Tuesday, February 20, 2018

join me tonight at cleveland park wine and spirits 3423 conn ave. and taste spanish wines of PAPET Del Mas sparkling cava, usoa de bagordi, tomorrow wed 5-8pm taste lebanese wines of chateau kefraya and a rose, too, friday with tess taste newton ca. wines, cape mentelle westernaustralia margaret rover sauvignon blanc and semillon, saturday 2-6pm taste fabulous turkish wines w/ serghei, too - dry white, dry rose, and two dry reds! yes si oui venga aqui! no charge ever to taste!!!!



Cleveland Park WineCleveland Park Beer, Liquor & Wine
Featuring a wide, international selection of fine wines, micro-brews and spirits

 

so much to celebrate and be encouraged by and push forward with!
 
CRAIG MAURO is coming to our rescue today! Our 3 for $33 on wine purchases in the 750ml bottle size has been such a success that we are desperately in need of his reinforcements. Now that is something we can all celebrate and cheer loudly for! Either you like wine or not, but for those of you that do this is important, and it will be happening here soon - stacks of three of some really fine ' wine-values ', and all ON SALE every day here for 3 for $33 and 6 for $60! Yes si oui yes!
 
new ceiling lights have been installed above us here and we are currently still working out the glitches! HOWEVER : the back beer cooler lights are on and they look bright, softer, warmer, magnifiscent - so much easier to see the beers there now! Yes si oui claro vraiment bien so happy!
 
cheers to all on this glorious Tuesday! Love it, went to Firehook Bakery and loved the warmth all around and embracing, hugging me softly ...
 
looking always for ' new ' approaches as time is of the essence, it is here with us and lots to accomplish this 2018!
 
we can accomplish a lot together in 2018. we can. we will, we must.
 
so, to do so here is what we have to offer you right now :
 
in beer and cider  from Santos Rivera -
 
temperatures in the seventies says the weather woman over the radio just now -
 
          beer -
 
 
     1)  Singlecut QNS NYC , a ' heavy boots of lead' Imperial Stout, ale / one pint 9 Fl. oz with 11% alcohol by volume, 55 IBU's 100% brewed and bottled on premises by SINGLECUT Beersmiths  in Astoria , NY. $8.99, try some.
 
     2) MILLS HILLS Imperial Stout , outstanding craft beer, brewed abd bottled by FYNE ALE, UNited KIngdom, with 9.5% alcohol, $8.99 a 11/2 Fl oz bottle, from Scotland, yes yes yes, come try some. Brewing with passion and integrity.
 
     3) KOYT GRUITBIER Recipe 1407 , crafting divine beer JOPEN , $4.99, for 11.2Fl. Oz bottles with .5% alcohol by volume. product of the Netherlands, ingredients are : water, barley, malt, wheat, malt, oats, gruit ( herbal blend ), yeast, gluten-free ... come try some!
 
 
          cider -

 
     1) Original Garden Cider HandCrafted, On Special for $5.49 a bottle, a 500ml bottle, with 5% alcohol : " clean, fresh, crisp, and medium dry, like all our ciders it is made from 100% freshly pressed garden apples and naturally fermented ... " Read on, cheers, come get some, from Washington DC, 20009! Cheers!!

 

     2) Cidre RUWET Belgian Artisinal Cider, ano 1898 , $15.99 a 4-pack of bottles, 11.2Fl. Oz bottles, with 4,5% alcohol by volume, Brut = Dry! From Belgium. come try some!
 
 
          Liqueur - liquor from Jagir -
 
       FOUR Liqueurs -
 
          TWO From KOVAL -
 
     1) Ginger liqueur , $27.99, Organic, $27.99 a  375ml bottle, with 20% alcohol by volume, add some ginger into your lives! Yes!! Made in  Chicago , Illinois. Also try their whiskey Four Grain $53.99 a bottle.
 
      2) Chrysanthemum & Honey liqueur Organic, 20% alcohol by volume, 375ml bottle, throws sediment, all good, great golden honey colors, mmmmmm, throw some of both into your lives, treat yourselves, splurge, dive headfirst into this elixir! $26.99 a bottle.
 
