This was one of my favorite wine-tastings ever in the store because of both Stefania and old-friend Gastone that I have known since the mid eighties. Gastone used to work at the Four Ways restaurant with Jim Hutton and Martin Lumet just to mention two others that I have also known it seems now for quite forever.
Anyway, Gastone brought me Stefania and we bonded it seems almost immediately and seamlessly. Last night I was looking through the little red book she signed for my wife and me called " NITTARDI artist labels " published September 2002. I love it. She signed it : " for Lynne and Tony, very special , generous people ". Love, Stefania 3/25/05. I've kept it out on our round tasting table at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 2008 Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com ) so that I could show it to customers. Thank you once again Stefania for this treasure of a wine-artist label book. Being an artist myself and having designed labels for three projects back in the eighties I do appreciate all the color, the draftsmanship, the textures, patterns, ink and etching and watercolor/collage aspects. Bravo to such a diverse and fascinating world inspired by NITTARDI and classical Gallo Nero Chianti Classico and other Tuscan wines.
This was also a very special evening because it was one of the last evenings with Gastone who was leaving Winebow Imports shortly to join his wife overseas in Belize. He always brought me all the fun Italians from Italy that are represented by Leonardo Lascascio ; and because we knew each other so well already things just always flowed wonderfully and everyone enjoyed special evenings like these in Cleveland Park.
It's tooting our own horn I know ( and I apologize for this ) but the tastings we hold at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits are still largely unknown to many and yet they do represent some of the most intimate/personal glimpses into these wonderful vineyard experiences of wine as seen through their owners and winemakers. Heck, you can go to the vineyard all the way over in Tuscany and taste the wines there and never meet the owner. You come to Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and there they are standing right there before you pouring you a glass themselves of their own special wines. Now this may be a small step for mankind but I do call it a giant one for Cleveland Park and those lucky enough to be in our store at the right time.
One of the reasons for these blogs I'll also admit is selfish : I / we want more people to know about these opportunities to taste and to meet with the principle people in a relaxed, friendly and informative atmosphere of the store. You never know when you may be going next to one of these interesting areas of the world and having met them at the store in our nation's capitol certainly should be a help if not much more when you do go and possibly contact or hook-up with them.
Gastone is so nice and pleasing. He never rocks the boat : he's always agreeable. At least he's a always been agreeable and generous with both his time and energy where I and the store have been concerned. I miss him now after these past three years. He just had a warm, kind gentleness - a gentleman to the core - and I miss that old respect. I could go on for much more in describing Gastone. However, I fear in describing him so well and completely that it might be too much of a contrast to today. Let is suffice to say that we both aged and grew wiser and younger together and shared some wonderful wine moments both at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits as well as at the Four Ways ( the Mayflower Wines & Spirits, too ) , La Colline,Galileo, the Two Amys, Sorriso and at many more places that I cannot now remember without further thought.
Gastone did not actually leave until two months later and before he did I asked him to write something that I could have in the guest book we keep at the store, On May 6th, 2005 he wrote : " Tony, What can I say ? 20 years is a lifetime of great memories and fun time. Thank you for your friendship and your help on my activities during restaurant business and the fun wine exercises . ... Maybe see you in Belize? " Ciao, Gastone
The night that I met Stefania the store filled with many of our customers wanting to try her Tuscan and Chianti Classico wines. We sold the 1999 and the artist label of the Casanuova di NITTARDI. As a matter of fact we sold-out this evening and had to order more. Stefania used our silver pen bottle-marker and signed many bottles and gave out many business cards and I am sure made some new customers, too.
The pictures I took show all this swarm of activity and level of excitement and noise can be easily imagined by looking at them. I will download them as soon as I can take pictures of them or digitalized them. There is just so much to do and not nearly enough time! This blog will be mostly in writing and the pictures will unfortunately have to follow. So, I will have to be especially descriptive and creative in choosing, crafting my words to bring as much of this to life as possible.
We tasted the Casanuova di NITTARDI 2002 artist label Chianti Classico this evening. It is not in the red book that goes from 1981-2001. Stefania gave me a bottle and again signed it with the silver pen. It says : " For Tony , a man of good spirit ". I like that a lot. I still have not enjoyed it with my wife. Someday soon though, I hope.
