BARBARA PROSSER MEMORIAL DINNER

                        ESSEX COUNTY WINE SOCIETY

                                 Sunday, June 10, 2007

                                   Osteria Giotto Restaurant

                                    21-23 Midland Avenue

                               Montclair, New Jersey 07042

                                                         973 746 0111

Dear Fellow Members:

Upon her death now over a year ago, long-term member, Barbara Prosser, bequeathed to the society a number of bottles of wine which were chosen for us by her sister, Beth Coulter.  We have planned a dinner at which we will drink these wines in her honor and we will donate some of the proceeds from the dinner to The University of Delaware, College of Marine Studies to support student research.  Barbara had asked that any donations after her death be directed in this manner.

Barbara LaTourette Prosser was born and raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  She graduated from Beaver College (now Arcadia University) and received a graduate degree in Marine Biology from the University of Delaware.  She was employed by several pharmaceutical firms, most recently with Pfizer in New York City. Aside from her enjoyment of wine and food, Barbara spent vacations sailing, skiing in the American West, and summering in Nantucket and the California Wine Country.

Barbara will be remembered by the society for her charm and quirky sense of humor and her strong and outspoken preference for red wines (over white wines) although on occasion she was seen enjoying the white wines from Montrachet and Chateau d’Yquem.

The California wines we will enjoy are the great and highly rated (mid-90s by Parker and the Wine Spectator) 1994 and 1997 Phelps Insignia, the 1994 Opus One, and the 1997 Dominus.  Barbara had a special preference for the well-oaked Silver Oak Alexander Valley and often stood in long lines to obtain these wines.  We will taste the 1992 and 1993.  From France we will have the 1990 Ducru Beaucaillou, the 1995, 1996 and 1998 Leoville-Barton, and the 1998 Leoville-Las Cases.  A wine which is also represented in the Essex County Wine Society wine cellar, the very highly regarded 2000 Lynch Bages, will also be served.

We will serve 33 bottles of wine and plan to limit the dinner attendees to 40.  Each table of 4-6 will have several bottles of wine from a ranked list of top level to lower level rated wines.  As the dinner progresses (see more below), one may go from table to table tasting wines as one may choose.

Osteria Giotto has been a local Montclair favorite and is owned by chef/partners Robert Pantusa and Luca Valerin who worked together at a Michelin-starred restaurant, San Dominico in Imola, Italy (Bologna).  Since it opened, making a reservation at Giotto on Friday or Saturday evening has required a 2-3 week lead time. Osteria Giotto has planned a menu to go with the wines and, in keeping with our format for the evening the presentation will be informal – more family style.  They plan an antipasto misto, followed by two different pasta dishes.  We will then have a mixed grill (to go with the big red wines) of lamb, rib-eye steak and a chef-created sausage served with appropriate vegetables.  We will finish with a cheese course/salad and as dessert, sorbets, fruit, and biscotti.  We hope to have a white wine aperitif and a sweet dessert wine. I hope Barbara will forgive us for the white wines.

The cost will be $50 for each attendee for the dinner and an additional $25 for each attendee as a donation to the College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware.  We would ask that these should be separate checks.  The latter check should be tax-deductible. 

Aperitif  5:00 pm

Dinner    6:00 pm

In vino veritas and a votre sante

Bob and Howard