June-July, 2009 : Chris & Barry Of Monument Fine WinesTaste BYRON, FREEMARK ABBEY & PRIMA VOCE @ Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits

It was nice to have a chance to revisit some FREEMARK ABBEY Wines now twice within a month's time. First Eileen McLemore of FREEMARK ABBEY came with Chris to taste us at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ). I got to try the MATANZAS CREEK wines ( Sauvignon Blanc 2007, $23.99, and the 2006 Chardonnay, $28.99 ) as well as the ARROWOOD ( Viognier " Russian River " 2006, $32.99 and the Sonoma Merlot 2005, $42.99 ). Eileen and Chris had the 2005 FREEMARK ABBEY Napa Chardonnay, $21.99 as well as the Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, $32.99.

Yesterday, Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 Barry and Chris tasted Mike Martin and me on the 2007 FREEMARK ABBEY Napa Chardonnay, $21.99. We will taste it this Saturday in the store with our Cleveland Park customers from 3-7 PM. Chris will come and pour it along with the Tuscan red 2004, the " Prima Voce " TENUTA DI ARCENO, $16.49. It's a classic, old-world style of Italian red : medium-bodied, dusty-dry, some good body and yet not a casual sipping wine. It needs a meal and to be open for awhile before drinking.





The FREEMARK ABBEY 2007 Chardonnay has that good Napa oak and some butter. It will hold it's own against many a dish and for those that like this style it will be a big hit at this price. I remember when it was more expensive : I'm glad that the price has dropped.




Chris will also pour some other wines from his MONUMENT portfolio that includes another California wine, a Pinot Noir and a dry Spanish white.

You should join us this weekend to taste these wines as there is never any charge. Bring some family and some friends and make it a special event in Cleveland Park.




Chris and Barry also tasted me on the BYRON " Santa Maria Valley " Pinot Noir, $25.99. We will not be tasting it this Saturday as we had already picked another Pinot. The BYRON is a very popular style of California Pinot Noir. I'm glad that I got a chance to revisit it.




As you can see by these pictures that I like looking for interesting angles and contrasts with the wine bottles, the wine glasses filled with the wine and all juxtaposed one against the back-drop of the other. The more things to include that relate to the others the better. I love the distortions, the way the glass amplifies certain words and images. I also like the way the glass breaks up a person's face and makes some of it big and some of it small.

Here I have taken more traditional photos of both Barry and Chris.




I really enjoyed tasting the FREEMARK ABBEY Napa Cabernet Sauvignon ( $38.99 ). I immediately appreciated the bouquet first and then the way the Cab evolved and opened for me as I slowly sipped it. From start to long finish this medium-bodied Napa Cabernet Sauvignon showed balance and some strong character, making me want to linger longer over my glass of wine. Why rush it : let it work it's many charms slowly and without being strapped for time.




I will write more time-permitting. Now I have to post these pictures and these few comments. I'll have to find my notes and pictures of the first tasting with Eileen McLemore and include them here as well.




I love this picture of Chris above that I took where the glass in fact does distort his head and make it quite a contrast to the top of his head that it does not cover. The same person, the same face yet two distinct realities that coexist in harmony anyway.


In the meantime enjoy both these pictures and what I have written so far.










I love both these two last pictures of Chris and Barry where I capture moment's of pure surprise and a reaction I am sure to what I said at the time to get purer, more honest, less posed pictures. Cheers guys ...




Enjoy, TONY

Dr. Erika Pedrini Of Azienda Agricola PRAVIS, Lasino ( TN ) Italy Visits Cleveland Park W/David )f Grappoli ,Tastes New Muller Thurgau, Rebo Rigotti

It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance Erika. I'm glad that David Enright brought you to Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) today, Wednesday July 8th, 2009. It's been a glorious day of sunshine and clear blue skies and no humidity : our fourth in a row now. It was also good to revisit your wines and tell the story that I knew of your wines Erika. We will get some of the Pinot Grigio del Trentino 2007 ( $13.99 ) in another couple of weeks. The other wines that I tasted like the Chardonnay will come just a bit later and in September the rest will follow.




