I am speaking of course of Thomas ( Tom ) Morrissey ...
Tom, I am sorry to hear this most unfortunate news about you : really I am. This was way too soon and I did not even know that you were so sick. You never displayed any signs that would tell me that you were so sick and you came to Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits here in our nations capitol up to the very last.
I got a call from Tim Schneider telling me that you were taking time-off to deal with your illness which I always assumed was neurological and having nothing to do with cancer. The way you shook some in your arm as you would clutch so firmly your pen and write out neatly the items that we needed and were short of : I could tell that it was an effort for you. But you never complained and you always did it for me. Thanks.
You were always so professional and so calm and so patient with both Mike Martin and myself at the store. You waited your turn patiently and played by all our rules and just wanted to do whatever you could to get you slice of our " wine pie " so to speak. Even when frustrated with us that we were not giving you more business you persevered and tried to do everything right to ensure that more business could come your way.
You would come to see us on one of the Wednesday's of any month. That was the day that we saw sales people and you would some times call and tell me that you were on the way. I appreciated that as it gave me some flexibility in arranging better my time at the store. If it was not a good time I would tell you not to come.
It was a bit of a social hour so to speak for many of you sales people as by and large you knew one another. If you did not then introductions would be made. I often made them myself. I also frequently invited other sales people like yourself Tom to come over and taste someone else' wines ; or have them taste yours. It was a time to meet , to learn and to share. That's the way I like to run the store with everyone participating and everyone benefiting.
Occasionally you would ask me what you could do to get more of our business? You listened calmly and were always both a true gentleman and kind and both professional and organized. It was a pleasure to work with you when we could and I am happy to say that in one of the last months that you called on us in 2009 that we were able to give you a sizable order with a whole gambit of Republic's wines. We ordered heavily from your California portfolio that included STEELE ( I love Jed Steele and his wines - especially the SHOOTING STAR Blue Franc red and white Sauvignon Blanc, the " Pacini " old-vines Zinfandel that you own Jed, the late harvest Chardonnay - we bought all the last of the 1997 half-bottles : and more ... ), RIDGE ( love RIDGE, too with the : Geyserville " and the " Lytton Springs Zinfandel blends, the " Three Valleys " red blend, too for great value ! ), RAVENSWOOD Lodi, Amador, Sonoma and other red Zinfandel blends, the COPPOLA " Claret " red blend, Zinfandel, Chardonnay and more , the FROG'S LEAP Napa Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and red Zinfandel, ALL the LUSTAU sherries from " Capataz " to " Los Arcos " to the " Escuadrilla " and the Muscat and the Pedro Ximenez sweet sherries with their thick, dark burnt caramel colors ... the small bottles of Japanese sake, the JEAN-LUC COLOMBO ( Cornas ) French Rhone, Provence and southwest France reds, dry roses and reds : the BERTANI Italian Veneto Valpolicellas and Pinot Grigios and " Due Uve : dry white blend is it? You had help on the COLOMBO and the BERTANI wines from Franceen Khang as well as with the grand GOSSET French champagnes and the TRAGINER Banyuls sweet reds from the southwest of France which also included the dry versions, too.
Imagine : these were just some of the wines that I can recollect here buying from you Tom. Just think with such an impressive portfolio all the other wines you sold to your other accounts from the OPUS 1 and the PHELPS ( both of which we bought, too )?!? We also bought the ROBERT MONDAVI wines from you. The list just goes on and on and on ...
But Tom you pretty much did the job all by yourself for us at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. I never felt that except for both Franceen and Pascal Salvadori of Republic that you got any help from the other reps of KOBRAND and the other large supplier who's name I cannot even now recollect. Sorry! Kudos to you and your strong efforts and for carrying pretty much the entire weight on your shoulders. Both Mike Martin and I commend your valiant trials and tribulations for us in Cleveland Park. Ravi Sharma, Santos Rivera and Ved Goyal also remember all your efforts and we all appreciated our dealings with you and remember you in only the very best terms. Cheers to you and thanks again.
