This was the second or third time that I had met the winemaker of GERARD METZ from Alsace, France. This difference was that in the first two meetings back in 2002 was it ( with importer Roger Turner back then ) that he was the assistant winemaker : now he is the principle winemaker.
We used to buy and sell the GERARD METZ wines back then when Roger would sell them to us. I am pretty sure that Roger also came to the store at least once to do in-store/ wine-tastings and that at least one or more of the GERARD METZ wines were tasted.
They sold well for us and we have been out of them for quite some time. Once that Roger got out of the business I lost track of these wines and was very pleasantly surprised when Dan called me and asked me if he could come by with both the winemaker as well as the United States rep that sells them to William Harrison? I said naturally : " Of course - come on by ". That's pretty much my standard response to a request involving either a wine owner or a wine-maker : they are always welcome unless my life is falling apart just then for some ridiculous reason.
It was great to reconnect and to talk about old times and about Roger Turner. We both smiled quite a bit as we spoke in French.
This was a very animated and enjoyable reunion for me as well as tasting. It is always a treat for me to see someone from the past and to catch-up on all that has transpired in both our worlds since we last met. That's how this moment felt for me. I was enjoying it, really even though as usual I was helping customers while I was tasting or answering the phone as is usually the situation. That never changes : multi-tasking I call it.
Gaby and Lane, two of our oldest customers came to buy some wine while all this was going on and so I naturally invited them to taste with us. They enjoy these impromtu tastings very much and I know appreciate that I include them. It's always great to get our customers' opinions of the wines that we taste. You never know if they will want to purchase one or more of them right on the spot now do you?
As you can see by the labels that there is a musical series here with the musical sheet and it's notes to be played : very much as if the tastes were like the notes here playing for you over the expanse of your tongue and palate. I like this : I always have. We have always bought some of both in the past.
I will ask Dan Terasa of William Harrison what is available for us to purchase in March of 2010. We are completely out of the GERARD METZ wines now and it will be fun to get the Pinot Blanc here once again : or perhaps the Gewurztraminer or Riesling. We tried on this day all of them : Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling , Gewurztraminer and maybe a Sylvaner or a Pinot Auxxerois? My memory is a bit foggy now so once again I will confer with Dan about all of this. Depending on what they cost and what we need on the shelf will determine what we buy.
It is now Monday, February 15th, 2010 and I am home on my day-off on President's Day at 5:36 PM. When I get to work tomorrow I will call Dan and go over this with him.
WE here in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area are currently digging our way out of the " storm of the century " and more snow has fallen already today and more is intended to fall tonight. It's touch-and-go right now and a bit like living back in the days-of0old when we were less in control of things and had to roll more with the flow. I like it : in some ways I like it a whole lot.
In this icy, cold yet serenely beautiful landscape where the clean snow as well as the mixture of salt and brown earth-turned-to-black all mix now at the sides of our roads in piles like those we make at the beach when we sand-drip from a bucket onto a clean surface - yeah, something like that ; it's a juxtaposition of beauty and ruggedness now and we are all just trying to survive and get around safely - and I could use now a glass of either one of these GERARD METX Gewurtzraminers or Pinot Gris to sit back and sip and watch the snow fall.
It's also now the time of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada and I'll bet all those watching the Olympics in the cold and snow of Vancouver would love a glass of any of these excellent Alsace whites from GERARD METZ?!?
Yesterday when they won their first Gold Medal on Canadian soil : I'll bet that at that moment and for hours afterward one of these more hearty and flavorful GERARD METZ wines that is also thicker, denser, more colored and beefier would have done the job admirably to both celebrate this wonderful victory of theirs as well as ward off the cold and the bite and the chill of the Canadian winter elements that look pretty formidable on camera/t.v. as we watch all the individual races outside from Luge to snow board to skating, etc. I'm brain-dead, or feel a bit like it now from all my shoveling and cannot remember all the names of the sports.
We also have to take a moment to mourn the accidental and tragic passing of the young man that died before the Opening Ceremonies on the new Luge track that was the fastest and most modern - and in this case sadly very deadly, too. We learn regrettably too late from these tragedies of things that could have perhaps been done before to prevent them ...
I raise my glass to this fallen young and very promising athlete and to all those that remain that toil and sweat and push themselves to the limit for Olympic gold. Here's to you all : I have a glass of the Musical Series white in my right hand as I toast you all. Actually, this is all symbolic as I do not have a glass of that wine right now. But later tonight I will toast with my family over a lovely leg of lamb to the bravery and the commitment of all the Olympians that inspire me so much to want to do my very best in everything that I do. Cheers, TONY
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