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:

JUNE TASTING NOTES:

Sauvignon Blanc-June 21st, 2003

Entry Wine:
2002 Las Brisas (50% Sauvignon Blanc, 50% Verdejo), Spain $7
Tasting Wines:
1) 2002 Penascal, Spain $6
2) 2001 Pascal Jolivet Sancerre, France $20
3) 2001 Chateau St Michelle (88% Sauvignon
Blanc, 12% Semillon), Columbia Valley,
Washington State, U.S.A $11
4) 2001 Chateau St Michelle-Horse Heaven
Vineyard (94% Sauvignon Blanc, 6% Semillon),
Washington State, U.S.A $15 **
5) 2002 Villa Maria, Marlborough,
New Zealand (Private Bin) $15
6) 2002 Mulderbosch, Stellenbosch,
South Africa $20 *
7) 2001 Vineland, Niagara Peninsula,
Canada, $12
8) 2000 Morgan (71% Sauvignon Blanc,
14% Sauvignon Musque, 13.5% Semillon,
1.5% Pinot Gris, Monterey/Sonoma blend,
California, U.S.A. $17
9) 1999 Vina Errazuriz, Late Harvest,
Casablanca Valley, Chile $12/half ***

Favorites:
* Voted #1
** Voted #2
*** Voted #3

Cheeses:
Humboldt Fog, Cypress Grove, California,
Goat Cheese, $16.49/lb
Pepper Cheese

Food:
Cheese cake with the Late Harvest Wine

Program Notes:
John Habbersett explained that when Robert Mondavi first planted Sauvignon Blanc in California back in the 60's, the wine sold poorly. He came up with the idea of re-labeling the wine as Fume - Blanc, taking the word "Fume " from the French village Pouilly-Fume , famous for its Sauvignon Blancs. Sales improved dramatically! The name was not trademarked and is now used by several wineries. Since the availability of competitive Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand and South Africa the full grape name is now widely seen.

Wine styles can vary widely, oaked vs. non-oaked, dry vs. sweet, gooseberry fruit or tropical fruit depending on growing climate. In France the Loire valley is the source of Sauvignon Blancs from the villages Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume . In Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc is blended with Semillon to produce either dry wines or the sweet Sauternes.
Other countries growing the grape include Spain, Italy, Australia and Chile.

Committee:
John and Sue Habbersett, Ken and Eileen Beard, Lyn and Pat Buehlman, Ed and Carolyn Maruggi, Dave Spulick

Chapter Business:
" Ken Beard had purchased 1oz pourers. These worked well at the last tasting and will be used for future events. If all goes well we should see a reduction in the price of tastings as we will be pouring 23-25 people per bottle compared to 18-20 previously.
" Mailing Dues!! This is the time of year when we ask for an annual $5/household to cover the cost of the local AWS mailings. We ask for money in this way as it is a more equitable means of spreading the cost of the mailings over all the membership rather than just adding the cost onto the tastings. Details of how to pay the $5 are included on a separate flier. This amount will cover mailings for the next 12 months. Please be prompt with your payment.
" Dave Spulick recommends the web-site
http://eat.epicurious.com/drink/ewq/index.ssf?/drink/wine/ewq/ewq.html, for a great selection of recipes and many articles on wine.

" If anyone has cases of our tasting glasses please be sure to bring them to the next tasting or contact a member of the committee if you are not able to bring them.

" Tastings for Next Season-remember the November meeting is when we agree on tastings for the next season. A number of suggestions have been received but we still need several more. Please give your ideas to the Hickey's or me (Brian Thomas). Themes so far received include, An Evening in Provence (food and wine), Bordeaux 2000 Cru Bourgois vs. 1999 Cru Classe, Alsace, Zinfandel ranges from two top producers. Chairs for these need to be confirmed.

IN THE NEWS

" The venerable Hermann J. Wiemer winery on Seneca Lake (pronounced "Veemer") has recently enjoyed two successes. Not only did its 2002 Dry Riesling Reserve receive the Governor's Cup for the best NY wine tasted at the conference, but also was named Winery of the Year based on the number of medals received. Both awards were presented at the recent NY Wine and Food Classic that was held in California. The award-winning Riesling was made from a plot of 30 year old vines. Wiemer believes his old vines are less susceptible to the atypical aging phenomenon that has plagued many Finger Lakes wines in the last few years.

" Resveratrol, the component of red grape skins which hit the headlines a few years back on account of its reputed beneficial effects in reducing the risk of heart attacks, is back in the news again. A scientist from Harvard, Dr Sinclair, has reported that reveratrol can trigger an ancient survival mechanism. The experiments on yeast cells showed a 70% improvement in lifetime. Despite the years of testing ahead to prove that resveratrol has any effect
in people, many of the scientists involved in the research have already started drinking red wine..

"One glass of red wine a day is a good recommendation. That's what I do
now," Dr. Sinclair said, adding he hoped the finding would not lead people to drink in excess. "One glass of wine is enough," he said. However, resveratrol is unstable on exposure to the air and "goes off within a day of popping the cork," he said.

Red wines from cooler climates, such as NY State, Bordeaux and Burgundy, have been shown to contain the highest levels of resveratrol.

UPCOMING TASTINGS:

October 18th: A Study in Tannins (Peter Frisch)

November 22nd: The Many Faces of Grenache (Hank and Cindy Jankowski)