Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Sam Anderson, 2012, Pours 2008 CH. RECOUGNE, Bordeaux Superieure,CH. BOUTISSE St. Emilion 2009 Grand Cru, CH. LYONNAT "Emotion" 2009


It was great to see Sam Anderson once again since I have known him pretty much the whole time I have been in the wine business here in Washington D.C. I'd say as far back as 1984 or 1985? He used to be the wine manager of Continental Liquors under Ed Tauber and I used to be the American wine buyer back at the Mayflower Wines & Spirits working for owners Sidney Moore and Michael Downey.

We started a wine group way back then with Doug Rosen and Michael Lamay and one or two others. I should remember but for the life of me now I cannot! Oh well, it was great to see you Sam the other day and try a series of four of your current dry red Bordeaux wines at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com, also on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits ).




Ean Bond that works with me at the store and I tasted these selections with Sam and Steven and we enjoyed them very much. We have I believe bought them all and they are currently available in the store for purchase. They also all reflect very good value.




For years we have sold the CHATEAU RECOUGNE ( 2008 being the current vintage, $14.99 ) as we started buying it years ago from Dan Kravitz the owner / president of Hand Picked Selections. He sold us the wonderful 1982 vintage and that is where I remember the wine the most. The 2008 is flavorful and balanced and needs a meal to flesh it out and we are thrilled to have it. Dan Kravitz represented it for many years. I am sorry that he does not still have it. I buy it in part because of the association with Dan. Like him, even though we rarely see each other ( the same with Sam ), we are old friends and acquaintances and have shared many good times over the years and selling the CHATEAU RECOUGNE brings some of them back to me. I love the association, really I do. I'm an old softy - a sentimental kind of guy. Oh well, it could be worse!



I will post this now " as is " and continue to write more as time permits. I have more to add. In the meantime enjoy this and these artsy pictures ( I am an artist ) and stay-tuned for more. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn





















Wednesday, March 14, 2012

New Update : 3/29/2014 RIO/SOL 2010 Cabernet Sauvigno-Shiraz! / 2012 : MIOLO & RIO/SOL , LIDIO CARRARO, CASA VALDUGA E SALTON Wines/ ' New ' Updates / Cachaca & Now VeeV Acai Spirit ( Liqueur ) Blended W/ Other Exotic Ingredients - ALL From Brazil! All @ Cleveland

Park Wines & Spirits, Washington D.C. N.W. ... the headline should finish.


It takes a village as I said ...  thanks all, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn  Saturday, March 29th, 2014 here at the store as I finish this and post this and get ready to sell more Greek wines today as we open a bottle with Danielle of Santorini HATZIDAKIS Winery dry white, 2012, On Special for $19.99, 13.5% alcohol by volume. Cheers, join us from 2-6PM to enjoy this and a bottle of the RIO/SOL Brazilian dry red 2010 Cabernet / Sauvignon / Shiraz , $10.99, 13% alcohol by volume, and some 2009 Crianza , Rioja from MARTINEZ LACUESTA dry Spanish red. Everyone always welcome, come taste with us today, Saturday, March 29th, 2014!  TONY  @ Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits, 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008, 202-363-4265 ... come taste ...  Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn



I HAVE JUST ADDED BELOW an update. VeeV continues to sell well! We have an open bottle to taste customers on for all to taste, enjoy and buy!   TONY 2/24/2014


I am interested pretty much in anything from Brazil. I grew up part of my life in Rio de Janeiro and Brazilia when it became the capitol. I was there as a child of seven and eight years old in Brazilia's first two years of life as the famous buildings were being built, crawling and climbing them as a young, very impressionable young boy, speaking Portuguese with the workers , engineers, builders, climbing into the warehouse through a tiny window way up on one of the outside walls; and basically having the time of my life. So, as I said I am interested overall in anything about Brazil and VEEV was/ is no exception.

We sell the RIO/SOLRio Sol wines ...
  • Conversation started October 28, 2012
  • Anthony Quinn
    Anthony Quinn

    We sold you RIO/SOL dry red Syrah/ Cabernet Sauvignon blend at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( www.clevelandparkwines.com ) that we bought from Dionysos Imports in Virginia. Did not know you make espumante as well? tell me more. Thanks. I am working with Bralvin Imports to imprt Brazilian wines to the United States. Contact me at : anthony@bralvin.com and go to Facebook at : Bralvin to see what we are up to. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn ) ....

