Essex County Wine Society

September 2007

WINE PRESS

ESSEX COUNTY WINE SOCIETY

August 30, 2007

Dear Fellow Wine Society Members and Fellow Wine Lovers:

The Essex County Wine Society is now in its 35th year. As we indicated in our Early Summer 2007 letter our schedule is somewhat tentative based on the arrival of some of our wines for the tastings but our dates are firm. The current plan is as follows:

September 23, 2007 Fall Dinner

October 11, 2007  2005 White Burgundy (Salthouse)

November 8, 2007  2001 Brunello di Montalcino (Waga)

December 6, 2007  Southwest France (Sibley)

January 3, 2008  2005 California Cabernet (Brady)

February 7, 2008  2005 Bordeaux (Schwarz)

March 6, 2008  2005 Red Burgundy (Menaker)

April 3, 2008   Vintage Burgundy (Steinberg)

May 4, 2008  35^th Anniversary Spring Dinner

Our first event is our Fall dinner which will be at The Strip House in Livingston in the Hotel Westminster.

We decided, as a change of pace, we should partake in the steakhouse phenomenon. Whether New York or New Jersey, the expansion of this subset of eateries as been fantastic. In New Jersey in 2001 there were under 24 of these restaurants and by 2006, five years later, the number has increased by over 50% to at least 36 steak venues. As the reviewer in the New York Times said in October 2006 “These are good times for cardiologists, bad times for cattle, the steakhouse reigns anew.”

We chose The Strip House since as the current Zagat says it is the “Livingston brother of Penny and Peter Glazier’s New York City original for meat of the melt in your mouth variety.”

Because of its success at the Spring Dinner 2007 we will have a reprise of the Duval-Leroy non-vintage Champagne to accompany the hors d’oeuvres.  The Wine Spectator rated this wine at 93 and selected it for its 100 best wines of 2006 (#41).  It is balanced, full bodied with “graphite, toast, lemon, and nut flavors”  (Wine Spectator).

The first course will be corn and crab chowder for which the restaurant is known. It will be served with a white wine which will be the always reliable Beringer Private Reserve Chardonnay (2005) rated 93 by the Wine Advocate (Parker) and 92 by the Wine Spectator.  It is described as “big [with] good acidity, beautiful richness, and a vibrant, long finish” (Wine Advocate #168 Dec. 2006).

We will then serve filet mignon, a specialty of the house, with black truffle cream spinach and herb French fries, followed by a salad course. If anyone prefers not to eat red meat, we can arrange for an alternative. The two red wines with these courses will be from the ECWS cellar.  One is from France and the other from Spain.  The French wine, 1997 Tardieu-Laurent Hermitage is a huge wine with a “blockbuster finish” (Parker) and is “dense . . . unctuous, and pure” (Parker rating 94-96 Wine Advocate #121 Feb 1999). From the newly revived area of Priorat in Spain we will have the 1998 Mas Igneus 112 described as “powerful yet elegant (Wine Spectator rating 92) having “pure, sweet flavors” (Parker Wine Advocate #145 Feb 2003).

We will finish with  peach melba crepe. To accompany the dessert course we will also have another wine from our cellar – the 1988 Chateau Guiraud – Sauternes.  The Wine Spectator calls it “elegant and well-made [with] nutmeg, clove and thyme flavors”.

If you wish to sit with particular members at the dinner, please indicate the names on the attached response form and we will do our best to accommodate you. Please respond by Friday September 14, 2007.

If you need directions to the restaurant, please call the restaurant or check their website at www.glaziergroup.com and link to The Strip House at Hotel Westminster.  Parking is available on site.

Please also get your 2007/2008 dues checks ($75.00) in the mail, even if you cannot join us at the Fall Dinner. We would like to get an indication as early as possible as to how many openings we will have for new members for the coming year.

We look forward to seeing all of you on September 23. 

Details of the Fall Dinner are as follows:                                          

                                              Date:                     Sunday, September 23, 2007

                                              Reception:             5:00 p.m. 

                                              Dinner:                  6:00 p.m.

                                              Attire:                    Smart casual

                                              Location:               The Strip House

                                              Address:                Hotel Westminster

                                                                            550 West Mt. Pleasant Avenue

                                                                            Livingston, NJ 07039 

                                              Telephone:            1-973-548 0040

                                              Cost:                       $105.00 members

                                                                             $120.00 non-members &  guests

 In vino veritas and a votre sante,

 Bob & Howard

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