Merlot: The Velvet Charmer of the Wine World -- Event is SOLD OUT
2026-02-20 19:00 - 21:30 (America/New_York) | Hilton Harrisburg, 1 North Second Street, Harrisburg, PA, 17101, United States
This event is sold out. Plan now to join us for future events – Alsace Wines with David Killian in March, Honig Wines from Napa CA with Michael Honig in April and Pinot Noir with Kevin Ostrowski in May!

Merlot is one of the most expressive and site sensitive grape varieties and how it can translate soil, climate and winemaking tradition into dramatically different styles.
Therefore, I selected wines for you to taste from the best New and Old-World Merlot regions and hopefully you can pick-up the nuisances of the terroir in these wines.
The following is a listing of the wines we will be tasting:
Montes Alpha Merlot 2020 from the Colchagua Valley in Chile. This wine was rated 92 points by James Suckling.
Oyster Bay Merlot 2023 from Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. This 2023 vintage was awarded 90 points by James Suckling and Decanter World Wine Awards in the UK and named a Best Buy by Wine Enthusiast in 2025.
Abeja Merlot 2020, Walla Walla Valley, Washington State. This wine is 99% Merlot with 1% Cabernet Sauvignon and has received numerous ratings ranging from 91 to 94 points. Wine Enthusiast awarded it 93 points and named it an “Editors’ Choice”.
Whitehall Lane Merlot 2021, Napa Valley, California. The 2021 vintage is a blend of 82% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc and has been rated 92 points by Wine Spectator, James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast.
Trefethen Merlot 2021 from Napa Valley, California. It was rated 92 points by James Suckling and 94 points by Decanter.
Saintayme Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2022. This wine is from the Saint Emilion AOC in the Bordeaux region of France. This wine was awarded 94 points by James Suckling, 91 points by Wine Spectator and 90 points by Wine Advocate.
Chateau Gazin Pomerol 2021. This wine is 100% Merlot and received 93 points from James Suckling, 95 from Vinous and 92 from Decanter.
Pomerol is a small but prestigious wine-growing region in Bordeaux, France, known primarily for its red wines made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc. It is recognized for its exceptional terror and produces some of the most sought-after wines in the world.
Bell ‘Aja Bolgheri Superiore 2021 from Bolgheri DOC, Tuscany, Italy. This wine is almost entirely Merlot. This vintage was given 95 points by Wine Spectator and 93 by James Suckling.
Tolaini Picconero Tenuta Montebello 2019 from Tuscany, Italy. This wine is 100% Merlot and is our highest rated wine of the evening. It received 96 points from James Suckling, 95 from Robert Parker and Wine Advocate, and 92 points from Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast.
The wines will be accompanied by three small plates. Below is the menu for the small plates. If you have food allergies please email the Treasurer.
Course 1 – Toasted Sourdough, Seared Duck Breast, Cherry Jam, Black Pepper Ricotta
Course 2 – Braised Short Ribs, Potato Gnocchi, Pine Nut Gremolata
Course 3 – Dark Chocolate Entremet, Roasted Fig, Honey, Marcona Almond
Reservation deadline is Tuesday, February 17th. However—THE BEST TIME TO REGISTER FOR THE MERLOT EVENT IS RIGHT NOW!! To make reservations, go to the Shoppe Page of this website.
Members—$135
Patrons—$130
Nonmembers—$155