  ...     and the MIOLO wines of Brazil - have for years now ...













 , and I am thrilled to have them and be able to share them with our Cleveland Park N.W. Washington D.C. customers. We do it seems have plenty of customers from Brazil and besides the Cachaca that we sell ( that is what people expect us to have ) we have some wine and now some VEEV and it is thrilling to have these as Brazil seems to be at the top - or approaching the top of it's game. And on top of that the Acai in the VEEV is also good for us? I love this!

" From deep in the of the Brazilian Amazon, the Acai berry is thought to be the world's preeminent superfruit. And VVEV is the world's first Acai spirit. ... blended with exotic ingredients, such as prickly pear and the Acerola cherry. Go to : www.veevspirits.com. It is produced and bottled by : VEEV Distillers, Rigby, Idaho.



The presentation was made to Ravinder Sharma and then to me and I was able to taste the VEEV one day at the store and liked what I tasted and heard and plans were made to bring it in and do an in-store-tasting. Both of these goals have been accomplished and we now have VEEV on our shelves for sale and all that is needed now is for more people to hear about it , taste it and tell their friends. It would also be a great idea to schedule another in-store VEEV Acai Spirits tasting. We have to work on that Ravi.



I just looked at my book on Rio De Janeiro ( called that ) written by Kurt Peter Karfeld and published in 1955. The title page reads : " Album com fotografas em cores, Introducao de Celso Kelly , Texto em portugues, ingles, frances e alemao ... edicoes melhoramentos and the text starts :

J A EXISTIA, ANTES DE NASCER ...

Pressentimento, atracao O navegante vinha de longa. O mar ainda era uma grande aventura. De Terras, por esses meridianos, havia noticia pobre de verdade e rica de sonhos e esperancas. Pau-brasil, prata, oura, cristais ...



How many of us speak or understand Portuguese? I would venture not many but for those few of you that do and that read this I added the part above to add some history and some perspective.



In an hour I am off to have lunch with a Brazilian lady Elisabete and her French Canadian husband Laurent. They invited us with our neighbors Matt and his Swedish wife Catarina to their home for lunch here in our neighborhood. It will be nice to see them again. Catarina and I went down to introduce ourselves three or so weeks ago.



A couple of days ago I told Ravinder Sharma that buys the liquor for our store that we needed to buy some more VEEV as we were almost out. he called our supplier and when our order came the next day the VEEV was marked " out of stock " and so that is a good sign that I interpret to mean that since we and our wholesaler are both out of VEEV temporarily that it is in fact selling and doing well.



We will have it soon again and start all over selling this new and exciting VEEV acai spirit / liqueur. Call us at : 202-363-4265 or email me at : anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwines to be sure that we have it back. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

P.S. : Sorry that the pictures are a bit fuzzy. I think that even still they give a good sense of the product VEEV and the energy and the enthusiasm that was present during the whole presentation. We were both excited and it shows. Cheers, TONY


HERE'S an UPDATE from Sunday, February 23rd, 2014 : Enjoy it, thanks to Clovis Boscato, to Jucelia Vicari, to Vallontano winery, to Maria Amelia Duarte Flores, Talise e Luis Valduga Zanini, and so many more, my Uruguayan friend that works for PIAGENTINI and X DECIMA, he's so professional, a wonderful ambassador for the wines of South America as well as those of Brasil! ... Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn  2/24/2014  a beautiful BREEZY day here in northern Virginia on my day-off . Drink more of these fine wines, cachacas and VeeV and Acai, too of course...   TONY








Carnaval's-A-Comin'! Coming Soon! Are You Ready?!? I Am, R U?!? JOIN US, Join Me, Let's Work Together!






     When was the last time you were cachaca'ed?!? When was the last time U were espumante'ed?!? When was the last time you were Tannat'ed or Marselan'ed or Bordo'ed or Feijoada'ed, Rio'ed, Gavia'ed ,Brazileira'ed , Belo Horisante'ed, Crystalina'ed. Bento Goncalve'ed, Vale Dos Vinhedo'ed, Nova Padua'ed, Porto Alegre'ed, Dom Candido'ed, Zattera'ed, Boscato'ed, X Decima'ed,  Brasil'ed, Amazon'ed ,Caxias'ed Carnaval'ed !?!

