I'm not going to lie to you : I'm not going to try and hide anything here in this blog. I'm an artist and I use this blog and my others like my chatart.blogspot.com and chatpoetry.blogspot.com to bring light to my artistic aspirations and view ( views, too ) as well as to shed light on the various wines that I sample and try now each and every week. This is a blog entry that combines everything here for me and it's as much about art and the appreciation of both the wine inside the bottle as well as it is about the enduring and creative label ( like a powerful print that an etcher would make ) ; as much as it is about Lindsay, her sales bravado and beauty : and willingness to play along with me as I ask her to hold the bottle up in front of her so that I can ( and did ) take these pictures. Thanks Lindsay. You helped me to accomplish two goals here and that was to both taste these wines and to come up with some artsy and creative ways to bring attention to them as well as to their labels.
One more thing : for you artists out there look carefully in the green , dark glass of the bottle just above the top of the label and in some of them you will see Lindsay's reflection. Yes, it's there : look closely.
So go ahead and shoot me if you don't like or appreciate these pictures. I can take it, really I can. I do find them intriguing and wonderful and so easy on my eyes : much like the taste of both the current two Vintners CA. Cabernet Sauvignon and the Vintners CA. Zinfandel were on my palate and tongue. They are so so enjoyable and rounded, balanced and distinct enough to please me well into a second, maybe even third glass. I'll have to put this one to the test.
They will both sell for $10 and it will be fun to get them both back in the store the first week of April. Lindsay, you accomplished you task : you will get these two RAVENSWOOD wines back in Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008, Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ). Sorry I can't get them back sooner : it's all about money and budgeting. I will include them once again in our monthly budget as over the last few years we have sold them off-and-on and they have always been solid performers.
Of course when Joel Peterson still owned the winery they were at their peak and very strong performers indeed. I would always be asked for the RAVENSWOOD Zinfandel with almost every tenth request for a wine at one point in time. That was maddening as I did not always have it and it was not always the easiest thing to change our customer from one wine to another. I don't like to do this anyway. If they want a certain wine I would rather sell them what they want. That is not to say, however that I might not recommend that they buy another that I recommend along with the one that they came in looking for. It's nice for them to have something to judge their request against? It will tell them whether they might not enjoy a change and help them to make it for variety and spice if nothing else.
Joel Peterson sold the winery and I had many reservations and was not at all keen at this point to continue selling it, whether the Vintners CA. selections or the regional blends from Lodi or Amador or Sonoma, etc; or even the single-vineyard selections. Over the years we have sold them all well. I wanted to see what would happen : what people would say? We did, however pretty much always have one or another of them. Recently we have worked a lot with the Lodi and the Sonoma and the Amador Zins. Tom Morrisey would be sure to remind me that I was out and that I should consider buying more? Thanks Tom, you were very patient and a big help on this score and RAVENSWOOD should thank you for all your hard efforts.
I am sorry to say that Tom has recently passed away and that tomorrow there will be a gathering in Washington D.C. in one of the local restaurants to pay our respects to a wonderfully talented and loved/well-respected by all fellow street wine sales persons/reps. If you are interested you should call Tim Sneider at Republic-National distributors ( 202-388-8400 ) for more information. I hope that I can make it myself. I believe that everyone is welcome?
Now Lindsay does an excellent job promoting RAVENSWOOD CA. Vintners selections ( Cab. Sauv, Merlot, Chardonnay and Zinfandel ) and we had some recently and sold what we had and now need more. Money, money, money ....
This is a message for Joel : I want to tell you that I still have not met you and would like to some day. Someone that you knew and worked with a whole long time ago in the tasting room of the Robert Mondavi winery in Napa, CA. - Janet Galloway still remembers fondly working with you back then. Her enthusiasm as she remembers you makes me want to meet you all the more as I really respect Janet and have enjoyed knowing her now for twenty years or more. She lives locally and occasionally she comes to me at the store with requests and suggestions for wines that she will taste for small and larger groups here in our Washington D.C. area.
I tried both these two RAVENSWOOD dry CA. reds and liked them both equally. I would drink either the Cabernet Sauvignon or the Zinfandel depending on what food I was preparing or what kind of an event it was? Rather, if I were to be completely truthful I would buy a bottle of each including the Merlot and give myself and everyone else a chance to have three RAVENSWOOD CA. Vintners dry red wines to enjoy over the course of the meal or event.
I mean, why hold back on the wine selections as so many people do? They go crazy on the food choices and selections and spend so much money there that by the time they get to me they don't want to spend very much money. Here's the perfect solution : $10 a bottle for three different kinds ( or four if you include the dry Chardonnay ) and that's between $30-$40 for a bottle of each. I'd say that that's pretty good and it gives everyone some liquid as well as solid variety to sample. Now that's being really thoughtful and considerate of your guests. Bravo and kudos to you all!
Well, that pretty much covers it. I think I've said what I have to say and it's time to post this blog.
I could have used a glass or two tonight with my meal of crock-pot roast that fell apart at my fork's gentle touch earlier this evening. I don't know which I would have enjoyed more ? It would have probably been the Cabernet Sauvignon RAVENSWOOD Vintners Selection if I have to guess? But there's only one way to know for sure, isn't there?
Lindsay, you will now have to bring Chris Barker and me a sample of both the RAVENSWOOD Vintners CA. Chardonnay and the Merlot. We will need to taste both so that we know what we are recommending to our customers. I know, I know : RAVENSWOOD is famous and everyone buys it anyway. Well that's not good enough for me : I need to know how the current vintages are tasting so as to do my job better and give customers that ask the best advice and information that I possibly can.
Better yet Lindsay, you will have to sign up for an in-store wine-tasting of these four RAVENSWOOD CA. Vintners Selections. The next time that you come to the store ask to see our calendar and let's pick a date on either Friday or Saturday that you can come by for three hours and pour these famous RAVENSWOOD wines : one white and three reds.
Looking at you testing the wine first to be sure that is not corked or flawed Lindsay makes me want to have another taste now. I am looking forward to trying both the RAVENSWOOD Vintners CA. Chardonnay and the Merlot.
Cheers and until then, TONY
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