Saturday, November 29, 2008

Pamela Hamilton With Husband Hugh Of HUGH HAMILTON Winery, McLaren Vale, South Australia Here On Sat. Nov. 15th, 2008 At Cleveland Park























It was great to get Pamela here to taste with her husband Hugh the other Saturday, November 15th, 2008 from 4-8 PM.

It was really nice to have Pamela back with us again.We've now had tasting at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 2008 Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) Hugh, Mary ( daughter that I have also blogged about ) and now Pamela .

This is Pamela's second visit to our store. The first time she came with Hugh it was to sight-see here in Washington D.C. They just stopped by to say a quick " hello " and to sign some bottles, etcetera. That was nice and totally out-of-the blue.

This time it was planned and we had Hugh and Pamela pouring the dry white JIM JIM ( 100% unaoked CHardonnay ) and the Shiraz red JIM JIM ( named after their dog ). They also poured their white dry Viognier called " the Loose Cannon " ( around $20 a bottle ) as well as their " the Mongrel " dry red Sangiovese blend ( $20 ) and their top-niveau/line " Jekyl and Hyde " dry Shiraz/tiny bit Viognier blend ( modelled after France's northern Rhones ), $30 a bottle.

In one of the pictures included here is Hugh sitting in our office in front of the Apple computer checking on his plane reservations to head up to New York and then on home to Mclaren Vale, South Australia. This was their last tasting before heading home. Hugh always fits us in each time he visits the U.S. and for that we are grateful. We're glad we could help him check with the airlines to be sure that everything was in order.

As always there are always so many stories within stories in each wonderful, magical, amazing, sometimes serendipitous moment that we exist within. The question being : how much can we become a real part of that moment to really enjoy ?!? It's easier said than done.

I found out that Pamela was a teacher by training and she was especially delighted to meet Rosalind because of that. She told me after the tasting that she was sorry that she had not had more time to pursue that with her. Oh well, perhaps they exchanged cards? That's another story within a story.

Another story within a story is that Hugh always announces that his mixed breed dog named " Jim Jim " has his own web page and is more famous than Hugh or the rest of them. I find that fascinating and hard to believe. I do know that Jim Jim and the other Hamilton dog is featured in at least one if not more of the famous Aussie books about winemaker/owner's dogs - and there are many of them, too. Hugh's however is on the cover of one of them! Fun stuff. Thanks for sharing Hugh.

With Pamela's help we drew lots of people over to taste these excellent, balanced, food-friendly dry reds and whites and virtually sold out there and then! That's what happens when you have two people working their wines on the floor.

When you add in that both of those working the floor are so friendly and nice and so knowledgeable about their wines then that plain-out spells success. It never fails to happen when a Hamilton is in the store! We love them dearly and are thrilled to have them as a part of what I affectionately term : the Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits family.

Thanks for coming to pour Pamela and Hugh. You are both welcome anytime.

Enjoy these photos. You can tell that our customers are also enjoying themselves tremendously. too.

You will notice pictured here William Davis our rep for Billington Imports. He was also here doing a tasting of his excellent BIG TATTOO reds from Chile and dry white Riesling ( 75% ) and Gewurztraminer ( 25% ) California white. These " Two Brother - Big Tattoo " wines do support breast cancer research and we are thrilled to sell them for that as well as their excellent quality. Thanks William, and thank you Pamela and Hugh once again!

Cheers, TONY

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