Lisa Giufre Becomes Our Rep For Elite Imports Makes Tasting Smooth-Flowing On Friday, April 25th,2008 ( 5-8 PM ) At Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits

Laurent Givry used to call on us at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirit ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 2008 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com Tel : 202-363-4265 ) and it was fun to have the owner/president of his own company ( Elite Selections ) calling on us.

Mike Martin and I have seen Laurent come up through the ranks over the years. We got to know him pretty well when he worked for Mike Franklin the old owner/president of Franklin Selections. Those were some great times, really. We had a lot of fun back then ; perhaps more than we have now. Better to say that it seems harder to have that same kind of fun now as everything turns today on points and scores, reviews and how many boxes/cases/units of wine can be sold daily, weekly, monthly, yearly?!? You know that is on every one's minds these days and I find that really sad personally.

I try not to run our store with just that thought. I want to have fun and I want to share it with everyone around me.

Laurent likes to have fun. too. He's an incredibly hard worker but he's also quite passionate about the quality and variety of the wines that he sells. Funny, he used to be a trapeze artist. I remember reading years ago an article about him to this effect in the Washington Post newspaper.

We have worked closely with Laurent over the years and watched his responsibilities together with those of Cindy his partner increase. It has gotten the point where Laurent has to run his company and really does not have the time anymore to make the rounds of stores and restaurants that was his habit for so many years.

Having said this I do believe he has recently done a bit of this with Sotiris Bafitis in opening the state of Maryland to the wealth of Elite Imports' offerings. I bet he's enjoyed some of this immensely even though I am sure it has had it's tough moments as well with all the increased competition out there.

We are all competing for a stake in the pie that is out there for grabs. It's getting more and more difficult however with all the big money and talent being thrown out there to make it harder and harder for the little guys. We've got to stick together to keep both the variety and the spice and life/joy of wine alive before it becomes just another commodity like so many others.

Someone has to still fight for all the indigenous grapes and unknown places worldwide that are producing really interesting/unique expressions of wine from hundreds of indigenous grapes!

I'm getting to be pretty ornery and feisty in my maturing years! That's okay, what do I have to lose?!? A comfy office job somewhere where I am spoon-fed what to say, do and think! Not for me!!!

Anyway Laurent, Mike and I do miss you. We have shared some wonderful times together in the store and around town. Mike has travelled to France with you, too and come back with great pictures and stories of the Loire valley, Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley as well. I'm thrilled Mike got to go with you. He could not have had a more wonderful experience, enriching and down-to-earth, personal and intimate as the one you have provided him with.

But Laurent you have an energetic, vibrant, growing company to run with Cindy now. Drop by from time to time. You are always welcome anytime.

In early 2008 we began to see more of Lisa. We knew her from her old Forman Brothers and Henry Wine Group days.

She proved herself here at this group tasting Friday, April 25th, 2008 with so many of your wonderful winemakers/ owners Laurent. She stepped in and helped where it was necessary. She did the job this evening.

Thanks Lisa for your help during these exciting, hectic, chaotic, animated, circus-fun-like-French-Spanish-wine-tasting here in the store at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits on Friday evening ( 5-8 PM ) on April 25th, 2008 the day many of Elite Imports winemakers/owners arrived for the Annual portfolio tasting.

Enjoy these pictures of Lisa hard at work making things flow seamlessly and appearing to be effortless, too. It takes an attentive eye to keep things happening without incident. We appreciate your efforts then and ever since Lisa. You can see in these few pictures the activity and people everywhere throughout our store. Go back to the May entries in these blogs to read more and see more of the pictures.

Also refer to the previous blog I just posted about the two Spanish wineries tasted this evening : LA BASTIDA Rioja and CASTELO DE MEDINA Rueda.

It's been a great year here with Elite Imports. Cheers, TONY