Fabulous Charity Event Last Evening Featuring German Wines

So last night at The Wine Country, we hosted a charity event for an organization called Su Casa, which helps victims of domestic violence seek shelter during crisis times. This is the third year in a row that we have hosted this event, which is a wine-tasting and party which helps raise money for the cause. I have never worked this event, until last night, when the theme was "A Tour of Germany," for which I put together the wines being poured.

Let me just say it was a huge success! And it contrasted so starkly, for me, with a German tasting I put on at the same location, The Wine Country, just a few weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon. That Saturday afternoon tasting was a tad dismal. I didn't post about it but I will mention it here - it was the Saturday during the Long Beach Grand Prix, and the event was advertised as "Great German Wines for Under $20" which may have had limited appeal, but at any rate, we had a poor showing of only about 30 some-odd folks and though the wines were great in my opinion, I didn't get a lot of oo's and ah's (except for the Spaetzle and sausages I made, which were practically inhaled by the group - that got a lot of positive feedback!)

I basically showed very similar wines last evening, and there were tons of oo's and ah's - people literally LOVED the wines! I sold out of a couple, including a 2006 Schlink Haus Dornfelder from the Nahe region, which is a semi-sweet, simple quaffer that is quite grapey and drinkable, perfect for a beginning wine drinker who has a taste for something pleasant and low in tannins. The second wine I sold out of was a 2006 Kerpen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett which showed great, delicious, complex and long. It had a nose of a slight bit of petrol intermingling with minerals and stone fruits, followed by a palate that had depth and character - awesome. Sold out. May need to get more. Ironically, this wine had not been selling itself, but last night, it showed its pedigree.

Other wines that showed very well and received a lot of praise included 2006 Becker Estate Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir) which people thoroughly enjoyed - it was showing great cherry fruit in the nose and a good amount of earth and berries on the palate. Sold a ton of this! Another surprisingly tasty wine was the under $10 2006 Rudi Wiest Rhein River Riesling which honestly I didn't expect too much from, but last night it was brilliantly balanced, with a great nose of honeysuckle and citrus, and a palate that was quite full-bodied for a Riesling at its level. I'm glad I nabbed the last few cases of 2006 from the importer!

Other stars were the 2006 Dr. L Riesling from the Loosen Bros., which performed well above its meager $12 price point, and the 2006 Hans Wirsching Estate Silvaner Dry which we were serving from the Bocksbeutel - the guests loved the onion-shaped bottle, and the wine within - the dry wine lovers gravitated toward this one.

All in all, the people who attended this function were fun and joyous, friendly and sincere. They seemed to love life and they did good to show it. I was happy to have our place of work imbued with their positive energy, their appreciative comments, and willingness to try new wines. Wow. What a breath of fresh air! We hope those folks who found us for the first time will return and visit us often, for they are just the kind of wine lovers we love.