Life is precious and unpredictable and surprising as today I had the chance to meet and taste wines with Alexis' owner Kimberly Jackson Wickman. Kimberly came to the store with Matt that brought us Alexis here on March 2nd, 2010. It's been just a little more than a month and here I walked up to our tasting table and looked at the wines being tasted and I did an immediate double-take! I loved it : I smiled and immediately felt at home as I introduced myself and listened to Kimberley speak about her wines from the Napa Valley in California. When she started to speak about she and her husband's concept for both the wine and the labeling and the whole image I immediately remembered what I had told Alexis : about the Beatles's 1967 song on Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album : " A Day In The Life " and - " How many holes does it take to fill the Albert Hall ... ".
I know that this is a wine blog and yet being an artist I like to combine and invoke all of the arts that come together into my life to make it the wealth of wonders that it often is as a result. So please humor me as I will get around to the art of wine as well, especially as it involves the wealth of flavors and balance and freshness in these JAX Vineyards' wines that never seems to lose track of both the grapes and the full expression of the components especially the fruit inside of them. Bravo for that!
If you look at this label above you might follow me as when the holes were punched into this edgy sharp-contrasting label what happened to all the circles that are pressed and must fall somewhere? Why don't they take all those small circles of label and deliver them in a bottle to the Albert Hall in honor of the Beatles's famous lyrics? I told this all to Alexis back then as well as to her boss today ( Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 ) as we spoke. But Alexis was not as familiar with the song and the lyrics so I felt that the impact was not really there. Oh well, it still means something to me and I feel that they should recycle this paper and use it as confetti for marriages or for festivals as they do for Carnival in Rio De Janeiro or in Trinidad?
Why waste it : why not make a useful statement and complete the connection or link into the circle of life that we are all a part of? I told this all today to Alexis' boss Kimberly and she seemed quite interested and caught up in what I was saying and I was pleased with her response. She at one moment said that she would be interested in blogging about me and would that be alright? I said that of course it would be alright. Matt added some of his observations about my " excellent palate " ( his words ) and all the years that I have been in the business, experience and contributions. Thanks Matt.
Today also when I looked at the label more carefully/ thoughtfully ( I'm reminded of Tim Gun's statement each week on Project Runway where he tells the designers to use the Blue Dot wall thoughtfully ... ) I noticed the single red dot on the label and said that it reminded me of the LOLONIS labels with the red ladybugs on them. Kimberly knew exactly what I was referring to and I asked her if their wines were organic and I think she responded that they are working on sustainable agriculture? Did I hear correctly? Please correct me here if I did not get this right.
Then as I cleared my memory card to make more room for more Canon digital pictures I called her over today to see the pictures here that I had already downloaded of Alexis and the JAX Napa California wines. It was fun to get to show them to Kimberly as I explained that really soon I would be able to write my story here and get this one posted.
I really enjoyed showing her these pictures and pointing out what I liked about them. I told Kimberly that I was an artist and that in each picture there were many elements that all added to the whole and I pointed out many of the ones that meant something to me. She nodded her head and agreed or added points and comments of her own as I talked and scrolled through these pictures as well as the many that were not here but of the first tasting back on March 2nd, 2010. She wanted a copy of one with Alexis pouring wine for Paul Jameson and I sent it along in an email earlier today with a few more of the pictures : her " sneak preview " for this blog to follow. Did you get my email with the photos Kimberly? I hope so.
As you can see I am working on this the same day that I met her earlier at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008, Tel:202-363-4265, sales@clevelandparkwine.com, www.clevelandparkwine.com ) where I have been the wine manager now for almost ten years! Wow, what a long, fabulous run-journey-trip this has been, just like Jerry Garcia sings on the grand song : ' Truckin' ". I still not have met the " doo dah man that they sing about in this song? Let's meet him and present him with both a glass of one of the JAX wines as well as the empty bottle afterward filled with all these small circles of the label that are punched out to make so many labels each year? Sound like a good idea?
Anyway, this blog is really about being introduced for the very first time to the JAX Napa Valley California wines through Alexis and Matt of the Five Grapes Import company. I enjoyed this earlier visit very much on March 2nd, 2010 and I took many pictures and asked many pointed questions of Alexis and asked her to explain a whole lot of what she was saying as she told us all so much about her Napa California wines, the labels, the presentation, the wines themselves of course, the young owners, their dedication and vision, where they had come from before ( New York ).
