schiller-wine

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Tuscany Wine Tasting at the J. Marshall Chapter (Virginia) of the American Wine Society on Sunday, February 15, 2026, with Annette Schiller (ombiasy WineTours)

At this month's tasting at the John Marshall Chapter of the American Wine Society in Virginia (Chapter Chair: Doug Beakes), Annette Schiller provided an overview of the Wines of Tuscany, where she will take a group of wine lovers later this year (there is still one double room available).

See: Announcement: Small Group (12 people) Wine Tours to Europe (Italy and Germany) this Year (2026) by ombiasy WineTours with Annette Schiller https://schiller-wine.blogspot.com/2026/01/announcement-small-group-12-people-wine.html

Invitation: Tuscany Wine Tasting at the J. Marshall Chapter (Virginia) of the American Wine Society on Sunday, February 15, 2026, with Annette Schiller (ombiasy WineTours)

Sunny Tuscany is so enticing now in this never-ending freezing weather! Get one step closer to Sunny Tuscany by attending our upcoming tasting on Sunday, 15 Feb, 630pm, Pearmund Cellars. Annette Schiller will present wines from Tuscany to warm our bellies and our spirits.

Please RSVP by sending $25/person to my zelle account (listed under my telephone number 703-626-0313).

This will be a combined meeting with the Bristow Chapter, so please RSVP early.

Cheers,

Doug

John Marshall Chapter Chair

Tuscany Wine Tasting at the J. Marshall Chapter (Virginia) of the American Wine Society on Sunday, February 15, 2026, with Annette Schiller (ombiasy WineTours)

Arriving

Tuscany Tasting by Annette Schiller

Tasting

Small Group (12 people) Wine Tours in 2026 (including to Tuscany) by ombiasy WineTours with Annette Schiller

Dear wine lovers,

In many parts of the US it snows right now. I would like to brighten your snow days by telling you where and when you could explore gorgeous wine regions later in the year. I have planned 3 fantastic wine tours for 2026. These provide for great dreams of sunny, warm days, a swimming pool, and great wines to sip (ok, the wine you can also sip right now hunkering down in front of a fire place)

Tuscany: 11 days, 10 nights - Monday, June 08 - Thursday, June 18, 2026

Few regions evoke such a feeling of longing as Tuscany. And indeed, this region is unique with its blend of history, incredible scenic beauty, magnificent wines, outstanding food and its "Dolce Vita".

Tuscany is located in Central Italy very roughly between Bologna and Rome and borders the Tyrrhenian Sea to the West with Florence as its most prestigious city and Siena, the historic Etruscan city. Tuscany is an absolutely beautiful landscape of rolling hills and incredible views. Most vineyards -except for the vineyards of Bolgheri and Maremma - are on relatively steep and abrupt hillsides. The hilly Tuscan vineyards are usually interspersed with olive groves, and forests. Most wine estates are fairly distant from the main roads and only accessible by winding dirt roads littered with potholes.

We will do winery visits and thorough tastings at top wine estates in the Chianti, Chianti Classico, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Bolgheri, and Maremma appellations.

The tour starts and ends in Florence. I booked accommodation in beautiful places: the first 4 nights we stay at a winery / hotel / restaurant in Panzano-Greve in the Chianti Classico appellation, the following 4 nights we also stay at a wine estate with accommodation and an on-site restaurant just south of the town of Montalcino, and the last 2 nights we can relax in a beautiful 5-star spa-beach-resort at the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the Bolgheri region.

Hurry up to book this tour: there is only 1 double room left!

Germany Classic: 12 days, 11 nights - Sunday, June 28 - Thursday, July 09, 2026

We will fully experience authentic Germany. We travel along the main Riesling wine arteries of Germany: the Rhine river, the Mosel river, and the Nahe river. We travel east of Frankfurt along the Main river to Bürgstadt to explore where phenomenal Silvaner and Pinot Noir wines are produced and will visit the Ahr wine region where Pinot Noir always was the main grape variety. On this tour we discover 7 of the 13 German wine regions: Franken, Rheinhessen, Rheingau, Mittelrhein, Ahr, Mosel, Nahe.

