It was a treat to taste the TOAD HOLLOW 2008 dry Pinot Noir rose ( $13.49, from Sonoma County ) called the " Eye Of The Toad ". It reminds me of fresh, ripe, bright and delicious summer strawberries : what's not to like here? It's great all by itself as well as with many a summer mediterranean dish inside or outside. How about some salmon steaks?
As you can also see below that one of our favorite prospective customers way down the road keeps her mother company as she enjoys a slice of the excellent pizza available down at the other end of this block at Vace.
We also tasted the excellent CHATEAU Du BARRAIL 2007 ( $9.99 ) dry white Bordeaux Reserve from Charles Yung & Fils. This has quickly over the last year become one of the most successful dry white wines we have sold at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel: 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandpoarkwine.com ). It often now sells by the case as well as by the bottle.
We had quite a crowd this Friday, June 5th, 2009 ( from 5-8 PM ) to taste Sam's wines as well as Devon's CANTON Ginger liqueur and the new flavors of Sam Adam's beers like the Blackberry Witbier ( made with Marion blackberries from Oregon ) and the Honey Porter ( made with traditional English ale hops and Scottish heather honey ).
Oops : I made a mistake here. The Sam Adams tasting came later. On this Friday we tasted the fabulous New York state BREWERY OMMEGANG with market manager Steven Cardell. Steven tasted the OMMEGANG Belgian Abbey Ale ( ON SALE for $6.99 ) and the the OMMEGANG " Three Philosophers " 50% ale, 2% Ale with cherries added. He tasted four in all this Friday evening.
Sam also ran into some of his neighbors from his parents' home where he grew up not far from here.
You can see here that the Friday tasting was well-attended as people readily gathered around our new tasting table at Cleveland Park.
Love to see this big, broad smile on Gerald's face. It's nice to be finished with work, isn't it? What did you think of the QUINTEN Shiraz Gerald?
I forgot to mention that Sam also tasted this really excellent dusty dry, more European-style 2006 QUINTEN Shiraz " The Evolution Of Quinten " , $13.49 from Southeastern Australia. It's medium-bodied and with a slight chill excellent today- now - with any grilled hot-weather meals as well as any foods that are seasoned and flavored a bit more. You don't want anything delicate to eat with this QUINTEN Shiraz. Bring on the flavors and let them play off each other.
It's so gratifying to see a happy customer with a bottle of something that he or she has tried, liked and ready to buy.
It's been a job well done by you Sam as well as Devon of Canton ginger Liqueur ( ginger blended with French VSOP cognac ) and Steven Cardello of Brewery Ommegang in New York State.
I may add to this as I have time. I'm sure that there are many stories to add given the time.
I will have separate blogs on the CANTON and on the OMMEGANG. Look for those as well.
Enjoy, TONY
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