 
       TWO from PUR LIKOR, Germany, owner Kiki! -
 
     1) Williams pear liqueur , $26.99 for a 375ml bottle, with 25% alcohol by volume, yum, so lovely, lilting and beautiful! so pretty delightful for this weather now in the mid seventies!
 
     2) Spice blood orange liqueur, 375ml bottle, with 25% alcohol by volume, On Special for $26.99,  so much darker, mysterious, an opaqueness your tongue wants to split ooohhhh open wide, yes! Love it, love the tint, the hue, the reflrctivr warm qualities, the dance , the passion, the spin the splash and dash and dare and gosh-darn-goodness-within! Try some. Cheers Kiki, miss you, come back soon!
 
 
       THREE Eau de Vies from  WILLM -
 
     1) Poire William Pear Brandy, French from Alsace, the essence of the pear scent and shadow of it's taste, On Special for $20.99 a bottle,, 375ml bottle, 45% alcohol by volume, yes! Actually the shadow awash in the brightest sunshine flavors!
 
     2)  Framboise / Raspberry Brandy, On Special for $20.99 for a 375ml bottle, here we have again the accent of raspberry and the flavors like the shadow filtered and awash in the richest sunshine - yes si si oui oui oui!
 
     3) Kirsch d'Alsace, On Special for $20.99 a bottle, a 375ml size, from Alsace, a Cherry brandy here, like the others - a touch of cherry in the nose and in the taste the flavors are muted by the brightest reflection off this clear white eaux-de-vie aflood in noon sunshine! Oui oui oui monsieurs et madames, venez ici vous tous - come all of you here for these! 375ml with 45% alcohol by volume.
 
 
       THREE Others -
 
     1) CIROC Pineapple made with French vodka, 5 times distilled, $38.99, come get your pineapple ON! Cheers , sante a tous, cheers to one and to all.
 
     2) The IRISHMAN Small Batch Irish Whiskey, Founder's Reserve, with 40&% alcohol, this is normally $38.99 a 750ml bottle, now ON SPECIAL for $34.99 - come try some and see what you think?!
 
     3) COCCHI Vermouth di Torino, Piemonte, Italy, $20.99, since 1891 - celebrating 126 years now, glad to have it on our shelves, with 16% alcohol by volume.

 
 

 
 
           WINE From Chris and Tony ( Me ) -
 
       SAVE ON WINE -
 

 
SAVE ON WINE up to 20% OFF your purchases two ways! Every Wednesday.
 
SAVE ON WINE all week long -
1) 3 for $33
2) 6 for $60 . mix or match certain bottles of 750ml wine here in stock.
 
 
 
 
          HERE Are Our  WINE Suggestions for you this week -
 
     THREE Whites , Includes ONE Spanish Cava-
 
     1) Usoa de Bagordi  Organic 2016,  50%  Sauvignon Blanc and 50% Garnacha  from Spain's Rioja region, WOW, how unique is this! Come taste it with me tonight and let us see what Sauvignon Blanc in Rioja, Spain tastes like?!? $9.99 a bottle. This is ' a first ' for us. With 12.5% alcohol by volume, si si si , venga aqui!
 
     2) Chardonnay 2014 Estate-Bottled from Mexico's the Vale de Guadalupe, Baja California, showed really well this Saturday when Eric poured it here. Tasty, flavorful, some real presence and flattering body, flesh, bone and muscle, si si si si si! On Special for $10.99, regularly $14.49 a bottle. Come get some, Medium-to-light-bodied. Cheers.
 
     3) PAPET Del Mas Spanish Cava, On Special for $10.99, I will taste this here with you all tonight, come taste! It has 11.5% alcohol by volume, excellent, a treat, and a fine value, too!
 
 
          FOUR Dry  Reds -
 
     1) Rioja red Organic  2015 from USOA De BAGORDI, 
 a dry blend of 80% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha, and 10% Graciano, come see how this rich fruit-forward red sits on your tongue and palate?!?
 
     2) Agiorgitiko 2015 dry red Greek wine ( the grape is also called the Saint Georges grape ), from Greece's Peloponnese region, with 13% alcohol by volume, from the KOTROTSOS Winery, named after the wife in a husband and wife excellent effort here, $9.99 a bottle, always a winner with food! Tasty, flavorful, with personality and value, too - best with a meal big or small, or simply some finger foods!
 
