Susan Lowell worked with Tom Calder many years ago at Sutton Place gourmet before he left
to go live in France and buy wines for Potomac Selections based here in the Washington D.C metropolitan area. Susan went on to start an family and work at the same time. I don't know if she has another job than selling Tom's wines as well as the rest of the Potomac Selections portfolio ( 301-583-8844, susanlowell@mac.com, 202-362-0373 )? Thinking of Susan reminds me of the article I just read in the Washington Post newspaper about working mothers and the various hats they wear and how their demeanor as well as the sounds of their voices , etc. change immediately when they switch quickly from one to the other.
Susan you are a delight to deal with and I enjoy your smile very much. Thanks for dropping off the bottle of sparkling French wine last night. I forgot it at the store when I left but it is in the cold box and so it should still be fine and I will taste it later today when I get a chance.
And who knows someone will probably come in with the announcement that they are having a baby, got a job, are getting married and - voila! - there will be a bottle ready and chilled to celebrate the moment with. Thanks, I love this type of serendipitous fortune.
Pictured above is the wine of ( Mas de la Deveze ) Sarabande , Cotes du Rousillon red 2006 ( $16.49 ) and made by Olivier Bernstein. I enjoyed it for it's strong personality and distinct flavors that I would enjoy matching with a meal either inside or outside somewhere as an assortment of appetizers are brought to the table and my family, friends and I wax poetic about life and the present moment that we celebrate and smile inwardly toasting our good fortunes and the bounty of life.
Being an artist I love taking more artsy photos as the one above with the reflection of the top of the green bottle here in the red color of the wine itself. It adds something special, don't you think?
I don't have it yet but I will talk to Susan tomorrow about getting some soon for 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 now managed the wine department for almost ten years.
Olivier honed his wine-making skills in burgundy before creating his own domaine in the Roussillon region of southwest France.
Look at the beautiful color here in this picture above of the Sarabande Cotes du Roussillon : it's so dark and deep and authoritative - got weight and substance that's almost intimidating and regal : you don't know whether you are allowed to enter into it's domain - to put your lips to it's surface and disturb it?!? Go on - disturb it - revel in it - dip your tongue into it! Only grand pleasure awaits you ...
Now look at it in the picture above bathed in the intense and bright light of our celing lights. It's so inviting here this Sarabande Cotes du Roussillon. What a transformation that light can make to the color and the allure of a wine. I love both personalities of the wine as exhibited here through the colors alone : the brighter and more forward, sunnier side here : and in the previous picture the more pithy and earthy, the more " grounding and concrete " personality to it. Wine is always a blend and a mixture of various flavors and tastes. To me the best is one that exhibits both highs where you touch the clouds and lows where you must burrow in through bramble and dirt and mineral and rock ; and then all that's in between, too. Wine can give you it all and when it's reflective of the grapes and where they are grown then I tend to celebrate it all the more. Let there be variety and true character of place and time and all the conditions that were a part in it's formation from grape to wine bottled and sold and enjoyed by you an me ....
Is this bottle above the J. Lopez Ribeiro Vinho Verde 2008 " Mica " biodynamic Portuguese white from CASA De MOURAZ about to be poured? Maybe? Ican't tell : it's so dark here on my monitor screen.
Look at the red color above here in the picture above ; doesn't it make you just want to drop everything and have a sip of it? It does me ...
The wine above is the CHATEAU De ROQUEFORT Provence red " Les Mures " 2006 ( a blend of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault. It sells for $21.99 and we need some more wines from Provence as we are very low in this category right now in our store. Raimond de Villenueve has 24 Hectares of vines of which almost half are old-vines and biodynamic. They come from outside of Bandol in a protected amphitheater with 350 m of altitude Susan tells me. Again, this wine had volume and power and tremendous character and would be best when served along side a really nicely-seasoned meal. I could walk down the block to Lavandou restaurant at the end of our block and ask owner Florence to have prepared for me a nice daub dinner and I would be very pleased indeed. The strong meat flavors of the daub would counterbalance those of this CHATEAU De ROQUEFORT. And if you want to try something at home just marinate well some meat and vegetables and cook them outside on your grill : shish kebob for example on skewers? That would be nice with some peppers of all colors as well as onions and mushrooms and the meat, too? Some nice cheese like a Camembert? You don't have to work too hard to enjoy these two wines.
