A note from Alan...

Hello Grape Nuts,

We had a fun and educational gathering for September. If you are interested, our top three favorites were a 2009 Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand (Yokes, $9), a 2009 Rayun Sauvignon Blanc from Chile (Rocket Market, $9.99), and a 2010 Mohua Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand (Huckleberry's, ~$12). And as a reminder that a higher price tag doesn't necessarily mean a better wine, our 4th, 5th and 6th choices were all more expensive than our top three!

We are keeping with the third Friday date, so our next meeting will be on Friday, October 21st at 7pm. Stacy and Mark K. have graciously volunteered their home (Stacy, please let us know where you are and how to get there). Anyone on the north side who wants to car pool, please let me know.

We decided October's varietal will be Pinot Noir. Please remember to reply to all to let us know what you will be bringing so we don't duplicate (and the same for the appetizer you are bringing).  See you all on the 21st!

And previously from Alan:

Thanks for signing up for our fun and informative group! Whether you know a lot or a little about wine you will enjoy our get-togethers!

We usually meet the third Friday of every month at someone's home - the host(ess) simply provides the venue and some eating utensils (paper plates, plastic wear and napkins is fine). We sample one varietal every month so that we are comparing the same wine from different vintners. Each person or couple attending (please feel free to bring your active duty spouse!) brings a bottle of the varietal we are sampling that month and an hors d'oeuvre to share (not too spicy - we want to focus on the wine). We each fill out a card for the wine we brought noting the vintner, name of the wine and year on the outside of the card, and where we purchased it and how much we paid on the inside of the card. After sampling and discussing all the wines we vote to rank what we have sampled, then we reveal the prices and where you can purchase it.

For those of you who are new to this, or new to the area, there are lots of options for purchasing wines - you can try the Class Six; most of the supermarkets (Yokes, Albertson's, Rosauers) have a decent selection; or you can go to a specialty wine shop. Spend as much or as little as you like - I'll tell you that I can't remember a time when the most expensive wine was voted most popular and in fact the least expensive wins quite often.

We have 28 names on the list this year, which is great! I would suggest throwing a lawn chair in your car and bringing a sweater or light jacket so we can move into the back yard if the crowd get's too big for the house - now there's a problem I'd love to have for Wine Education Club!

I look forward to seeing all the regulars and meeting all the new people who have signed up.

Alan