One of the last things that we tried to have happen towards the end of 2009 just before you took a leave of absence was to get one of Jed Steele's reps to come and pour the current selection of wines available. Tom , you knew how much I wanted to have Jed's wines in the store and you tried to keep me aware of current releases such as of the " Writer's Block " series. We did pretty well with the Zinfandel and we also did very well with the last batch of " Shooting Star " Riesling that you sold me at a great price so that I could get our customers turned onto yet another one of Jed's delicious wines.
Unfortunately for having the rep from Jed Steele come to taste the timing was completely off and we simply could not accommodate it in the end and that saddened me when I had to call you with the bad news. You took it stoically and I appreciate that. Some resp would not have been nearly as understanding. You always saw the " big picture " and understood that continued successful business was more important than one " upset " in the course of business. Thank you : you made my job of balancing the things that I would like to do with what I actually could do at any one given point of time easier on me.
Oh, this the day before your funeral which I am sorry to say I will not be able to attend I want to mention something that concerns you. Yes, Tom you introduced the St. FRANCIS Sonoma " Red " wine blend to us that includes some Merlot, Zinfandel, Cabernet and Syrah I believe. You brought a sample one day to the store and waited patiently behind many others for your turn to taste Mike Martin and me on this wine. It took awhile : there were always many sales people back then. Finally it was your turn and you tasted me on it perhaps as long as two years or more ago? I cannot remember exactly. Anyway, I really liked it : I was impressed and pleased and loved both the wine and the value that it represented. I bought some pretty much immediately because you brought it to our attention. Thanks for that.
Mike Martin tasted it with me later and liked it and we both got behind the wine. It always was liked by our customers and we continued to buy between three and five cases each and every time that we ordered it. It was pretty much an instantaneous success for us and I believe that we were one of the very first customers in Washington D.C. to buy and roll with it.
I always have liked the wines of ST. FRANCIS. When I started my stint working for Forman Brothers ( which is now called Republic ) my father and I visited ST. FRANCIS and the ST. JEAN ( both in Sonoma and just across the street from one another ). I then loved both the old-vines Zinfandel and the Merlot. The " Red " blend was not available back then in the mid 90's. I hold a special place in my heart for ST. FRANCIS because my father has since passed away ( in 1997 ) and we were really well treated there and had a grand tasting and tour before I returned here to Washington to really start my time at Forman Brothers.
It's a very small world this wine world here in Washington and I had known you Tom for many years already even then. We grew up in this Washington D.C. wine business together. You spent time at Washington Wholesalers before Republic and before that at Select Imports in northern Virginia I believe. You and Toni Fewell both came from Select into Washington D.C. Toni worked then for the OASIS winery that has been enjoying so much dubious fame thanks to their son Tarek Salahi that with his wife supposedly crashed the White House reception/dinner two or so months ago for the Indian Prime Minister.
When I worked in the wholesale business our paths would often cross and we would see each other in some of the same accounts like Addy Bassin's and Chevy Chase I believe? We would always speak briefly as we tried our very best to get these accounts and others to buy as much wine from us possible without ruffling any feathers and disturbing the smooth course of doing daily business in Washington D.C.
Anyway getting back to my original story before I got side-tracked here. The ST. FRANCIS " Red " Sonoma blend finally got noticed by the press. Was it in one of Ben Giliberti's last wine articles for the Washington Post? Perhaps. Too bad : now everyone would know the great steal and " find " that you had originally brought to our attention! Drat it!! Oh well, life goes on and we continued to sell it well and our customers were always wanting more and very sorry indeed when we were out of it.
Then early this Wednesday morning, January 6th, 2010 - just days after your passing Tom ) I returned from my walk with our terroir mixed-breed dog and looking forward to getting inside where it was warm ( it has been bloody cold now for the past few days here in the Washington D.C. area ) and looking forward to see what Dave McIntyre had written in the " Wednesday Wine Article " in the Washington Post newspaper ( I am still delighted that I can actually have a paper to have in my two hands to read ) about?
Low and behold there was the ST. FRANCIS " Red " Sonoma, California red blend for $11.99 being written about all over again. Wow, I was pleased but not surprised in the least.