     3) L.A.CETTO Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Estate-Bottled from Mexico's Vale de Guadalupe, Baja California is un-oaked and a joy to sip or taste with a meal! What a treat any way you want to enjoy it!
 
     4) Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Private Reserve from Chile's Aconcagua Valley, from ALMA de Chile, On Special for $9.99 a bottle, with 14% alcohol by volume is an old earthy - dirty - sharp and testy, angular, chewy, chunks of chunky-liquid flaves, like it, enjoying some myself now during the Winter Olympics, yes si si si senores e senoras!
 
 
WEEK'S TASTINGS -
 
TUESDAY - 5-8PM, me tonight tasting Spanish wines mentioned above.
 
WEDNESDAY, 5-8PM, 2/21 Sam tasting the three Lebanese wines of CHATEAU KEFRAYA red and white, maybe the rose, or the rose dry from IXSIR, Join Us, never any charge!
 
FRIDAY, Feb. 24th, 2018 ( 5-8PM ) : We have Tess of the  MOET Strategic Group tasting the fine wines of NEWTON Napa Valley, CA ( with two dry reds, one Chardonnay, too $19.99 ), and a fine Margaret River , western Australia 2017 Sauvignon Blanc- Semillon Blanc dry white from CAPE MENTELLE, and a surprise Malbec from Argentina, a real value, tasty, come and be surprised!
 
SATURDAY, February 24th, 2018 ( 2-6PM ) : Come taste with Serghei from Moldova some outstanding wines of KAYRA, made with the help over the last ten years of California winemaker Daniel O'Donnal, a dry Narince white, a dry Karsai rose Blanc de Noir, and two reds, a Bogazkere 100% Bogazkere red, and a Buzbag Rzerv Okuzgozu-Bogazkere typical indigenous fry red blend - be prepared to be blown away with finesse and subtlety!
 
NO CHARGE, Join Us! Cheers ...

life is beautiful on this gorgeous tuesday morning here in cleveland park following president's day monday yesterday when the washington post headlines on the front page were of the shooting of 17 in florida, our lawmakers saying to foreign diplomats and their countries to disregard trumps tWeets, that they do not reflect their opinions, and the woman that continues to tell her story having been assaulted by trump in his own trump tower back in 2006 and no one seeming to hear or care or do anything about it. and all of this on president's day! i guess even presidents don't really get to have a pass on their special day.

TALKING TO LEON TARRANT about his childhood, ... quoting him after selling him what he wanted as we wait for Santos River : " 

 

" I got through with my MBA and was looking for a job and went to San Fransisco, Nobody wanted me, as I got ready to go home some friend of mine I visited there that I went to school with, that his neighbor was looking for people in international banking and since I had no job opportunities I took the job, and , so here was this was RUBE ( a country yocal ), from Bellingham, Washington, bedazzled by big city san fransisco ( I am of course referring to myself, it is me ), what I am saying a country hick, that is how I got into these basque restaurants going around,

 

that is my introduction to the basques, san  fransisco is famous for all it's EUROpEan, ethnic, I think multi ethnic, and before that I am from Bellingham, went to high school, went to college, in those days you had a draft, and of course the korean war was still going on,

i took an educational deferment and got to college, a red brick university , what that means, in oxford ... and then when i graduated with a B.A. I was to be drafted, rather than go into the army and go into the trenches, I went into the air force for four years, of which three of those years were spent in the united kingdom, ...

and then I got out of the service in 1960, returned, returned to bellingham, WA., went to graduate school and got an MBA in Business Administration.

 

" Did you stay in contact with any of the friends of Mr McBride that owned Chateau St. Michele? "

 

" No, they went on with their lives, we would go down there periodically, as we grew up we went on our own ways. I have tried the wines, just for the hell of it, they were pretty good wines, from eastern Washington were they come from.

 

I went subsequent years later to see the old house. ha ha. it was just as i remembered it, especially this big fireplace. but it was so interesting how people can do things, they come into fruition, eating grapes at first that became wine grapes later, same latitude as Bordeaux and Burgundy. They don't get the benefit of the ocean breezes like napa and sonoma do.

