HOLIDAY DINNER AT THE COSMOS CLUB
December 11 @ 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
$248 – $262
Ho, Ho, Ho, German Wine Society Members and Friends of German Wines, it’s nearly time to hang the stockings and dream of delicious German wine! We can gather in person again in Washington, D.C. amidst all the elegance of Embassy Row.
So, please plan to attend the GWS Holiday paired dinner at the Cosmos Club, Friday, December 11, 2026 for dinner starting at 7:00 pm, with registration and service of welcoming sekt and hors d’oeuvres beginning at 6:00 pm. We are very fortunate to have access to this elegant and festive venue again this year.
The paired dinner includes a variety of nine German wines, one sparkling, five whites, two reds and a rose, among them two prädikat-level entree and dessert selections including a Beerenauslese, accompanied by a three-course meal preceded by hors d’oeuvres. This year, we are offering a choice of three different entrees with different prices, beef, black bass and duck. Be sure to register for the one you want, and if there are multiple people on your order, register separately for each different entree choice and let the Secretary know by email who is having each choice for the place cards.
In addition, there will be entertainment – a holiday piano trio featuring Christine Kharazian on violin, Irina Ponomareva on cello, and Nina Willner on piano, with an opportunity to sing some German and other traditional songs together!
And, to add to the festive spirit, we will hold a drawing for a bottle of vintage Trockenbeerenauslese, with all members who make a modest $20 donation to the GWS Capital Chapter’s Kent-Marling Endowment eligible to participate. Details are provided below, and you can make a donation at the same time as you register for this event online, or by check.
Location: The address for our holiday dinner is 2121 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008, just a few blocks from Dupont Circle. Metro is near (Dupont Circle Red Line) and parking is available to the rear of the club. The stunning venue is, as in past years, the wood-paneled Members Dining Room on the 2nd floor in this landmark building. This year, both the opening reception and the dinner will take place in the same room – please come into the Members Dining Room when arriving to sign in rather than waiting in the Long Gallery outside. With fireplaces lit, perfect for a special holiday wine event with family and friends! There is a coatroom on the first floor free for members and guests – no need to bring heavy bags and coats upstairs to the event.
Safety Precautions: We and the Cosmos Club are not requiring any special health precautions this year, such as proof of vaccination or wearing of masks when arriving. If you contract or test positive for covid-19 or other communicable disease in advance of the event, we request that you not come for the safety of our other guests, and request a refund which we can provide if notified ahead of of the day of the event, to give us a chance to offer the place to another guest. Otherwise, refunds can only be made if requested before the registration deadline.
Menu: The paired menu will be as follows:
Welcome Reception with passed hors d’oeuvres
Chorizo Stuffed Medjool Dates, smoked bacon wrapped, with piquillo pepper sauce
Smoked Muscovy Duck, with fig marmalade, brioche toast
Fig and Goat Cheese Flatbread, with caramelized red onion, arugula, fig balsamic
NV Dr. Loosen “Dr. L” Sparking Riesling (12% alc.), rated 91 WE
First (Appetizer) Course
Chicory and Riesling Poached Pear, with candied walnut, feta cheese, dates, white balsamic vinaigrette
Cosmos Club Popovers with sweet creamery butter
2022 Meyer-Näkel Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) Estate Ahr (13% alc.), rated 91 WE
2024 Peter Lauer Unterstenberg Riesling Fass 12 Mosel (12.5% alc.), rated 93 VM
2025 Schloss Johannisberg Gelblack Riesling Feinherb Rheingau (12% alc.), rated 91 WS
Entree Course (choose one dish when registering)
Bistro Steak, with cheddar duchess potatoes, forest mushrooms, marinated Roma tomatoes
Herb Crusted Black Bass, with celery root puree, carnival cauliflower risotto, and pickled beech mushrooms, herb oil
Fennel Spiced Duck Breast, with kabocha squash risotto, compressed fennel, pepita crumble, and red currant port reduction
2023 Dönnhoff Norheimer Dellchen Riesling GG Nahe (12.5% alc.), rated 96 WA, 95-97 VN, 96 RP, 100 JS
2023 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spätlese, Mosel (8.0% alc.), rated 95 VM
2021 Ökonomierat Rebholz “R” Spätburgunder Pfalz (13% alc.), rated 93 VM
Dessert Course
Mango Panna Cotta, with strawberry meringue, prosecco gel, mint
2022 Schnaitmann Steinwiege Muskattrollinger Rose Württemberg (11% alc.), rated 89 WE
2021 Karl Erbes Ürziger in der Kranklei Riesling Beerenauslese, Mosel (6% alc.), rated 98 WE
Coffee and Tea Service
Parking: Club parking is off Florida Avenue behind the club. There is a small white sign showing the parking entrance. Parking is included in the event price and there is no tipping at the club including the valet parking. Parking is limited and club members have preference. It is highly advisable not to arrive late in case there are other functions going on at the club that evening.
Dress Code: The dress code for the Cosmos Club is strict – jackets and ties for men, comparable business or evening attire for women. No jeans or tennis shoes are allowed. As it is the holiday season, feel free to indulge in festive attire!