     SO many wine - vineyard, wine-region, cachaca references , and mostly of those still largely unknown. I could have asked about the better-known as well like : how's it to be Salton'ed, to B Casa Valduga'ed, to B Miolo'ed. to B LIDIO Carrara'ed and more ?!?

     I WANT to give a BIG ' Shout Out ' to the people I met in Brasil in June 2012 : Milton, Rodrigo, Danielle, Franceen, Barbara, Anna-Paula, Fernanda, Roberto, Bruno, Elisa, Ruis, Anna, Jaqueline, Michele, Gustavo, Manu... and so many more.

     I WANT  2 To say OBREGADO to those here in the United States that are Brazilian and that have inspired me and been of help like Gustavo and Roberta, you know who you are, Thank you very much!

     I WANT to give a BIG ' Shout Out " to Sonia Denical that has communicated with me the most as I have tried to promote the wines of Brasil here in the United States.'s kept me on track with her encouraging words and thanking me often for the work I am doing here. Obregado Sonia!   TONY 2/24/14





MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014


Be Vain Brasil With Your Fine Wines Like Those @ DOM CANDIDO, DON GUERINO, BOSCATO, ZATTERA, PIAGENTINI, VALLONTANO, DUNAMIS, CAVALIERI CASA VALDUGA, CORDILEIRA De SANT'ANNA, MIOLO, SALTON, LIDIO CARRARO, & So Many More : Shout Out For Them Be Vain, You Have Every Right!





Now let me see, what foto do I like best, this one or the first one that I just posted?!? That's easy ... both because they both have grapes and vines and the future of some really fine wine in Brasil, at Don Guerino and other fine wineries, too! Bravo!  Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn  2/24 /14

 ....Bralvin ( on Facebook : LIKE Bralvin : All-Things Brasil! Cheers, Tim tim, TONY


Posted by Anthony Quinn · 2 seconds ago
Bruno and your brother : we vain! Shout it Out! LOVE your own wines! They are really special, let the world know! Shout it out! You are making really well-made, special, balanced, flavorful, world-class wines at DON GUERINO that deserve to be shouted about, that deserve to be on the shelves in stores and offered to drink and enjoy with meals in restaurants, picnics, bars, sports bars, hotels like Victoria Dall'Onder : Be Vain, YOU both and your family have every right to be! What is Southern Imports doing these days to promote your wines here in the United States?!? Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 2/24/14

There are so many great wines of Brasil! So many of us get caught-up with the idea that they are all new - newcomers and thus cannot possibly be as great? That's okay. We are fighting a big battle with the big companies that are making it hard for the small wineries to really get a start, and so here are some that I have discovered, they all deserve our attention. I am posting pictures now and then more text to follow.

Happy Carnaval everyone - just four more days!  TONY







MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014


Be Vain Brasil With Your Fine Wines Like Those @ DOM CANDIDO, DON GUERINO, BOSCATO
















MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

























Be Vain Brasil With Your Fine Wines Like Those @ DOM CANDIDO, DON GUERINO, BOSCATO, ZATTERA, PIAGENTINI, VALLONTANO, DUNAMIS, CAVALIERI CASA VALDUGA, CORDILEIRA De SANT'ANNA, MIOLO, SALTON, LIDIO CARRARO, & So Many More : Shout Out For Them Be Vain, You Have Every Right! ZATTERA, PIAGENTINI, VALLONTANO, DUNAMIS, CAVALIERI CASA VALDUGA, CORDILEIRA De SANT'ANNA, MIOLO, SALTON, LIDIO CARRARO, & So Many More : Shout Out For Them Be Vain, You Have Every Right!

I'm SO GLAD TO SEE THIS just now here on Bralvin Facebook on the BRALVIN Home Page : great to see, a good piece I copy and share here with you all. Cheers, TONY 2/24/14

Grapes for sparkling wine sparkling wines from Casa Valduga are made from three grape varieties (solo or mixed): Pinot Noir ink and white Chardonnay and Moscato. Generally lend character to the mix inks more austere, more body, aromas of red fruits, while Chardonnay gives more creaminess and elegance.
Uvas para Espumante

Os espumantes da Casa Valduga são feitos a partir de três castas (solo ou misturadas): A tinta Pinot Noir e as brancas Chardonnay e Moscato...See More
Unlike ·  ·  · 21 · 11 hours ago · 