Leon is 83 years old now. The new generation poast war kids kind of began thinking that wine was something fancy. being in the military in europe i have been to france, italy, austria, wine was a big thing there,

it was just fun, i would go into paris, being the american rube, eating a cafe filtre i did not know how to drink it , stands like this, two pieces, you [pour the water intot he top, and it filters down into the bottom, a spout on the bottom, lifted the top off and spilled it all over the table. the waitress looking at me thinking this stupid americain, but i was learning, but you learned about the wines,

they served vin ordinaire in carafes, that was a new thing to me, ha ha. people would come in, bring their dogs in, people would have their dogs in bibs, ha ha, eating around the table, the Empire style,a man and woman, he cooked, she was out front, got to be good friends, something out of La belle france, all the wine glasses lined up, which was for red, for white for sherry, ha ha, i was learning this rube form bellingham, washington.

to me it's boring. to me the big thing about wine , how it started, you had ethic groups, italians, greeks, some of the french, most people did not drink wine, some sweet wine perhaps, ha ha, raspberry wine at christmas, the ' king alphonso ' creme de cacao and on top of it you put whipping cream on top, then you drink it and the cream de cacao comes through the cream, cloyingly sweet, after king alphonso of spain ... i don't think they even know what they are these days, from the thirties, king alphonso abdicated in 1931... thanks leon!

YOU ARE THE BEST LEON!


WHAT FOLLOWS BELOW is an old store email I wrote and posted several years ago. Enjoy reading it if you have time. Cheers, TONY 2/20/2018
 
 

COME MEET CHRIS LATER TODAY / MAKE HIM FEEL WELCOME

CHRIS BARKER LEAVES US TO JOIN HIS FIANCEE as she pursues her medical career in another city as yet not known , and he continues with his own. We wish them both well and we want to take this opportunity to thanks Chris for all that he has brought us here at the store as well as to our neighborhood over this past year and two months. Come by and get some last bits of help and advice from him before he leaves us. Thanks again Chris.
 
GREG COMES HERE FROM NEW YORK STATE and he brings with him under his belt 17 years of experience both in the restaurant and the bar business. I hope to get him to become immediately or in-store mixologist expert. This is something that we need sorely as ever since Krishna left Aroma and went up north to pursue his academic interests I have felt the great void that he left here in his wake. No, Krishna was never employed here but he considered us home and was always willing to help one of our customers with their needs and I would make the introductions and then step off to help other of our customers with their wine needs. Though I did listen occasionally to what he told them often enough I was unable to do this and so missed hearing his words and gems of wisdom.
 
DON'T GET ME WRONG, GREG WILL BE WORKING WITH THE WINES and I am sure that we will both teach each other quite a bit as we have different experiences and I really hope that we will complement one another.That's the idea and it's a great one. Greg will be here this afternoon and I look forward to really working with him for the first time later today once that I finish this email. I will introduce him to you all as you get off work and stroll on over later. I am sure that I will also have something open to toast this new and exciting development here in Cleveland Park. I will probably open one of the bottles of wine that I write about here in this email. Maybe I'll ask him what he most wants to try as it is all pretty much new to him.
 
IT'S EXCITING TO ME IN MANY WAYS to get someone " new " to work with that has no Washington D.C. experience under his belt. Everything will be fresh and exciting and he will bring some of New York to us and as result we will probably sell a broader selection of New York State wines here. That's thrilling really as they are excellent and we can always do more with them. There's a market for them and when we open them here and taste them with you like the KEUKA LAKE VINEYARDS " Vignoles " 2009 Finger Lakes " Gentle Dry " ( $16.99 ) white and the sparkling WOLFFER ESTATE Brut Blanc De Blanc 2006 sparkling wine ( $38.99 ) from Sagaponage, Long Island the response is always quite positive. Oh, the KEUKA LAKE VINEYARDS Cabernet Franc dry red Finger Lakes 2008 ( $18.49 ) is pretty smooth and velvety and silky and subtle with an elegance that is deceiving and yet gripping as the taste settles so completely on one's palate with time.
 