Owner of Grappoli Imports Alberto Panella brought me the wines originally, maybe five-six years ago? I don't remember now. It has been awhile. We started with some of the Pinot Grigio as well as some of both the Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon. They all sold, especially the Pinot Grigio. That is no surprise of course as Pinot Grigio was then becoming more and more popular. I think that Alberto came at least once or twice to the store and poured these wines for our Cleveland Park customers back then.




Now Grappoli does not have either the Cabernet Sauvignon or the Merlot. They have rather up till now been focusing on the ever-popular Pinot Grigio and the Syrah ( I tasted the 2004 today, about $28-$29 ). We have never sold the Syrah but I must say that I liked the style of it today : spicy and aromatic, medium-bodied and very smooth and approachable.




I immediately warmed to Erika's brilliant smile : it drew me in and I enjoyed taking all these pictures of her and her wine bottles and their labels ( sometimes through my wine glass filled with her family's wines, sometimes not ), of David, too. I hope you like them as I took lots of artistic license when I snapped them quickly, always searching for the best composition, the most unrehearsed smile and expression, the best distortion and clarity and color of each wine and it's label.




We started by tasting the 2007 PRAVIS Pinot Grigio ( $13.99 ) and I commented around helping customers in the store that it reminded me almost of unfermented ( or just-fermented juice ) wine as it was so pure and crisp. The way it tasted to me just then it was more lean and angular as well as bright and zesty fresh and it needed food to really flesh it out.




The next wine we tasted was the 2008 PRAVIS Chardonnay ( $13.99 ) and I warmed to it immediately. It was rounder, fuller, more fleshy and with both less bite and need of food. I could sip on it outside on Connecticut Avenue ( perhaps at Byblo's if wine was allowed there ) and watch life go by very contentedly. It would be so easy to enjoy it all by itself and watch the circus of people, young and old, male and female pass by me. I liked how bright and fresh and easy it was on my palate just as so much of the sights would be around me sitting outside.

I compared it immediately to the Pinot Grigio and said that it would be what I would enjoy like this without food. The Pinot Grigio I would have with a meal and invite one of the people passing by ( maybe more ) to take a seat by me and enjoy the wine and help me flesh it out with some food. I was speaking with many images that were meant to touch nerves and be expanded upon as the listener felt it should be. Since I was speaking in imagery and in English I asked Erika if she was understanding me and where I was going? She quickly said that she did.




I think I caught Erika completely off-guard with my talking, tasting, movements to-and-fro and quickly snapping pictures and showing them as time marched on. She smiled a lot more during all of this as I asked her what her favorite wine was here? Oh, I also at some point complemented her on her English which was very good and quite charming to listen to.




Erika responded immediately and told me that her favorite wine here was the PRAVIS Muller Thurgau ( 2008, $16.99 ) which we were about to try really soon. I asked her why this was her favorite and she answered me with many words, bright, animated smiles and her hands moving constantly as she spoke. I told her that she danced with her hands like Michael Jackson danced with his feet.

I finally tasted the Muller Thurgau 2008 and said that I understood why it was her favorite. I liked how rich and thick yet smooth and bright and layered it was on my palate. I told her that it was quite rich and that I could probably only enjoy a glass or two without food. It was bright and silky enough to not need a meal. I could sit outside after a meal on my deck here in northern Virginia on this cool dark night and enjoy a glass thoroughly now as it is so pleasant and refreshing outside. We have many, many lightning bugs that fly up and through the dense and tall canopy of our trees outside and in the dark they act like fireworks for our eyes as her Muller Thurgau would act likewise on the stretch of our contented palate.




I was helping customers all along and I have to admit I was enjoying the moment thoroughly and did not want it to end. I think you can see this in some of these pictures.

The wines were quite polished and elegant : classic expressions from Trentino and it's soil and climate.

