Thursday, March 28, 2013

PAUL CLUVER'S 2008 Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest Estate Wine :On The Road To Find The Ultimate Honey, Grapes, Raisins , Nuts , 'N So Much More As You Unlock Your Senses !

Yesterday Elaine Garber of WORLD PREMIER WINES ( www.capewine.com , 704-360-4208 ) stopped by, a Wednesday afternoon with Chuck our Robin Cellars rep to taste the current selection of the PAUL CLUVER wines and more. I immediately said " hello ", and " welcome back " , and went on to look quickly at her list of wines and say that Paul Cluver had been to the store already and tasted his current selection of wines at the time. ... I immediately added that I had tasted a bottle of the Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest Estate wine that our then rep for PAUL CLUVER, Jody Jackman of Winebow Imports had given me to enjoy, a half-bottle of the 2008 , 10.5% alcohol by volume that I had taken home with me. ... ... I went on to say that I had liked the wine when I tasted it before but that day at home when I re-tasted the bottle that Jody gave me, when I tasted it again it was like a revelation, an epiphany, an amazing WASH OVER ME of intense flavors and tastes that pretty much floored me, stopped me straight in my tracks, like BAM! BAM! BAM! I was stunned into submission, a broad smile racing across the features of my face, a grin, a satisfaction-sublime. So much brightness, richness, sunshine, warmth, flavor, fullness and density and complexity : and yet silky, soft, bright, enriching, invigorating ... so many sensations and pleasures and joys all locked up in this one small sip! I loved it, I really did. ... ... ... ... ... ... I did not want to rush, I wanted to linger and sit a spell, and just be wrapped up in this glorious moment where wine-meets-mouth-tongue-lips-and touches all one's senses. It was special. I think I was inspired to write about it and may have at : chatwine.blogspot.com? I will have to check? I know that I did write about it somewhere and I have to revisit that as it was a great, serendipitous moment for me. Cheers Paul and you staff that produced this great 2008 Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest estate wine, 10.5% alcohol by volume! ... ... ... ... ... ... When I saw Elaine Garber we , of course had to talk about this and she did have a bottle in her bag of tricks of the current vintage. What date is it Elaine? I will call and ask you? I would like to include that information here as it is part of the story. ... ... We tasted the current vintage with Elaine and I liked it but it did not strike me as rich as the bottle that I had from Jody given to me perhaps 4-5 years ago?!? Elaine quickly added that the wine really does become richer with bottle-age. I agree. I told her that I still had the bottle at home and it still had some in it and that I would go home, find the bottle and try it ASAP! ... ... So, this morning I did indeed find the bottle, it had just a wee bit left in it and that delights me! I was in a rush to get here to work so I did not have much time and wrote the info down, smelled it, and took one quick tiny sip to just wet my lips with the taste before rushing off! It was lovely : some great accents of honey, nuts and raisins , cream, velvet, age, experience, stories to tell and share, a whole life of living life fully and still around to share and to tell about it : liquid sublime life, experience, warmth, generosity, excitement tamed but still with flame and flesh and soul : South African soul, soul and spirit of land and of the PAUL CLUVER vineyards from which it was raised, bred and made, bottled and finally released into the world-at-large to weave it's sunshine and wonder and awe and welcome. Cheers Paul and team, bravo to you all. ... ... Tonight or by this weekend I will finish the last few drams and report more fully. In the meantime enjoy this and look for this gem of a dessert wine from PAUL CLUVER. We should have some soon here, by April, 2013. ... and thanks Jody, TONY ... ... Cheers on Thursday, March 28th, 2013 here in Cleveland Park Northwest, Washington D.C. on a beautiful, sunny, bright, baby blue skies, breezy, fresh and brisk morning. Happy Easter or Happy Passover. Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn ... The pictures are of the store and of Washington D.C. ... pictures of the bottle to follow later. ... I just got a return call from Elain Garber and the vintage we tasted here yesterday was the 2011, around 9% alcohol by volume, that we will sell here for $32.99 a 375ml bottle. Cheers ...

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

13 Wines / 13 Generally Not A Lucky Number / 13 French Rhone Les Vins De Vienne : Cuilleron, Villard Et Gaillard = MY LUCKY NUMBERS! Stunning Diversity In FAB Rhone Wines!

