"Spargel Fest 2024" of the German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter) at the German Embassy in Washington DC, USA, with 9 German Wines - Sparkling and Still, White and Red, Bone-dry and Fruity-sweet - and the Food of Chef Mikko

Back at the German Embassy in Washington DC. For the "Spargel Fest 2024", we were back at the German Embassy. The asparagus-centered food was prepared by Chef Mikko from the German Embassy. We served 9 German wines, sparkling and still, white and red, dry and fruity-sweet. With 64 sign-ups we were sold out. We were honored by the presence of Bill Stefan, (National) President of the American Wine Society, which has about 8000 members nationwide.

Invitation by the German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter)

It is a pleasure to announce that the German Embassy has invited us once again to hold an event  at the German Embassy House!  And for this event, our asparagus-themed Spring Festival dinner, we will also have the opportunity to enjoy once again the cuisine of the German Embassy’s new chef, Mikko Kosenen of Mikko Nordic Fine Foods.  Chef Mikko also operates a restaurant in Washington, D.C., and was formerly executive chef for the Ambassador of Finland.  Please plan to join us to share our love of German wine paired with asparagus dishes, at the German Embassy where the German Wine Society began.

Spring in Washington announces itself with cherry blossoms, migrating songbirds, and tasty ramps at farmers’ markets.  In Germany, nothing epitomizes Spring like the revered white stalks of Spargel (asparagus)!  The green variety is more popular in North America and tends to be available in supermarkets year-round.  Germans, however, prefer the white variety that is harvested from mid-April to near the end of June (St. John’s Day), and often is harder to find in the United States.  The Germans have given this harvest season its own name - Spargelzeit - and celebrate it with passion.  

Rich in nutrients and very low in calories, asparagus has become a culinary status symbol for many Germans.  To produce white asparagus, soil is piled up into knee-high banks, which give the fields their characteristic appearance.  White asparagus grows entirely surrounded by earth, which protects the slender stalks from sunlight exposure and keeps them from turning green.  This also affects the subtle flavor of it.  The popular vegetable is cultivated in almost all federal states as well as in neighboring countries.  In fact, Germans consume more white asparagus than their country produces, so it is necessary to import it.

Please join the German Wine Society’s Capital Chapter on the evening of Friday, May 3, 2024, from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm, for a four-course asparagus-themed dinner in the German Embassy House, plus an outdoor reception with served hors d’oeuvres on the Embassy House patio (weather permitting).  Our Spring Festival dinner will feature not only the elegant vegetable in both its green and white versions, but also fine German wines, including Silvaner, known for its affinity with asparagus.  We will have seven whites including two containing Silvaner grapes, a red, and a sparkling wine, representing five of Germany’s wine regions.  It has been a tradition of the German Wine Society to hold Spargelfest dinners at this time of year at various locations, including the German Embassy House, Cafe Mozart (now regrettably closed), and Cafe Berlin last year.  We look forward to our return to the Embassy where our Society began 47 years ago, in 1977.

 

Pictures: German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter)

Report by Carl Willner, President of the GWS

  

Fellow German Wine Society Capital Chapter Board Members,

On the evening of May 3, 2024, our GWS Capital Chapter held its Spring Festival at the German Embassy House, from 5:30 pm to about 9:30 pm.  Fortunately, even the weather cooperated with our event, and we enjoyed a beautiful evening, warm but not hot and free of rain, so that we could share sparkling wine and ample hors d'oeuvres on the patio before heading inside for dinner.  Considering that the next several days are all expected to be rainy, we were very lucky with the timing of the Spring Festival.  I served as organizer for this event, and delivered opening remarks on the patio along with Astrid Jakobs de Padua of the German Embassy.  Chef Mikko, the German Embassy’s new chef, was there in person to oversee the rest of his staff and prepare our dinner, so everyone got to meet him and ask questions at the end.

...Overall turnout for the event was very good, with 64 registered (including 40 members, 21 non-members, and 3 Embassy guests) and 63 actually attending, putting us at the maximum for event registrations that we were allowed. 

...Overall, this event was very well received by our members and guests, and I have received several compliments on it both at the event and afterward.  The seated dinner, though more expensive for us, avoided any complaints about some people not getting their favored dishes on a buffet, and some guests said that they preferred the seated dinner to the buffet approach.  Guests appeared quite satisfied with both the quality and quantity of the food available from Chef Mikko and his staff (“very yummy and plentiful” as Maria So put it)...

