I beg to differ : it was a vital visit as I like to make associations between the people and their wines. More so, I like to taste the wines. I bought them as I recall vaguely now on this direct import basis because Alberto the owner of Grappoli had told me about how excellent the wines were and are. I agree, they are. I did not find one wine in the bunch that I tasted that I would not be pleased to put on our shelves at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 www.clevelandparkwine.com anthonyquinn@clevelandparkwine.com ). You were correct Alberto.
Also, I hit it off immediately with Vittorio. He had waited patiently with David for me to try the IGreco wines of Cariati ( Cs, www.igreco.it ) in southern Italy. He had observed my interaction with Giancarlo Greco, one of the owners ( one of the seven brother? ) of IGreco. Actually, he had been invited by me almost immediately as he walked through our front door to taste Gancarlo's extra virgin olive oil with white truffles. I was just tasting this delectable extra virgin olive oil and I wanted to share my joy over it with both David and Vito. They both pretty much accepted my invitation immediately.
This thus started a open dialogue between all of us as well as one in Italian between both Giancarlo and Vito. I think that the bonds were forming between us all and that is the way that I like to run Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. Everyone is welcome: everyone is welcome to join in. Let's make our moment memorable and a real treat for everyone fortunate enough to be gathered around at any one time in our store. This is our moment and I want it to be both special and one that we don't forget immediately but rather carry with us as we continue. I want it to nourish us later as well as of the time of our meeting.
It will be good to get these new MASTROJANNI wines into our store. I know we need more Rosso di Montalcino as well as more Brunello. You can never really have enough of either as they are pretty amazing and do help set both mood/melody/madness divine/mayhem mastered wel and marvelous mighty moments - memorable.
I will write more about the individual wines and vintages that I tasted when I return to work on Tuesday. I forget to bring all the notes and paperwork with me.
I just enlarged on my screen here the one picture of the three wines that I sampled with Vito. We tasted the 2007 Rosso di Montalcino, the 2006 Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon that the call San Pio ; and the 2004 Brunello di Montalcino. Both the Rosso 2007 and the Brunello 2004 will be in the store next week. The San Pio 2006 old-vines Cabernet Sauvignon will be available in December or possibly January 2010> I can't remember : they were taking pr-eorders with the open bottle.
I found the San Pio to be quite excellent : old-world and tasty, balanced and with lots of unique character. I liked it quite a bit and it will be fun to introduce to our customers as something special and unique and well-worth trying when they want to treat themselves to an original experience and a memorable one at that. It's a food wine : not a casual sipping wine. It's earthy and spicy and speaks of the warmth of the summer and fall days before the grapes were picked. It tells stories of the nutrients that these old Cabernet Sauvignon roots had to dig deep for : of the sweat, toil and efforts that they had to go through to stay alive and get the water and nutrients that they needed. It speaks of the wrinkles and the groans, the moans and the squeals of joy and the peels of nervous laughter and relief when they made it through another day to develop the flavors in the grapes just that bit more that would eventually become this delightful 2006 that I was drinking with Vito in David Enright's company.
This was quite an turning point for me as I had never had this experience before and I learned from it. I liked that quite a bit and it really made me focus my thoughts on it as I realized this. Even after forty years of experience enjoying wines I still learn things - sometimes really exciting and memorable to me - each and every day that I allow myself to be open to new experiences. This was one.
All I have are Vito's wonderful words that he wrote for me before leaving to continue on his journey with David. This is what he wrote: " Tony and Vito, We could be two characters of a Scorsese's movie. Instead we are two wine lovers. We love wine and the beauty of life. Thanks Tony, thanks for the business and even more for your passion for Italy. Do it again Tony! " Vito
Thanks/ grazie Vito. It's been quite the experience tasting with you your MASTROJANNI Tuscan wines. Our meeting will make it all the more enjoyable and meaningful to sell your wine here at Cleveland Park Wines.
Next time you come to Washington email me and let's plan on you doing an in-store/wine-tasting of the MASTROJANNI wines. That could be a grand success, really and we could sell lots of the MASTROJANNI wines. In the meantime Mike Martin and I will do our best to sell your wines. We might even get David to come and taste them as well with our customers.
It was great to meet you just after my return from Montalcino, Tuscany. It's funny to think that we were both there at the same time the week before and that we both came to the United States probably around the same time?
Cheers and by the way Vito I really liked Martin Scorsese's movie/documentary done on Bob Dylan's early years leading up to just when and after he released the electric version of " Like A Rolling Stone " that upset the entire folk music scene here in the United States. I love the song : it's pretty amazing, just like the MASTROJANNI wines.
Caio, TONY
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