Next David poured for me the Gewurztraminer 2008 ( $23.99 ) and I immediately liked it as it was full but not heavy on my tongue, rounded and soft with accents of spice but not too much. Medium-bodied and with a good finish this would be an excellent sipping wine as well as a food wine. Take-out from Nam Viet, Spices, Thai Salsa, Lavandou, Sabores and more from our neighborhood alone would be well-served with this 2008 PRAVIS Gewurztraminer.




Now it was time for some of the reds. David poured me the 2006 Rebo Rigotti ( a hybrid from the crossing of both the Merlot and the Teroldego grapes , $28-$29 ) which I had never heard of before. Neither had David.

At this point I had been doing some small clips of Erika speaking both in Italian and in English about her wines. I will try and include them here later.

I liked this medium-to-light-bodied PRAVIS Rebo Rigotti red wine. It had polish, brightness and finesse and no bite. It was quite light in color as you will see in some of these pictures. We will definitely buy it for the store as it is both an excellent wine to enjoy alone and with a meal as well as it has a great story that I believe most have never heard. I've got my work cut out for me here and I will rise to the occasion in September when it arrives.




David had been talking quite a bit about how well the PRAVIS Syrah had done here in Washington D.C. It has done so well that Grappoli is currently out of it. I will have to wait until September to buy some and sell it. But at first I will focus more on the Rebo Rigotti.




It was time for David and Erika to leave but I wanted Erika to first sign our guest book and poster. She wrote in Italian : " La vita e troppo breve per beve vino cattivo : The life is to shot for trink bad wine ... carpe diem ! Grotie mille ". She drew a heart behind the word " mille ". I agree , life is too short to drink bad wine, so I'll enjoy drinking some PRAVIS really soon again.

David will be sending us a floor-stack of five cases of the Pinot Grigio with his order coming on Tuesday, July 21st, 2009. Thanks David, can't wait.






I asked David how much time he had before leaving our store and he said he had seconds : he did not want to get a dreaded D.C. traffic ticket and they had many more stops to make. Erika's flight had been delayed and she had arrived in D.C. late around noon.




David rushed out to save his car from the ticket-writers and I would take Erika out back where he would be waiting for her. As usual between signing the poster and our book and me drawing quickly five sketches of Erika as she signed David was back and looking at us wondering why we were still in the same spot that he left us?!?

As I said this parting was a bit of sweet sorrow for me. Oh well, Erika offered me a black PRAVIS apron to wear as a gift and we had to take pictures together,etcetera and then she and David could be off.




With a smile and a quick hug they were off and Sofredo that works with us was reading Erika's words that she had written. He loves to speak Italian and spoke a few sentences with her as she arranged to leave.




I told Erika about my blog page ( this site ) here at blogspot and she wanted me to be sure and send her the pictures. I will email her soon after I post this in a few minutes.

For more info on AZIENDA AGRICOLA PRAVIS go to : Dr. Erika Pedrini ( enologo ) , Loc. Le Biolche, ! 38076 LASINO (TN) P.IVA 01009760222 Tel: 0461 564305 Fax : 0461 564565 info@pravis,it www.pravis.it.




THanks Erika and David for having spent so much of your valuable time with Mike Martin and me ( Anthony TONY Quinn ) at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. I think we all had a wonderful time together, tasting, smiling, laughing, telling stories about the wines and our experiences/observations.




As you can see I have taken and posted many pictures and I will comment some on them really soon but for now I want to post this now so that it is all fresh in my memory.

It is now Thursday morning just at 12:11 AM and it is time for me to get some sleep myself. Cheers and stay-tuned for more soon ...