Prices: The dinner price, varying by entree selected, is:
Herb Crusted Black Bass $252 members/$262 non-members
Bistro Steak $249 members/$259 non-members
Fennel Spiced Duck Breast $248 members/$258 non-members
Our Holiday TBA Drawing: What German wine lover would not be delighted to receive a bottle of vintage Trockenbeerenauslese Riesling for the holidays, the summit of the German sweetness hierarchy? This is your chance! We have received a donation from Laura Marling, wife of our late GWS Chairman Emeritus George Marling, of a bottle of 1989 Josephshöfer Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese Mosel (7% alc.), described as Erzeugerabfüllung (estate-bottled) by Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, a historic estate with roots dating to 1349 and a VDP producer. Josephshöfer is a famed monopole site in the wine village of Graach. Laura has requested that we use this wine to raise funds for our GWS chapter, of which George was a member for several decades and a past president. This is a prizewinning wine, and, most unusually for a TBA, is in a full-sized 750 ml bottle rather than a half-bottle. This 37-year old TBA was in George Marling’s wine cellar for many years, and given his knowledge of wines, can be trusted to have been properly stored. If such a wine could even be found on the market today, Laura has estimated that it would have a value of around $600 based on online research. Though we can make no guarantee about its condition, high-prädikat Rieslings such as a TBA can age well for decades, between 20 and 50 years, with exceptional bottles lasting 80 years or more, given their high levels of natural sugar and acidity that slow down oxidization. Rather than have a single member bear the risk of paying a high price in an auction, we will conduct a drawing for this bottle of wine at the Holiday Dinner, with all members in good standing (dues current) eligible to participate if they have made a $20 donation before the dinner to the German Wine Society, which will be placed in the Capital Chapter’s Kent-Marling Endowment established by George Philips. This donation can be made online using the appropriate payment button on our Shop page, or by check made out to the German Wine Society. For couples memberships, each member of the couple is permitted to make a donation to improve chances of winning. GWS members are entitled to donate and have a chance to win this extraordinary wine even if they are not attending the Holiday Dinner, but non-members are not eligible to compete. We encourage all members to participate in this opportunity to win a wonderful holiday wine!
If you are not sure of your current membership status, please contact the Chapter President and Secretary, Carl Willner, at carl.willner1@verizon.net before ordering to confirm. Membership costs $35 annually for an individual or couple, and can be paid online using our website and PayPal, or by check, in the same way and at the same time as registering for the event.
When and How to Register: The deadline for reservations is Friday, December 4, 2026 so that we may provide the chef with an accurate count of total guests as well as the entrees chosen for each guest, and allow time for place cards for each guest to be made. No late reservations can be allowed for this event due to these club requirements. This promises to be a wonderful event so please make your reservations right away and don’t miss out! There will be assigned seating, so if you want to sit with friends let us know, and we will try to accommodate subject to table size and other requests.
There are two ways to join in the fun. You can register on our website, https://germanwinesocietydc.org , and pay online for the event using PayPal. If you do not already have an account on our website, you will need to set one up. There are separate buttons to choose each entree menu option, and for members and non-members, to reflect the varying prices. An email message to the Secretary at carl.willner1@verizon.net to let us know who is having each entree option is requested, if there are multiple guests on the reservation with different entree preferences – otherwise, we will need to reach out to you. Or, you can submit a check for the event to our Chapter President and Secretary, Carl Willner, payable to the German Wine Society, at the following address and using the form below, and making sure to note your entree preference for each guest. Any member dues that may be owed can also be paid online or by check. Please include names, number of guests, email and phone number.
Tours: The Cosmos Club has advised us that tours of the historic club mansion for interested guests are once again possible, as in past years. Availability of tours will depend on willingness of members who are also Cosmos Club members to conduct them, but we hope that one or more Cosmos Club members will agree to lead tours. If you would like to participate in a tour, please reply to this message and let us know of your interest, and you will be advised at a later date if a tour is being offered and when to arrive for a tour (usually either an hour before the event, or at the end of the event).
Questions about Event: The event organizer is Carl Willner, who can be reached by email at carl.willner1@verizon.net, or at 202-674-9044. Please contact him with any questions, including current membership status, or correspondence in response to this email.
All Society Members and guests are reminded that drinking alcohol can lead to intoxication, and therefore Society members and their guests are expected to drink in moderation at Society events. It is advisable to provide designated drivers or other alternative modes of transit to driving where available, or mostly to taste rather than fully consume alcohol where such drivers or alternative modes of transit are not available.
If you no longer wish to receive our announcements, please reply to this email to our Secretary, Carl Willner.
If registering by mail, please cut and return the reservation form portion of the notice below – do not mail the entire notice.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Reservation form for GERMAN WINE SOCIETY HOLIDAY DINNER AT THE COSMOS CLUB, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2026, 7 pm – 10 pm (with registration and welcome beginning at 6:00 pm)
Member Name(s) ______________________________________________________________
Guest Names(s) _______________________________________________________________
Total Enclosed ________________________________________________________________
Daytime Phone Number _________________________________________________________
Email Address _________________________________________________________________
Entrees and number of each chosen: Beef _____ Black Bass _____Duck _____
Please indicate who is having each entree, if multiple guests are on the reservation.
Register for this Event