This was quite the fabulous and totally unexpected treat for Michel Dumas and me the other afternoon. Our local rep Internationa Cellars called Michel and said that he had something really special and really worth our time to taste and possibly buy for the store. He relayed the message and said that the two of them ( one of the Frenchmen involved in making these wines, turns out his father had owned a small vineyard that he later took over ) might come by in the afternoon and taste with us. I immediately had the thought put out of my head with others constantly knocking and bidding for an audience with me. I was jolted back to this possibility a couple of hours later when the two, indeed, did stop by. What followed over the next hour was perhaps one of the finest win-tastings that I have had in years! Spectacular, stunning , sensational, well-balanced, distinct, fairly forward and approachable, drinkable, flavorful, filled with their own characters and personalities reds and whites from Condrieu to Cornas and the southern Rhone, too with some excellent red and white Cotes-Du-Rhone. In essence the whole of the Cotes-Du-Rhone from north to south, from exciting village to exciting village! ... ... ... ... Yes, there were 13 wines and yes they were indeed thirteen lucky numbers for both Michel and me. We tasted all thirteen and have bought eleven out of the thirteen I believe to sell at the store. The only two that we did not buy I believe are the simple rd and the simple white Cotes-Du-Rhone that we liked but felt that did not reflect as much personal and distinct character and personality as the others. ... ... I have my notes at the store and will retrieve them when I get there and add them here for a better picture of what we tasted and fell head-over-heels for : a white still Saint Peray, a red Saint Joseph and a red Cote Rotie and the Condrieu white and the Cornas red already mentioned. I will write more about all of this very soon so please stay tuned. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn .... ... ... ... ... These are two of my watercolors that I added here until I get time to download the pictures I took at this in-store private wine-tasting for the two of us with the two of them at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits, 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008, Tel : 202-363-4265 anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwines.com. Cheers, TONY Merci pour cette degustation magnifique, vraiment incroyable!

Monday, March 25, 2013

Tasting French Winemaker Laurence Faller's DOMAINE WEINBACH " Cuvee Laurence " Pinot Gris Altenbourg 2004 W/ Jim Stutsman, Andrew Stover & Katarina Zuber : And LOVING IT! Bravo Laurence!





I am including some of my artwork here as I write about this exceptional wine from female French winemaker extraordinaire Laurence Faller : her " Cuvee Laurence" DOMAINE WEINBACH Pinot Gris Altenbourg 2004, 14.5% alcohol by volume that impressed from the first whiff in the bouquet and the first bit to touch my mouth and tongue and to fill and round-out my palate so completely as if all of me and not just my palate was floating and rocking effortlessly- sublimely on a water bed-hammock-swing ... so gentle, so enticing, so filling, so rich and forward yet so complete and silky and a slow-burn flavor and suggestion of seduction and rapture all wrapped up into one bouquet and one taste : the first! Wow, I was amazed : I was transported. So were Jim Stutsman and Andrew Stover. I must admit Laurence that Katarina did not like it at all. No matter how hard we tried to convince her she would not change her opinion. Oh well, that's okay. We loved it. Bravo. .




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  I was amazed by the deep and lustrous, reflective, energized sun-swallowed-whole brightness of intense golden color. So rich, so shiny, so welcoming was and still is the color. We started with this wine about 7PM last night, Sunday March 24th : and now it is 10:22PM on Monday night, March 25th, 2013! ... ... ...


 The wine was everything last night : start, middle , finish, high and low, center-stage - middle, the whole stage, the whole platform : the whole enchilada!





 It was the beginning and the trail and the journey, charted and uncharted : the earth and the dirt and the vines and the roots, the air that they breathe, the skies and the winds, the breeze and the water and the rain and the frost and the cold and the darkest of nights and the brightest of days that basically blanche and whiten-you-or-me-other-or-him-or-us out because there is so much spark and spin and dazzle, show, sound,warmth and heat and heart and soul and OF COURSE accents of honey, undertones of nuts, fragrances of honeysuckle, currents of sun-dried fruits like apricots and sun-ripened. later shriveled pears and grapes of Pinot Gris in all states of dress and undress, all forms of fitness from athletic to couch-potato and relaxed to lively and energized, active and lively : always ALIVE - always stimulating even when holding or pulling back like the tide retreating, teasing and pleasing and frightening us lest it not return - NOW! ' we need your bright sun-soaked colors NOW, we need your fruit and honey essences - blessings NOW! .... ..... .....






