I didn't take notes this evening but will share with you what wines impressed me enough to purchase. We had four restaurants providing food and four distributors providing wine. A number of community businesses helped sponsor with the local BMW dealer as the main sponsor. Charities benefiting are the Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund (very fitting for a military community): http://www.cfsrf.org and Children's Charity International which helps provide healthy water and other life improvements to impoverished families in Mexico, Peru, etc. The Fayetteville Jazz Orchestra played two sets and a rock band took over later in the evening. This was the first gala in what we hope will be an annual event.
Check out the URL for photos of the grounds where this event was held: http://www.foxhollowdesign.net/
Dorothy, you're not in Fayetteville any more! 22 acres of formal landscaping in a European style. The owners have toured gardens in Italy and France (and I believe United Kingdom) for inspiration.
Approximately 80 wines were available for sampling. The program did not list vintages and in most cases I didn't ask the pourer what vintage--sorry for that oversight. The ones I decided to purchase (in one or two bottle amounts) were
Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino (a bargain wine for everyday meals)
Ballentine Old Vine Zinfandel, Napa Valley, CA
2008 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand (this is also available at the grocery store but 10% of our orders goes to charity) hardly any color but tasty; more citrusy than grassy or vegetal
and from the Reserve Room (no add'l. cost for FWS members but $15 extra for non-members):
2004 Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet "Morgeot" (I really liked this Chardonnay from Burgundy)
Beckmen Purisma Vineyard Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County, CA (and I missed visiting Beckman while in Santa Barbara County last October) I see from their website that they bottle a number of different Purisma Syrahs. I will find out which one this was, and the vintage, when I pick up my order.
Columbia Riesling Ice Wine, Columbia Valley, WA (in a 375 ml. bottle)--seemed to have plenty of acid for aging
Others I liked included the Semler Cabernet Sauvignon, a higher tier wine from Malibu Family Wines which also produces Saddlerock line and another Semler wine, perhaps a Syrah?, Matua Sauvignon Blanc (I liked the Kim Crawford better), and La Crema Pinot Noir (but not enough to purchase.) I looked for the Emeritus Reserve Pinot Noir but didn't find it being poured. The St. Hallet's Shiraz, Barossa Valley Australia, tasted sweet (perhaps from the oak treatment.) I prefered the Wakefield Estate Shiraz also from Barossa Valley. I didn't really care for the $60+ Barbaresco--despite the distributor saying it was not very tannic, it tasted harsh to my palate. I liked a John Duval wine we tasted at an earlier FWS meeting but the John Duval Entity Shiraz at the gala tasted a bit oaky--maybe just too young? I had it right after the Beckmen Purisma Syrah and liked the Beckmen better.
I look forward to this becoming an annual event. Weather started out perfect but a sudden cloudburst caught most of us by surprise. I took refuge under the food tent but finally bolted for my car when the lightning diminished and got drenched from head to toe. If the rain had only held off for another 60 minutes...