Roman, medieval, and modern history accompany us all the way and will help us to understand what German wine is all about. The beauty of the landscape, the steep vineyards, the romantic Rhein valley, the quaint villages, the stories behind the wineries and their families, and the gorgeous wines we will taste at world-renowned wine estates will give us a renewed understanding of German wines. Of course we also do a cruise on the Rhine river to experience the “German Rhine Romantic”.

The tour starts and ends in Frankfurt am Main. Accommodation will be in excellent 4+5 star hotels - all with air condition, which might come in handy during our summer travel time. However Germany never gets really, really hot and humid; it is a northern region with a moderate continental climate.

There are 1 single room and 2 double rooms left!

Trentino - Alto Adige: 8 days, 7 nights - Sunday, September 06 - Sunday, September 13, 2026

Being the northernmost wine region of Italy, Trentino -Alto Adige is a very special place where Italian and German traditions merge. It is a fascinating and unique region in the Alpes. It boasts of an extraordinary variety of landscapes: snow-capped mountains in the Dolomites, fertile valleys, streams, century-old breathtakingly beautiful towns true to their hybrid Germanic-Italian culture

During this wine tour we travel through 3 main valleys carved out by the rivers Adige (Etsch) and Isarco (Eisack). These valleys form a Y since in Bozen, the capital of the Alto Adige region, the Isarco joins the Adige. From Bozen we follow the Adige river further south and spend a day in Verona the city much beloved by Shakespeare who set more than just one play in this northern Italian town. We will use this opportunity to also visit some wineries where we taste the unique, delicious Amarone.

As the climate gets warmer cool-climate winemaking has captured the interest of both sides of the wine business: the industry and the consumer. The focus shifts more and more to higher altitude, cooler climate regions such as Trentino-Alto Adige in search of elegant, moderate alcohol wines.

This tour starts and ends in Bozen. During this tour we do not change hotels. I booked 7 nights at the famous, beautiful 5-star Art-Nouveau style Parkhotel Laurin in Bozen.

There are 1 single room and 2 double rooms left!

Please browse the website: https://ombiasypr.com/index.php Here you find all information how to sign up for securing your spot for the tours. The registration pages are online!

The itineraries of the Tuscany and Germany tours are finalized. I am currently working on putting them on my website. If you want to know the details of the itinerary, do not hesitate to contact me either via email or whats app. I am happy to send them to you.

The itinerary of the Trentino-Alto-Adige tour is in the process of being finalized. If you want to know more about it, please get in touch with me.

AND: what also is important: to match wine with food. As always: wine epicurean delights play an important part of our journeys through the wine regions.

Come along and join me on these wine tours. As usual: in a nutshell: the tours are wine classes on the ground: you learn by doing and this is much more fun than learning about a wine region out of a book.

COSY UP WITH A GOOD WINE AND WATCH THE WORLD TURN WHITE.

CHEERS ANNETTE

WINE EDUCATION /// WINE TOURS

Annette Schiller, Diplom-Volkswirt

Professional Member and Wine Educator
American Wine Society AWS

German Wine Society, Capital Chapter
ombiasy PR, LLC
Washington DC - Frankfurt am Main
T: +1 (703) 459.7513
T: + 49 (0) 177.337.0281
aschiller@ombiasypr.com
web: ombiasypr.com
blog: schiller-wine.blogspot.com

Wine Country Italy - Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige - in the Summer of 2025

From June 16 to July 3, 2025, Annette and I spent time in wine country Italy, by car. For an overview, go to: Wine Country Italy - Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige - in the Summer of 2025

schiller-wine: Related Postings

Announcement: Small Group (12 people) Wine Tours to Europe (Italy and Germany) this Year (2026) by ombiasy WineTours with Annette Schiller

Overview: Rhône Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours led by Annette Schiller - Facebook Day-by-day Postings