It took Tim Snyder's visit this afternoon to the store to trigger this memory and recollection Tom that it was you that had indeed got us " rolling " with this tasty, true-value, balanced and focused red Sonoma wine. I was discussing this with Tim and I was able to both recollect this and share this info with him. We have three more cases coming to Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) tomorrow. Bravo and hurray! This is all good news and I want everyone to know that you were one of the first Tom to " shout - actually you never shouted - you just silently roared it's praises, didn't you? ) about the ST. FRANCIS " Red " California blend.
Tim Snyder that will drive to your funeral service ( leaving here at 5 Am or so to get there in time ) with Alfio Mariconi's son, Fabricio and Jack, too told me earlier today that the " Red " wine from ST. FRANCIS was very slow at taking-off. He readily acknowledged your part in getting the ball-rolling. He also said that you really liked and championed the whole ST. FRANCIS line of wines.
Tim also shared a few days ago over the phone that he had recently seen you and that though weak you seemed to be rallying against the cancer. That's good news and I hope that your last days were peaceful.
Tom, everyone has been in shock in our local wine community about your passing. Everyone has spoken warmly of you and with deep regret and sorrow in their voices. You can see the pain in their faces, too. It's shocking : so unfair! You had lots of people on your side and that admired you and your ways. You will be missed by a lot of us and we will speak for years about you and I am sure that many stories will surface, too.
Just earlier this late afternoon at the store both Steven Shattman of Touton Selections, Sal Furfari of Bacchus Imports and owner Aris Zizzis of his own Greek INO and Nemea wines ( ouzo, too ) were in the store. Here, like you were some of us " original " salespeople/wine-personalities all gathered together and reminiscing together. Of course your name surfaced and we all expressed our dismay at this sudden, unforeseeable turn of events. You might have been right there alongside of us if not for this. You would have been quietly waiting your time writing and preparing and one of us would probably have called you over . asked your opinion or if you remembered this or that event or person?
You might have smiled broadly in response or not answering and perhaps adding a comment or two. We would have listened : after all your were one of us - one of this special group of D.C. wine men that for long has stood the test of time here in a market and wine environment that has constantly changed ( especially these last few years ). Together we have seen a whole lot and if our stories were ever to be combined and shared they would paint a marvelous, colorful, graphic and descriptive " D.C. wine-story ". We know how wine has come from it's infant stages into adolescence and puberty and into a young person and finally into an adult.
Too bad Mike Martin was not in the store yesterday with all of us. Mike has left to go to rejoin his family in Rochester New York and he, too will be missed. He would have had some comments to add about you Tom.
It was interesting to have Chris Barker there with us seasoned sales wine men. He's a lot younger and he worked at Dean & Deluca Tom where he remembers you well Tom. You for awhile was his salesperson there and I am sure that you sold him some Opus 1 and PHELPS " Insignia ", some CAKEBREAD, some FROG'S LEAP and MONDAVI and ST. FRANCIS and many more.
I will try to find some pictures of you in the store here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and include them here as soon as I am able to locate them. I know that I certainly must have some? I certainly hope so. I may also add to this blog entry when and if I remember some other stories to share here.
Thanks again for being the true gentleman and professional that you always were for us at Cleveland Park. You had a rare gift of both of those qualities and it went a long way in fixing for me a strong bond between the two of us that always made me want to do business ( more whenever possible ) with you.
Cheers and to you I raise a symbolic glass of first the STEELE " old-vines PACINI Vineyard " Mendocino Zinfandel followed by one of the ST. FRANCIS " Red " blend here to toast and to salute you.
Tomorrow in the store I will also open a bottle of the ST. FRANCIS " Red " blend and taste it with our customers and speak of you and how you first brought this wine to my attention followed by that of Mike Martin.
Until we meet again Tom ... , and , Ann our thoughts are very much now with you ,,, TONY
P.S. I just spoke to Tim Snyder as he was leaving the service today ( Thursday, January 7th, 2009 ) and he said everyone was there. He said that Tom's mother came up to the three of them ( Fabricio, Jack and him ) and thanked them three times for making the drive to the funeral service. She said that that made the day for her ...
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