Dear Cornellians and Friends,

The participants in last year’s “Weinkurs” offered by Via Vitus were so enthusiastic about the evening that we decided to do it again this year. So that we can accommodate a larger group than last year, Beat Hüsler has kindly agreed to make the lovely room in his offices available to us. Many of you will remember this building and room from our architectural tour in September 2014.

Our host, Antonio Balzano, is the proprietor of the Via Vitus Weinhandlung in Muttenz (http://www.viavitis.ch/home.html). Although still offering fine wines from major vineyards, Mr. Balzano increasingly imports premium wine directly from small and medium-sized producers in Italy. In addition to his wine business, Mr. Balzano and his team cater to events, and in the wine store itself is a small café serving the “best coffee in Muttenz.”

We will begin the evening by tasting seven or eight wines under the tutelage of Mr. Balzano. This will be followed by a generous antipasti buffet, which, if last year’s experience is a reliable predictor, will be excellent. All of the open bottles of wine (and some additional bottles as well according to demand) will be there for us to drink during the meal. Attached to this invitation is a review with some photos from last year.

We can accommodate 20 participants; registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Time:         
19:00        Wine tasting

                                   
Antipasti buffet
                                   
Coffee & grappa

                  
22:00        End

Travel:       
Tram 14 (Basel), SBB Muttenz, or automobile

Cost:          
Active members of the Cornell Club:      CHF 70

                  
Cornell students & young
alumni:          CHF 50
                  
(born 1986 or later)

                  
Others:                                                  CHF 90

Mr. Balzano will be presenting in German, but this was not a real obstacle the last time around for those who do not speak German themselves. There are enough bilingual participants to help with understanding, Mr. Balzano can also speak English, and the wine and food speak a universal language.
 
To register, please send me a message (bernard.maccabe@chmac.ch) with the number and names of the persons in your party, and your mobile telephone number. I will acknowledge all registrations, and include payment details. We request that payment be made upon receiving your confirmation. Refunds will be made for timely cancellations, as will be explained in the confirmation message in more detail.
 
The registration deadline is Monday, 22 February 2016.
 
On behalf of the Cornell Club, I thank Beat and Cécile Huesler for once again opening their doors to us for this very appetizing evening.
 
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Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
 
Kind regards,
Bernie MacCabe