AWS News Promoting Appreciation of Wine Through Education Volume 32, No. 6 www.americanwinesociety.org December 2018 In This Issue 2018 Awards This year, our Award of Merit recipient is Paul Wagner. “Paul Amateur Winemaking Awards 5,10 has been a great friend not only to our organization, but also to the AWS Educational Foundation 15 wine industry,” said David Falchek. “Working in the background as a Chapter Events 12 marketing professional and an edu- cator, Paul has influenced the way Government Affairs 6 the public drinks wine and thinks Member Service News 3 about wine. His passion and work has aligned with the AWS mission to National Conference Wrap Up 4 promote wine appreciation through education.” National Tasting Project 2018 7,8 Wagner recently retired from running Balzac Communica- National Tasting Project 2019 4 tions, but continues to teach about wine—in Barcelona at the WinTour Wine Tourism MBA program, leading AWS wine New Wine Judges 5 cruises, presenting at AWS conferences, teaching at Napa Valley College, joining the U.S. tour of the Union des Grands Outstanding RVP & Chapter Chair 2 Crus de Bordeaux, giving the keynote address at the Van- couver International Wine Festival, judging the California The Truth About False Wine 9 State Fair Wine Competition, and lecturing at Fresno State Try The Wine Curmudgeon Tasting 2 and Cambridge Universities. Our 2018 Outstanding Member is John Hames. John Wine Tasting Venue 6 changed the way we organize na- tional conferences when he stepped Wines of Slovenia 3 up to become the multi-year Con- ference Chair. He served as AWS Executive Director and is currently our Historian and Conference Pro- gram Chair. His award honors him by stating, “Whose dedication in serving members and advancing our mission knows no equal. For his Our President’s Last Word timeless tackling of deeds from the smallest to the largest, in service to the Society.” Two years flies by! It seems like just yesterday I wrote my first AWS News article as our organization’s president, and here I am writing my last. The last couple of years have been very Conference Highlights rewarding, and I will miss being connected to all that goes on na- tionally. But there is some relief at The 2018 National Conference in Buffalo, NY, was another never having to speak on stage great success! Almost 500 people attended again! the event, which featured 2 walk-around receptions, 4 meals with wine, 50 different I came to office at a time of transi- wine education/tasting sessions, amateur tion, and I’m grateful for the op- and professional winemaking competitions, portunity to be a part of it. We and late-night hospitality rooms. Opportuni- opened a new National Office with ties to make new friends abounded and the a new executive director and mem- food was delicious. ber services manager, we celebrated our 50th anniversary and started forging plans for AWS 50+. We’ve ushered in a multi- This year’s opening reception tude of other changes, some small and some significant. The was a Tailgate Party—we were last hurrah of my tenure will be our launching of a revamped invited to wear our favorite website to improve members’ access to information and en- sports team’s gear and the hance our external marketing efforts. food included chicken wings (Of course! It’s Buffalo!) and I’m incredibly enthusiastic about the future of AWS and be- small sandwiches. Conversa- lieve that we’re on solid footing for tion abounded as people discussed moving forward. I see continued mem- their home towns and sports. It was bership growth and a recommitment Cont. on Page 9 Cont. on Page 16 Outstanding RVP and AWS National Office P. O. 889 Chapter Chair Scranton, PA 18501 Outstanding RVP Phone (888) AWS-9070 Each year we recognize one Regional Vice President for out- (888) 297-9070 standing contributions to chapter support and enhancing Fax (570) 344-4825 membership value. This year’s winner is the formidable team of Jeff and Nancy Stabins in northern New York. Jeff and Nan- David Falchek Executive Director cy support their region together, cruising from chapter to [email protected] chapter in their motor home. It’s fairly common knowledge that they purchased the motor home in large part to support Katie Kearney Member Services Manager their RVP responsibilities. That’s commitment! [email protected] Jeff and Nancy support the largest region in the country, en- Website www.americanwinesociety.org compassing 11 chapters. Many chapter chairs and members in their region nominated the Stabins for this award and it’s clear there is a lot of respect and affection for them. 2018 AWS National Officers Outstanding Chapter Chair President Kristin Kraft Each year we recognize one chapter chair for outstanding chapter service. This