Alsace Wines - SOLD OUT - Join the wait list by emailing the treasurer
2026-03-13 19:00 - 21:30
This event is SOLD OUT. We are taking a wait list. To join the wait list E-mail the treasurer.
Anne Krebiehl, MW makes the case for Alsace as an under-the-radar region that comprehensively caters to the demand for fresher, lighter styles of wine in a February posting on Club Oenologique. Allow her words which follow to motivate your securing seats for our unique Alsace event on Friday, March 13th.
“Whether it’s racy dry whites, fragrant reds, refreshing fizz or unique aromatic varieties, Alsace has it all. Yet this region, tucked into the north-east corner of France, is often overlooked. Why? Because its varied wine styles and grape varieties refuse to be typecast easily; offering so much to the wine lover seemingly counts against it. Given the nature of contemporary tastes in wine, however, Alsace is a region ripe for reassessment.
The varied wine styles and grape varieties of Alsace refuse to be typecast easily Crémant d’Alsace is the region’s most dynamic category. These traditional method sparkling wines went from representing just under 25% of the region’s total wine production in 2005 to 40% by 2025. Their success is not surprising and is helped by a latitude almost identical to that of Champagne.
Alsace Crémants, chiefly based on Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois, come with the kind of cool, natural freshness that’s so desirable in fizz. Most are clean, bright aperitif styles but there are artisanal, longer-aged cuvées that will impress sparkling-wine aficionados.
The rosé category also merits attention: by law, the rosés have to be made from Pinot Noir, so every single bottle of pink Crémant d’Alsace is a saignée-method rosé – only without the hefty price tag.
Lovers of Pinot Noir should also tune into Alsace. This is where things have changed most dramatically in recent years. Pinot Noir has long been the red grape of Alsace and, for the longest time, it was turned into juicy, light-bodied, pale reds that made for delicious, easy drinking but would not have impressed serious Pinot lovers – this has changed fundamentally. Climate change and ambition have wrought wonders.
When a law change in 2011 finally permitted separate rulebooks for Alsace’s 51 grands crus, rather than one general rule for all, growers in three sites applied to have Pinot Noir approved as a permitted grape in the grand crus of Kirchberg in Barr, Hengst in Wintzenheim and Vorbourg in Rouffach. The first two were finally approved for the 2022 vintage and Vorbourg, at long last, for the 2024 vintage. But even outside these sites, Pinot Noir makes exquisitely elegant wines, especially in the sites of Jurassic and Triassic limestone that crop up in the varied geological mosaic of Alsace. These wines can rightfully take their place in any line-up of fine Pinot Noirs.
In 2022, Alsace also changed the rulebook for Riesling so that all non-late harvest wines must be dry. This finally put an end to lingering associations of sweetness with those flute-shaped bottles. These expressive, often site-specific wines are perfect for moods and situations where finesse is prized over power, where fine, ripe acidity takes the lead in accentuating subtle flavours and complements rather than dominates. Their lightness of body and moderate alcohol levels dial into that same desire for lightness and transparency that defines much modern cooking.
For Riesling fans, Alsace offers beautiful combinations of bedrocks: why not compare Rieslings grown on granite, limestone and marl and find your favourite? And lovers of sweet Rieslings need not worry: beguiling Vendanges Tardives and Selections de Grains Nobles, i.e. late harvest and nobly sweet styles, are still made and are always clearly labelled.
Alsace finds itself right back on trend with wines that are fresh, light and nuanced with its Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer, Alsace holds another card up its sleeve. These more aromatic varieties are still made in a spectrum of dry, off-dry and medium sweet, but the choices put them in a sweet spot for pairing with dishes that also play with gentle sweetness while staying savoury.
This happens when spice and fruit are combined, say in a Mexican pineapple salsa with chilli, in fruit- or honey-glazed hams, or in North African tagines or pastillas. Various Asian cuisines also play this game: in Thai cuisine, for instance, accents of palm sugar counter chilli-heat and citrus tanginess, while sweet-savoury hoisin sauce lends mellow depth to Cantonese favourites like char siu-style barbecues.
With these kinds of flavours, off-dry and medium-sweet wines come into their own and can pick up and resonate with these sweeter strands of the food. Often dismissed as difficult to pair, they open up possibilities where dry wines start to struggle because they are not bone-dry or decidedly sweet but somewhere in between. Once you accept this playfulness in the wines’ balance, these pairings suggest themselves. The sweetness scale, mandatory on every bottle since 2021, has ended the guessing game that once may have prevented you from opening bottles.
Away from the spotlight, it’s clear that Alsace has quietly continued in a multifaceted vein, honing almost every style, and now finds itself right back on trend with wines that are fresh, light and nuanced – and still incredible value.”
Our event host, David Killian, has similar feelings for Alsace wines and has collected some gems for us to experience. The lively acidity and fruitiness that defines Alsace wines makes them some of the best all around partners for food. David has paired these wines with three Alsace-inspired dishes prepared by Hilton Chefs. Please contact the Treasurer for any food allergy concerns.

