Centennial Year Church Events

June 25, 2005 -   The Senior R Club (Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America) of SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in South River, N.J., hosted its annual Wine Tasting Party in the Church Hall on Saturday evening, June 25, a night much hotter than it should have been for this early in the summer. The event - the fifth in as many years - was BYOG (bring your own glass) and was chaired by Joanne M. Sivess with the assistance of Senior R Club members. Hor d'oeuvres and dessert were available in addition to samples of a variety of wines. What follows is a photoreport on the Wine Tasting Party.

The guest lecturer at the event was oenophile Mr. Marshall A. Trachtenberg of Harvest Wines & Spirits of Edison, New Jersey. Above left, Mr. Trachtenberg brings cases of wine from his van to the Church Hall before the guests arrive. Above right he is shown with event chairperson, Joanne Sivess.

Rev. David F. Garretson opened the event with a prayer and he then welcomed Mr. Trachtenberg and the assembled guests at the well-subscribed event. And then before the event proper began, the unexpected happened. From the department "sooner or later it was bound to happen", Rev. Garretson announced that the Senior R Club wanted to present Church Photographer and the current Church Webmaster, John Sopchak, with an official "press pass" to all future R Club events. Below right, John found himself on the "wrong side" of his camera for the first time while an approving audience looks on. Thanks to Joanne Sivess for the fine photographic work on short notice!

Above left is a close-up of the "press pass" given to John by the Senior R Club. It will be kept and considered often, not so much as an "admission ticket" to the next upcoming event, but rather as a reminder of the obligation to provide accurate and inclusive reporting on the life of SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church both with respect to Church services and events. Such self-indulgence would be unfair were credit not given to the creator and developer of our Church's Website - Webmaster Emeritus Nicholas Berezniak, Jr. (shown above right on the Sunday following the event). Thanks, Nick for having laid the seminal groundwork for the inception and devlopment our Church Website! Enough of the self-congratulation! We now rejoin our regular reporting on the evening, already in progress!

The objective of a wine tasting, of course, is to sample many different wines whose cost might be greater than the entry wines of Kedem and Manischewitz, for example. For the cost of admission, the guests received instruction in the finer points of wine-tasting, an opportunity to sample eight different wines, and ample food and non-alcoholic drink. For the record, the eight wines sampled were Cricova Champagne Toast - Republic of Muldova N/V; Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay - Sonoma, CA. 2003; Castle Rock Pinot Noir - Monterey Cty, CA 2003; L de Lyeth Merlot - Sonoma, Cty. 2002; Beringer White Zinfandel - CA. 2004; La Velle Riesling - Oregon 2004; Kindzmarauli Georgia 2002; Bartenura Moscoto - Italy 2004.

Instructional materials were available (above left). Above right, some of the "Guests of Honor".

The guests also learned the five "S's" of wine tasting. They are, according to Mr. Trachtenberg, "see", "swirl", "sniff", "savor", and "swallow", with the optional 5th "S" being "spit" (the more genteel word being "expectorate"). Notice in the photos above right and below right, the buckets known as "dump buckets" which were present on each of the dining tables. Their purpose was obvious - a sip of wine from one's glass to sample a particular vintage followed by the emptying of the remainder of the glass's contents into the "dump bucket" enabled all present to sample all of the available wines without becoming inebriated. All left the event safely under their own power and standing upright! This was a "class event" - an opportunity to sample classy wines - and not an exercise in over-consumption!

Above left and below, the wines did not serve themselves. They were delivered to the guests' glasses by Senior R Club members who were designated as "pourers". Among the "pourers" were A.J. Sivess, Kim Silva Bell, Gregory Sprogis, and David Kaminsky. Above right, Andrew Michael Steffaro, well below the legal age, found fun things to do on grandmom Carol Deerson's lap without even a sip of the fruit of the vine! Below, Kim Silva Bell serves (left to right) Marie Mendoker, Dorothy Messeka, Paul Boshko, and Eleanor Boshko.

Above left, Barbara Kaminsky sells chances to Paul Boshko for a Grand Prize Raffle Basket (shown above right).

Above left and right, Senior R Club members worked both behind the scenes preparing food (some of which is shown immediately below) in the Church Hall kitchen and by bringing the food to a buffet-style presentation (shown far below) where guests ate during interludes in the wine-tasting event.

This evening of wine-tasting was such a success that everyone present looked forward to the sixth annual event sure to be held next summer! See you there!

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Copyright © 2005, Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, South River, NJ