Wednesday, October 28, 2026

The German Wine Society in the USA Celebrates its 50th Anniversary in Washington DC in May, 2027 - Save the Date




This is a Save the Date message. 

In 1977, the German Wine Society in the USA was founded when 83 graduates of the German Wine Academy were inducted in a ceremony at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. Ever since then, we have been carrying out our missions of improving knowledge of German wines and enjoying them with those of similar interests.

Much has changed in the world of German wines over the past 50 years. Germany reunified, and two eastern regions were added to the eleven in western Germany. Red wines have expanded from only a tenth to a full third of German production. There are many more good dry white wines to enjoy along with the traditional sweet, high-prädikat ones. And Germany now has new, terroir-based wine classification system. But through all these changes, the members of the German Wine Society have continued to enjoy Germany’s wonderful wines.
 
In 2027, the German Wine Society will celebrate its 50th anniversary. The planning has started and I want to give those who are interested a heads-up.
 
As it stands now, the central event will be a "Festakt" in the historic Carl Schurz hall of the German Embassy in the second half of May. The date will be either Thursday, May 27 or Thursday, May 20. 
 
The Carl Schurz hall has a capacity of up to 150-200. German Wine Society members would be invited, but there will also be othere guests. The event will be a celebration of German wine and culture, with a concert, speeches and a reception with some buffet food and German wines. 
 
On the following 2 or 3 days, there will more events in Washington DC, possibly with winemakers or importers, including at the Cosmos Club in Washington DC downtown. 
 
If you are a German winemaker, German exporter, German wine journalist/ blogger, German wine lover in Germany or a German wine importer, distributor, retailer in the USA and interested in participating in the German Wine Society's 50th Anniversary in Washington DC you are most welcome. Please contact me if you want to attend or for any questions you might have. 

Christian Schiller
Capital Chapter Vice-President
German Wine Society
cgeschiller@gmail.com  
 
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Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Lunch and Tasting at Elena Walch at Castel Ringberg, Overlooking Lake Caldero - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours







  

Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours, led by Annette Schiller, took place from Sunday, September 06 - Sunday, September 13, 2026.   
 
Being the northernmost wine region of Italy, 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 tour we did not change hotels. We stayed 7 nights at the famous, beautiful 5-star Art-Nouveau style Parkhotel Laurin in Bozen.
 
See:
 
Overview: The Alto Adige/ Trentino Region in Northern Italy and its Winemaking - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
 
Day-by-Day Summary: Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
 
Bozen / Bolzano in Alto Adige, Italy: A City Between Two Worlds - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
 
A Week at Parkhotel Laurien, Built in the Art Nouveau Style, in the Center of Bozen - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours 
 
Day 5 - Tasting at Weingut Tiefenbrunner, Lunch and Tasting at Weingut Elena Walch, Dinner at Thaler Arome Restaurant
 
(1) Tasting at Weingut @Tiefenbrunner with Owner Christof Tiefenbrunner in Kurtatsch. Christof joined us for part of the tasting. Weingut Tiefenbrunner is one of the oldest and most prominent estates in Alto Adige. Their vineyards span an extraordinary altitude range from 200 to 1000 meters above sea level. They are highly celebrated for their Mueller Thurgau Vigna Feldmarshall von Fenner, which us grown on a high plateau at 1000 meters.
 
(2) Lunch and tasting at Elena Walch Tramin Founded as an independent project in 1985 by architect Elena Walch, the family-run estate has been a driving force behind the region's quality revolution. We met at Vigna Castel Ringberv, the largest single vineyard in Alto Adige, overlooking Lake Caldero. 
 
(3) Dinner at Thaler Arôme, an upscale rooftop restaurant in the heart of Bolzano.

Elena Walch 

The Elena Walch winery traces its roots to 1869 in Termeno (Tramin), the South Tyrolean village widely credited as the birthplace of Gewürztraminer, whose name derives from the town itself. For generations the estate remained a conventional family winery until 1985, when Elena Walch, an architect by training who had married into the Walch family, took charge and became the first woman in South Tyrol to run a winery independently, at a time when the local wine industry was almost entirely male-dominated. 

Elena Walch brought an outsider's clarity to the role, replacing much of the traditional Vernatsch plantings with international and aromatic varieties better suited to fine wine production, and introducing South Tyrol's concept of true single-vineyard "terroir wines," separately vinifying grapes from her two flagship sites: Kastelaz, a steep clay slope above Termeno, and Castel Ringberg, a limestone vineyard crowned by a seventeenth-century castle overlooking the Kalterer See / Lake Caldaro. Both sites were later included in the region's official Vigna registry, guaranteeing their single-vineyard origin. The Gewürztraminer Vigna Kastelaz, in particular, earned Elena Walch international recognition as a benchmark for the variety and the informal title "Queen of Gewürztraminer." 

Today her daughters Julia and Karoline run the roughly 137 acres estate in the fifth generation, continuing their mother's sustainability-minded, terroir-driven philosophy across Tramin’s and Kaltern’s varied soils.

Castel Ringberg Overlooking Lake Caldero







Lunch









Cellar







Tasting












Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours: Already Released and Forthcoming Postings
 
Meet and Greet in the Garden of Parkhotel Laurin in Bozen - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours 
 
After-dinner Wine at Toma by Lisa Wine Bar in Bozen - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
 
Guided Visit of Oetzi, the Iceman in Bozen - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours 
 
Authentic South Tyrolean Dinner up in the Mountains at Buschenschank Baumannhof, with the Legendary "Soul of the House" Mali - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours 

Monastery Tour, Vineyard Tour and Wine Tasting at the Neustift Monastery in Brixen - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours

Lunch at Granpanorama Hotel Sambergerhof, Famous for its Uninterrupted 54-kilometer Panoramic View of the Dolomites Chain - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours 

 
Lovely Al Fresco Dinner in the Alleys of Old Town Bolzano at Franziskaner Stuben - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
 
 
Tour and Tasting at Kellerei/ Cantina Nals Margreid - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
 
 
 
 
Lunch and Tasting at Elena Walch at Castel Ringberg, Overlooking Lake Caldero - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours 
 
Dinner at Thaler Arome, an Upscale Rooftop Restaurant in the Heart of Bolzano - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours 

Cellar Tour and Tasting at Manincor, a Biodynamic Pioneer and Flagship Winery of the Region, with Owner Count Michael Goess Enzenberg - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
 
Lunch at Alpin Hut Oberholz up in the Dolomites 6300 Feet Above Sea Level - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours 
 
Tasting at Cantina Kurtatsch, a Premier Cooperative, with a Spectacular View of Adige Valley - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours 
 
Extensive Vineyard Tour, Tasting and Lunch at Alois Lageder, a Historic, Family-run Flagship Winery in Alto Adige, with Sarah Daval, Weinakademiker - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
 
Tour and Tasting at Tenuta Hofstätter in Tramin, a Flagship Winery of the Alto Adige Region, a Pioneer of Vigna (Single Vineyard) Classification in Alto Adige, with Fourth-generation Owner Martin Hofstaetter - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours  
 
Farewell Dinner at Restaurant 1500 (1 Star Michelin) up in the Vigiljoch above Lana (Reachable only by Cable Car), with Chef Daniel Sanin and Sous-Chef Jonas Graber - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy 
WineTours

 

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