Ron Kapon
230 West 79th Street
Suite 42N
New York, NY 10024

For more information, call:

Ron Kapon 212-799-6311 Ron@tastersguildny.com

or

Vivian Tramontana 212-501-7823 viviantgny@aol.com

Remember – A Gift Certificate for a Tasters Guild membership or to a tasting is a memorable holiday gift-all year 'round.



Fall Preview! It’s a Dominican Thing
Date: Sunday September 21, 2008
Location: It’s a Dominican Thing, 144 west 19 St (6th & 7th Ave)
Time: 5:00 PM

Timeout NY said: “At this candlelit, brick-walled 26-seater, stylish types dig into chef Eva Martinez’s hearty Dominican home cooking. Conch, cassava and plantains are spotlighted in soups, stews and lopsided fritters. A mixed-appetizer platter presents various pastelitos (meat turnovers) and croquettes, among them an especially delicious one made with codfish. Regulars crave Martinez’s shrimp with coconut-tomato sauce, served in a casserole dish, is indeed a Dominican thing” Black Angus steak with peppers and onions is delicious. The house salad, the warmed tomatoes with goat cheese and the bread pudding are wonderful as well. Join us for an authentic Dominican dinner with Argentinean, Chilean and Italian wine to match.

TastersGuild/NY It’s a Dominican Thing Wine Dinner September 21, 2008 Reception: Lunetta Italian Prosecco
Sampler Platter (A Bit of Everything)		Pasteles en hoja/ mixed plantains & roots Pattie stuffed with pork Alitas de amor /Wings of love Bollitos de yuca/ cassava roll Torrejas de bacalao/cod fish fritters Empanadas/stuffed chicken or beef pastries Kipes/ground beef & wheat roll Queso frito / fried Dominican cheese Croquetas de platano maduro / sweet plantain & beef croquettes Salentein Reserve Malbec from Argentina and/or MontGras Sauvignon Blanc Reserva from Chile
Salad		Ensalada de la casa/House salad (cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, onions, vinaigrette dressing) And Drunken Tomatoes - Seasoned tomatoes with goat cheese
Entrées (choice of):		Angus steak with sautéed onions and peppers Santa Rita Pehuen Carmenere from Chile Or Shrimp in coconut sauce Santa Rita Floresta Sauvignon Blanc from Chile
Dessert: (choice of)		Bread Pudding (served warm with coconut, Grand Marnier sauce) Petalo, Il Vino dell’Amore
Coffee or Ginger Tea

Members: $80.00
Associate Members $95.00



TastersGuildNY The Evolution of Sake from Basic to Super Premium
Date: Tuesday September 23, 2008
Location: Estonian House, 243 East 34st (2nd/3rd)
Time: 6:30 PM

Speaker: Monica Samuels, Sake Ambassador, Southern Wine & Spirits

Sake is one of the fastest growing segments in the wine market, fueled by the increase in popularity of Asian, and particularly Japanese cuisine. NY's finer wine shops carry a plethora of small production Sakes, while top Asian restaurants, like Bond Street, Megu and Maturi carry a complete line of Sakes. What is less expected is that some of NY's best non-Japanese restaurants are jumping on the Sake bandwagon. Chanterelle offers a wide variety of Sake and matches Sake to at least one course on their famed tasting menu. Dating from the dawn of history, the art of brewing Sake has been a Japanese tradition. Americans are beginning to realize what the Japanese have known all these years, that Sake is a wonderful beverage, either by itself or with food.

This tasting presents the opportunity to experience great Sakes in varying styles and learn about the brewing of Sake from Monica Samuels, who studied different styles of Sake brewing in her native Japan. Monica was trained in Tokyo by John Gauntner, the world's leading Sake educator. Prior to joining Southern Wine and Spirits Monica worked as a sommelier for Sushi Samba's six locations.

Members: $55.00
Associate Members $65.00



1985 Bordeaux
Date: Thursday October 2, 2008
Location: White Wood House, 203 East 29th St (2nd /3rd)
Time: 6:30 PM

Speaker: Harriet Lembeck, President Wine & Spirits Program, Wine Educator

Michael Broadbent said that the 1985 vintage “seems to encapsulate all that is good about Bordeaux, the wine, the city; its weight, its balance, its character. It is certainly my favorite vintage of this splendid decade typifying claret at its best”.

Join us in tasting 12 superb wines including Mouton Rothschild, Latour, Cheval Blanc, Margaux, Gruaud Larose, Leoville Poyferre and more.