The artist label 2002 Chianti Classico Casanuova de NITTARDI is really colorful with lots of darker blues and greens with one red house and a yellow sun, a colorful rainbow, a glass of red wine spilling out onto the ground around the house. It's a night time image and quite playful and whimsical and the artist's image /fantastical/romantic/story-tale-style of the NITTARDI home and surrounding vineyards sitting up on the top of a hill looking out all around at the beautiful surrounding countryside. I like it : it's playful and open to interpretation with a swirls, circular-fashion of six blue-tinted houses around the red house that is tilted at an angle over the original yellow NITTARDI house. They all have spires like an obelisk or the Washington monument does : all except the original yellow house with the wine glass perched on top it spilling red wine out. Was there ever a spire to this original yellow-tinted house? Was it sliced off here? And since they do make some white wine. too why is there only one glass of red wine spilling out and not another on the side of it spilling out white wine?!?
So many questions, so many possible interpretations. I think that upon drinking the wine with other inquisitive minds that the possible answers to these questions and more about this fun label would come into better focus. Do you agree?!?
In the guest book with her business card Stefania wrote : " Tony , The Man of Joy ( and great Feelings ) Love, Stefania 3/25/05.
As I said I felt an almost instant rapport with Stefania when we met. I loved her warmth and personality and sincerity. There's no doubt in my mind that we appreciated both each other's professionalism as well as passion. focus and dedication to selling and teaching people about good wine. We worked really well as a team, Stefania, Gastone and me. It was a pleasure to work so closely with them both for these three hours.
Looking at the little hand red book on artist labels I pick ; 1981 ( bird? ), 1982 ( naked lady with a 12+ foot-long stick? ) ; 1984 ( a lion inside a winged eagle/alongside a dog with a glass of wine? ) ; 1986 ( 2 ladies of the night after a long night still trying to drink wine? ), 1987 ( artist's portraits of you both? ) ; 1999 ( a ball / evening with someone in a black hat and a red nose ( an Italian Cyrano ? ) ) : 2000 ( a young lady next to a sculpture of a young naked stone-is-really-flesh lady ? Inspired by Balthus the modern erotic painter perhaps? ) ; 2001 ( a lady and a glass of wine waiting for it to be filled by a fine,tortured line-drawing of a man opening a bottle of wine/cutting the head of a bird or chicken ?!? ). All very intriguing and open to much speculation and very fertile ground for a wild, capricious, serendipitous imagination such as mine! I need to study them some more. I need to be drinking the wines while I study them.
I also liked the second sketches, too : sometimes better than the first ones. The second became the paper wrappers for the bottles.
Stefania sent me a nice email that I may not have responded to as I do not have a copy of it if I did. Did I ever respond Stefania? I am sorry if I did not. Anyway, here is your note to me Stefania : " Hello Tony, I just wanted to say Hallo from Tuscany. I came back to Nittardi very well, I drove then with my family down to Rome ' it's a 2 hours drive from Nittardi, and tributed our love to the Pope. As you remember Nittardi was a property of Michelengelo, the artist who painted the Sixtin Chapel, where in the next days the Cardinals will be closed in to vote. Michelengelo wrote from Rome to his nephew who administrated Nittardi : " Send me the Nittardi wine to Rome as a genuine present for the Pope" So we went with no wine, this time, but much love. It was a feast of joy.
Dear Tony, thank you again for the opportunity to present the Nittardi wine to your selected customers on March 25. I enjoyed the afternoon at your store and appreciated the talks with so many persons. I am sure you will have joy in selling our wine, all the best ". Stefania
I do have joy in thinking of you and when selling your wines Stefania. What news do you have now and what advice do you have for me? I need to buy some more of your wine from Winebow so please be so kind as to give me any advice that you may have.
In reading the little red book last night I learned some about Peter Femfert and all your backgrounds as well as that of NITTARDI. I , of course love all the art connections and the bit about Frankfurt, Germany. I look forward someday to meeting both Peter someday as well as the rest of your family. Please come and see me anytime at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. You are welcome anytime. I'd love to arrange another in-store wine-tasting with you anytime. Please let me know, too if I can be of any service to you.
It's the anniversary of Pearl Harbour and the Japanese bombing of our battle ships today, Sunday night, December 7th, 2008 at just past midnight : 12:19 AM as I type and proof this blog before posting it. It's been an incredibly cold day here in Virginia where I live.
I hope this blog finds you and your family well Stefania. Happy Holidays 2008 to One and to All, and a Happy New Year 2009 to us All, too! Cheers, Ciao, TONY
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