Chicken Liver Mousse on Garlic Crostini with Pickled Cipollini
Choucroute – Sauerkraut and Potatoes with Pork and Grilled Bratwurst
Caramel Apple Galette with Brown Butter Streusel and Smoked Pecans

This is a wine lovers’ event not to be missed! We will be at the Hilton Harrisburg Friday March 13th at 7 p.m.
Reservation deadline is Tuesday, March 10th. Please contact the Treasurer for any food allergy concerns.
To make reservations, go to the Shoppe Page of this website.
Members—$140
Patrons—$135
Nonmembers—$160

Honig Wines - Reservations Closed 4/21
2026-04-24 19:00 - 21:30
Reservations for this event closed on Tuesday, April 21st. If you’d like to join a wait list to be called in case of a cancellation, please email the Treasurer
Rutherford: The Historic Heart of Napa Valley
When we talk about Napa Valley, we often talk about it as a whole. But the reality is that Napa is a collection of distinct places, each with its own identity, climate, and voice. And then there is Rutherford. Often referred to as the historic heart of Napa Valley, Rutherford is one of the region’s most important and recognizable appellations. At just six square miles, it is relatively small in size, but its impact on the world of wine, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, is enormous. It is here that Honig Vineyard & Winery has built its legacy, and understanding Rutherford is key to understanding why their wines resonate so clearly.
Rutherford sits along the valley floor in central Napa, stretching between the Mayacamas Mountains to the west and the Vaca Range to the east. This positioning creates an ideal environment for growing grapes. Warm summer days allow fruit to fully ripen, while cool evenings, often dropping more than ten degrees after sunset, help preserve acidity. This balance between warmth and cooling is one of the defining characteristics of the region and plays a critical role in shaping the wines.
The soils add another important layer. Formed from ancient alluvial fans, they are gravelly, sandy, and exceptionally well-drained. These conditions naturally limit vine vigor, encouraging the plant to focus its energy on producing concentrated, high-quality fruit. The result is wines that achieve ripeness without heaviness and structure without excess.
Rutherford is perhaps best known for something that cannot be easily measured but is unmistakable once experienced. Often referred to as “Rutherford dust,” this signature characteristic describes the fine, powdery tannin structure that underpins many of the region’s Cabernet Sauvignons. It adds a subtle cocoa-like texture and a sense of refinement that sets these wines apart. Combined with flavors of cassis, black cherry, and dark plum, this textural element gives Rutherford wines their hallmark balance of power and elegance. It is not just about intensity. It is about proportion.
Rutherford’s reputation for excellence is not new. Dating back to the 19th century, the region has been home to some of Napa Valley’s most influential vineyards and producers. From early pioneers like Georges de Latour at Beaulieu Vineyard to the historic Inglenook estate, Rutherford has long been associated with wines that define California Cabernet Sauvignon.
That commitment to quality continues today. Organizations like the Rutherford Dust Society bring together growers and vintners with a shared mission to uphold the highest standards in grape growing and winemaking, to care for the land, and to ensure that Rutherford’s unique character is preserved for future generations. In 2020, Rutherford became the first AVA in Napa Valley to achieve 100 percent participation in the Napa Green Land program, reinforcing its leadership in sustainability and environmental stewardship.
Honig is very much a reflection of Rutherford’s philosophy. Their wines are not about excess or showmanship. They are about clarity, balance, and allowing the vineyard to speak. This is especially evident in their Cabernet Sauvignon. Whether it is the broader Napa Valley bottling, the Rutherford expression, or the single vineyard Bartolucci Vineyard wine, each step brings you closer to the source. The structure becomes more defined, the texture more precise, and the sense of place more apparent. Even their Sauvignon Blanc, while vibrant and refreshing, carries a depth and composure that reflects the same careful approach.
What makes the upcoming Honig event so compelling is not just the quality of the wines, but the ability to experience them in context. This is not simply a tasting. It is an opportunity to understand how geography, climate, soil, and philosophy come together in the glass. You will taste Napa Valley alongside Rutherford. You will experience the difference between appellation and single vineyard. You will see how subtle shifts in place translate into meaningful differences in structure, aroma, and texture. And you will do it with Michael Honig in the room, offering firsthand insight into the decisions behind each wine.
Rutherford is not just a location on a map. It is a benchmark for what Napa Valley can achieve when everything aligns, climate, soil, history, and intent. On April 24th, 7 p.m. at the Hilton Harrisburg, that benchmark comes to life. For anyone who appreciates Napa Valley wines or simply wants to better understand why they are so compelling, this is an evening worth being part of. Seats are limited, and this is one you will not want to miss.
We will be pairing wines with artisanal cheese plates.
Sauvignon Blanc will be paired with: Lemon Chive Whipped Chevre, Grilled Feta, Austrian Gruyere, Basil-roasted Pear, Spiced Marcona Almonds, and Blueberry Jam.
Cabernet will be paired with: 6-month Farmstead Manchego, 2- year-aged Black Diamond Cheddar, Gorgonzola Picante, Honeycomb, Cherry Jam, and Dark Chocolate.
Please review all cheese plate items and contact the Treasurer for any food allergy concerns.
Reservation deadline is April 21st or when we sell out. Make reservations on the Shoppe Page of this website.
Members—$155
Patrons—$150
Nonmembers—$175

