Petit Verdot (“peh-tee vur-doe”), named after its small black berries, has long been used as a blending grape in Bordeaux, France. It used to be difficult to find varietal wines made from this grape. However, as the plantings of this full bodied, dark and tannic grape has spread across the globe, more wines featuring this grape front and center have emerged. Join us for an exquisite and unique tasting of this venerable grape from Italy, to Spain, to Argentina and California. The wines provide aromas of plums, lilacs, violets and sage that complement the gravel minerality that can be present in this grape.

Petite Verdot
Saturday, November 9, 2019, 7:00 pm
Hosted by Rebecca Knutson
3526 1st St N, Fargo

$25 members, $35 non-members

Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre are the three classic grapes in the red blends from the Côtes du Rhône region of France. GSM blends tend to be on the bolder end of the red wine spectrum. Grenache, the lightest of these grapes, adds raspberry, cinnamon and candied fruit flavors. Syrah can add darker notes of blueberry and black olives. While Mourvèdre provides tannin structure and floral and herbal notes of lavender and rosemary. Although these grapes are classically French, they are now grown all over the world and fantastic GSM blends can be found from nearly every corner of the world. This tasting will allow you to travel the world of GSM and you will not want to miss it.

World GSM
Saturday, February 8, 2020 – 7:00 pm
Hosted by Greg and Lisa Cook
1338 10th St S, Fargo, ND 58103

$25 members, $35 non-members

If the last couple years of AWS tastings haven’t already told you, we just can’t get enough of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. There simply is no getting tired of it. Cabernet Sauvignon, the offspring of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, is a classic Bordeaux grape. But, arguably, Napa Valley has become the king of cabernet sauvignon wines. Recent years have produced some truly outstanding vintages in the Napa Valley and we haven’t run out of wines to taste yet. Join us on Saturday, March 14 for round three of our tour of Napa cabernets.

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Saturday, March 14, 2020
Hosted by James and Tessa Hand @ The Title Company building
35 4th St. N, Fargo, ND 5810
You may park in the lot south of the building.
The event space is on the second level.

$25 members, $30 non-members

Please forgive my light hearted approach to these serious times. But we all could use a nice glass of wine and some community about now. Please join us this Saturday evening for a Red River Valley American Wine Society Pandemic virtual tasting. Yes, it’s time for you to go down into your cellars and pull out that great bottle you’ve been saving for the End Of The World. Dust it off, pop the cork, turn on your camera and join us online to share. There’s no time like the present and there’s no reason to keep that special bottle waiting. Don’t have a special bottle you’re saving? That’s ok. Open up anything you want to share and we’ll all talk about it together. We will be meeting using the interactive Zoom platform. If you are unfamiliar with zoom, check it out ahead of time at http://zoom.us. More information and a link to our zoom meetup is below. Don’t want to use zoom? You can always call in audio on your phone using the meeting ID below, but we’d love to see you live. See you all on Saturday!

End Of The World Virtual Tasting
Saturday, April 4, 7:00 pm

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/438430469

Meeting ID: 438 430 469

Dial by your location
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Meeting ID: 438 430 469
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ab0i3OURo1

TRIVIA EDITION – Think you know wine? Bring it!

Join us for an on-line meetup every Saturday evening at 7:00 pm. Grab a bottle of wine and join the fun. Open up anything you want to share and we’ll all talk about it together. Join the trivia games and see how well you know wine.  We will be meeting using the interactive Zoom platform. If you are unfamiliar with zoom, check it out ahead of time at http://zoom.us. More information and a link to our zoom meetup is below.

Topic: Weekly Wine On-Line
Time: Every week on Saturdays at 07:00 PM Central Time

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82190728101

Meeting ID: 821 9072 8101

AWS Wine Tastings

On-Line Wine  
Thank you yo everyone who has joined us for our weekly on-line wine tastings and fun trivia. This has helped all of us stay sane during the last few months of sheltering at home. As Lisa and I are working on safely opening our winery this weekend and we have our first customers of the year coming to 4e Winery, I won’t be able to host our weekly wine meetup on Saturday. Because it was so much fun, we look forward to incorporating some regular additional on-line meet up and trivia nights in the future. This will let those folks who are not in the FM area keep connected with us.

Wine Tasting Events – Central Italian Wines – June 13
As we slowly enter a new normal of social interaction, we will be holding wine tasting events again starting in June with our next tasting June 13 at 7:00 pm hosted by Dakota Vines Vineyard and Winery. We will be sending out more details next weekend. This is a great venue to begin meeting as we will be able to spread out and continue to allow for social distancing while at the same time enjoy tasting and each other’s company. We know that not everyone is yet comfortable being out in public and that’s ok. We are striving to create an event that allows everyone to be safe and control their personal space. We are looking forward to seeing all of you again.

Cheers,

Greg

The wines of Central Italy. When you think of Italian wine regions, the central regions of Toscana, Umbria, Abruzzo and Lazio, among others, comes to mind. Gentle sun-kissed hills lined with row after row of verdant vines filling the landscapes. And the wines are delicious. Please join us on Saturday, June 13 as we smart restart our monthly wine tastings. We will be gathering at Dakota Vines Vineyard and Winery down near Colfax at 7:00 pm. We will have plenty of room to spread out people and spread out the wines so that everyone can be comfortable. We do ask if you are feeling ill not to attend and we encourage robust hand hygiene. We want to make sure there is space for everyone to be at their comfort level. We are looking forward to seeing you next weekend.

Riesling is a versatile grape now grown all over the world. Its color can range from a light straw to deep yellow. It usually has intense aromas of fruits that rise from the glass and the flavors can range from lemon/lime to pineapple and apricot as it goes from less to more ripe. Traditionally, many rieslings are made in a sweeter style but the largest riesling producing region in the world, Alsace, is famous for their aromatic dry white wines. Join us on Saturday, July 11 as we explore a world of dry rieslings. In my humble opinion, they are the perfect wines to enjoy on a warm summer evening.

Dry Riesling
Saturday, July 11, 7:00 pm
Hosted by Greg and Lisa Cook @ 4e Winery
3766 156th Ave SE, Mapleton, ND 58059
$25 members • $35 non-members

I know our group never tires of cabernet sauvignon from the Napa Valley, but did you realize there are great cabs to be had just outside of Napa? Don’t believe it? Join us on Saturday, Aug. 8 for a tour of the cabs from the North Coast. The grapes for this month’s wines are grown in the North Coast AVA of California. This area includes counties north of San Francisco such as Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties. Typically, the North Coast Ava is characterized by cool fog and breezes off of the Pacific Ocean. This produces juicy, lush and medium-bodied mouthfeels with bright fruit and herb aromas.

North Coast Cabernet
Saturday, Aug 8, 7:00 pm
Hosted by Rupak and Britney Gandhi
7499 16th St S, Fargo, ND, 58104

$25 members, $35 non-members

Blending is done to bring qualities of different varieties together in a marriage of textures and flavors. If a particular grape is thin skinned and lacks tannin structure, blending in some wine made from a more tannic grape variety will round it out. Have a flabby grape? Mix in some grapes with more vibrant acidity to lift it up. We know that Bordeaux is famous for blending red grapes to make great wine. But this process of bringing the best of the best qualities together is not limited to France. Join us for a tasting of red blends from around the world as we enjoy the last of summer’s sunshine.

Because our daylight hours are waning, we will be starting this tasting one hour earlier at 6:00 pm! Don’t be late!

Red Blends
Saturday, September 12, 6:00 pm
Hosted by Greg and Lisa Cook @ 4e Winery
3766 156th Ave SE, Mapleton, ND 58059

$25 members, $35 non-members