year’s winner is Tina Tusa, the chair of Vice President Joe Broski the Historic Lewiston Chapter near Buffalo, NY. Tina was in- Secretary LeAnne Wheeler volved with the AWS when she lived in Denver, providing in- valuable support to the Colorado RVP Kate Bowen. She has Treasurer Tom Wallman also volunteered for the challenging job of supporting the con- Directors at Large ference registration desk for the past six years. Competitions Joe Dautlick Recently Tina moved to New York and made quick work of Education Aaron Mandel starting and growing her new chapter. The Historic Lewiston Membership Jay Bileti chapter was born in February 2018 and, as of today, has 82 members! Tina has done a terrific job of managing the many details and issues of a large and fast-growing chapter as well AWS News Staff as delivering interesting and educational programs. Pam Davey Editor—[email protected] Jay Bileti David Falchek Publisher [email protected] [email protected] Renee Jones [email protected] Tom Cobett [email protected] Sharyn Kervyn [email protected] Kevin Kourofsky [email protected] Bonnie Lance [email protected] Diane Meyer [email protected] Jeff Stabins, Tina Tusa, Nancy Stabins The American Wine Society, founded in 1967, is the old- Try The Value Wine Curmudgeon Tasting est and largest consumer- Some of you may know Jeff Siegle, The Wine Curmudg- based wine education group eon, an irreverent and funny wine blogger who specializes in North America. We have in value wines (winecurmudgeon.com). His blog is very almost 7000 members and interesting, educational and fun. He has given several well 180 chapters across the -received seminars at AWS conferences. United States. The Wine Curmudgeon has selected 16 wines for us that We are a 501(c)(3) non- he considers outstanding values. They are widely distributed and should profit, educational corpora- be generally available. You will also find his clever descriptions of each tion. Our members appreci- wine snatched from the blog. Chapter event planners can purchase the ate, celebrate and share wines they like or are available in their areas and hold the tasting. After knowledge about wine. tasting the wines, the leader can either read the Curmudgeon’s com- Our mission: Promoting ments to the group or pass out printed copies. The wine list and descrip- Wine Appreciation Through tions are available on the AWS Website in Education & Training. Education. Jeff has also agreed to do a few Skype events for us. If you are interest- www.americanwinesociety.org ed, contact him at [email protected]. I’d highly recommend doing one of his tastings because Jeff is a really fun and educational guy—his nickname is quite apt—think of a cross between Lewis Black and Robert Parker. Jay Bileti [email protected] AWS News December 2018 Page 2 Member Service News Wines of Slovenia Whew. What a busy and fun few months we have had at the National Office. We’ve been exploring ways to engage with members and new audiences, so we decided to start an Insta- gram page for AWS. We view this as a way to broaden our reach and as a quick and fun platform to reach out to mem- bers. We kicked the page off a few weeks before conference and were able to give followers a behind-the-scenes look at conference prep. Most of the images are also shared on Face- book. Going forward we would like to use the Instagram page as a tool for people to see local chapter events all over the country. Would you like to host an "Instagram Takeover" to give our followers an inside look at your chapter? What a local Chapter Chair or member would do is reach out to me and I’ll get you a temporary Instagram password so you can At the 51st Annual Conference in Buffalo, our organization take us behind the scenes of your tasting—set up, meeting received a living piece of wine history from Slovenia. the speaker, selfies with your members. The great thing about A contingency of young, dynamic winemakers from Slovenia Instagram is that it is fun—and I know that you all are having conducted several sessions at the conference. The Slovenian fun at your tastings. By seeing what other chapters are doing, industry provided wines for a meal and we were joined by you might find new ideas for your tastings and people may the Slovenian ambassador to the United States, Stanislav even decide to start their own chapters. Vidoviĉ, who gave a talk about Slovenia. We learned how Speaking of chapters, this year has been GREAT for chapter their national identity incorporates wine. Their national an- development. This is largely due to the Regional Vice Presi- them is subtitled “A Toast.” dents and Jay Bileti, Director of Member Services, working Unexpectedly, Ambassador Vidoviĉ offered the AWS a gift—a hard to get new groups started.