Alexis kept referring to the owners as being young and trendy and fun to work for and great to work for because of all this. I said : " Why? Is there a problem with being not so young, being older? Are those that are older worse and not as fresh and creative and less innovative or fun to work for? Is it that like a bottle of old wine it may already be getting too old and a bit over the hill? Must everything today have to only come from the young to make it more " of the moment " and significant in our eyes/ the eyes of the world today? Is today's 40's or a four year old bottle of wine already like the being in one's eighties or like a eight-year old bottle of tired and undrinkable wine- garbage material only? Were we older generation people already like old bottles of wine way past their prime and with little or no redeeming value anymore on today's stage?!? As you can clearly see this comment of hers cut me to my core. " Lighten-up Tony/ lighten-up Mr!! " I can just hear others saying this to themselves in response to this.I'm trying but comments like this make me think perhaps way more than I should ...
I was hard on you Alexis and I apologize. Both my friend and customer Paul Jameson ( of the JAMESONWINE EXPERIENCE ) and Matt I think were a bit shocked at how much of an attack I mounted towards Alexis. I said at one point to Alexis that all that she was saying to us three men sounded too scripted to me? Was it? And what could she tell us now that would sound less rehearsed and more spur-of-the-moment and thus to me perhaps a bit more genuine and heart-felt? I know, I know! I was being pushy here but I wanted to see what her response would be? She did not pause or show any signs of being offended by me or by my words.
By the way as I took these photos I would show them to Alexis. I like doing this as so that they may see that there is some order and some rhyme in my seeming abruptness and madness of photo-snapping and running dialogue!
I apologized at the time and Alexis would have nothing of it saying that it was okay, that she could handle herself and to bring it on. I liked this response and so it of course challenged me some and I did continue for better or for worse. I think we parted on very good terms and I told Alexis then that I was the most pleased with both the JAX dry Sauvignon Blanc and the dry red 2005 J3 Syrah. I told her we would buy her wines and we will for May 1st, 2010. Matt remind me so that we may put together an order and let's have you taste the JAX Sauvignon Blanc the next time that you do an in-store/wine-tasting here in Cleveland Park N.W. in our nation's capitol?
Here in the photo above Paul Jameson is enjoying this experience with Alexis and Matt. He just happened to be at the store at the right time and so I invited him to taste with me. I think that it was his first time tasting these excellent, balanced and fruit-forward/ fruit-centered ( may be the better expression ? ) California wines. I liked all four of them and it will be a pleasure to have them in our store really soon. I also hope that one of you two fine young ladies will return and do a tasting of them as well ? Let's plan that sometime soon?
Today I tasted the JAX Napa Y3 2007 Chardonnay and liked it quite a bit : softer, rounder, fuller, more flesh in the center than in the more tart, tangy, crisp, edgy Y3 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. Kimberly said that it was a favorite for those people that are not usually Chardonnay fans. What were the reasons for this : a touch of malolactic fermentation and older oak barrels? Was that what you said? I should focus more/ listen up and perhaps take fewer pictures? It's such a quandary to know what to do as I want to do everything at once and fell that I only have a few precious moments and that the next one might be my last and that everyone should count! Lots of pressure, self-imposed on these shoulders of mine... So, feel free to chime in and leave any comments below at the end of this blog entry for any reader to read later to clarify and amplify any of the issues I have brought up or points that I have made. This is after all a collaborative effort if one wants to have the most and make the most of it all.
So Alexis thanks for being such a great sport here on this day back on March 2nd, 2010. I was playing the devils' advocate so-t0-speak and testing you for your responses. I liked them and I wish that I had noted them here to add for others to read.
You're a great subject to photograph ( with your youth, beauty and style in fashion ) and I had a blast on so many levels. Matt I will discuss some of these wines for delivery on May 1st, 2010.
I liked Y3 2007 Chardonnay and the 2005 J3 Syrah and the JAX Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 . I liked the JAX 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon better the second time that I just tasted it earlier this week with Kimberly. This time it seemed mellower, smoother and more balanced and less hearty and edgy. I assume it was the same vintage both times?
The Y3 2007 Chadonnay has a place and I could easily enjoy a glass before or with my meal. I would rather, however drink more of the Y3 2007 Sauvignon Blanc as I liked that style myself more. But everyone has their palate and so at some point we will have the Chardonnay, too : especially if one of you two beautiful ladies comes to pour it for us with our customers? At that point we will offer all four wines here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits.
But for the immediate future we will get some of both the JAX Vineyards' J3 2005 Syrah dry red and the JAX Vineyards' Y3 2007 Sauvignon Blanc.
Stay-tuned for more as I have more to add a bit later. But I will post this now on Sunday, April 25th, 2010 at 1:41 PM and let you read and hopefully enjoy what I have so far. Cheers, and thanks Alexis, Kimberly and Matt! TONY
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