Saturday, July 23, 7-10:30pm

Post date: Jul 19, 2011 2:31:13 PM

"Summer Time and the Livin is Easy" — until it comes to picking the perfect wine to go with your summer barbecue. We'll taste some wines that will be sure to marry well with dishes as diverse as a summer picnic fried chicken to brisket and ribs that have been smoked right off the bones.

We'll focus on the wines of Washington State. Washington wines from Walla Walla is so alliterative that it sounds like a joke. Well, Washington wines are no joke. They are delivering wines of equal quality to Napa but at a much more reasonable price point. Don't take my word for it; the Wine Advocate has recently rated 480 wines from the 2007 vintage as 90 points or better.

Our hosts for the evening will be Susan and David Spector of Acton. We will try wines that are paired with all of the meals of the season — delightful crisp white wines that take the sting out of the summer heat and luscious red wines that are up to the heat in your favorite barbecue.

We invite you to bring an appetizer to share with our friends that reflects the summer season. The fee for the evening will be $15. As always, the non-drinking designated driver is free of charge. We encourage all of our friends to drink responsibly.

Please RSVP to Erik (wine@abnewcomers.org) by Thursday, July 21 so that he'll know how much wine to purchase. We look forward to seeing you then!