2003 Officers (till February 2004)
Presidents: Tom & Linda Hickey (585) 544-2479
Secretary: Brian Thomas (585) 264-0079
Treasurers: Richard & Pamela Hemmenway (585) 392-0046

Librarian: Tim Jacobs (585) 425-3279
Quartermaster:

FEBRUARY TASTING NOTES:

St Emilion/Pomerol-February 15th, 2003

Entry Wine:
2000 Ch. Peyraud (Cote de Blaye) $8
Tasting Wines:
1) 1998 Ch. Cote de Baleau (St Emilion) $18
2) 1999 Ch. Faugeres (St Emilion) $17.50
3) 1998 Ch. Chauvin (St Emilion) $22 3
4) 1998 Ch. Grand Pontet (St Emilion) $26 ***1
5) 1985 Domaine de la Gaffeliere (St Emilion) $25
6) 1998 Ch. Borgueneuf (Pomerol) $25
7) 1997 Ch. Le Bon Pasteur (Pomerol) $35 *2
8) 1995 Ch. La Fleur Petrus (Pomerol) $ 70**

Favorites Before Prices: Favorites After Prices:
* Voted #1 1 Voted #1
** Voted #2 2 Voted #2
*** Voted #3 3 Voted #3

Cheese:
Grafton Cheddar (Vermont)
Petit Basque (SW France)

Program Notes:
Tone Kelly showed overhead transparencies indicating the location of the St Emilion and Pomerol districts. These represent the largest and smallest wine growing regions within Bordeaux, and are commonly referred to as "right bank " due to their location relative to the Gironde River. Wine growing in St Emilion dates back to Roman times. Soil here and in Pomerol is varied but has a much higher clay content than is typical on the left bank (Medoc). This type of soil favors the merlot and cabernet franc grapes which dominate in the wines. The classification system is St Emilion differs from the 1855 system used in the Medoc; there are 13 premier grand crus with 2 in an upper class, and numerous grand crus. The Pomerol wines are not classified.

Wine 5 was served blind, and we were asked to guess the age. Joe Moore kindly provided wine 8 from his collection.

Committee:
Sam and Marissa Andolino, Jim and Rae Burchfiel
Tone Kelly, Jan Klapetzky, Joe Moore, Steve Pettis,
Dave Spulick.

Chapter Business:
" A vote was taken on Dave Spulick's proposal to increase the church payment from $66/tasting to $75/tasting in order to help the church's financial position. The proposal was accepted.
" Due to potential conflicts with Easter activities, the April (Rhone) tasting has been moved from April 19th to April 5th.
" A "crossover" meeting was held at the home of Tom and Linda Hickey to officially transfer administrative duties to the new chapter officials. In attendance were outgoing officers Ken and Eileen Beard, Steve Lerch and Lena Rose, and incoming officers Richard and Pamela Hemmenway, and Brian Thomas. After the completion of business we enjoyed some excellent food and wines.

IN THE NEWS

" A new red-wine grape, named "Abundance", was announced at the recent Viticulture 2003 trade show. Developed at the Geneva experimental station after 50 years of research, the grape, a crossing of Buffalo and Baco Noir varietals, is predicted to yield wines of deep color, moderate acidity and a cherry-berry flavor.

" In contrast to the burgeoning NY wine industry, Decanter magazine reports that California's wine industry is in the midst of the worst wine slump for 10 years and as many as 200 wineries may go out of business. After a decade of unprecedented growth, which saw California wineries increase by 50%, the industry is facing threats from the moribund economy, overproduction of grapes, and cheap imports.

" In a recent tasting of the excellent 2001 German vintage Pierre-Antoine Rovani, writing in Parker's "Wine Advocate", noted that around 15% of the wines were corked!! Rovanni thought that the pure, clear flavors of German wine permit an increased sensitivity to corkyness at levels which might be masked in other wines. On a recent visit to Dr Frank's Vinifera winery I (BT) learned that they too are unhappy with the general quality of corks. In future they will bottle all but the most prestigious wines with synthetic closures. A higher quality cork will be selected for the premium wines.

UPCOMING TASTINGS:

April 5 (NOTE CHANGE)- Rhone Wines
May 17 - Food and Wine

A list of the 2003/early 2004 tastings is included. A few of the events still need additional committee members. If you are interested in signing up please contact the tasting chairperson. New members are particularly encouraged to sign up as this is a great way to learn what's behind the tastings we organize every month.

It's not to early too think of ideas for next year, so let the chapter officers know if you have a theme you would like to present.

IN MEMORIAM

Al Christy

Many of you will have read the obituary notice in the D&C for Al Cristy who passed away on January 31st, 2003. Al was one of the first members of the Rochester Chapter, and served as National Vice-President in 1979/80. Together with his charming wife Julie he also served as the local Chapter Chairperson. Angel Nardone notes that in the early days, when the chapter was small, tastings often took place around the pool at the Cristy house. Al enjoyed both making wine and growing grapes. I particularly remember his skill in BBQ'ing during an AWS summer picnic at the McGregor winery in 1990.

Al will be missed by the many friends he had in the AWS. A memorial service is planned for the Spring.