The first weekend of November, I had the pleasure of volunteering at and attending the Annual American Wine Society Conference at Harrah’s in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  This was my first time attending this event, but I hope it won’t be my last.

My experience began a couple of weeks prior to the conference. I spent several Sundays at the warehouse of Tomasello Winery, entering the inventory being shipped from all over the world to New Jersey into a spreadsheet, so that other volunteers would be able to take the cases of wines to the appropriate rooms for the sessions.

There were four sessions every day, with six choices of classes for each session, beginning at 9 am and ending at 4:30 pm. That’s a lot of wine to taste and spit. And yes, I did spit! mostly. During some sessions, I volunteered by setting up six glasses for 75-100 people, pouring the wines we would be tasting, and then cleaning up after the sessions.

On Friday, I attended seminars on the Mosel Region in Germany, High Altitude Wines from New Mexico, 60 years of Winemaking in the Finger Lakes, and Extreme Winemaking in Canada. On Saturday, I attended Good Value Bordeaux from Petits Chateaux, Georgian Wines – the Cradle of Wine, Wines of Illyria, and You Be the Judge, where we learned how to judge the wines of amateur winemakers.

The wines from the Mosel Region in Germany were fantastic, as I expected them to be. The standout for me from that session was the 2017 Günther Steinmetz Dhroner Hofberg “GD” Riesling produced by wunderkind Stefan Steinmetz. This valley is actually not on the famously steep slopes along the Mosel River, but runs perpendicular to the river. The Romans originally planted vines in this valley. The abv was 13%, evidencing how warm the Dhroner Hofberg Valley gets in the cooler climate of Germany. Beautiful notes of petrol, apricot and citrus are joined with green apple and nice acidity on the palate. The wet stone finish goes on forever. I found it online for about $40.

The unexpected surprise in the High Altitude New Mexico session was a tasty 2019 Petite Verdot from Vivác Winery. Vivác (meaning high altitude refuge) Winery is located at about 6,000 feet altitude in Dixon, NM, one hour north of Sante Fe and 30 minutes south of Taos. The high altitude means lots of sun during the day, dropping quickly to much cooler temperatures overnight (creates nice acidity). The winery is owned by brothers Chris and Jesse Padberg and their wives, one of whom, Michele, led the class. She poured their 1725 Estate Vineyard Petit Verdot from 2017. Petit Verdot is generally used as a blending grape to add color and tannin, and can be a bit overwhelming on its own, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Aromas of bright cherries led to more cherries, resin, and firm tannins on the palate. I also enjoyed a still Pinot Meunier rosé from Gruet Winery, a name that should be familiar to you from their sparkling wines I frequently tout. I have not been able to obtain Gruet’s still wines outside of New Mexico, and I have never had a wine made solely from Pinot Meunier wine before (Pinot Meunier is often blended with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to make Champagne). You’ll have to shop on the wineries’ websites for these or visit New Mexico.

60 Years of Winemaking in the Finger Lakes was presented by Meaghan Frank, the current VP of Dr. Konstantine Frank Winery. Meaghan is the great-granddaughter of Dr. Konstantine Frank, who basically (re)started the winemaking industry in the Finger Lakes in 1962 (and founded the American Wine Society in 1967). Dr. Konstantine Frank immigrated from Odessa, Ukraine to the US in the 1950s, and applied cold weather vineyard management techniques he developed in Odessa to growing grapes in the Finger Lakes. The standout for me was their 2019 Saperavi, a red Georgian Varietal that does well in the Finger Lakes. Aromas of black cherry, plum, bramble and stone on the nose, with dark berry and grippy tannins on the palate. 13% ABV. About $30 online.

The surprise of the day for me were the delicious red wines being produced by Pellitteri Estates Winery in Niagra-on-the-Lake in Ontario, Canada. 11 miles (18 km) up river from Niagara Falls, these vineyards are protected by the Niagara Escarpment, a high shelf created in the last ice age (and the cliff overwhich Niagara River falls), and warmed by the lake, in order to obtain a degree of ripeness I didn’t expect from that far north. The presenter, Jared Goerz, married into the family, and now runs sales for the winery. He presented five Cabernet Franc wines: a sparkling rosé, a table wine quality level Cabernet Franc, a reserve Cabernet Franc (my favorite, the 2017 Exclamation Cellar Series), a Famiila Appasiamento Reserve Cabernet Franc, and the 2017 Reserve Cabernet Franc Icewine (which I called wine of the gods, it was that delicious). The 2017 Exclamation had notes of blackberry jam, mint, black pepper, and butter from the malolactic fermentation. On the palate, flavors of black cherry, blackberries, nice acidity and a round mouthfeel. The finish had more dark berries and chocolate. 13.5% ABV. $53 online. The Reserve Cabernet Franc Icewine runs $55 for a 500 ml bottle online.

Tune in next month for the wines from Saturday’s sessions! Happy Holidays!