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American Wine Society/Central Jersey Chapter

 

Wine Tastings - Spring 2008

UPDATED

Thursday February 28 - Old World vs. New World Wines with Michael Schaefer
Thursday March 13 - Terroir Wines with Dr Gary Pavlis
Thursday April 17 - Food-friendly Wines with David Rosengarten

These tastings are held from 7:00 to 10 p.m. in the seminar room in the Headlee Mosquito Lab and cost $25 per person. The Headlee Lab is located behind the grassy field on 180 Jones Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. For directions to Headlee, click here. If you haven't been to Headlee before, please look at a map. If you get lost on your way (really easy to do), call 732/921-0131 for help.


Cook Campus Center AWS (American Wine Society - Central Jersey Chapter) Tastings

Friday February 15: Australian Wines
Friday March 28: The Other Australian Wines
Friday April 11: South African Wines
Friday May 2: Sparkling Wines

Cook Campus Center AWS tastings are held from 7:00 - 9:30 p.m. in the Rutgers University Cook Campus Center, MPR C, 59 Biel Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901.

For directions to Cook, click here.These tastings cost $15 per person.

 

Wine Retailers

 







Township Liquor and Wine, Piscataway, NJ

Visit Brian Hammill on Stelton Road in Piscataway, New Jersey, and tell him I sent you.

Brian knows his stuff, is as enthusiastic as I am about wine, and he'll find you a good bottle in any price range!


 

Wine Education & Events

 

The Wine School of Philadelphia...and my good friend Keith Wallace. Great place to learn about wine in a relaxed atmosphere. Keith and his staff are serious about wine, just not too serious about themselves. They offer Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced Wine classes, as well as individual classes about wine regions, varietals, and wine and food pairings.



USA Winery Index


The American Wine Society


The Culinary Institute of America, Rudd Wine Center


The Wine Web


Free the Grapes!


The Essex County, New Jersey, Wine Society

 

Restaurants

 








MC Perkins Cove Restaurant, Ogunquit, Maine















Arrows Restaurant, Ogunquit, Maine

Arrows rated 14th best Restaurant in USA by Gourmet magazine


Full Disclosure: Arrows and MC-Perkins Cove are owned and operated by my cousin Mark Gaier, and his co-chef/partner/co-owner Clark Frasier. If you are lucky enough to dine at either restaurant, you'll know it's not just family loyalty going on here.

Mark and I grew up eating Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and drinking RC Cola for lunch when we sneaked out of St. Mary's Grade School to Copsey's Carry Out in Piqua, Ohio. We've both come a long way...

 

Wine Publications

 

Click on the image to go to each website.


Decanter is a British magazine that's a little snotty at times, and many of the articles are written by Masters of Wine, so it's not always a good fit for wine novices.

They also tend to ignore the "vinous offerings" (wines) of a lot of us "colonials" (American wineries).

There are some good articles in here, though, and some insights you won't get from the Yankee rags. Michael Broadbent is always fun to read, and Steven Spurrier, the guy who held the "Judgment of Paris" tasting in 1976, also has a column.

I subscribe.












Wine Enthusiast often seems more like a vehicle for promoting its "wine paraphernalia" business of the same name.

Thing is, the gear is pretty good - I've bought more than my share - and the really good thing is that wine paraphernalia is legal, unlike pipes and bongs!

I find the writing and photography a level below Wine Spectator but hey, they just did a nice article on my old Chicago haunt "Pops for Champagne." So I gotta give 'em their props. I really don't talk like this, by the way.

I don't subscribe, and frankly they ought to give me a free subscription for all the stuff I've bought, including the cooling unit for my wine cellar.











Your basic "high-end" American wine magazine.

Wine Spectator is a little full of itself at times, but never dull, and the long features are often really fun and fascinating.

Good emphasis on food here, too, which'll give you some good ideas for entertaining, and the photography is excellent.

I don't subscribe, but only because my friend Brian Hammill of Township Wine and Liquor gives me free copies.











Wines & Vines is an excellent magazine, but it's really for people in the wine business, or interested in it. Serious wine novices will find articles about the techniques and challenges of winemaking that they'll enjoy.

I subscribe and heartily recommend this publication if you want to learn more about how wine gets into the botle as opposed to what you smell and taste in the glass.











Do it yourself-ers will find a home at Wine Maker.

This is a fun magazine that focuses on making wine at home, which seems to be increasingly popular. There's a bit of wine science and microbiology, articles on topics such as making your own labels, blending tips, and wine competitions.













Vineyard & Winery Management is another wine trade publication that serious wine novices might find interesting.

This pub seems to specialize in wine PR, marketing, and the ins-and-outs of dealing with the myriad of regulations that wineries face today.

I subscribed for three years and found it worthwhile.