GWS New Vintage Tasting with Phil Bernstein

Dear German Wine Society Members and Friends,

Every year we host a tasting to try German wines from the new vintage, with a focus on Riesling. Our host is Phil Bernstein, General Manager of MacArthur Beverages, one of the leading retailers of German Riesling in the country. Every year, Phil brings some of the best wines of the vintage.

The new vintage is 2023, another in an increasing string of very good vintages. Mosel Fine Wines says the 2023s are wines of zest, freshness, and lightness. Vinous Media found many of the wines to be “simply thrilling” and was struck by “how much flavor and expression they cram into an often small footprint” (meaning lighter wines with lower alcohol levels). Here is your chance to try the 2023s from some of the very best producers – and, with possible tariffs looming, to try them at pre-tariff prices!

DATE:  Friday, May 16th, 2025.  Doors open at 6:30 pm; tasting begins at 7:00 pm.   Registrations are due by Monday, May 12, 2025.

VENUE:  King Farm Community Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle, Rockville, MD 20850, Please park in the lot behind the swimming pool adjacent to the community center, and then come around to the front of the circle (not through the pool area) to enter the building. The Shady Grove Metro station on the Red Line is right across 355.  The Red Line King Farm shuttle bus runs from there on a route passing the Community Center until about 7:30 pm, every 20 minutes, though if returning by Metro you would need to arrange a ride to the station with another guest, get a cab or walk (about 20 minutes to the station).

THE WINES:

Welcome Wine – NV Hild Elbling Sekt Brut Mosel

Two Trockens

Vollenweider Felsenfest Riesling Trocken Mosel

Schaefer Fröhlich Vulkangestein Riesling Trocken Nahe

A Pair of GGs

Peter Lauer Riesling Fass 18 Kupp Grosses Gewächs Mosel

Dönnhoff Felsenberg Riesling Grosses Gewächs Nahe

Kabinetts Duo

Erbes Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett Mosel

Falkenstein Öckfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett Alte Reben #22 Mia Mosel

Willi Schaefer Kabinett Vineyards Comparison

Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett Mosel

Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Mosel

Delicious Spätlese

Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshohle Riesling Spätlese Nahe

Willi Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese Mosel

An Auslese Finale

Schaefer Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Auslese Nahe

A tasty buffet of cheeses, bread, crackers, cold cuts, grapes, veggies and sweets will be provided to accompany the wines.

COST: $58 for members, $65 for non-members.

If you have any questions about the event, please email the organizer, Dave Wendler: davewendler@yahoo.com .  If you have questions about registration or membership status, please contact the President and Secretary of the GWS Capital Chapter, Carl Willner, at carl.willner1@verizon.net .  

To register and pay by PayPal, go to our chapter website: germanwinesocietydc.org.  If you do not already have an account on our website, you will need to set one up.  We can only accept electronic payment by PayPal, not credit cards or other electronic transfers.  If you are including others in your electronic registration, please email the Secretary to let us know the names of your other guests for our registration list.  You can 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).   Please go to the Shop page of the website to find the payment buttons for this event and for dues.

To register and pay by check, detach and complete the form below, indicating all names of persons who will be coming, and mail it, with your check made out to the ‘German Wine Society’, to the Chapter President and Secretary, Carl Willner: 1014 Reserve Champion Drive, Rockville, MD  20850. 

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.

GERMAN WINE SOCIETY NEW VINTAGE TASTING – May 16, 2025

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