We have recently lost quite a few important men in the wine world, some known more locally and some with perhaps broader reaches. Washington D.C. has been the home base for a lot of really interesting wine personalities that have each left indelible/irreplaceable personal imprints on the wine world as we know it today. I was thinking about it this morning as I drove my daughter to the bus stop to catch her bus into Washington D.C.
I started by thinking about our most recent loss David Bryant that I have already blogged about several times now. He did so much to add variety and selection on both Italian and Spanish wines to the East Coast. He picked up where Aaron and Helen Millman ( both Aaron and Helen Millman who had lived for many years in Florence, Italy have passed away in the last 10 years. With the Mayflower Wines and Spirits run by their daughter Sidney Moore then, now Sidney Margolis , and Mike Downey ) left off with a fabulous selection of small, artisanal wine producers who's wines clearly reflected the terroir and the soul from dipping low to soaring into the heavens of each of these specific locales. He then added the Spanish wines and continued to develop them very much in the same way as the superb Italian portfolio ( La Giaretta( Valpolicella ), Vayra( Piemonte ), Elena Walch( Alto Adige), Alois Lageder( Friuli), Lamoli de Lamole( Tuscany), Di Giorgis( Piemonte), Isole E Olena( Tuscany ) and so many more.
Then I remembered how David talked so fondly of Michael Downey that passed away several years ago. They were friends, they both spent great times in each other's company in Italy. Mike, like David had developed an extraordinary small portfolio of some of Italy's rising stars( our rock stars! ) like Poppiano( Tuscany), DiLenardo (Friuli ) and many more. I used to work with Michael Downey at the Mayflower Wines & Spirits and we had some of those rising stars like Alessandro Furlan ( Furlan, Friuli ), and Andrea Fossi ( Fossi, Tuscany ) and Elisabetta( Vietti, Piemonte ) all come and work in the store and learn English. Those were some wonderful times.
Then I thought of Mike Franklin and all the wonderful small producers from around the world that he celebrated with his small import company called Franklin Selections. Lots of great talent got their big starts through Michael and he has been missed since Franklin Selections closed and he passed away about a year ago now? I can't remember the exact date.
This got me to thinking of MIchael Tilsch who had a wonderful, creative, expressive store in Maryland called Silesia I think? Is that the spelling? I never went there. I had met Michael so many years before in the mid eighties and then lost direct contact with him. But I always heard about him through the wine grapevine! Customers and many people in the business talked so fondly about him. As a matter of fact I was just speaking to Nora Favelukes and told her about David Bryant's passing recently. She did not know him but she knew Michael Tilsch really well and said that whenever he'd go to New York City he would contact her and they'd go to the opera.
I knew Michael loved the opera. When we had a wine maker dinner with Anton Beukes of Moreson vineyards ( South Africa ) at Ardeo down the street from Cleveland Park Wines and Spirits where I work he brought a whole slew of opera-lovers to the dinner hosted by us and importers John and Theresa Morrison. What a night that was, special - I'll always remember it. I've got some great photos from that dinner and will include them sometime and of course mention more about Michael as well.
This all got me thinking about Jim Arsenault that recently had a heart attack( stroke? ) - I can't remember. Anyway he's not doing very well. I had thought he had passed away but a good friend of his quickly in passing by the other day informed me that everyone was pulling for Jim to make a recovery and that with time it seems possible. That's a good way to end these musings. We hope that you make it Jim. You, too have added so much to the wine world and your imprint has been a big one indeed.
And then there's Robert Mondavi who I have already written several blogs about previous to this one. His influence on the wine world has been profound and we will all miss him greatly I feel. I only met him once when he was 84 but the impact he made upon me was profound. I am thrilled to have met him and his wife Magrit and son Michael.
It's all interconnected. The wine world is large and small at the same time. Many of these people knew each other well and benefited from the other's fine examples. It's good to be a part of this and to know how these lives have touched each other's as well as those of so many people buying, drinking and fully enjoying the many pleasures wine has to offer to one and to all.
All these wonderful people are remembered by living family and friends and their hard work still goes on and can be felt still by many today. Men of integrity and passion and a real love for wine and food, women, the arts and a full enjoyment of life damn the price! Cheers to them all. TONY
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