SPRING GALA CELEBRATION AT THE GERMAN EMBASSY

ANNOUNCING SPRING GALA CELEBRATION AT THE GERMAN EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON, D.C. ON MAY 29, 2026!
Jointly Hosted by the German Wine Society and the International Club of DC

It is a pleasure to announce that we have once again been invited to hold a spring event  at the German Embassy!  The German Wine Society’s Capital Chapter  has held several asparagus-themed Spargelfest dinners at the Embassy, but this’s year’s Spring Gala event will offer something more, combining festive music with the pleasures of wine and food.  We are collaborating this year with the International Club of DC to host this event, and so it is possible to register for the event through either organization at the same price.  And this year, we are offering not only a dinner including white asparagus and with several German wines at the Embassy House, but also a reception and concert in the Carl Schurz Hall of the main Embassy building before dinner, with a selection of hors d’oeuvres and German sparkling, white and red wines.  Guests will have the opportunity to attend just the reception, or the reception and dinner.  For both the reception and dinner, cuisine will be provided by the German Embassy’s chef, Mikko Kosenen of Mikko Nordic Fine Foods.  Chef Mikko also operates a restaurant in Washington, D.C., and was formerly executive chef for the Ambassador of Finland.  Please plan to join us to share our love of German wine paired with white asparagus and other dishes, at the German Embassy where the German Wine Society began – and this year, to enjoy beautiful music and song at the start of our unique event, and to meet members of the International Club as well as those from our own Society!

Please join our two groups at the German Embassy on the evening of Friday, May 29, 2026, from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm.  Our event will begin with a reception, introductory remarks, concert and wine tasting with hors d’oeuvres at the Carl Schurz Hall of the main Embassy building from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.  After this, guests who have also opted to attend the dinner will ascend the stairs to the Embassy House (or use escorted access to the Embassy elevator for those needing assistance) for our buffet dinner and dessert from 7:30 to 9:30 pm.  Our dinner will feature not only white spargel and an array of other dishes, but also seven fine white and red German wines, including Silvaner, known for its affinity with asparagus.  Overall, seven of Germany’s thirteen wine regions will be represented in our reception and dinner, including the Mosel, Rheingau, Nahe, Rheinhessen, Pfalz, Ahr, and Franken.  

Registration for this event must be received by Friday, May 22, 2026.   We can accommodate a maximum of 120 guests for the reception in the Carl Schurz Hall, but only 80 for the dinner at the smaller Embassy House.   When registering, please decide whether you want to attend either the reception only, or both the reception and dinner (the price of the dinner includes the reception, and attending the dinner without the reception is not an option).   For the first two weeks after initial announcement of this event, we are reserving half of the dinner places for those who register through the German Wine Society, at the listed price.  After that time, all of the places will be available for purchase by members of either group, and prices will be subject to revision without prior notice.  The initial price to attend the Spring Gala for members of the German Wine Society is $95 for the reception alone, or $195 for the reception and dinner; for non-members, the initial price will be $105 for the reception alone, or $205 for the reception and dinner.  Reserve early to avoid disappointment!

We anticipate being joined by members of the German Embassy staff, some of whom will provide introductory remarks at the reception.  Please take the opportunity to mingle with them and share your interests in German wines and Germany!

Here’s what we have planned for our Spring Gala:

5:30 pm:  entry to Embassy compound passing through security (plan to enter no later than 6:30 pm); Reception and concert at the German Embassy.   Enter at the main Embassy gate on 4645 Reservoir Road, NW, Washington, DC 20007, and after passing through security, proceed to the Carl Schurz Hall in the main Embassy building, shown in the picture.  

For security purposes, the Embassy requires a list of all attendees in advance; no walk-ins are allowed.  Please remember to bring a valid picture ID.    There is no parking available on Embassy grounds, but it should not be difficult at this time of day to find parking on the street nearby if you are driving.   Be alert, however, to DC parking restrictions.  The German Embassy is not near a Metro subway stop, but it is also possible to arrive by Metro bus (D94) or by taxi/ride service.