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 In the taste today the flavors and the textures and the spaces and sounds of the tastes on the palate have shifted and contracted and sharpened and some of the exuberant fleshy elasticity has diminished and changed the way the wine rests or displays - carries itself on the mouth, tongue, 'tween cheeks and lips and thirsty teeth. It's a slight adjustment. Some things are lost, some things are gained : definitely the wine is rearranged. .... .... I am thrilled to be really enjoying the last of it tonight as I type madly and happily away. Bravo on this very fine effort indeed Laurence. Tu me manques : ca fait trop long temps que nous n'avez pas venue ici nous rendre visite. Mais j'ai entendu par Danny Haas ( gui va venir me voir demain avec Sal Furfari du Bacchus imports ) que vous avez marrier et que vous avez deux enfants?!? Felicitations. Je vous chouette tous le bonheur que vous meriter avec tous que vous nous a donner en vin depuis des ans! Merci encore. ... ... .... ... ...






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 Thanks again for such a superb wine! I still have one bottle Laurence. When do you think I should drink it? Now or can I wait and have even more exciting things appear and come out and stimulate all my senses until I pass out? Let me know. In the meantime know that you and your work are appreciated and that you are missed. I am thrilled to have spent the small bits of time with you over the years. Merci pour ca et bon continuance a toi et ton mari et vos enfants ... Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn




























Sunday, March 24, 2013

Jancis Robinson Toasts Virginia Wines : " Great Energy & Broad Vision, I Like The Petit Verdot & Petit Manseng, The VA. Governor , Chris Parker For His Part & Steven Spurrier, Too " She Said

This was quite the 3-part event this past Thursday night, March 21st, 2013 at 6:45PM at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum with the Baird Auditorium interview with Washington Post wine-writer Dave McIntyre and then the book-signing of her new book AMERICAN WINE with Linda Murphy , and then the American Wine-Tasting with wines, owners and wine-makers from Texas, Michigan, Colorado, Virginia , New York and even California! It was an impressive evening to say the least and I will actually be writing quite a bit over time inspired by it. The one selfish thing that I do want to share, however in this blog entry is the few precious seconds that I had of Jancis Robinson, almost as if all to myself. It is blind luck and timing, that's all , but this is what I will remember the most of all because it was simply two human beings making contact in an otherwise very big and active period of time. Let me tell you about these few precious seconds that I had with Jancis with what was for all intents and purposes . just the two of us. It was at the end of the wine-tasting in the Rotunda with the famous elephant in the center. Lili and I both got pictures of Jancis and her husband Nick standing in front of the tall and stately and regal elephant. That was nice, that was a relaxed few seconds before Jancis dutifully went to the last tables of wines from both Virginia and Texas. I followed, kept my distance and took my photographs of her tasting. That was the hat I was wearing at that moment : of the photographer-historian. It was a treat and something I like. Earlier I had worn my artist's hat of a quick portrait sketcher and I was able to not only get a couple of pictures taken with her by Andrew Stover but also quickly show her the 25 or so quick pen and also oil pastels portrait sketches of her. All good. Once Jancis and Nick had made the rounds of all those tasting their wines she rallied her troops and headed for coats and then the exit. That's when I took my cue to leave. I wanted to get home to my wife and to spend some precious minutes with her perhaps watching an episode or two of the 2nd season of Downton Abbey? I circled the Rotunda once and then also headed for the door. I hurried out myself going down the escalator and past the security guards saying " Good Night " to them as I walked out the heavy brass and thick glass doors just behind Nick, Jancis' husband. They were about to get into their waiting car there on Constitution Avenue by 10th Street. It was cool and dark and a lovely evening. Jancis was just a few steps in front of Nick to the right. She turned around and saw me in front of her, she smiled and she said : " Thank You, Thank you very much ". I replied as I kept walking to get to my car : " Thank you, it was a pleasure to meet you ". I did not want to stop and steal precious time that was now hers from her. I had a had my time earlier with her and though I would have loved more I wanted to respect the moment and enjoy having had those precious few seconds with her and not overstay my welcome. I think I succeeded. I think it was the right thing to do. Thank you Jancis for everything thank you from all of us , thank you for saying what you did when you saw me there in the evening after a wonderful event. I will treasure it. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

Friday, March 22, 2013

Meeting British Wine Writer Jancis Robinson Of VINES/GRAPES/WINES , Also Of American Wine @ Natural History Museum, Washington D.C. Thurs, Eve. 3/21/2013 : WOW, What A Treat!

