schiller-wine: New Vintage (2024) Tasting of the German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter), led by Phil Bernstein, General Manager of MacArthur Beverages (March 2026)

Fantastic New Vintage Tasting of the German Wine Society - Washington DC led by Phil Bernstein, GM of MacArthur Beverages, a leading wine store in the Washington DC area. Vintage 2024, all Riesling, all Mosel or Nahe, ranging from dry, ultra premium GGs of Weingut Emrich-Schönleber and Weingut Dönnhoff to fruity sweet Spaetlese wines of @Weingut Pruem. #worldclass

Invitation: GWS New Vintage Tasting with Phil Bernstein

Dear German Wine Society Members and Friends,

Every year we host a tasting to try German wines from the new vintage, with a focus on Riesling. Our host is Phil Bernstein, General Manager of MacArthur Beverages, one of the leading retailers of German Riesling in the country. Every year, Phil brings some of the best wines of the vintage.

The new vintage is 2024, another in an increasing string of very good vintages, though regrettably the first to be carrying the increase in wine tariffs. Mosel Fine Wines says that “2024 is a must-go-to vintage for lovers of classic and ethereal Mosel lightness and elegance!” Vinous Media found that the German wines of 2024 are “sprightly, sleek, concentrated Rieslings with exquisite verve and full aromatic development.” Here is your chance to try the 2024s from some of the very best producers!

DATE: Friday, March 27th, 2026. Doors open at 6:30 pm; tasting begins at 7:00 pm. Registrations are due by Monday, March 23, 2026.

VENUE: King Farm Community Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle, Rockville, MD 20850, Please park in the lot behind the swimming pool adjacent to the community center, and then come around to the front of the circle (not through the pool area) to enter the building. The Shady Grove Metro station on the Red Line is right across 355. The Red Line King Farm shuttle bus runs from there on a route passing the Community Center until about 7:30 pm, every 20 minutes, though if returning by Metro you would need to arrange a ride to the station with another guest, get a cab or walk (about 20 minutes to the station).

THE WINES: (vintages are not listed for all wines from 2024)

Welcome Wine - NV Loosen “Dr. L” Sparkling Riesling, Mosel, or similar

Two Peter Lauer Trockens

Peter Lauer Unterstenberg Riesling Fass 12, Mosel (classified as Grosse Lage)

Peter Lauer Ayler Kupp Riesling Fass 9 Kern, Mosel (classified as Ortswein)

A Pair of GGs (the Grand Cru dry whites of Germany)

Emrich-Schönleber Halenberg Riesling Grosses Gewächs, Nahe

Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle Riesling Grosses Gewächs, Nahe

Falkenstein Kabinetts Duo (same producer, vintage, grape, region and level, different vineyards)

Hofgut Falkenstein Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Kabinett Alte Reben #8 Gisela, Mosel

Hofgut Falkenstein Öckfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett Alte Reben #22 Mia, Mosel

Willi Schaefer Kabinett Vineyards Comparison (same producer, vintage, grape, region and level)

Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett, Mosel

Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett, Mosel

Delicious J.J. Prüm Spätlese (same producer, region, grape, vintage and level, different vineyards)

J.J. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese, Mosel

J.J. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese, Mosel

An Auslese Finale (providing it arrives in time)

Merkelbach Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese “Urgluck” Riesling, Mosel

Registered Members and Guests

Kevin and Sharon Baer

Sarah Batcheler and David Baime

Ken Belsley and Elaine Maddox

Joel Cuffman and Leo Settler

Tanya DeCell

Wayne Dulaney

Randi Dutch

Jing Feng

Leah and Michael Gibbons

Julia Keda

Isabelle Parenti

George Philips

Darryl and Nancy Priest

Anya Rezhova

Annette and Christian Schiller

Henry She and Miranda Li

Andrew Sostek

Karen Stokes

William Szymański

Klaus Teuter

Laura Tiehen and Dave Wendler

Zhongmin Wang

Carl and Nina Willner

Roland and Tickie Young

Report by Carl Willner

On Friday, March 27, 2026, the German Wine Society Capital Chapter met for its first in-person event of 2026, the annual New Vintage tasting presented by Phil Bernstein, General Manager of MacArthur Beverages. This year, the new vintage was 2024, the first one to bear the new 15% wine tariffs. The event was held at the King Farm Community Center in Rockville, MD, which has become Phil’s preferred venue for this presentation. We opened the doors at 6:30 pm, and the event commenced at 7 pm, continuing until close to 9:30 pm to complete the presentation on all 12 wines offered. With welcome help from many of the guests, the cleanup was done quickly and we were out of the Community Center by shortly after 10 pm, well ahead of the 11 pm deadline. Dave Wendler, as usual, served as organizer for the event and was comped, while Karen Stokes, Carl Willner, Nina Willner, and Anya Ryzhova all served as helpers with setup and/or food and were half comped. We had several people serving as volunteer pourers at various times, including Annette Schiller, Tanya DeCell, and Laura Tiehen.

36 members and guests were signed up to attend the New Vintage tasting, with 35 actually attending, apart from Phil. ...

As usual, Phil delivered a well-informed presentation to the GWS coupled with various observations about the special characteristics of the 2024 vintage, and made time for numerous questions. Our group was very active in discussing the wines with Phil and each other at this event, and the high quality of the wines was appreciated by the GWS members and guests. Though some had concerns initially about the higher costs of the wines this year, which was partially but not entirely due to tariffs, it appeared that the explanations by Dave and Phil, and the experience of the wines themselves, largely alleviated those concerns. The buffet with meats, bread, cheese, pretzel sticks, and cute veggie cups created by Karen, and the delicious apple strudel baked by Nina, provided a tasty accompaniment to the wine experience. Phil said he got good orders from the event, and so, coupled with the positive financial result we received, we can reasonably expect that the New Vintage tasting will continue to be a part of our GWS wine year.

Tasting