P.S. Go to : chatpoetry.blogspot.com to see the four Morning Poems that I wrote today ( thurs. July 9th, 2009 ) inspired by both the wines and the visit of Erika from A.A. PRAVIS. Cheers, TONY













This was a great impromptu tasting with Mike Martin and me ( Anthony - Tony - Quinn ) at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits Wednesday afternoon, July 8th, 2009. Mike and I discovered some new wines like the Rebo Rigotti that we had never tasted before! That's always a real thrill and exciting. TONY

My Acrylic Hand-Painted VIETTI Piemonte, Italian Botttles of 1980 & 1979 Barolo Bottles I Bought While Working @ The Mayflowert Wines & Spirits '83-5

I hope you enjoy these pictures I took of these bottles. I had fun painting them back in the 1990's I believe. Cheers, TONY

Pere Escude Gonzalues of CELLERS UNIO ( " Perlat " Monsant ), Tarros, Ona, Spain Visits Cleveland Park W/ David Bryant June 8th, 2006

I'm always glad when I take the time to take pictures of those that come to Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel" 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) to visit us and our Washington D.C. neighborhood. Sometimes I'm busy or preoccupied or just not in the mood. However, I do it anyway realizing that this might be my one chance to record the moment with whoever visits, big or small, known or known not at all : it matters not to me. Everyone is a part of this wonderful world of wine and everyone deserves their moment in the wine's glow so to speak.

We have been enjoying selling the wines of CELLSER ( Perlat, Monsant ) UNIO now for a number of years : as long as I can remember David Bryant carrying them. He was well represented by Chris Pigott of Country Vintners that took pretty much every opportunity that he could to be sure that we had the wines in stock and for sale at Cleveland Park.

I'm not sure exactly when we started with CELLERS UNIO : it happened and we added at least three of these excellent Spanish reds and then would sometimes focus more on one than the others. We almost always had at least one on our shelves. I personally like very much the high quality level of them as well as their excellent values on the D.C. market. I am willing to go as far as to say that they often over deliver for what you the customer pays : that's a great thing. I also love the overall balance and style of these Spanish reds and whites: they often make me turn my head and focus more on them and their different tastes and styles.

I will have to ask my current Country Vintner rep Arielle Monaco about them as we are currently sold out at the store. There may be new vintages for us to consider. We may have to do an in-store weekend tasting focusing on them and the excellent wines that David Bryant brought to us while he was still alive.




Here we have a picture above of P.E. Gonzaluez of CELLERS UNIO and below one of David Bryant of Country Vintners responsible for buying both the Italian and the Spanish portfolios. I went to Italy back in 2006 with David. We had a grand time.





Above and below are pictures of Senor Gonzalues that I was meeting for the first time. It;s too bad that we did not have more time to spend together. I would have liked to have talked some more with him seeing as I liked so much his food. It would have been fun to have enjoyed a meal with him and his wines so that we could have spoken some about how he feels his wines complement food : and what his favorite combinations were?





Above is a picture of Senor Gonzalues and of David Bryant. They are both smiling : I captured a good moment here. Correction : whoever took it captured a good moment as I believe I cropped this to center in on David. I think that I am also in this picture but cropped here.

Below is one of our favorite regular customers with her young boy and her mother. She likes to come and taste and see what we have to offer her. It's something that she enjoys alot and she's always smiling and a pleasure to be around.





I was correct, I was cropped in the picture above as here you see the three of us all together, happy and smiling. This is a great memory for me and a wonderful one to share with you all of David.

Below is another picture of our customer, her child and her mother : three generations in one family - nice.




The wine was excellent and I was enjoying it and the moment : it's written all over my big smile.





Here are David and Senor Gonzalues above once again. I hope that Senor Gonzalues will return and do an in-store wine-tasting at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits sometime in the future. Gracias Senor Gonzalues e hasta luego.

Below are the same picture that I took of David Bryant. I'm really happy that I have this one of him smiling. It's a great memory of David : he loved his work and sharing his knowledge and both the wine and the people behind it. He brought the owners and winemakers to Cleveland Park Wines and Spirits when he could. This I believe was one of David's last visits with a winemaker/owner.

I took three different pictures with my Kodak Easy Share camera earlier. They all came out pretty well and that pleases me. They also all reveal something a bit different. Can you see it?




It's fitting that I should finally post these pictures of Pere Escude Gonzalies and David Bryant now, Sunday, July 5th, 2009 ; three years after their visit as well as one year and one day after David Bryant's passing. It was just last year on July 4th that David left this world as he stopped breathing that afternoon.