... ... Wow, did I say " wow " enough times yet?!? This was a treat, a real treat, something special for me after 35 years or so of drinking wines and enjoying them first with my parents when we lived in Paris, France in the 70's, and then later in college at Randolph-Macon in Ashland , Virginia where I gave a very , very rudimentary wine class to my friends like Jim, Patty, Martha, Chuck, Ed, Margaret and a few more. Wow, I hardly knew anything when I started and I did make some wonderful discoveries in Paris, France that have stayed with me, as well as my art : and I have combined the two together even lat night as I met Jancis Robinson for the very first time. Wow! It was something that I have been planning for a very long time and things just fell into place one Saturday when my good friend and customer at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits on a Saturday dropped a " big bomb " on me announcing that Jancis Robinson would be in town and that he was going to go and meet her. This was like a wonderful slap or two or even three in the face! Wow,: " I want to meet here! " jumped into my thoughts immediately blocking all else out! Can I meet her, too?!? " That's where I was as Jim continued to explain that wine-writer Dave McIntyre had invited him and that he would be interviewing her there in the Baird Auditorium of the Natural History Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. I was having trouble following this as all i could think of was : " How can I meet Jancis! I have my book VINES/ GRAPES / WINES that I want her to sign! '. Jim and I were outside Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits on Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 by Palena restaurant and I had just finished putting his case of wine into the trunk of his car. I was jealous of Jim, very jealous and envious, too! Oops, I should not be as I am an adult but I have keenly wanted to meet her and I asked Jim more about Dave and his involvement and asked if he could get me in,too I believe? Anyway I resolved to look into this more immediately and I did and the rest is history as I got my friend and wine colleague Andrew Stover to help me and we purchased both a ticket and Jancis Robinson and sports' writer Linda Murphy's " new " book AMERICAN WINE and I was set. Set for all the anticipation of meeting Jancis Robinson in another couple of months. Two months to " get ready " and to " fret " and to " organize-strategize, plan " , you know, finally include as much as I could possibly into this experience as I possibly could?!? Wow, that's a big order, a really BIG ORDER. Was I up to it, could I pull it all off?!? I was willing, more than willing to give it all that I got : and so I did last night, finally coming face-to-face with Jancis. NICE. Yesterday morning I wrote a poem inspired by Jancis Robinson before showing up to work at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits in Cleveland Park Northwest, Washington D.C. where I manage the wine department now for more than 13 years. I was pleased to write another poem inspired by Jancis. I had written one a couple weeks' earlier and already have posted that on my : chatpoetry.blogspot.com page. Off Now Me Meet / Yeah Jan Drin Rin Ink / Words Eat Drink Like / To Kit It Si Itchen / Sink We Sit I Not / Blink Want Meet Greet / Janci Anci Ancis I / Time First Times Many / The Intens So City / Wash @ Baird An Audi / Laudit Vie Via Via ! / Is So Me For Isual A / Sight Come Comp Comps / Be Pound Bam Pound Bam / Till Cry Till Sigh Till Boo / Boo Boom Zoom I'm So / Happy Done Peed Eat / Pie Kiss Sky To Final Si / Oui To Me meet Jancis / A Special Treat I Will Bask / ... I will publish the rest of this poem at Chatpoetry.blogspot.com as soon as O am