Pinot Noir - Simply Elegant
2026-05-15 19:00 - 21:30
Reservations have closed for this event. If you’d like to be placed on a waitlist for contact if we have a cancellation, please contact the treasurer.
We offer the following article, an entertaining reminder of all the reasons you want to be with us on May 15th tasting our carefully selected Pinot Noirs. The quest is worth it!!
Why Pinot Noir Sucks –by Naill Rush From the Jancis Robinson 2025 wine writing competition. The photo is the author’s own. Caption: ‘The Vosne in question, with Clown Bar’s curious choice of decanter’.

“I spent my 30th birthday in Paris on a humble mission: I wanted to have the best wine I had ever had. I was well on my way to wine obsession, mere months from my eventual move into the industry, and I wasn’t going to be 30 again. Up to that point, I had no better opportunity in my life to blow more money than I should on a bottle I’d never forget.
And so I found myself in Clown Bar for lunch, conferring with the sommelier, deciding at last on a bottle of 2015 Frédéric Cossard Vosne-Romanée ‘Les Champs Perdrix’. A producer in tune with my tastes, working a stone’s throw from La Tâche for a tiny fraction of the price.
But this was a day where I had to nail it. Why would I choose Pinot Noir?
Vulnerable to frost, heat, disease, and everything else, Pinot presents far more challenges to a vigneron than a workhorse like Cabernet Sauvignon. But many winemakers are eager for well-deserved recognition of their heroic efforts to bring the fussiest grape varieties to term.
We hear a lot about how this or that grape variety is particularly difficult. I can think of no other globally popular grape variety where that difficulty is so often disastrously evident in the bottle.
As a category, bad Pinot Noir magnifies all of wine’s potential sins and grotesqueries. The vegetal and under-ripe becomes unbearable; the overripe and jammy becomes sickening. This is what you often get when you pay enough that a guarantee should apply, when mere satisfaction is the minimum you’re entitled to.
Genuinely characterful, dependable sub-£20 Pinots are lauded exceptions that prove the rule. Even when you succeed in swerving the sticky or green ends of the spectrum, you may find yourself rewarded with a £50 bottle of wine which is fine.
Burgeoning winos looking for affordable transcendence may attempt to educate themselves to victory, only to discover that Pinot Noir’s homeland is the most legally complicated and microscopically delineated vignoble in the entire world.
And outside France, those winemakers with lofty ambitions to challenge and honour Burgundy are obliged to Burgundify their approach and communications, to name their vineyards and tell their stories, their history, their aspect and soil, lest they be accused of traducing Pinot’s position as Terroir’s earthly representative. Accordingly, Pinot attracts more semi-scientific marketing guff than any other variety, and the learning curve steepens ever further.
And when you do finally get a fantastic bottle, there is often something of the farm to it, something redolent of decay tucked beneath all that floral, beautiful fruit. It feels incomplete without it. At its best, it flirts so close to the line. I think we all must secretly understand where the Pinot-deniers are coming from, artless as they may seem. What may be seductive and sous-bois to me is a hair’s breadth of psychological bias away from cow leavings.
Personal tastes aside, it is necessary for the food-and-drink cultist to believe that the default option sucks. The same complex is shared by the coffee snob, or even the perfect London Guinness chaser: the subject must be found everywhere, and 90% of it must be truly miserable. Your knowledge and enthusiasm must serve as both map and shield, separating and protecting you from what the masses innocently accept. If it was all broadly good, what would be the point of connoisseurship?
At the sharp end of Sturgeon’s law lies the soul of this form of enthusiasm, a space where personal recommendation and evangelism have indispensable practical value. Pinot is the perfect cargo for the cult of the wine fan, a clear mirror of our collective pathology. It is all the pain, glory and mystery of wine, the mountaintop so luminous and distant, the edge of the chasm so precipitous. Yes, it is forbiddingly complicated; no, there are no shortcuts, and even the wealthy are not immune from disappointment.
In those moments where you get the right bottle at the right time, your devotion is rewarded with rich visions of the Cistercians patiently experimenting, of bygone royals hoarding barrels in their dank cellars, of all the myth and science and je ne sais quoi that compels us. The perfect bottle is your steadfast battle to find it; the winemaker’s careful battle to make it; knowledge meeting luck, skill meeting nature. It’s every lackluster bottle you drank in search of it. It is not made, it is not purchased: it is achieved. Only when the cork is popped will you know if your quest was in vain.
Fortunately for me, that birthday bottle of Vosne-Romanée was indeed the right bottle at the right time. It was Pinot Noir in UHD, all tangerine peel and sour cherry, fragrant and pure, complete with loamy bass notes and intangible energy; dust motes floating in sunbeams. I welcomed it into the moment like an old, flighty friend, turning every detail over in my mind, as if I might never see their like again. As the last drops left my glass, my personal dragon-chase resumed.”
As described by Rush, our tasting team experienced both disappointments and joys while tasting wines for entry to this event. We think you’ll be delighted with our final choices. The wines we chose cover new world and old-world regions known for producing lovely Pinot Noir—Oregon, California, New Zealand, Tasmania, Argentina, Germany, and of course, France. We have a range of styles including white, rosé, and sparkling demonstrating how Pinot Noir expresses itself across the range.
Kevin Ostrowski, respected certified wine judge, sommelier, and wine educator will lead our deep dive into these fabulous examples. Kevin plans to allow lots of interaction this time for you to explore the wines with table mates before we discuss as a group.
Wines will be paired with gourmet small plates to highlight the subtle fruit, earthy undertones, and silky textures of Pinot Noir.