Members: $240.00 Limited to 19 attendees
Non-Members: $255.00



TastersGuildNY Wine Tour of Spain
Date: Tuesday October 14, 2008
Location: Estonian House, 243 East 34st (2nd/3rd)
Time: 6:30 PM

Speaker: Joe Tacca, Shaw-Ross International Importers, Regional Manager New York State

Join us for a tour of the wine regions of Spain . We will start on the Mediterranean coast with a sparkling Cava from Catalonia . We then proceed West through the Mesata (Tabletop) area to Castilla and taste 5 wines from Don Simon. Continuing our journey through the Ebro River Valley region to Rioja and the wines of Marques de Riscal. We will taste 6 wines including their Reserva, Gran Reserva and Riscal wines from the emerging Toro and Rueda regions. We then turn South to the Andelucia region for 2 very rare Sherries from Sanchez Romate. We end our journey with Real Sangria . We will taste 15 wines in all.

Members: $55.00
Non-Members: $65.00



“Wines of the Columbia Gorge”
Date: Tuesday November 11, 2008
Location: Estonian House, 243 East 34st (2nd/3rd)
Time: 6:30 PM

Speaker: Robert Morus, President Phelps Creek Vineyards, President of the Columbia Gorge Winegrowers Association

The Columbia River Gorge in Oregon and Washington is home to over 30 wineries and vineyards. Climate and terrain range from conditions found in Germany, France’s Burgundy and northern Rhone Valley and Italy's northwest Piedmont. From the cool, western end of the Gorge come delicate Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays; moving eastward, warmer-weather grapes such as Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernets and Gewurztraminer share the spotlight. Our Speaker, Robert Morus, is President of the Columbia Gorge Wine Growers Association and is the founder and President of Phelps Creek Vineyard, a Hood River Oregon boutique winery focusing on Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminers. We will taste 12 wines from Phelps Creek, Maryhill, Syncline, and The Pines. The tasting will showcase the broad diversity of growing conditions within the Columbia Gorge Wine District.

Join us for a tasting of fabulous wines from the Columbia Gorge.

Members: $55.00
Associate Members $65.00



Exploring Red Grape Varieties from Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
Date: Tuesday December 2, 2008
Location: Estonian House, 243 East 34st (2nd/3rd)
Time: 6:30 PM

Speaker George A. Foote, National Wine Educator, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates

Founded in 1934, Ste. Michelle Winery pioneered grape growing in Washington State. Ste. Michelle Wine Estates was formally established in 1986 but some of the wineries have a history dating back to just after the repeal of prohibition. Ste. Michelle Wine Estates produces and markets a broad portfolio of premium wines from vineyards around the world with more than 4,200 acres of vineyards in Washington, Oregon and California. In addition to Chateau Ste. Michelle, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates today includes: Columbia Crest, Domaine Ste. Michelle, Snoqualmie, Col Solare, Northstar, Spring Valley Vineyards, Erath, Conn Creek and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. They are also the importers of the wines of Antinori. The company has quickly grown to rank among the top ten premium wine companies in America and sells more than 30 million bottles of wine annually. The Wine Advocate said,” Chateau St Michelle , Washington's largest winery, continues to demonstrate that being big is not incompatible with high quality.” Join us in tasting 12 of the fabulous portfolio of red wines from Ste Michelle Wine Estates. Grape varieties include: Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Members: $55.00
Non-Members: $65.00



A Vertical Tasting of Château Gruaud-Larose: The King of Wines The Wine of Kings
Date: Tuesday December 9, 2008
Location: White Wood House, 203 East 29th St (2nd /3rd)
Time: 6:30 PM

Speaker: Harriet Lembeck, President Wine & Spirits Program, Wine Educator

Château Gruaud-Larose is one of the most continuously successful wines produced in Bordeaux. Its’ large production has a quality that is consistently very high, regardless of vintage. The wine is one of St-Julien`s most full-bodied and long-lived wines with lots of fruit when young. The wine ages very well and tends to be smoother and more elegant with all the characteristics of a great Bordeaux. As a Second Growth, Cru Classé property, Château Gruaud-Larose has often been described as a super-second, placing it in with the group of Deuxième Cru Classé properties that challenge the elite Premier Cru Classé estates for supremacy in Bordeaux. Join us in an extraordinary vertical tasting of 13 wines including 1961, 1966, 1975, 1978, 1983, 1985, 1988,1989, 1990, and more.

Members: $199.00 Limited to 19 attendees
Non-Members: $215.00



WEB SERVICES Please visit our web site at www.tastersguildny.com. The site contains up-to-the-minute information, reviews, recipes, wine information and links to numerous wine and food web sites. Tasters Guild NY also maintains a BYOB list of wine friendly restaurants in the NY Metro area that allow you to bring your own bottle with no (or little) corkage charge on our web site. In order to keep the list current, we ask that you please review it and let us know if we should add or delete any restaurants. If you do not have web access, please call Vivian (212-501-7823) for a copy of the list.

TASTERS GUILD/NY
c/o Vivian Tramontana
108 West 78 Street, Suite 3
New York New York 10024

Address Service Requested

To expedite receipt of the schedule and in order to be notified of special events, please provide Vivian with your email address