ANNOUNCING THE GERMAN WINE SOCIETY’S POTOMAC WINE CRUISE!

Get ready to cast off on the Potomac for a German wine cruise! Yes, the Capital Chapter of the German Wine Society is once again holding our Potomac wine cruise this summer, back by popular demand after a series of successful voyages. As we did in July 2021, 2022, and 2023, and also regularly for several years in 2010-2013 and earlier, we will enjoy the traditional GWS summer wine cruise past the beautiful river banks and monuments of our nation’s Capital. Please join us to taste many wines from Germany and other countries as we cruise along the Potomac for two hours. We can accommodate only 60 guests on the Nightingale for this event, so reserve early to avoid disappointment.

We will be providing all the wines for this event, as well as disposable plastic glasses and cutlery, paper plates and napkins, and will also bring some deli sandwiches or other snacks. Guests are also encouraged to bring their own favorite cheeses, breads or other food on board, but there should be enough food even if you do not choose to do so. This will be a relaxing cruise, with no presentation, allowing everyone to concentrate on the wines, good company and atmosphere. There are many outdoor and indoor dining establishments along the Georgetown waterfront for dinner after the cruise, which we encourage you to try.

The Nightingale is a boat we have used for some previous cruises. It is all on one level, with tables and chairs, and a bar area from which we can serve wines (and where you can buy other drinks too if you choose). It also has protection against inclement weather, though we have been fortunate with most of our past wine cruises (last year we weathered a brief storm) and reasonably hope for a sunny afternoon once again. The cruise will take place rain or shine, unless weather conditions do not allow the cruise to set out safely, in which case we will reschedule or provide refunds.

THE WINES: The wines for our cruise will be mostly whites but with a few reds. They will be primarily German but with some other international wines included as well. Both dry and sweet wines will be offered, including many Kabinett and Spätlese prädikat wines! Because this is not a formal presentation, and we will only have one or two bottles on hand of each of the wines listed, everyone will not get the same wines, but all on the voyage should have the chance to savor around 10-12 different wines. We look forward to sharing the lovely qualities of these German and international wines with our members and guests again. Here’s the wine list we have planned (wines are single bottles unless two bottles are noted):

German Wines (6 of 13 German wine regions represented)

Whites

2017 Bollig-Lehnert Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Mosel
2018 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Spätlese Nahe
2017 Dr. Heyden Silvaner Old Vines Trocken Rheinhessen – two bottles
2013 Fitz-Ritter Dürkheimer Gewürztraminer Spätlese Pfalz – two bottles
2012 J.J. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Mosel
2012 Keller “von der Fels” Riesling Qba Trocken Rheinhessen – two bottles
2008 Klemens Weber Burrweiler Altenforst Qba HT Pfalz – two bottles
2019 Peter Lauer Ayler Kupp Fass 9 Kern Riesling Mosel
2012 Spreitzer Oestricher Lenchen 303 Riesling Spätlese Rheingau
2016 St. Christopher Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese Mosel – two bottles
2019 Vollenweider Kröver Steffensberg Riesling Spätlese Mosel
2019 Vollenweider Wolfer Goldgrube Riesling Spätlese Mosel
2017 Weingut Carl Ehrhard Rüdesheim Feinherb Riesling Kabinett Rheingau – two bottles
2017 Weingut Carl Ehrhard Burg Roseneck Riesling Kabinett Rheingau – two bottles

Reds

2014 Meyer-Näkel “S” Spätburgunder Ahr
2017 Meyer-Näkel Spätburgunder Ahr

Wines from Other Countries (3 countries represented)

Whites

2013 Ferdinand Rebula Brda, Slovenia
2000 Hirsch Zobiner Galsberg Alte Reben Riesling QW Trocken Kamptal, Austria
2016 Tegernseerhof Reid Steinerfal Smaragd Riesling Wachau, Austria
2015 Toreta Posip South Dalmatia Smokv, Croatia

PRICE AND RESERVATIONS: Our event price is $72 for members and $79 for non-member guests, payable in advance online through our website using PayPal or by check: germanwinesocietydc.org. Simply confirming attendance on Meetup is NOT sufficient for a reservation. If you are coming as a couple or other group, you can either register and pay for each individual separately, or do it as part of a single transaction and complete the payment on PayPal together. If you do a single transaction, please also email the Secretary of the GWS Capital Chapter at the address below to provide the names of each individual coming, as the individual names will not all appear on the website form for multiple persons registering together.

If you have questions about the event, please contact Carl Willner by email at carl.willner1@verizon.net.