Based on this year’s experience, I think we could safely rely on Chef Mikko to provide us with another successful Spring Festival/Spargelfest should we get invited again to the German Embassy House next year!

 

Maureen Bluhm on facebook

Enjoyed a beautiful “Springfest” Dinner this evening celebrating asparagus delicacy with German weins at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. We began the evening on the terrace under beautiful blue skies sampling Dr. Loosen’s Sparkling #Riesling Sekt paired w/ asparagus frittata, curry wurst on toast and asparagus shrimp skewers. Delish & delightful!

 

So About Last Night…

The German Wine Society - Washington DC #GWS co-hosted with the German Embassy the annual “Springfest” last night with a four course wein pairing dinner featuring the spring delicacy of asparagus. It was delicious pairing with each course being paired with 2 German weins. 

 

After a delightful opening reception, we dined on Aspargus soup , green salad w/ blanched aspargus, dates and goat cheese, the rare treat of grilled white aspargus topped with extremely rich hollandaise sauce, a duo entrée featuring beef w/ mushroom au jus (and a miso crusted monkfish that MoWino skipped) & ending with/ a decadent dessert trio. It was specatuclar menu prepared by Chef Mikko Catering with a “WOW” wein pairing. Of note, the asparagus soup was an absolute course.

Best sip in show and wein tidbits will be featured on MoWino social so make sure to tune in! Prost!

 

Roland Young on facebook 

 

Tickie and I attended the Washington DC Chapter of the German Wine Society’s Spargelfest/Springfest at the German Embassy last Friday. About 64 attended including our friends Christian and Annette Schiller and Bill Stefan and his wife. Christian is the Chapter Vice President and Bill is the President of the National American Wine Society. Bill and I attended a couple of Military financial management courses together back in the early 1980’s when we were both young financial managers. 

 

The event started out with a meet and greet on the patio with a nice German Sekt and four nice passed canapés. We then moved inside for a “five” course dinner with two wines for each course ranging from bone dry to sweet dessert white wines including a Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) with the main course. Mostly green asparagus with only one odd white asparagus dish that was not traditionally done. The Chef was Finnish and not German. Great food but not traditionally German for the season. The event was delightful as well as our dining companions. 

 

This was the first time since before Covid that this was held at the embassy and it was great to be back! We had to make a decision whether to attend this event or the Louis Jadot French Burgundy wines tasting at the May AWS meeting. Tough decision but I’m glad with the choice we made! 

Arriving

 

Pre-event Consultation with Chef Mikko

 

 

"Spargel" Dinner

 

 

 Sekt Reception 

Blackened Trout Salad Wraps

Grilled Asparagus Frittata with Chive Sauce

Grilled Shrimp and Asparagus Skewers

Curry Wurst on Toast with Curry Ketchup

These hors d’oeuvres will be accompanied by the following sparkling wine:

Nv Dr. Loosen Sparkling Riesling Dr. L Mosel 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome Speeches 

Seated Dinner

First (Soup) Course

Asparagus Soup with Lemon and Chive

Served with the following white wines:

2022 Kruger Rumpf Munsterer Rheinberg Kabinett Riesling Nahe (JS 91)

2021 Selbach Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Kabinett Riesling Mosel (WA 93-94)

 

Second (Salad) Course

Charred Asparagus, Dates, Goat Cheese Salad

Served with the following dry white wines:

2021 Hofgut Falkenstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Weissburgunder Trocken Mosel

2022 Weingut Keller vom Muscheligen Kalk Rheinhessen (a white Pinot Blanc/Chardonnay/Silvaner blend)

 

Third (Main) Course

Grilled White Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

Crispy Miso-Butter Crusted White Fish

        Beef Striploin with Roasted Spring Vegetables/Potato Salad

       

Served with the following white and red wines:

2021 Max Müller Silvaner Trocken Franken

2017 Weingut Schnaitmann Steinwiege Pinot Noir Württemberg (WE 92)

 

 

  Dessert Course

  Rhubarb Sour Cream Cake

Strawberry Salad with Sabayon

Chocolate Mousse on Tart Shells

Served with the following sweet white wines:

2022 Carl Loewen Thornicher Ritsch Auslese Riesling Mosel (JS 96)

2020 J.J. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spätlese Riesling Mosel (WA 93)

 

 

  Coffee and Tea service at end, with bottled still and sparkling water provided at tables

 

Chef Mikko 

The Wines

Bye-bye

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