2020 Meeting Notes

November 2020: Zoom Meeting - Fine Wines of Germany with Tami Wong

 

 A lifelong veteran of restaurants, Certified Sommelier Tami Wong was the second San Diegan to be chosen by Wine & Spirits Magazine as one of the six Best New Sommeliers in 2014. She is a founding member of Nat Diego, San Diego’s first natural wine festival. As a board member of and contributor to CampestreMAG, she shares her love of the San Diego and Baja wine community.

 

She serves as an Ambassador and member of the Education Committee for the San Diego County Vintners Association. Her “day job” finds her selling wine as a wholesale rep for Estate Wines Ltd, and Wine Wise. She is launching Stay Classy Selections this winter, the first wholesale distributor featuring San Diego County wines. 

 

Wines presented: 

  • • 2016 Bernhard Hackenheimer Kirchberg Silvaner Kabinett trocken - $13.50 
  • • 2018 Burg Ravensburg Weissburgunder – Sulzfeld - $18.50 
  • • 2016 BERCHER Chardonnay SE trocken - $50 
  • • 2013 CLAUS SCHNEIDER Weiler Grauer Burgunder CS - $27 
  • • 2017 Aldinger Fellbacher Trollinger Alte Reben - $20.50 
  • • 2018 Heitlinger Pinot Meunier - $19 
  • 2015 SCHLOSS ORTENBERG ein Pinot Noir “Granit” trocken - $25

February 2020: Reustle Vineyards - Stephen and Gloria Reustle

 

Are Oregon’s Umpqua Valley…better wines than their European Counterparts?

 

Every wine lover knows about the Willamette Valley and the great Pinot Noir made there. But, how much do you know about the Umpqua Valley, where wineries are much more diverse? Reustle-Prayer Rock Vineyards Owner/Winemaker and wine judge Stephen Reustle will present wines from the Umpqua Valley’s AVA and compare them with their European counterparts. Traveling from Rioja, to Burgundy, Northern Rhone Valley, and Austria would take a great deal of time and effort. But in the Umpqua Valley you can experience wines that rival wines these European prestigious wine regions.

 

Stephen will highlight some of the distinctives between Old-world and New-world wines. He will focus on 4 regions: Austria (Gruner Veltliner), Burgundy (Pinot Noir), Northern Rhone (Syrah), and Rioja (Tempranillo). 

 

We will start off with a glass of the Reustle-Prayer Rock Vineyards 2018 Matrix ($26), a blend of 6 white wine grapes that is always a crowd pleaser.  Next, we will pour four of his award-winning wines from the Umpqua Valley and taste them side-by-side with their more expensive and highly rated (90+) European counterparts.

 

Wines poured:

  • Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards - 2017 Grüner Veltliner ($26) -vs- Nikolaihof 2017 Grüner Veltliner - Wachau, Austria
  • Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards Pinot Noir 2017 ($36) -vs- Domaine Pierre Guillemot Savigny Aux Serpentieres 2017 Premiere Cru Cote de Beaune, Cote d'Or, Burgundy France
  • Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards - 2017 Syrah ($32) -vs- Saint Cosme 2017 Crozes-Hermitage (AOC) in the northern Rhône France
  • Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards - 2016 Tempranillo Reserve ($42) -vs- Coto De Imaz Grand Reserva Rioja Spain
  • The final wine will be the Reustle 2015 Rojo Dolce Lot #2, their Port style wine ($31)