able. Cheers. So, last night I left Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits at 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. N.W. to drive down to 10th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W. and hope finding a parking space and be on time for the interview at 6:45PM. It was 6:05PM when I was in my car and driving off and there would be rush-hour traffic and I was nervous. I had everything organized : my new sketch pads, my new oil pastels, my pens, my lumix lens camera, my two books to have Jancis sign, my confirmation of my ticket purchase for $75. Yes, I paid $75 for the ticket. I also purchased the book and was thrilled for both. Both were very worthy costs to be paid and I was happy to do it as I wanted to meet Jancis even though it would be in a grand setting and with lots of people and little chance for me to really talk to her one-on-one. Oh well, that's how the cookie crumbles and I was ready to catch ant crumbs that could possibly come my way : and happy for them. Being an artist I want to bring something that's my own to the wine table. I want to bring my artist's eyes as well as my visual sensibilities, attention to details other than those picked up perhaps by others? I want to add to the equation and not duplicate it. I was lucky, lucky indeed. There was traffic and I had to weave through it often enough as I would my way to the Natural History Museum and I did get there at 6:40PM or so and was lucky to find parking there on Constitution Avenue just at the corner of Constitution Avenue in front of the Natural History Museum where you can turn to the right and go under the Mall towards 395 where I needed to be anyway! Wow, what are the chances of this?! And it was legal, too : 2-hour parking and I was set. I could not believe my luck : the luck of the Irish with a name like Quinn. Cheers. This is my wine blog and not my art or poetry blog and so I apologize for mixing so much of the three here. I will " correct " it soon enough and add more in about the wine. I got to Baird Auditorium on time and had to rush to find a seat. I scoped out the stage with the two chairs front-and-center and looked for a place to sit where I could sketch Jancis while she sat and spoke with Dave. I ran into lots of people that I know or recognized like Marlyn, Will, Marilyn and then Jim Stutsman that called out my name and said simply : " if you are looking for a place to sit the seat next to me is empty and you can sit here? ". I accepted immediately and was then sitting next to both Jim and Will Shore, and with Lili, Dave McIntyre's wife on the other side of Jim : snug and cozy and friendly and just like I like it! Will commented on all my things and helped me to set myself up with sketch pad, oil pastels and Lumix-lens camera to accomplish all that I hoped to accomplish during this interview. I did, too. My legs began to shake from holding still and balancing everything on them and on the seat in front of me, sketching, turning pages and listening, taking photographs and absorbing as much as possible! A true feat. I did 2 quick portrait ink sketches of Dave, I did 4 of Jancis with ink and then 19-20 of her with oil pastels. I even managed to write what she said about Virginia wines when asked by Dave on a separate sheet of white sketch paper : " Great energy and broad vision, and I like the Petit Verdot and the Petit Manseng ... and I commend the governor of Virginia ". Jancis also mentioned drinking a bottle of 1959 Chambolle Musigny when the love affair with her and wine started years ago and just after she worked in the travel business for a stint of time? I wish that I had a tape recorder to record this all. Cheers and stay-tuned for more. Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