Overview: Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by Ombiasy Public Relations and Wine Tours led by Annette Schiller - Facebook Day-by-day Postings

Summary of Loire Valley 2025 by ombiasy WineTours, led by Annette Schiller: Wine, Food, History, Culture

Summary: Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours

Summary: From Lyon to Paris - Total Immersion in Burgundy and Champagne 2023 by ombiasy WineTours (July 02 - 13, 2023)

Summary: Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours - 12 Days: May 28 - June 08, 2023

Christian Schiller`s SCHILLER-WINE Blog on Corking Wines` Top 101 Wine Writers of 2020 List

The 2025 American Wine Society National Conference in Chantilly/ Virginia/ USA, with Annette and Christian Schiller: Seen Through Christian Schiller's Camera Lens

2022 Annual Riesling Party at the Schiller Residence in McLean, Virginia, USA

Massive Tasting of Bordeaux 1982 - the Vintage that made Robert Parker a Star, USA/ France

Kékfrankos - Blaufränkisch - Lemberger: A Grape’s Immigration Story From Central Europe To The US West Coast - Seminar at the 2023 American Wine Society National Conference in St. Louis/ Missouri/ USA led by Annette Schiller

The New German Wine Law of 2021 - Tasting at the German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter), presented by Annette Schiller

schiller-wine Blog of Christian Schiller Top Washington DC Alcohol Blog (December, 2024)

2024 Annual Meeting of the Weinfreundeskreis Hochheim, a 45 Years Old Wine Brotherhood in the Famous Wine Village Hochheim, Rheingau, Germany, with Annette Schiller, Founding Member, and Christian Schiller

Masterclass - The Wines of Germany: Presentation by Annette Schiller at the German Embassy in Washington DC/ Consular Conference March 2024

The New German Wine Law of 2021 - Shifting from the Sugar Level at Harvest to the Wine's Geographic Origin

Dinner at JAN in Munich, Germany, with Jan Hartwig, one of the ten German 3-star Michelin Chefs (September 2024)

Hans Rebholz, Weingut Oekonomierat Rebholz, Pfalz, Presenting his Wines at the German Embassy in Washington DC, USA (January 2025)

2025 Rieslingfeier Gala Dinner in New York City, Sky Loft, 32nd Floor of 50 Hudson Yard, with 15 #worldclass Winemakers from Germany + Austria and Estimated 300 Wines, many 20, 30, 40 Years old, many Larger Format and almost all Ultra-premium

German Wine Society (Capital Chapter) Membership Meeting 2025: Carl Willner Re-elected President and Christian Schiller Re-elected Vice-president, USA/ Germany

Christian Schiller: Re-elected to the Board of the "Weinfeder", the Association of German Wine Journalists (January 2025)

Annette and Christian Schiller Awarded German Wine Society Silver Medallion for their Superior Knowledge of German Wine (USA, Washington DC, December 12, 2025)

Visit of Château de Chambord: "An Epitome of what Human Art can Produce" said Charles V. (Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations) - Loire Valley 2026 by ombiasy WineTours

With a Large Cheese Cart and Soufflé Flambé au Cognac: 5-course Menu Inspiration - Leisurely Sunday Lunch at Restaurant La Croix Blanche on the Banks of the Loire between Amboise and Blois, with Owner/ Chef Jean-François Beauduin (Bib Gourmand Michelin) - Loire Valley 2025 by ombiasy WineTours

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Meeting Ntsiki Biyela, Leading Black Female Winemaker of South Africa, Owner and Winemaker, Aslina Wines, Stellenbosch, at The Wine Concierge in Washington DC, USA

In 2011 in Stellenbosch in South Africa, I had the chance to spend a couple of hours with a very special person - Ntsiki Biyela, at the time winemaker at Stellekaya Winery in Stellenbosch. Ntsiki is a South African, a winemaker, a woman and a Zulu – in the South African wine industry, which is dominated by white males.