Until we next meet. Cheers, TONY

Andres V. Caulin Of VOX Wine Group Tastes Argentina's PASION 4 Reds & THE TANGO CLUB Torontes White @ Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits Early March 2009

Irene Bender of Dionysos Imports brought Andres V. Caulin to us back in early March 2009. iloved the wines and told her I would buy them. It's been a bit delayed but here they are in the store now. I liked them all : for $10 they offer great wine values : the Torrontes, the Malbec, Bonarda and Merlot. So far the Merlot is my favorite.





I will write more of course. For more technical info go to: andres@voxwine.com Tel: 202-569-0087 www.voxwine.com.




Andres is from Uruguay.




The name of the wines PASION 4 is after the four daughters of the owners.




I will write more later. Happy 4th of July, 2009 to one and to all! Enjoy these photos in the meantime. Cheers ...








Enjoy these photos of Andres' visit back in early March. he's here today at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits tasting with our customers on Saturday, July 4th, 2009 now at 12:05 PM! Cheers, more info to follow ... TONY

Sometimes We Relax, Celebrate Customer's Birthdays, Open CHARLES LAFITE Vin De Sables Sparkling French Wine & Chill ? June 2009

This Charles LAFITE Brut Prestige French sparkling wine ( comes in a dry rose, too , both sell for $11.99 - elabore et mis en bouteille par Domaines LISTEL, a F34200 Sete ; Vranken, Pommery - here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits, 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) really is a great new discovery for us here in Cleveland Park in our nation's capitol. We're very pleased to have both the regular and the rose here to sell for the upcoming 14th of July, 2209. Tomorrow it's the 4th of July and really soon it will be Bastille Day. Cheers, sante ... TONY














Here are some pictures that I took towards the end of the evening when we were drinking some Charles LAFITE " Vin De Sable " French sparkling wine, $11.99 to celebrate two birthdays and their moving to a new apartment. We will miss you lovely ladies, please don't forget us : I know that you will all still be in Washington D.C. Good luck and see you soon I hope. Happy 4th of July, 2009, too : it's tomorrow. Cheers, TONY

Sanford Chardonnay, Colome Torontes, Toasted Head & Hob Nob/ Lauren Opens & Pours For Mike & Me / June , 2009 : It Was Worth The Wait, Thanks Lauren

This was a fun tasting with Lauren as she kept pulling things out of her bag and we just kept being treated to one wine after another, some of which we liked and others maybe not so much.

However, having said that we do not buy wines on the basis simply of whether we like them or not : we judge them on many levels and always want to keep the interests of our customers first. We want them to have excellent wines, a variety of them , and at the best possible prices, too.

I will have to write more about each of these wines but in the meantime I'm going to post this today, Wednesday, " Canada Day ", July 1st, 2009. I hope you like the artistic freedom that I took here to capture the wines, the bottles, labels, using the wine glass to filter the images and distort/refocus them or certain parts of them : and of course of Lauren. I hope she does not mind. They are meant as a record as well as capturing a moment that she, Mike and I were all a part of here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com Tel : 202-363-4265 ) here in our nation's capitol. It's also almost the 4th of July and we may use some of these wines : the SANFORD and the " Toasted Heads " to celebrate.

We tasted the COLOME Torrontes dry white from Argentina as well as the two French HOB NOB ( good both to celebrate the 14th of July " Bastille Day " ) dry Chardonnay white and red Pinot Noir. The Chardonnay was quite impressive, really - and not that expensive. It's the second time now that it has impressed me much more than I would have thought.

Stay-tuned for more and Happy, Canada Day, 4th of July and 14th of July to one and to all. Cheers, TONY































Here are the pictures that I took of Lauren as she first opened then poured the " new " vintages of " Toasted Head " CA. wines and the red Pinot Noir and white Chardonnay French Hob Nob wines. Cheers, thanks Lauren ... TONY