GWS SPARGELFEST RETURNS!

Dear German Wine Society Members and Guests,



Spring in Washington announces itself with cherry blossoms, migrating songbirds, and tasty ramps at farmers’ markets. In Germany, nothing epitomizes Spring like the revered white stalks of Spargel (aparagus)! The green variety is more popular in North America, and tends to be available in supermarkets year-round. Germans, however, prefer the white variety that is harvested from mid-April to near the end of June (St. John’s Day), and often is harder to find in the United States. They’ve given this harvest season its own name — Spargelzeit — and celebrate it with passion.



Rich in nutrients and very low in calories, asparagus has become a culinary status symbol for many Germans. To produce white asparagus, soil is piled up into knee-high banks, which give the fields their characteristic appearance. White asparagus grows entirely surrounded by earth, which protects the slender stalks from sunlight exposure and keeps them from turning green. This also affects the subtle flavor of it. The popular vegetable is cultivated in almost all federal states as well as in neighboring countries. In fact, Germans consume more white asparagus than their country produces, so it is necessary to import it.



Join the German Wine Society’s Capital Chapter on May 19 for a three-course Spargelfest dinner at Cafe Berlin on Capitol Hill featuring not only the elegant vegetable in both its green and white versions, but also fine German wines, including Silvaner, known for its affinity with asparagus. We have two such Silvaner wines, from Franken, bottled in the traditional, picturesque squat bocksbeutel, in addition to a sparkling wine, two other dry whites and two sweet whites. This is the first time in four years that we have been able to celebrate a Spargelfest together, with past locations having included the German Embassy House, Cafe Mozart (now regrettably closed), and Cafe Berlin itself. We look forward to our return to this elegant locale recalling the atmosphere of 1920s Berlin.



DATE: Friday, May 19th, 2023. Doors open at 6:30 pm; tasting begins at 7:00 pm. Registrations are due by Monday, May 15, 2023. This is expected to be a very popular event, and seating is limited to the first 40 who reserve, so reserve early to avoid disappointment. In order to give a wider chance to attend to our members, we are limiting reservations to groups of no more than four. If you have other friends who want to come, please encourage them to reserve separately.



VENUE: Cafe Berlin, 322 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Washington, DC . On-street parking nearby is very limited. The parking garage at Union Station can be entered from the bridge on H St. NE east of North Capitol Street. The Metrorail Red Line serves Union Station, as do many Metrobus lines. The restaurant is a short walk down Massachusetts from the Station’s front entrance. Metrobus lines 96, D6, and X8 stop on Massachusetts near the restaurant.



SPARGELFEST MENU AND WINES:



Welcome Toast

NV Dr. Loosen “Dr. L” Sparkling Riesling

First (Appetizer) Course

Spargel Salat (spinach, roasted green and white asparagus, shaved fennel & kohlrabi, potato vinaigrette, toasted sesame seeds, herbed croutons)

2021 Dönnhoff Tonschiefer Riesling Trocken Nahe (WA 92)

2021 Weiser-Künstler Estate Riesling Feinherb Mosel



Second (Main) Course
Spargel mit Hollandaise und Salzkartoffel (white asparagus with new potatoes and Hollandaise sauce), served with a Pork Schnitzel or Chicken Schnitzel (choice of guest)

2020 Bürgerspital Würzburger Silvaner Trocken Franken (Vivino 3.7)
2021 Wirsching Iphöfer Silvaner Trocken Franken (Falstaff 90)

Third (Dessert) Course
Spargeleis (asparagus ice cream with Vanilla Spongecake, strawberry-mint salad, rhubarb curd), and Erdbeern-Rhubarber (Strawberry-Rhubarb Cake with vanilla custard and a streusel crumb topping) (both desserts included, half portions of each)
2020 Selbach Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese Mosel (WA 93+)

2018 Merkelbach Ürziger Würzgarten Urgluck #11 Riesling Auslese Mosel (VM 90)



If you have any questions, please email the organizer, Jim Palanchar: jimpalanchar@earthlink.net .



PRICE AND RESERVATIONS: The cost to attend our Spargelfest dinner is $89 per person for GWS members and $99 for non-members, payable in advance online through our website using PayPal or by check. Whichever method you use, please be sure to register and pay the appropriate price based on whether you are a GWS member or non-member. If you are not sure of your current membership status, please contact the GWS Capital Chapter President and Secretary, Carl Willner, at carl.willner1@verizon.net . 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). When making reservations, be sure to indicate your choice of pork or chicken schnitzel in the main course (there is no difference in price, but we need a count for the restaurant).



To register and pay by PayPal, go to our chapter website: germanwinesocietydc.org. 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 above 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.



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.



HEALTH AND SAFETY: We have modified our policy with respect to proof of covid-19 vaccination this year. Members and guests who have attended our in-person events in 2021, 2022, or earlier in 2023, and shown proof of covid-19 vaccination previously, will no longer be required to do so for admission. For the health and safety of all members and guests, however, those members and guests who have not attended one of our in-person events in the past two years will be required to affirm that they are fully vaccinated for covid-19 when registering or checking in at the event, and should be prepared to provide proof of vaccination when arriving at the event if requested. Thereafter, for future events they will be treated as other members and guests who have previously attended and shown proof of vaccination. Proof may consist of either sending an e-mail in advance to the GWS Capital Chapter Secretary with a legible photo image of a vaccination card, or producing a vaccination card at the event either physically or by a legible photo image. Members and guests who fail to provide proof of vaccination and have not previously done so 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 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.




GERMAN WINE SOCIETY SPARGELFEST – May 19, 2023


Member(s) Name___________________________________________________


Non-Member(s) Name_______________________________________________



Amount Paid ______________________________________________________


Choices of Entree (Pork or Chicken Schnitzel) ____________________________



Email ____________________________________________________________


Telephone_________________________________________________________

Event Full