be held on Wednesday, August 21st. Details to follow.

DIRECTIONS:

From Philadelphia and points West, take the Ben Franklin Bridge, and exit from one of the two left lanes. Follow signs to Routes 30 – 130; stay in one of the two left lanes. Two miles East of the Bridge, the highway divides at the top of a ramp. Bear left, towards Routes 38 & 70. At the bottom of the ramp, move over one (or two) lanes to your right, to stay on Route 70 East. Go straight for three miles; 1/4 mile before you come to the restaurant, you will see a sign for Grove Street. Lamberti’s is on your right on Route 70 at the Grove Street turn. (Traffic is normally light on 70 East from the Bridge to Grove St., and the normal ride is 7 minutes.)

From NJ or points South, take Route 295 North to Route 561, Haddonfield/Gibbsboro, and turn left towards Haddonfield. Follow 561 until it ends, at Kress Liquors. The road will fork to your left; stay in the right lane and bear left onto Potter Street. Follow Potter to the light at Kings Highway, then jog across onto Grove Street. Stay on Grove Street through Haddonfield, and across the bridge over Cooper River. As you are approaching the intersection of Grove Street and Route 70, right before 70 you will see a sign on your left for Commerce Bank. Turn left into the bank parking lot, and continue straight past the bank into the back parking lot at Lamberti’s.

Beth Sheligo
Chapter Chairperson

All Society members and guests are reminded that alcohol consumption can lead to intoxication and therefore Society members and their guests are expected to drink in moderation at Society events. We suggest those attending either utilize designated drivers or other modes of transit where available, or mostly taste rather than consume alcohol when such drivers or alternative means of transportation are not available.