TALKING WITH Sonia Denicol on Facebook :






Demesne Vicari Italic Riesling - the Lizete Vicari
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     The only Brazilian family wine member, Patricia Carraro of the LIDIO CARRARO winery in Serra Gaucha Brasil to come to our store Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits, 2423 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington D.C., 20008, 202-363-4265 and ever taste the wines of Brasil with us to my knowledge. For that alone I give Patricia here a BIG " shout out! " Obregado Patricia, we still sell your wines and in March we will have more coming. I have already spoken to our local rep Jody Jackman of Winebow Imports baout getting more. You came with Kay Mallon here of Winebow Imports to make this presentation back in July 2012 I believe? TONY

2/25/214 : Happy Carnaval this Friday, February 28th, 2014 ...  TONY




WE SHOULD SCHEDULE this Friday a VeeV Acai liqueur tasting, too?!? Call us ASAP! Anyway, we have an open bottle that I can taste with everyone. Saved by the Veev bottle! Cheers, Tim Tim tudos ...  OLA TUDOS!!   TONY



How are you Madame do Vinho, I miss not talking with you more. Have you read my recent blogs at : chatwine.blogspot.com on the wines of Brasil? Let me know what you think? Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn Please read and share them, that would be great. TONY Happy Carnaval 2014 to you all, what wines of Brasil will you enjoy, any red Bordo you like for this? Seems like that's a good choice? What do you think about some chilled red Bordo? TONY
Like ·  · 9 hours ago · 
  • Sonia Denicol and Louseno Menegotto like this.
  • Anthony Quinn
  • Sonia Denicol I'm fine TONY, and you? I miss talking to you either, but I always take a look in what you are doing through your page!
    I see that you are doing a great job there with brazilian wines. I saw what you wrote about Don Guerino brothers, they really are do
    ...See More
    • Anthony Quinn Sonia, so good to hear from you! It cheers me so, really it cheers me immensely! We will taste some of the SALTON Pinot Noir here, the ' Volpi ' from Campania, the 2012 Estate-Bottled, $17.99, 13.5% alcohol by volume, with our local rep Mike Cavanagh this Friday, and so I will enjoy that Sonia. I also like all your suggestions for what to drink. Which producers will you taste? Let me know any names? I love to know the names of the wineries?!? Thanks. obregado my friend, TONY 2/25/2014


Sonia responded again. Here's what she said :

Sonia Denicol Let me know your opinion about this wine after you taste it.
My suggestions are always for wines of small wineries. Era dos Ventos, for example. They have new wines now, Merot 2008 and 2009, Marselan 2008, that I love, Tempranillo 2008 and Teroldego 2007, another one that I love and as we say here, a "vinhaço", a big wine!!!
In the same style there is another boutique winery called Tormentas (Storms in a free translation). Marco Danielle is the producer that makes one of the best brazilian Pinot Noir, Bourgogne style. He has now a very good Barbera and Teroldego too.
There is another winery I discovered last year, Bodega Czarnobay, from Encruzilhada do Sul, at Serra do Sudesta. They made 2 wines, Alto das Figueiras Merlot, delicious, and Pedregais, a sparkling wine made with Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. They started to work in biodynamic system two years ago.
In Santa Catarina I can name two special wineries: Domínio Vicari, very, very small. Lizete Vicari is the winemaker and she produces just 1000 bottles of a Merlot and a Riesling Itálico, an orange wine.
The other one is Santa Augusta, the first one to produce a byodinamic wine, Imortali, fantastic!
They also produces sparkling wine and a delicious white wine form Moscato Giallo.
I believe you know Cave Geisse, one of the best brazilian sparkling wine. Another one I love is Adolfo Lona, you must taste it!
There is some many others... but we'll have time to talk about them!
Cheers!!1





Bralvin on Facebook  - LIKE us and stay in Touch with the wines of Brazil here in the United States, Washington D.C. anyway!

WHY We Sell SALTON Wines @ Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits In Washington D.C. Northwest, 20008 ? Simple : Good, Available , Well-Priced & With A. & M. Imports Behind Them Ready To Pour With Mike Cavanagh! Obregado Tudos ...