Monday, March 11, 2013

THE FUTURE OF BRALVIN?! Brazil's Fine Wines Tasted Monday, October 15th, 2012 @ The Charbroil Grill Brazilian Churrascuria Restauarnt, 22092 in Woodbridge, Virginia from 1-4PM W / Bralvin Import's Launch/ GO BRASIL! GO WINES OF BRASIL!

I am sorry to say that, for the moment my bringing wines from Brasil into the UNited States has been put on hold. Not my doing : my partner at Bralvin Laurent Donchegay decided without telling me that he would close Bralvin and only after he had done it and contacted these fine owners and wineries shown here to tell them Bralvin was closing , only after that did he tell me. He also closed our Go Daddy site and so all my correspondence has now been lost to me, something for which I am deeply sorry. However, when I heard this in an email from Laurent I did not panic and I did not do anything stupid or that I would regret later. Instead I waited patiently to see what would happen. That was back in late January or early February 2013 and I am very pained as I know that these wineries were working hard and everything had been approved to bring the wines here to the UNited States : we had finally gotten the Brazilian Government label approval and the orders were being readied as we had an order from each of these wineries to import here to the United States.
I would still very much like to get the wines here and the problem is the money involved in getting them here and stored in a warehouse or two or three, depending while we all go out and beat the pavement, so-to-speak, and get the wines sold to the various retail stores, restaurants, bars, clubs, hotels, etcetera. It takes planning and constant work to keep the wines in the attention of / in front of these various people that can buy and serve or resell them, depending on the type of operation that they run here in the U.S.
The pictures that I have taken here ( or perhaps Katarina Zuber, I think these are hers, too ? ) are from our Brazilian Win-Tasting launch in Woodbridge, Virginia in October 2012. They were the samples that Laurent and I collected in the ten-day trip that we took to Brasil in late June, 2012 and stayed in the wine town of Bento Goncalves at the Vittoria Dall'Onder Hotel. Ana Paula Valenti, then of the Wines Of Brasil was nice enough to get them all collected from us at our hotel and mailed here to the United States for us. Obregado Ana Paula. We did not have enough time to get samples of all the wines that we wanted to have sent to the U.S. and these only represent some of the wines that we decided in the end to import here. It's a hard and long , complex, with hidden costs and lots-of-surprises process. It takes lots of tries and lots of patience and deep-enough pocketbooks of money.
There were and still are many smaller wholesalers interested in coming to try these wines if we ever get them here. They had been asking me all along : where and when will we see the wines and get to try the final selections? They were expecting them to arrive in February, so was I. I had no idea that this would happen, not in a million years. I want to make it up to all those that put their faith and trust in me in this daring and exciting project that can still work. I have been working daily/ weekly on the Facebook Bralvin site to build up interest in our Bralvin import of Brazilian wine to the U.S. I have got the attention of many in Brasil and am only sorry that they do not comment more on the site in Portuguese and let us know any of their thoughts or questions or opinions. Why is that? I ask questions on the site and never get answers? It's a team effort as I have said all along and I certainly would like to hear from more of those interested in this project that also includes " Everything Brasil, Not Only Wines ! ". Please go to our Bralvin home page on Facebook and " like " us and give us whatever suggestions, feedback, concerns that you may have. We can and should work together. Wines Of Brasil has known about us and Barbara Ruppel was in contact with me until Bralvin's Go Daddy page disappeared, probably making her wonder what happened to us? TO Barbara and the rest of the Wines Of Brasil I say that I am still very much here and not intending to go away and disappear. On the contrary, I am working to learn Portuguese and to continue what I have started. I have continued to post daily on the Bralvin Facebook apage and to post at : chatbrasil.blogspot.com as often as I am able. Both sites as well as my original ones : chatwine.blogspot.com, chatart.blogspot.com, chatpoetry.blogspot.com are all open and working and being added to as often as I am able.
On top of all of this I am still posting weekly at the Facebook page where I work, buy and sell wines : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits, 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 , tel : 202-363-4265, anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwines.com ); and I am there five days a week promoting and selling Brazilian wines to even many Brazilians that are not sure whether to try and buy them?!? How is this possible? The wines of Brasil are excellent, really excellent!!!
In some ways I feel very much like a lone voice out here singing the praises of Brazilian wines and that is both a challenge to me as well as a bit sad as I would certainly like to hear more from those that believe in the wines as I do? I cannot be the only one out there that believes in the wines of Brasil? I refuse to believe that. And if I am one of the few I will do everything in my power to make them better known.
I have offered my services to the Wines Of Brasil and been told that for the moment that they do not need my help. This is a big disappointment to me as I am ready to devote myself entirely to this project of getting the wines of Brasil here to the United States. I would love to help. I want to help and I wish someone or a group of you all would contact me , reach out to me, and help me to continue this grand adventure that I have started with Laurent and must now continue on my own. HELP! AJUDA! You can reach me at : tonythewineguy@gmail.com.
I am still so very excited about all of this. I loved my trip to Brasil in late June, 2012 : in Brasil's winter : ten glorious days there. What a grand adventure and treat that all was. It has changed me for the better ... forever and ever. I will continue to support here in the United States " All things Brazilian including the wine. Please help me, reach out to me, let's talk and see how we can help each other. I will work on learning the Portuguese as communicating and understanding one another is a huge issue. WE have to trust one another and believe that we are working together and not against each other. That's what our ten-day trip to Brasil was all about : to meet you, to gain your trust, and to get a btter idea of what we would be working with? On every point it was an amazing discovery for me and one that I believe in completely and embrace wholeheartedly. Cheers and bravo to you all and I await news, opinions, suggestions, proposals from you all. Write in Portuguese, that's okay. I will translate. Hope you like these pictures and what I have written : GO BRASIL ! GO WINES OF BRASIL! Let's get to work now while we still have enough time before the World Cup and the next Olympics - both there! Cheers, ... ola, bom dia e obregado a todos ... Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn