German Wine Society Sparkling Wine Tasting, November 5th, 2022

All sorts of Sparklers: How do the Bubbles get into that Bottle?

With the holidays nearly here, please plan to join the German Wine Society on Saturday, November 5, 2022 for a presentation and tasting of sparkling wines by our own Annette Schiller, who has brought some of these wines back from Germany just for us.   What a way to start setting a festive mood, and get some ideas for holiday tables!   Registrations for this event are due by November 1, 2022, and the price is $55 for GWS members, $62 for non-members.  

Germany has a long history of producing sparkling wine – called Sekt in Germany – starting in the early 19^th century. The fascination with sparkling wine let trade and the exchange of knowledge with France boom. At some point in the later 19^th century it was the Germans who controlled the Champagne business in France.  

Today Germany is world champion in sparkling wine consumption. In 2021 Germans drank 274 million liters of sparkling wine (Statistisches Bundesamt) and produced 250 million liters (Statista.com). The bulk of production comes from big brands like Henkell or Rotkäppchen, who make Sekt with the tank method. However, premium sparkling wine production is on the rise. Many German Sekts made in the Méthode Champenoise are on eye level with the best of French Champagnes.

It can be confusing to see all the different labels of bubbles with prices vacillating between just a few dollars per bottle for a mass-produced sparkler to close to a hundred. There is Champagne, Cava, Crémant, Prosecco, Frizzante, Sekt, Winzersekt, Secco, Pet-Nat, to name just a few. But they all have one thing in common: they have significant levels of carbon dioxide in the bottle to make them fizzy. However, there are different procedures to get the fizz into the bottle. We will taste 12 sparkling wines and will evaluate the difference in the various methods of how the CO₂ gets into the bottle.   Half of our sparkers are from German regions, and the other half from various other countries as listed, including Austria, France, Italy, and the U.S.

            1)    Secco, Hillinger, Burgenland, Austria  

            2)    Prosecco, Bisol, Italy

            3)    Dr. L, Mosel 

            4)    Pet-Nat, Melsheimer, Mosel 

            5)    Pet-Nat, Tscherne 18-Pet Pink, Steiermark, Austria  

            6)    Korbel, California  

            7)    Steininger, Grüner Veltliner Sekt, Brut Nature, Kamptal, Austria 

            8)    Peter Jakob Kühn, Riesling Sekt, Brut, Rheingau   

            9)    Jülg, Crément Brut, Pfalz            

          10)   Griesel, Chardonnay Brut Nature, Hessische Bergstraße

          11)   Domaine Carneros by Taittinger, Napa Valley  

          12)   Taittinger Brut La Française, France 

A tasty buffet of cheeses, bread, crackers, charcuterie, grapes and veggies will be provided to accompany the bubbly wines.

Our tasting will begin at 7 p.m on Saturday, November 5, with the doors opening at 6:30 p.m. to admit guests.  The location is the Van Ness Room that we have often used before for membership meetings and other events, at 3001 Veazey Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008.  Enter through the main lobby of the apartment building on the 5th floor, and then go down to the 2nd floor by elevator and proceed down the hall to the clubroom.  While there is not off-street parking at this location, on-street parking is available (bear in mind DC parking restrictions and meters), and there is easy access to Metro, at the Van Ness Red Line station.

You can register and pay for this event in either of two ways.  

First, you can register below, and make payment by PayPal.  

(The event registration is closed.)

Register for this Event click here

You will need to create a GWS account for the website if you do not already have one, and you will also need to have a PayPal account, as we cannot accept payment by other forms of credit or online transfer.  If you are coming as a couple or other group, you can either register and pay for each individual separately, or do it as part of a single transaction and complete the payment on PayPal together.  If you do a single transaction, please also email the Secretary of the GWS Capital Chapter at the address below to provide the names of each individual coming, as the individual names will not all appear on the website form for multiple persons registering together.

Second, if you prefer to register by mail and pay by check for the event, please clip off the registration form attached to this notice, indicate the names of all who will be attending, and mail a check made out to the German Wine Society in the proper amount along with the form to: 

Carl Willner

President and Secretary, GWS Capital Chapter

1014 Reserve Champion Drive

Rockville, MD 20850

You can also reach the Secretary by e-mail at carl.willner1@verizon.net .

Whether you are registering by mail or online, please be sure to provide the names of all persons for whom you are registering, and pay the appropriate price depending on whether each person is a GWS member (with annual dues paid), or a non-member.   You can also become a member or renew, if your membership is not current, together with your registration for this event by including an annual $35 dues payment (for an individual or a couple), through PayPal, or by mail using a check, in the same manner as registering for the event.   If you have been a member of the GWS Capital Chapter in the past but are not sure of your current membership status, please email the Secretary at the above e-mail to confirm your status.      

For the health and safety of all members and guests, those attending this event are required to show proof of vaccination against covid-19.  This may be done in advance by sending an e-mail to the GWS Capital Chapter Secretary with a legible photo image of a vaccination card, or by producing a vaccination card at the event either physically or by a legible photo image at the time of signing in at the event.  The GWS Capital Chapter has consistently followed this policy at our in-person events since resuming those events in the summer of 2021, and due to concern for our members and friends, we are maintaining that policy for this event as well.  Guests who fail to provide proof of vaccination will not be admitted.  Masks will not be necessary. 

All GWS members and guests are reminded that alcohol consumption can lead to intoxication.   Members and guests should use public transportation to events, rely on a designated driver, or taste the wines rather than finish them.

If you have questions about this event, you may contact the event organizer and presenter, Annette Schiller, at aschiller@ombiasypr.com  .   For questions about registration and membership, please contact Carl Willner, Capital Chapter President and Secretary, at  carl.willner1@verizon.net .

If you no longer wish to receive our announcements, please reply to this email to the sender.

If registering by mail, please fill out and cut the reservation form below with your check – do not mail the entire notice.

REGISTRATION FORM FOR GERMAN WINE SOCIETY SPARKLING WINE TASTING, NOV. 5, 2022

$55.00 Members / $62.00 Non-Member Guests

Member(s) Names: _________________________________________________________________

Guest(s) Names: _____________________________________________________________________

Total Enclosed: ______________________________________________________________________

Daytime Phone Number: ____________________________________________________________

E-Mail: __________________________________________________________________