See: Meeting Ntsiki Biyela at Stellekaya in Stellenbosch – South Africa’s Only Female and Black Winemaker with International Recognition https://schiller-wine.blogspot.com/2011/02/meeting-ntsiki-biyela-at-stellekaya-in.html

Now, 14 years later, I had the pleasure of reconnecting with her in Washington DC at an event organized by @The Wine Concierge.

Ntsiki Biyela is now the owner and winemaker of Aslina Wines in South Africa. After years of working in the wine industry, she started Aslina, naming the winery after her grandmother. Her wines are thoughtful, expressive, and deeply connected to place, blending tradition with her own personal story. They’re honest, beautifully made wines with a lot of heart behind them.

Inviation

An Intimate Afternoon with Winemaking Pioneer Ntsiki Biyela

Sunday, February 15, 2026 | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST

Join us for an exclusive wine tasting event with Ntsiki Biyela, South Africa's first Black female winemaker and the visionary founder behind Aslina Wines. This special afternoon marks the highly anticipated premiere of her new wine brand, Ndubs.

What to Expect

Guided tasting of Ndubs wines led personally by Ntsiki
Behind-the-scenes stories about her winemaking journey and the inspiration behind Ndubs
Insights into sustainable viticulture and her commitment to showcasing South African terroir
Q&A session to connect directly with this trailblazing winemaker
Light refreshments paired thoughtfully with the wines

About Ntsiki Biyela

Ntsiki Biyela has transformed the wine industry through her dedication to excellence and her powerful story of breaking barriers. As the founder and winemaker of Aslina Wines, she has earned international acclaim for crafting elegant, terroir-driven wines that honor South Africa's rich winemaking heritage. Now, with Ndubs, she continues to push boundaries and redefine what's possible.

Event Details

Date: Sunday, February 15, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
Format: In-person wine tasting
Capacity: Limited seating to ensure an intimate experience

This is a rare opportunity to taste debut wines from Ndubs before they're widely available, hear directly from one of the wine world's most inspiring voices, and celebrate the artistry of winemaking with fellow wine enthusiasts.

Meeting Ntsiki Biyela at Stellekaya in Stellenbosch – South Africa’s Only Female and Black Winemaker with International Recognition

Pictures: Christian G.E.Schiller with Ntsiki Biyela at Stellekaya in Stellenbosch

I had a chance to spend a couple of hours with a very special person - Ntsiki Biyela, winemaker at Stellekaya Winery in Stellenbosch. Ntsiki is a South African, a winemaker, a woman and a Zulu – in the South African wine industry, which is dominated by white males.

South Africa Yesterday and Today

When traveling in South Africa today, it quickly becomes evident that apartheid is resting in the dustbin of history. South Africa’s current President is the Zulu Jakob Zuma, who is mired in personal and political controversy. The Txosa Nelson Mandela, who had spent more than 25 years in prison during apartheid, was President in the 1990s and is now a revered elder called "Madiba" ("Papa"). South Africa successfully hosted the Soccer World Cup. The Soccer World Cup was hoped to provide a boost to the tourism industry; but indications are that the expected boost did not materialize, at least not fully. The gap between the haves and have-nots continues to be wide, but is narrowing and a black middle class is emerging. This, however, is not so much evident in the wine region, which continues to be dominated by the whites; Cape Town even has a white mayor. 99% of the vineyard area is in the hands of whites. The AIDS pandemic is taking a huge toll with the HIV infection rate at about 20 percent.

Over the course of the years, I have detected an increasing openness, pride and camaraderie among all the South Africans – white, colored or black, Boers or Brits; Indians, Jews, Zulus, Txosas or Vendas, I met. Nevertheless, this rainbow society with a share of 75% of blacks, has huge challenges to cope with.

The Stellekaya Winery

The Stellekaya Winery is located in Stellenbosch’s historical brandy manufacturing precinct. Stellekaya means home of the stars, a combination of the Italian word for stars, Stella and Kaya, an African word for skies. That’s how owner Dave Lello sees his winery - an African winery that makes wines in the European tradition. Dave is a keen follower of the stars and an amateur astronomer, hence the stars theme at the winery.