RAVI IS AWAY AT A 4-DAY WEDDING IN INDIA and getting some much-deserved R&R and we are all thrilled for him. It gives us a chance to step up ourselves to the plate and try more of what he would normally see here himself as he is our spirits buyer. Earlier today both Alexis Thompson and Brad Jarvis were here with an assortment of perhaps five different scotches and whiskies and wanted me to taste them. I asked them to come back later to taste with me when Greg joins me as that might clearly be something that Greg already knows more about than me. We will see. I already took pictures of the various items just in case we are not able to connect here again later today. The name of the products is : DOUGLAS and on Brad's business card there are pictures of five of them - one being an XO and a lion standing up on it like on an impressive coat-of-arms. That one really attracts the eyes quickly. The colors are all gradations of gold and one is so deep with garnet hues. More about all this soon. Go to : www.InternationalSpiritsAndWines.com
     Alexis Thompson was here at our last Big-Theme Valentine's Day & Night Wine-Tasting ( alexis@iswusa.com ) tasting four Mexican Estate-Bottled Valle De Guadalupe, Baja California L.A. CETTO wines : three reds ( Cabernet Sauvignon( $10.99 ), Private Reserve Nebbiolo 2004 Barrel Aged and Private Reserve Barrel Aged 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon ( BOTH at $23.99 )  and one white dry, crisp Chenin Blanc 2009 ( $10.99 ). The Cabernet Sauvignon blew me away with all it's fresh blueberry and dark fruit flavors. I loved it, really I did - so fresh and bright and lively. What a treat!
     I JUST SPOKE TO ALEXIS  on the phone and he filled in the blanks of all of this. The scotches " are independently bottled, single-cask single malts ". They come from Speyside, the Hylands, , Islay and there is one that is a vatted malt of Speyside as well.
     THURSDAY there will be a dinner with the Mexican Ambassador that is already sold-out starting at 6:30PM featuring the wines of L.A. CETTO that we sell here and that I just mentioned. You can get any of them here and even if we do not have them in stock we will be happy to order them for you.
 
 
BEERS From SANTOS :
 
     1) " Dugana " IPA ( India Pale Ale ) from the AVERY Brewing Co. ( On Special for $7.99, 1 Pt 6 Fl. Oz, 8.59% Alc. By Volume , from Boulder, Colorado ) is " new and exciting " here.

     Uncle Cracker just sang on the radio : " You make me smile , Just The Thought Of You Makes Me Wild ... You Make Me Dance Like A Fool, ... Fall Out Of Bed , ... Spain Like A Record ... Forget How To Breathe , ... Just The Thought Of You ... You Make Me Smile ...  " My son went to see him sing here a year or so ago. Great sentiments in the song. I feel better already.
 
     2) " Zaibo "  YPAC STRIPRUS ALUS EXTREME STRING BEER ( On Special for $2.99, 9.5% Alc. By Vol., 1 Pt. .9 Fl. Oz , Birzai, Lithuania ) ... wow, love the packaging here! Dramatic, red www.aikoimports.com ). Come check this one out.
 
     3) ZHIGULY Grande 9.5% traditionally aged Lithuanian beer ( On Special for $2.99, 1Pt 0.9Fl Oz. bottles ) is also very special and something for you all to look forward to here.
 
 
RAVI HAS ADDED SOME NEW LIQUEUR and LIQUOR, Too :
 
     1) Libertine Absinthe Superieure brandy with natural flavor added ( $64.99, 58% Alc. By Volume , product of France ) from the Distillerie Paul Devoille F-70220 Fougerolles ) just came in last week. Brand new ...
 
     2) Alize imported from France, Exotic Passion Fruit and Cranberries delicately blended with premium French Vodka ( $21.99 ) ... Red Passion liqueur, 16% alc. By Volume. Visit Alize.com for mimosas, martinis, margaritas and more specialty cocktail recipes.
 
     3)  Campo De Encanto Fool's Gold Terroir Brandy De Peru Pisco D.O.C. Valle De ICA ( $39.99 ) is 42.5% Alc. By Volume and brand new here as well.
 
 
WINES From Tony/ Chris & Greg :
 
          WHITES :
 
     1) " La Renaudie " 2009 dry white French wine from Bergerac ( $14.99 ) comes from Oscar Losama od Voila Imports and he tasted it here at our last Big-Theme Valentine;s Day & Night Wine-Tasting. It's a beauty, beautifully balanced, fresh and lively and really refreshingly dry and has always sold well here over the last three or so years.
 
