Thank you to our outgoing presidents!

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Happy last day of classes to all CLS students! Now that our 3Ls have (almost) become alumni, we are giving our outgoing DeVinimus presidents a proper send-off in our first ever logo apparel!

Thank you to Paul Stretton and Mike D’Andrea for all their hard work, service, and commitment to the organization and the Columbia community over the past three years. After three years of tasting set-ups and clean-ups, Finger Lakes retreats, and board socials, you’ve finally made it to your last law school class ever. Your success is well-deserved and you will be greatly missed. Congratulations, good luck, and remember: “When people drink, then they are rich and successful and win lawsuits and are happy and help their friends.” – Aristophanes.

Best wishes,

Your DeVinimus family

Announcing the 2019-2020 DeVinimus Executive Board

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DeVinimus is proud to announce its 2019-2020 Executive Board:

Lin Lan & James Kutter, President
Emma Stein, Deputy President
Tom Bidwill, Director of Wines
Lauren Reisig, Treasurer
Jennifer Chan, Social Chair
Dominique Jones, Alumni Relations Chair
Alina Dvorovenko, Membership Chair
Megan Sullivan, Publicity Chair
Joshua Kim, Cellar Master

Congratulations, and a big thank you to the outgoing board for all of their hard work!

Wine 101

IMG_0710On Monday, September 17, 2018 DeVinimus hosted Wine 101, an educational wine tasting led by Bob Cunningham and Robin Kelley O’Connor. We we would like to thank the Acker Merrall & Condit wine store on Amsterdam and 72nd st. for supporting this tasting. Acker Merrall  is a longtime supporter of DeVinimus and offers Columbia Law Students a 10% discount.

A short introduction to wine tastings and an overview of different grape varietals can be found in the following documents: An Introduction to Wine TastingVarietal Analysis

Chateau Kirwan Tasting

What: Chateau Kirwan Tasting (classified Margaux from Bordeaux)
When: Thursday, April 27 at 7:30pm
Where: JG 104

Happy last week of classes! We know it’s finals time so everyone (except maybe 3Ls…) is hitting the books, but we have one more Devinimus event this semester to invite you to. We are excited to host Chateau Kirwan, a third growth classified Margaux from Bordeaux (Don’t know what that means? Clink the link to find out!). Chateau Kirwan makes great Bordeaux wines, and we think that if any event can tempt you to take a (probably well-needed) study break, it should be this one.

Because it’s getting close to finals and we know it may be harder for some people to make this event, we are letting any Devinimus member bring a guest for free. So, if you have a friend who you think needs a break from holing up in the Law Library, RSVP and add a guest for this one. We hope to see as many people as possible on Thursday for our last event!

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Dr. Konstantin Frank

What: Dr. Konstantin Frank tasting (led by Meaghan Frank)
When: Thursday, April 20 at 7:30pm
Where: JG 106

Come join us for the wines of Dr. Konstantin Frank, one of New York’s best wineries. If you’ve ever been wine tasting by the Fingerlakes, you’ve probably heard of these wines because they were one of the first and most influential in the area. They are generously bringing us nine of their wines, most of them white – so if you’re a white wine lover and get tired of our normally red-heavy tastings, this is a tasting you shouldn’t miss!

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Aged Wine Tasting (part 2)

What: Aged Wine (led by Robin Kelley O’Connor)
When: Friday, April 14, 2017
Where: JG 304

We’ve decided to do a second Aged Wine Tasting this year (which we are very excited about)!

Long story short, we as a club have a collection of older wines that were donated to us by a friend of Bob Cunningham’s because they could not be sold at auction for a variety of minor flaws (such as being slightly under-filled or having their labels damaged). We’ve had these wines for years and have been slowly drinking down our reserves – and we think this may be the last group of them that we have left to drink. Bob wants to drink them now because they are only getting older (although that is not always a bad thing). We will also need whoever is available to show up a bit early (say, around 2) to get the wines set up.

The cost for this event is normally $100 per person, but since we are winding down the wine and no longer have to pay as much for its storage, we are only going to charge $70 per person. We have extremely limited seating available for this special tasting (right now, about 10 left!!). So don’t hang around. They are filled on FIRST COME FIRST SERVED basis (guests are invited as well, and it will be $70 for them too).

This is a really rare opportunity that we have to taste some of these old, great wines – those who came last semester can tell anyone interested about it. Great examples from last year include a bottle of Petrus from the 50s, Cheval Blanc from the 60s, as well as many first growths and super seconds. It’s a fun and educational experience and we encourage anyone interested to sign up!

Rioja Tasting, sponsored by Skadden

What: Rioja Tasting (led by Robin Kelley O’Connor)
When: Thursday, March 23 at 7:30pm
Where: JG 104

It’s our pleasure to invite you to a tasting of Rioja, lead by our own Robin Kelly O’Connor and sponsored by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. We are really thankful to have Skadden’s sponsorship for this event, because it means we get to taste many different great Riojas and learn a lot about the wine and region.

Wines will include:

  • Bodegas CVNE ‘Monopole’ Viura Blanco Rioja 2015
  • Bodegas Muga ‘Barrel Fermented’ White Rioja 2015
  • Bodegas Marqués de Cáceres Rosado 2015
  • Bodegas Faustini VII 2014 (Joven)
  • Bodegas Lan Crianza Rioja 2012
  • Bodegas Marqués de Riscal Reserva Rioja 2011
  • Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta Reserva Rioja 2011
  • Bodegas La Rioja Alta ‘Viña Alberdi’ Reserva Rioja 2010
  • Bodegas Viñedos de Páganos ‘El Puntido’ Rioja 2009
  • Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Gran Reserva 2006
  • Bodegas Riojanas ‘Monte Real’ Gran Reserva 2001

Cheers!

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Banfi Tasting

What: Banfi Wines
When: Thursday, February 23, 2017 at 7:30pm
Where: JG 106

We have successfully secured a temporary liquor license and arranged an event with another producer, so that means it’s time to RSVP for our first event of the semester! We will be hosting Lars Leicht of Banfi for a tasting of wines from Tuscany. Banfi is an American wine producer and has a large portfolio of Italian wines, and they will be showing several of their wines produced by Castello Banfi in Tuscany. We are really excited for the opportunity to taste their wines and learn from them about wine making, and we hope you can join us!

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Castillo de Monjardin Tasting

What: Castillo de Monjardin Tasting
When: December 2, 2016 at 7:30
Where: JG 101

Fellow vinophiles,

While the fall semester, and with that the year 2016, is drawing to a close, we are not going to let this end without one last tasting party. You are all invited to try great wines of Castillo de Monjardin from Narvarra, Spain.

Tucked in the foothills of the Pyrenées along the French Border in Navarra, Castillo de Monjardín’s estate was originally a way station along the famous pilgrimage route from Paris to Santiago de Campostella. Its proximity and historic cultural links to France provide a winemaking tradition based on Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, distinct from the rest of Spain. Monjardín does, however, make good use of the Garnacha that has made Navarra famous for its fresh, fruity rosés and lush, fruit-forward reds.

It’s a very busy time of the year but we all need a brief back from exam preparation and paper writing. And there is no better way to do so than to join us at our 6th and last event of the year. All you have to do is RSVP!

Happy thanksgiving and see you all next week!
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