Burrata with Macerated Strawberries, Arugula, Toasted Pistachios, Balsamic Glaze and Basil
Wild Mushroom and Gruyere Arancini with Caramelized Leeks and Truffle Oil
Seared Salmon with Cherry Wine Reduction on Fingerling Chips

Please e-mail the Treasurer with any food allergies.
Space is limited by Hilton availability. Reservation deadline is May 12th. Make reservations on the Shoppe Page of this website.
Members—$160
Patrons—$155
Nonmembers—$180

Botrytis Wines
2026-08-21 19:00 - 21:30
“When conditions are just right, nature can hold a usually nasty fungus in such check that something special happens. Instead of destroying a crop, the fungus creates grapes with incredibly concentrated flavor that can make some of the world’s sweetest, most precious wines.
The fungus, Botrytis cinerea, is more affectionately known as “noble rot.” It’s the same kind of rot that spoils strawberries and soft fruit with greyish fuzz. So what makes this mold noble? It comes down to a fine balance of moisture, sunlight and temperature. Ripe, healthy grapes must still be on the vine as fall begins, when misty mornings can provide the moisture that the fungus needs to thrive. It will pierce a grape’s skin to feast on its juice. After a few hours, sunshine and otherwise dry conditions must follow. This evaporates moisture and stops the fungus in its tracks. The following morning, the process repeats itself.
A succession of misty mornings and dry, sunny days provide the perfect conditions as sugars, flavors and acids concentrate in the grape while the fungus consumes water. It’s risky business, as rain can turn this delicate interaction into full-blown rot. In some years, growers lose their entire crop.
Botrytized grapes aren’t pretty, as they turn shriveled and brown. Their juice, however, is golden, sweet and precious. Each grape needs to be handpicked individually, and yields are tiny. The resulting wines are complex, concentrated and can age for decades.
In a few places, the crucial elements responsible for botrytis occur year after year, and all are famed for their noble sweet wines.”
Adapted from The Beautiful Bounty of Botrytized Wines—A Krebiehl
We’ve sourced hard-to-find wines from Austria, France, Germany and Hungary! This will be an event you’ll talk about for a long time. The wines are memorable and the planned pairings including foie gras, blue cheese, and fruit tart promise to be just right.
Save Friday, August 21st 7 p.m. as your back-to-wine-school date! Reservation deadline—August 18th. Make reservations via the Shoppe Page of this website.
Members—$170
Patrons—$165
Nonmembers—$190
