INTRODUCTION TO TASTERS GUILD
Tasters Guild is a national society for wine and food lovers headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI. Founded in 1987, it has grown to incorporate over 100 local membership guilds, as well as a network of retail, restaurant, hotel, winery, and food industry associates. The Ann Arbor guild, Number 37, is a charter member of the organization. Dick Scheer is its founder and director, and his business, Village Corner, is its retail affiliate. Benefits of membership include:
1) Invitation, at the reduced member rate, to approximately 12 annual Ann Arbor Tasters Guild events, which range from walkaround tastings of anywhere from 50 to 100 wines to buffet and dinner events that explore the compatibilities of wines with foods. The 08-09 season featured walkaround tastings of German wines, Spanish wines, Italian Piemonte wines, Value Wines under $15, and Great Vintages wines; a Beaujolais Nouveaux Dinner at Evans Street Station, Indian dinner at Temptations with Robin Back from Goats Do Roam & Fairview Estates, Champagne brunch at eve the restaurant, Terre Rouge with Bill Easton at Quarter Bistro, Terra dOro with Jeff Meyers at Palio, and The Art of Eating picnic by Food For All Seasons. The annual tasting of nearly 100 medal-winning wines from the Tasters Guild International Wine Judging and Consumers Judging is an event not to be missed each winter. The 09-10 season continues with French wines for American foods at Carlyle Grill and Fortified Wines tasting at Quarter Bistro, Pacific Rim wine dinner and much more to come....
2) Invitation to the annual Tasters Guild International Wine Judging and Convention held in April, Consumers Wine Judging and Convention in August, and welcome at other Tasters Guild chapter events throughout the country.
3) Member discounts from Tasters Guild industry affiliates, including special hotel and meal rates and wine-list discounts. All these considerations are listed in the annual Tasters Guild Network Directory sent to each member and available online at tastersguild.com..
4) Invitation to Tasters Guild-sponsored wine cruises and wine-country tours. Local members (including Dick & Sally Scheer, chapter directors) who have taken one of these cruises are eager to go again!
5) 4 issues per year of QUARTERLY REVIEW OF WINES, a glossy wine publication of over 100 pages chock-full of tasting reviews, plus 6 issues of Ann Arbor Tasters Guild's newsletter, plus 2 issues of the Tasters Guild Journal.
6) Automatic membership in Ann Arbor Wine Club. For more information about this membership benefit, see the Introduction to Ann Arbor Wine Club below.
INTRODUCTION TO ANN ARBOR WINE CLUB
In
1991 Dick Scheer formed the Ann Arbor Wine Club to continue the
wine-tasting and wine-buying activities undertaken from 1973-1991
under the aegis of the Wine and Food Society of Ann Arbor. The
main program consists of a series of 6 annual offerings (January,
March, May, July, August, November) of approximately 8 dozen wines
each (plus a sprinkling of other foods and beverages, and wine accessories)
accompanied by a tasting of most of the items on offer. Village
Corner, the purveyor, offers exceptional discounts on these products
in consideration of the cost efficiency of the program and buying
clout of the group.
The procedure for each offering
goes as follows:
WEEK I: Members receive
a newsletter with a listing and description of each item on offer,
plus a tasting announcement and order form. Ann Arbor Tasters
Guild's newsletter and tasting announcements accompany this mailing.
WEEK II: Early in the week there is a
scheduled tasting of most of the items on offer. No reservations
are necessary; attendance is optional, of course. There is
a small charge to cover the cost of the event, payable to Ann Arbor
Wine Club; guests may attend at a surcharge.
At
the end of the week all orders accompanied by payment are due at
Village Corner. Payment should be made by either cash, check,
most ATM cards (in store only), VISA, Mastercard, or Discover card directly
to Village Corner, 601 S. Forest, Ann Arbor 48104. Ann Arbor
Wine Club is a separate entity that does not buy and sell wine.
WEEK III: Village Corner accumulates the wines at its warehouse and fills members' orders in the sequence in which they were received. Late orders are accepted this week at a 2% surcharge.
WEEK IV: AAWC members pick up their orders at Village Corner (storage and delivery options are available). If certain items are sold out, Village Corner will offer optional substitutes of similar style and equal or greater value.
Ann Arbor Wine Club Annual Membership Dues. Members of Ann Arbor Tasters Guild receive automatic membership at no additional cost to their regular annual dues to this organization. All others for POSTAL delivery of Newsletter: $15 per year payable in December, pro-rated down $2.50 per offering issue to late joiners. (For example: Join before September order pickup date, pay only $5.00, renew for $15 in December) All others for EMAIL delivery of Newsletter: $9 per year payable in December, pro-rated down $1.50 per offering issue to late joiners.
