PWS 35th Anniversary Celebration Gala

This event is SOLD OUT.  The product has been removed from the Shoppe page.    Event information remains here as a reference for those attending.

On Saturday evening, November 12^th, 2022 we will celebrate the 35^th Anniversary of the Pennsylvania Wine Society. To commemorate this milestone, we planned a special event for PWS members and guests.

It will be held in the Main Gallery of the American Antique Car Museum at 161 Museum Drive, Hershey, PA. The Museum is on PA Route 39, a convenient location slightly north of Giant Center and Hershey Park.  We start at 6:00 p.m.in the Miami backdrop section of the museum, pouring Champagne—James Bond’s favorite—Bollinger Special Cuvee. Wine Spectator loved this Champagne and awarded it 93 points.

Stroll through the museum’s remarkable number of beautiful antique cars while you sip Champagne and listen to fabulous Jazz Duo Steve Rudolph and Hassan J. J. Shakur.  Steve and Hassan are well known, accomplished musicians with more than 50 years of performing experience.

You may remember Steve as the pianist at the Hilton during his 22 year gig as the house pianist for jazz programming.  Steve has traveled around the world playing his music, performed and recorded with a large number of talented musicians, and has mentored many young musicians with his founding of the Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz; now in existence for over 40 years.

A native of Los Angeles, Hassan is the son of renowned jazz pianist Gerry Wiggins. He has been the bassist for the Duke Ellington Orchestra since 1974 and still tours and performs with them regularly.  Hassan is a recording artist, appearing on over 150 recordings with jazz greats Scott Hamilton, Monty Alexander, Chuck Redd and countless others.   He has been a resident of Central PA since 1978.

At 6:45 p.m. we move to the Route 66 section of the museum for our buffet dinner. This area is really distinctive, with various replicas of shops and scenes from America’s most famous highway, Route 66, on display.  You’ll want to have the next wine in hand to finish with the first course green salad.  The wine is a high-end Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc, 2020 Domaine des Senechaux. Wine Spectator describes it as “Juicy and fresh, showing a delicious core of white peach and starfruit flavors, with subtle lemon shortbread, acacia and verbena accents. It offers a nice underlying acidity that helps extend and define the finish.” Wine Spectator gave this wine 93 points.

The main course follows with entrées:  Porcini Crusted Beef Tenderloin (Gluten Free) and Mushroom Ravioli with Parmesan in a sage brown butter sauce (Vegetarian). The two sides are Bundled Haricot Vert and a Wild Rice Medley with herbs and spices.

To accompany the entrées, we chose two classic reds. Chateau Montrose 2018 La Dame de Montrose from Saint-Estèphe, Left Bank Bordeaux.  Review notes state

“The 2018 La Dame de Montrose is composed of 52% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc. This deep garnet-purple colored wine delivers a profound aroma of baked plums, blackberry preserves and raisin cake with touches of dark chocolate, licorice, Chinese five spice and sandalwood. Full-bodied, rich and opulent in the mouth, it fills the palate with ripe generous fruit, backed by firm, rounded tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and spicy.”-Wine Advocate, 95-96 points.

The second is Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, 2011 Ambrosan, produced by Nicolis from the Verona area in northeastern Italy.  ‘’The Ambrosan wafts up extroverted and opulent, with exotic spices and cherries giving way to mocha and sweet pipe tobacco. This wine is silky-smooth, balancing both savory and sweet. There is so much depth and focus here, showing citrus-tinged plum skins with coffee and dark chocolate. The finish goes on and on, incredibly long yet balanced.” -Vinous Media, 96 points.

For a sweet finish—mini Caramel Apple Cheesecake bars for dessert. We selected Weingut Hopler Trockenbeerenauslese  2015 to pair with it.   Burgenland is the source of Austria’s finest botrytized sweet wines. This blend of 35% Samling 88, 35% Welschriesling and 30% Riesling is lush and balanced with aging noted to enhance its complexity.  “… spicy nose with white pepper, citrus zest and ripe yellow fruit.  The palate has a high and intense sweetness with mild acidity and a plump finish.” – Wine Spectator, 91 points.

You can see that all these wines are fantastic! They are also expensive—and worth every penny.   This gala is generously subsidized to reduce member reservation prices thanks to a decision of the PWS Board of Directors, and your past support of PWS.

100% COVID 19 vaccination proof is required to confirm event reservations. Safe distancing and safety precautions as well as all Museum policies will be followed as we are their guests. Precautions are based on any CDC or PA DOH reported geographic regional exposure risk at the time of the event.

EVENT is SOLD OUT!   Information remains for reference for those attending.