Dear German Wine Society Members and Friends of German Wine,
I regret to have to inform you that the German Wine Society Capital Chapter is postponing its annual New Vintages Tasting with Phil Bernstein, currently scheduled for tonight, March 13, 2020, at Harbour Square. Last evening, we had several cancellations for the event, and I am aware that there are other members and guests who, while they have not cancelled, are concerned about coming due to the current coronavirus pandemic situation. While the risk is probably low with a modest-sized group like ours in a private apartment building, quite unlike the mass gatherings that have been getting cancelled across the country, and we were prepared to take various health precautions including use of disinfectants, hand sanitizers, and gloves, and spreading guests out further at tables, we want guests to be able to fully enjoy our events, and not be worried about risks to their health in attending.
I have included on this notice all of the email addresses I have for persons that had registered for the New Vintages event and had not already cancelled, but there are many of you who also signed up on behalf of other friends and guests whose emails I do not have. Therefore, please let your other friends and guests included in your registration know immediately when you get this message, so that no one will show up this evening and be surprised by the absence of an event. I’m also aware that a couple of members and guests are coming in from out of town for the event, and I hope that by sending this out in the morning, this notice reaches you in time to avoid any unnecessary travel.
New Vintages is merely postponed, not cancelled entirely. This is one of our most popular events of the year, and our members and guests regularly enjoy the opportunity to hear from Phil Bernstein of MacArthur Beverages about the latest German wines, sample them, and decide what to order from him. We cannot set a new definite date at this time, due to the uncertainty about how long coronavirus health concerns will continue, but will be working with Phil to come up with a new date this year at an appropriate time, perhaps in the early summer or later in the fall. We still have all those delicious wines, and are eager to share them with you!
Since we do expect to do New Vintages later this year, we are giving all of you the option either (1) to maintain your current reservation and be automatically included on the guest list when we reschedule the event (retaining your Paypal payment on file or having us hold your check if you paid that way), without any change in price to you even if there is a price change for other guests, or (2) to receive a refund now (either processed through Paypal by our Treasurer, if you paid that way, or by having your check returned or destroyed). Please let me know by email reply to this message which option you would prefer. If you keep your registration on file with us and the date on which New Vintages ends up being rescheduled creates a conflict for you, we will of course provide a refund at that time when you notify us of the problem. Please note that if you included an annual dues payment with your Paypal reservation, as several of you did, the dues payment will not be refunded, only the portion of the payment for the New Vintages tasting.
We are very sorry to have to postpone the event this evening, which I know many of you were looking forward to attending, as I was, but we look forward to seeing you all again when we are able to reschedule. As recently as last night, I had said to some of you who asked that the event was still going forward, but the combination of cancellations, member concerns, and the more general news about the pandemic have made reconsideration necessary. I hope you will agree that this was the right decision for this difficult and uncertain time. All, please stay healthy and take good care of yourselves!
Carl Willner
President and Secretary, Capital Chapter
German Wine Society
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