Pictures: Christian G.E.Schiller at Stellekaya with wine maker Ntsiki Biyela

The project started in 1999; after 2 experimental seasons, a decision was made to establish a commercial winery in the center of Stellenbosch. The first crush in the new winery was in 2003. Stellekaya has been buying in grapes, but 2009 saw the first harvest of own grapes from Stellekaya’s 24 hectares site along Blaauwklippen Road in Stellenbosch.

The winery is designed to produce about 120,000 bottles of wine. Production is planned not to exceed 20,000 bottles per wine in any one vintage. 40 percent of production is currently exported, but the export share is planned to eventually increase to 60%.

Winemaking Philosophy

Stellekaya produces mainly premium quality red wines, but it has just started to also make a Chenin Blanc. Stellekaya allows its grapes time to cool after harvest and then lets them go through a cold maceration for 3 to 4 days. The grapes go into open fermenters and the cap is punched down in a traditional method. Stellekaya uses a wooden basket press and matures its wines in French oak barriques. Most of the wines are matured for 12 to 22 months and then spend an extra few months in the bottle before being released into the market. The winery has been designed in a way that no little or no mechanical pumping is necessary, and that the maximum fruit and flavour are extracted early in the fermentation process. The process is labor intensive but this ensures the quality. It also helps in terms of involving local labor.

The Wine Maker: Ntsiki Biyela’s Story

I was very thrilled to meet Ntsiki Biyela in person. I had heard so much about here and had seen the video clip on CNN. She was crowned South African Woman Winemaker of the Year 2009.

Nontsikelelo, or Ntsiki as she is fondly known, told me during the course of our tasting that she was born and raised in the rural village of Ulundi in Zululand. Her village got electricity only in 2004. She matriculated from Mahlabathini High School in 1996 where she excelled in science. Ntsiki had high hopes to study engineering, but did not have the funding for full-time study. Luckily, her uncle introduced her to winemaker Jabulani Ntshangase, who assisted Ntsiki in applying for an SAA scholarship. Ntsiki was chosen as one of ten black students to pursue a bursary program to study winemaking at Stellenbosch.

In 2003 Ntsiki graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture, specialising in Viticulture and Oenology, at the University of Stellenbosch. She found work at Stellekaya in 2004, which rapidly turned into a full winemaker's job. Initially, Ntsiki was assisted by Peet Le Roux. Since 2005 she has been making the wines on her own; at times she works with consultant Michael Carmichael Green. Her 2004 Cape Cross won a Gold medal at the Michelangelo Awards. It was the first gold medal won by a black winemaker in South Africa and it was her first vintage.

Pictures: Ntsiki in front of Nelson Mandela pictures and behind Stellekaya wine bottles

It was great fun to spend a couple of hours with Ntsiki, a fascinating black, female winemaker. “When I was given a scholarship by South African airlines in Stellenbosch, I moved 1000 miles away from home, from my grandmother who raised me as if I was her daughter and from everything I knew. I had never drunk a glass of wine in my life” Ntsiki said.

One can imagine, what courage and determination it took to attend classes largely filled with Afrikaans-speaking white males. "You feel like you have invaded their space" said Ntsiki. And just about everything was done in Afrikaans, which Ntsiki did not understand when she arrived in Stellenbosch. “There was little overt hostility” Ntsiki said, “but little support, and I was very scared at first. I really only started getting on easily with my fellow-students in the last year. There have been many changes in Stellenbosch over the last years, however. Many more black people now attend the University.”

Ntsiki has a clear idea of her own wine preferences. “I like full and ripe wines” Ntsiki said. She is unperturbed by high alcohols as long as they are in balance.

Ntsiki Biyela at the Wine Concierge in Washington DC

The Wine Concierge

With Ntsiki Biyela

The Food

The Wines

A Conversation

Bye-bye