WE TAKE CARE OF THE TRADE! Do you make your living in a wine-pouring capacity--as a server, banquet manager, or within the wine distribution chain? If so, we have preferential pricing on all of our events & courses for YOU! Please contact us and state your professional affiliation for a promotional code you can use anytime.

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For Beginners ONLY (10 seats remain)
Wednesday, June 11th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: Michael Bryan or Kelly Wheeler

Sure you can drink it, but can you pair it? Can you speak it? Come to terms with it in a special tasting that helps you express yourself in the world of wines. Don't be left standing there holding the bottle--get more confidence and find more pleasure in every sip.

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School Nights @ Park Tavern: Make Your Own Margarita
Monday, June 16th (The Piedmont Room @ Park Tavern)
Instructor: Lauren DeLuca & Kara Eads

The summer drink to keep you cool in more ways than one. You'll be hands-on in the process of making incredible Margaritas!

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Wines & Cheeses
Thursday, June 19th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: Michael Bryan

Artisanal cheeses are no less labors of love than their wine counterparts. Location of pastureland, seasonality of milks, and aging all weigh heavily on the final taste experience. Join us for 8 pairings of wine & cheese. For this class we are shipping in 100% of our cheeses from small American Farms! >>>> More Info

Introduction to Wine, Level I (Now an 8-week program)
Monday, June 23rd (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructors: Jane Garvey, Paul Kelly Wheeler, Michael Bryan

We've received rave reviews on our new format AND we've dropped the price $100. This is the least expensive Introduction to Wine course we have offered in our 4-hear history! >>>> More Info

Jane's Monthly Dozen Tasting: Wines with Salmon
Tuesday, June 24th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Hosted by: Jane Garvey

Eight 90+ point wines are chosen (along with food pairings) to show the diversity of our little fish-friend. These wines were chosen from the May Wine Review.

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For Beginners ONLY
Wednesday, June 25th & July 9th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: Michael Bryan

Sure you can drink it, but can you pair it? Can you speak it? Come to terms with it in a special tasting that helps you express yourself in the world of wines. Don't be left standing there holding the bottle--get more confidence and find more pleasure in every sip.

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• Drink Wine, Eat Dinner, Fight Cancer
  Fighting cancer has never been so easy – or delicious. Georgia Cancer Foundation (GCF) presents “Uncork a Cure” wine tasting and dinner event Sunday, June 22, from 5-8 p.m., at Muss & Turner’s in Smyrna. Enjoy live jazz by Lamont’s Music Expressions Jazz Trio, featured wines by Big Tattoo, 2 Brothers, and Catena (all from Billington Wines), and a wine raffle. Tickets for the event are $50 each and include tasting of eight wines and dinner. Visit www.gacancerfoundation.org, or call 770-640-5529.
• Love at First Sip (or was that slip?)
  During an Introduction to Wine course last year, Andrea Phillips arrived with a cast, having injured her left foot. The instructor asked for someone to give up an end seat, so Andrea could sit with her foot elevated. The first to jump up and offer his seat was student Tim Peters. Tim and Andrea had never met before that evening, but now they are engaged to be married! See photo of Andrea & Tim below.
• Nielson: Declining Economy Having Miniscule Impact on Wine Purchases
  New research from The Nielsen Company indicates that alcoholic beverage purchases may be somewhat recession-proof, with the declining economy having only a mild impact on consumers’ alcoholic beverage purchases. Nearly half of consumers surveyed report that the downturn in the economy has had no influence in the amount they are spending for beer, wine or spirits at off-premise locations; less than 20 percent indicate a significant impact. More than 80 percent of consumers say they are spending the same amount or more on beer, wine and spirits compared to a year ago. >> More
  In a related story, the National Restaurant Association is claiming the exact opposite--that wine, especially hi-end selections, is on the decline. >> More
• Sustainable Vineyards Rising in Stature
  Two industry groups recently published lists of vineyards and wineries that adhere to sustainable practices--both groups point out that wine can be green and great. Bonterra took gold medals and Bonny Doon was one of the stand-outs. >> More
• Hi-Tech Cork Simulation Wins $15k for Student Designers
  A design for a high-tech closure for wine bottles that would allow the wine to breathe much like traditional bark corks won the $15,000 first prize in the annual Big Bang! Business Plan Competition at the University of California, Davis. The contest is run by students in the Graduate School of Management. >> More
  In a related story, the Gallo family helps produce a way to remove "cork taint aka TCA" from wine before it is shipped out of the winery. >> More

Jane's Monthly Dozen: Father's Day (wines for ol' Dad)
by Jane Garvey

For some reason, Mothers Day is a big deal in restaurants, but Father's Day is less restaurant-focused. And that may mean people are marking the occasion at home, perhaps cooking the main meal outside. Southern barbecue. Or barbecue in the rest of the country, which to our mind in the South is grilling. Coming on the heels of Memorial Day, both calendar moments launch the summer grilling season.

In the South, grilling is not barbecue; barbecue is meat--pork typically--that is slowly cooked (or smoked) over wood. Hours go into the laborious endeavor using a whole pig; indeed, it's nearly ritual, requiring teamwork and lots of beer. But for enjoying the final product, while some will always prefer beer, wine can be a lovely accompaniment to barbecue. Grilled meats are cooked more quickly, although a whole stuffed roast chicken is lovely cooked over the wood fire. Place it over indirect heat (with all the coals on one side of your firebox and the meat on the other with a lid and just a small amount of opening in the air vent.

The red wines for this kind of food need to be big, but not the oenological equivalent of motor oil. Women particularly complain about over-extracted, high-alcohol wines as being "too thick," an almost universal reproach that women express for such wines. One of the wines I sampled for this exercise hit 15.5% alcohol. While you can't really go by the numbers, in fact, this one worked with only one food: blue cheese. Too port-like. Big, over-extracted, high alcohol wines fatigue the palate after just a few sips. You wind up not wanting very much of them. "Too thick," many women I know would say. Nobody would finish a bottle of Porto at a single sitting, with its 18% alcohol or even higher. Although these high-alcohol table wines fall short of that mark, they tire the palate and, like fortified wines, are limited in the foods they'll accompany.

Big flavors can be balanced, without the alcohol and extraction running the whole show. Since dads like to grill for Father's Day, I've chosen a range of big wines, and they won't break the bank.

Start Father's Day off with something light in the alcohol department, such as the Riesling or Pinot Gris below, and use either as an opening sipper or continue it throughout the meal. Figuring that most dads are red wine enthusiasts, most of the list is red wine, but look out at the end for something to go with dessert in the hot weather and fruit-rich months ahead.