Last month (and last year, now), I wrote about Friday’s sessions at the Annual American Wine Society Conference I attended in November in Atlantic City. This month, I’m writing about Saturday’s sessions.Saturday’s sessions began with Good Value Bordeaux from Petits Chateaux, presented by Annette Schiller, who runs Ombiasy PR and Wine Tours in Bordeaux. This class was a teeth-stainer! Annette presented six red wines, three costing around $12-15 (they would cost only about 3-4 Euro in a French Supermarket) and three costing around $25. I found these to be a tremendous value for the money.

 My favorite of the “cheap” group was a 2018 Chateau Marjosse rouge, from Entre-Deux-Mers in Bordeaux. The winery is owned by Pierre Lurton. The Lurton family is the “first family of Bordeaux,” with many family members owning wineries in the region. You may be familiar with two other wineries that Pierre Lurton owns:  Chateau d’Yquem, which produces the famous Sauternes wine, and Chateau Cheval Blanc, a premiere grand cru classé “A” in St. Emilion. The 2018 Marjosse is a blend of 79% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Malbec. It had the typical “Bordeaux” nose, with aromas of cassis, baking spices, and earthiness, with red currants and supple tannins on the palate. The finish was quite long for this price point. Available online for $13-15.

My favorite of the “pricier” group was Chateau Montdesir, from Blaye-Cote de Bourdeaux on the right bank of the Gironde. Comprised of 100% Merlot, this wine was very elegant/pretty. The winery is owned by Marc Pasquet and his wife Laurence, who organically farm and densely plant the vines to make them struggle. The wine is fermented in concrete vats and aged in oak (only one-third new oak) for at least two years. Wines can be obtained online from several sites that ship to NJ for about $23.

The second session on Saturday was “Georgian Wines – the Cradle of Wine” presented by Paul Wagner, who teaches at Napa Valley College. If you ever have the opportunity to take a class with him, I highly recommend it. Georgia sits between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, literally at the crossroads of civilization. Evidence of winemaking in Georgia dates back 8,000 years, as determined by tartaric acid in carbon-dated vessels. I learned that “symposium” translated from Greek means “the place where we drink and discuss things.”

My favorite from this session was a 2019 Teliani Valley Kindzmarauli, fermented in Qvevri, which are large concrete vats underground. This red wine was off-dry, well-balanced, cherry pie in liquid form, which would pair well with barbecue or chocolate. After attending this session, Georgia was placed on my travel bucket list. Wines can be obtained online from georgianwinehouse.com or in person in Pennsylvania Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores in Northeast Philadelphia.

The third session on Saturday was Wines of Illyria, presented by Indira Bayer, who you may remember did a virtual wine tasting for us last February. My favorite wine that she imports continues to be Blatina produced by Carski Winery in Bosnia-Herzegovina. She poured their 2016 Emporia Blatina, a reserve blend of 85% Blatina, 10% Vranac, and 5% Alicante Bouschet. On the nose, dried cherry, savory herbs, earthiness, dried flowers, some smoke. On the palate, plum, cherry, and savory herbs. Nice tannins and acidity balance each other well. Available locally from Liquor Loft in Mt. Holly for about $18 a bottle or even cheaper in Pennsylvania Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores.

After dinner each day, the wines that had been opened during the sessions, but not finished, were set out for us to enjoy and actually drink (not spit out). It was an exhausting but exhilarating two days, learning about things I love. Next years’ conference is in Seattle, Washington, and I hope to go. Cheers!