Welcoming menu: hors d’ oeuvres + Sparkling wine served at main Embassy

Pretzel bites with beer- cheese dipping sauce

German bratwurst pig in blanket with mustard

Asparagus-cheese quiche

Herring on potato with mustard mayonnaise

Duck confit arancinis with cherry sauce

These hors d’oeuvres will be accompanied by the following sparkling wine:

Nv Dr. Loosen “Dr. L” Sparkling Riesling, Mosel.  In Germany, sparkling wine is known as “sekt,” and the Loosen estate produces this distinctive dry sekt using the Charmat method, with a specific grape and region rather than a generic blend.  Rated 91 points by Wine Enthusiast.

Introductory remarks will begin at 6:00 pm, and the concert will run from about 6:20 pm until 7 pm.  

The program for our Spring Gala Concert will be a joyous chamber music celebration featuring various German, Austrian and Italian works, performed by the trio Cantabile (violinist Christine Kharazian, cellist Irina Ponomareva, and pianist Nina Willner) and soprano Angela Mariano.  Biographies of the performers are listed at the end of this notice.  Music will range from the Baroque and other classical pieces, including Bach, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Handel, Schumann, and Mendelssohn, to traditional German songs of the Mosel and Rhine on wine themes.  The program will include the famed 17^th century German hymn Schönster Herr Jesu (as arranged by Dawson Hull), brought to America in the 19^th century by German immigrants, with its references to springtime.

During and after the introductory remarks and concert, the following red and white wines will be served as well:

2023 Spreitzer Oestricher Lenchen Riesling Kabinett, Rheingau.  The Rheingau region has long been identified with high-quality Rieslings, and this Kabinett, at the lower end of the scale of sweet wines, provides an off-dry or mildly sweet experience.  Rated 92 points by Wine Spectator and Antonio Galloni.

2023 Kühling Gillot Spätburgunder Trocken, Rheinhessen.  The Spätburgunder grape is better known outside Germany as Pinot Noir, and this is a fine example of a dry red from a leading estate.   90 points average critic reviews.

Guests attending the dinner after the reception should proceed up the stairway alongside the main Embassy building depicted here to the Embassy House on the upper level, between 7 pm and 7:30 pm after the concert.   For those who have difficulty ascending the stairs, escorts from the Embassy staff can bring guests through the Embassy building and up an elevator.  Guests not attending the dinner, but only the reception, should exit from the Embassy by 8:00 pm, but may remain after the concert until then to enjoy the white and red wines and hors d’oeuvres.

7:30pm – 9:30 pm   Buffet  Dinner with Served Wines: inside Embassy House cantina and possibly on patio also if weather permits

Assortment of bread

Green salad with lingonberry dressing

German style potato salad

Pasta Salmon salad

Grilled white asparagus with hollandaise sauce

Roasted spring vegetables

Chicken Schnitzel with lemon and capers

Black forest ham 

Spaetzle with mushrooms, ham

       Sweets:

 Apple strudel with vanilla sauce

 Black forest cake

 Rice porridge with red berry soup

The dinner will be accompanied by the following wines:

Served as starters:

2023 Hexamer Helmut Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Rieslling Quarzit, Nahe.   A fine example of a barely off-dry Riesling from the Nahe region west of the Rhine, across from the Rheingau.  Critic James Suckling rated the previous vintage 92 points.

2022 Rebholz Weissburgunder Trocken, Pfalz.  The Rebholz estate in the Pfalz region is one of Germany’s top producers of dry “Trocken” wines, in this case made from the Weissburgunder grape better known outside Germany as Pinot Blanc.  Reviewed at 92 points by critic James Suckling.  

Served with main buffet course:

2022 Meyer-Näkel Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) Estate, Ahr.  The small Ahr region near Bonn is more heavily focused on producing red wines, especially Spätburgunder, than any other wine region of Germany, with distinctive slate tastes.   The Meyer-Näkel estate represents the 5th generation of winemakers.  Critics have reviewed at 91 points. 

2024 Carl Loewen Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett, Mosel. Grown from vines over 120 years old in Devonian slate soil, and fermented in traditional wooden barrels (fuder).  Rated 94 points by critic James Suckling.

2023 Wirsching-Iphöfer Silvaner Trocken, Franken.  A dry Silvaner white wine, served in the fat “bocksbeutel” characteristic of the Franken region, is the classic accompaniment to a spargel (asparagus) dinner.  Rated 90 points by Kristen Bieler, Wine Spectator.  