SALTON here in Washington D.C. provides wines that are affordable and that we can sell against everything else and that our customers like and buy because they are good for the money, competitive and that's what we need. I want to sell the others and will buy more LIDIO CARRARO from Winebow Imports, RIO/SOL from Dionysos Imports ... and want to buy CASA VALDUGA again but the Country Vintners does not have them anymore, and Soothern Imports does not seem to have anything here in this market except the CARNAVAL sparkling wines that are really not something I want to promote as , for me, BRASIL is so much better than that! I'd like to buy from Southern Imports the MIOLO and the DON GUERINO wines that they supposedly sell here in the United States? They do not seem to be pushing these or any others here in Washington D.C.?!? I have reached out here on Facebook and no answer, will try again now. SO : Mike Cavanagh of A. & M. Imports comes and pours and together we keep something ALIVE and in the faces of our customers here in Washington D.C. to have celebrated the New Year of 2014 and Carnaval now, and the Summer Olympics and the Soccer World Cup soon, too! Thanks- Obregado Mike and Katie Cavanagh for your help these last few months. AND : in fairness to SALTON : IT was - the Extra Dry Espumante the very first Brazilian wine I tried in Brasil when I returned there in late June 2012 at the Hotel Victoria Dall'Onder when Milton Sebbem offered me a glass upon arrival, and nothing tasted so good as it did- and my second glass - obregado Milton, ambassador extraordinaire of SALTON. They should hire you!! Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 3/3/2014









  • Anthony Quinn Oops, that's SALTON! TONY
    39 minutes ago · Like · 1
  • Katie Cavanagh No worries Anthony, we knew what you meant:)
  • Anthony Quinn Thanks Katie, appreciate this very much as it's a lobor-of-love for me. Cheers, TONY
    10 minutes ago · Like · 1
  • Katie Cavanagh Tell me about it Anthony! This wine thing isn
  • Anthony Quinn Katie, tell Mike I would like to post the ' other ' pictures I took / he took on his phone, there must be some FABulous pics waiting to be posted to show how great this event was with him and Fatima ( that poured the LEBLON Cachaca, acai and aged-Cachaca Brazilian rum - and gave out green beads, masks and buttons, too - she's a dancer as well ) and Rolf from Washburn that poured the Texas Yellow Rose Rye and Whiskey, too : so much happening. The pics show some of this palpable excitement that filled the air, charged our inner souls and beings with an energy and a fluidity and a warmth that was absolutely contagious in ' THE best way! ". The SALTON wines showed really well, the Pinot Noir, $17.99 was ' on fire ' and brought it's own magic and fireworks to the palates of those that tasted it like Bonnie that mentioned she liked it but bought the Intenso espumante instead. Lots of people also liked the ' Flowers ' and Marge and Dean, Mike and I had lots of fun talking about the Flowers drier-tasting white blend of Moscato that was flowery in the middle taste and yet quite dry when you swallowed, and ONLY $10.99 a bottle : what a deal! Cheers, tim tim to you both, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 3/2/14

NEW UPDATES :









  • Bralvin
  • Bralvin Drink Vinicola Campos de Cima ... VALLANTANO Vinhos Finos do Vale Dos Vinhedos : todos - tudos muito bem BEM BEM BEM BEM!!!!! ....

    I am so happy I found this, great foto! Makes me feel so good to see a Brazilian wine pictured here and not another bloody wine from somewhere else. Brazilians need to know how fine their wines are. The Quality is quite high and if the prices charged for them are equal to those prices charged for other wines made outside of Brasil then Brasil will be able to complete well. I like the fruit-forward quality of the wines of Brasil. They add something fresh and pure , tasty and balanced and fun to the wines already readily available to us. NOW : AGORA the wines of Brasil need to become readily available. Start talking about them, start making some noise, BE PROUD, don't make more excuses for not drinking or promoting them : be daring, be brave, have your own opinion, be loyal! Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn Sunday morning here at home in northern Virginia, day before Saint Patty's Day ... can you hear my noise?!? TONY


  • Sonia Denicol and Edvan Lopes like this.
  • Sonia Denicol This Era dos Ventos Peverella is an experience! An orange wine made with a very rare grape called Peverella. It's almost extinct in its origin, Veneto, and we don't have notices that is planted in other countries. Peverella wines were widely consumed by families in Rio Grande do Sul until the 50s and now are being rescued by some small producers as Era dos Ventos. Fantastic!
  • Bralvin Thank you - obregado Sonia for giving us this information. I appreciate this and all your help my dear friend! TONY I like it, Cheers, TONY