     2) " M " De MONLUC dry indigenous grape variety called Gros Manseng ( $15.99 ) and it's more flavorful and robust and with much more weight. It's definitely more of a food wine and it's a grape to be discovered. You see it in Jurancon and here it is made not far away in the Vin De Pays Des Cotes Du Gascogne. It also comes from Oscar Losama.
 
     3) Chardonnay 2008, California ( 12.5% alc. by volume - really low for California ! ) from the BROWNSTONE Winery ( $9.99 ) is a delight and both Chris Barker and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Very fine value, too.
 
     4) 2009 Riesling ( medium sweet ) Willamette Valley Oregon ( $13.99 )is back again as a number of you really liked it over the last two three years of having it off-and-on.
 
     5) Narince De Tokat  2006 Selection Beyaz from KAVAKLIDERE, Turkey, this dry-mineral white is quite refreshing and fun ( $16.99 ). People really liked it this past weekend.
 
          REDS :
 
     1) 2008 Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina , this " La Flor " Pulenta Wines ( $19.99 ) is exceptionally refined and balanced and elegant and worth every penny.
 
     2) 2007 Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina , this " Decero " Remolinos Vineyard ( Agrelo " , $13.99 ) will be tasted here this Friday, February 25th, 2011 by Jeffrey of Monument Imports from 5-8PM. Again I liked this Malbec for all it's spit and polish and finesse.
 
     3) 2010 Pinotage from South Africa's Swarthland region ( $8.99 ) made by RIEBEEK CELLARS is quite balanced and focused as well and has all the components offering some rich and satisfying flavors without being too bold or strong. We liked it quite a bit - great value, too.
 
     4) Ancyra Kalecik Karasi 2009 ($19.99, Turkish slightly off-dry red with the emphasis on the bright red cherry-berry flavors without the hard acids and drying tannins ) is a great red from an indigenous grape to sit around sipping and enjoying outside, especially when the weather turns warm which it will again...
 
     5) Cabernet Franc from PARADISE SPRINGS of Clifton, Virginia ($22.99 ) , this 2008 made by Chris Pearmund is showing so well with such finesse and polish and refinement. I really like it;s brightness of pure fruit Cabernet Franc flavors. Really nice ...
 
     6) Merlot 2005 Napa Valley ( $29.99 ) from the HALL winery is so smooth and so elegant and so pretty that it really is quite the show-stopper as one stops to catch one's breath and reflect and enjoy and smile with a smile that only gets broader and more intense and more prolonged as the minutes pass-slip by ... really nice.


       PORT-STYLE :
 
     1) Cape Ruby from South Africa's Swarthland region ( $13.99 ) from RIEBEEK CELLARS is again a beauty and one to roll over one's tongue and let infiltrate and soak and baste and refresh and bathe and work it's subtle flavors and work it's magic, too. Really nice ...
 
 
     WEEK'S TASTINGS :
 
       FRIDAY, February  25th, 2011 ( 5-8PM ) : We have Jeffrey of Monuments Imports here to pour Argentina's Finest reds - the two listed above.
    WE ALSO HAVE from Santos - A Dominion Beer tasting from 5-8PM.
 
       SATURDAY, February 26th, 20110 ( 3-7 PM ) : We have Regis of Roanoke Imports here to pour an assortment of his wines from Oregon and also from Italy and France. This will be really exciting as Regis has such a wonderful selection of wines and everyone will be thrilled . Trust me on this one. Your palates will be awakened and pampered and cajoled and teased and pleased. The Pinot Noir from Oregon alone will be an eye-opener!
 
 
I AM SURE that I have forgotten something and yet I am out of time as Greg will join me shortly here and I want to be on the floor to work with him and introduce him to you all.
 
ALSO : both Alexis and Brad mentioned above will soon be here with the DOUGLAS Scotch whiskies and Lou Foppiano of the FOPPIANO Winery in California will be here shortly with his wine rep Laura to taste us on her current releases. He asked Laura to come here and see me as he remembers how much fun we have had here together in the past. Can't wait to see you again Lou!
 
 
THANKS TO YOU ALL for all your support and belief in us. Come meet Greg, come say " goodbye " to Chris and get some last-minute recommendations from him before he leaves the area with his fiancee.
 
CHEERS and thanks again,   TONY
 

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