Served with dessert:  

2023 Fritz Haag Braunberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese, Mosel.   Spätlese wines are the next step up the sweetness scale in Germany from Kabinett, the term translating as “late harvest.”  From the Sonnenuhr (“sundial”) vineyard., one of the iconic steep-sided vineyards lining the banks of the Mosel river.  Rated 92 points in Wine Enthusiast.

2023 Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese, Mosel.  The Mosel region, source of both dessert wines for this event, is one of Germany’s leading regions for the Riesling grape, and exports far more wines to the United States than any other single German wine region.  From the Würzgarten (“spice garden”) vineyard in Ürzig.  Rated 94 points by Master of Wine Anne Krebiehl, Vinous Media.  

You can register and pay for this event in either of two ways, if registering through the GWS.  Guests can also register independently through the International Club of DC, which has issued its own announcement of the Spring Gala. 

First, you can register on our Washington, D.C. chapter website, https://germanwinesocietydc.org , and make payment by PayPal.   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 electronic 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,.  We will need a complete list of all attendee names in advance for Embassy security, and 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 member of the German Wine Society (either the Capital Chapter, or one of the other active chapters in the U.S. or an at-large member with annual dues paid), or a non-member.   You can join the GWS Capital Chapter either by using the website and registering to pay annual dues of $35 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 chapter Secretary at the above e-mail to confirm your status. 

For this event, we are no longer requiring that guests take special health precautions.  We do request that if you contract covid-19 or another communicable illness, or test positive for one, you refrain from attending the event and protect the health of others.  We can refund payments for this reason if you notify us that you are not able to attend the event for this reason prior to the day of the event.  Otherwise, refunds can only be given if requested before the registration deadline.

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.

The event coordinator for the Spring Gala, on behalf of the German Wine Society, is Carl Willner, Capital Chapter President and Secretary, and National Vice President and Secretary.  Please send any questions to Carl at carl.willner1@verizon.net .

We look forward to seeing you for our Spring Gala!        

If you no longer wish to receive notices for GWS events, please respond to this email with a request to unsubscribe. 

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

Asparagus Season (Spargelzeit) in Germany

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 (asparagus)!  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.  The Germans have 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.

Biographies of Musicians for Spring Gala                                  

Concert violinist Christine Kharazian began her career in Armenia, graduating from the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan, and playing in the Armenian National Opera Symphony and performing with the Sharakan Ensemble of Ancient and Medieval Music. Now based in the Washington, DC area, she has appeared at the Kennedy Center, Strathmore, Blues Alley, the United States Naval Observatory, as well as events for the German Wine Society. Her collaborations span a wide range of classical and contemporary genres, often blending music with theater and storytelling. In 2025, Christine released new music, including two original compositions: Valse Astolfi and Flamingo’s Dream.

Soprano Angela Mariano, of Sicilian descent, is originally from New Orleans, LA.  She is a graduate of the University of Maryland with a Doctor of Musical Arts, and has performed at various locations in the Washington, D.C. area, including with the Bel Cantanti Opera and at the Embassies of Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg.  Reviewers have praised her sweet, mature and beautifully nuanced performances.

Cellist Irina Ponomareva, born in Russia, is a graduate of the Rachmaninoff State Conservatory in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, and holds a postgraduate degree in chamber ensemble.  She is the recipient of First Prize awards in international chamber music competitions. For nearly a decade, she played in the Orchestra of the Rostov State Musical Theatre.  She is active as both a performer and educator in the Washington, DC area, and has appeared in other events of the German Wine Society.

Concert pianist Nina Willner was born in Ukraine, and is a graduate and former member of the faculty of the Rachmaninoff State Conservatory in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.  She performed with the Rostov Academic Symphony Orchestra and also worked with the musical theatre in Rostov-on-Don.  She is an accompanist in the dance department of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., and has worked with various performing groups at the Kennedy Center, as well as performing at the Embassies of Germany and Luxembourg and at German Wine Society events.

REGISTRATION FORM FOR GERMAN WINE SOCIETY SPRING GALA EVENT ON MAY 29, 2026 AT THE GERMAN EMBASSY

$195.00 Members / $205.00 Non-Member Guests for Dinner and Reception

$95.00 for Members / $105 for Non-Member Guests for Reception Only

Member(s) Names: _________________________________________________________________

Guest(s) Names: _____________________________________________________________________

Total Enclosed with Events Attending: ____________________________________________    

Daytime Phone Number: ____________________________________________________________

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