Susan also tasted me on the " Mica " 2008 ( $15.99 ) Vinho Verde J. LOPEZ RIBEIRO ( Casa de Mouraz ) made by Antonio Lopez Ribeiro and his wife Sara Dionisio with nine different " terroirs " by Tondela in the Dao region of Portugal. I liked it for it's medium-body, for it's brightness, clarity, smoothness and overall very pleasing taste. I like, too that it is biodynamic ( started in 2006 ) and that they follow the bio-dynamic calendar. It's stylish and has real polish and finesse and is nice with or without food. I can see many of our Cleveland Park customers enjoying some outdoors with family, neighbors and friends watching the world go by and talking with both passion and a relaxed demeanor with " no worries " for at least these moments.
I will talk to Susan about all of this tomorrow and see what we may bring in immedaitely which may also include some of the MOUTARD champagne that she dropped-off to me last night. It's 30% Chardonnay with 50% Pinot Noir and I guess the rest being Pinot Meunier? I will have to ask. It will sell for $50 or so a bottle and I will write more about it once that I have tasted it. It's a rose Prestige bottle, non-vintage from the Cote des Bar region of champagne and I can't wait to try some later today when the moment is right. It's a small family labor of hard toil and love and if you read this and want to stop by today ( Wednesday, April 1st, 2010 ) on what looks to be a sunny day now please do by all means.
Cheers and thanks Susan ,Tom and Scott Sherk, too. I look forward to getting some " new " selections from you to sell here in Cleveland Park N.W. Washington D.C. in our nation's capitol really soon.
A la prochaine, TONY
This is an update :
Ruth called me this past Saturday January 12th, 2014 at the store wanting some dry Provence French pale and delicate rose for her bouillabaisse recipe for this weekend with friends. I put her on hold while I went to see what I had? We both were in luck as I had three bottles of a Tom Calder selection dry rose that had just the right pale color and was $16.99 a bottle I believe that I got through Potomac Wine Selections. Tom was a writer and moved to Paris, France to continue that as well as to enjoy being in France. He left his job as the wine-buyer at Wagshalls here in Washington D.C. where Pam The Butcher moved to work at once leaving Brookville Market. This should work really well Ruth. You will have to let me know? You have shopped with us now for many years. You know Sidney Moore Margolis the old owner of the Mayflower Wines & Spirits where I worked once with Sidney. I miss her. She, too was a customer at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. Let me know how the wine worked from Tom so that I may pass it on to Tom. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn Happy New Year Ruth and Tom! It's now a nice , warmer , drier, half clouds and blue skies day here in northern Virginia on my day-off, 1/13/14 Sante Tom! Happy Monday to you in France!
to go live in France and buy wines for Potomac Selections based here in the Washington D.C metropolitan area. Susan went on to start an family and work at the same time. I don't know if she has another job than selling Tom's wines as well as the rest of the Potomac Selections portfolio ( 301-583-8844, susanlowell@mac.com, 202-362-0373 )? Thinking of Susan reminds me of the article I just read in the Washington Post newspaper about working mothers and the various hats they wear and how their demeanor as well as the sounds of their voices , etc. change immediately when they switch quickly from one to the other.
Susan you are a delight to deal with and I enjoy your smile very much. Thanks for dropping off the bottle of sparkling French wine last night. I forgot it at the store when I left but it is in the cold box and so it should still be fine and I will taste it later today when I get a chance.
And who knows someone will probably come in with the announcement that they are having a baby, got a job, are getting married and - voila! - there will be a bottle ready and chilled to celebrate the moment with. Thanks, I love this type of serendipitous fortune.
Pictured above is the wine of ( Mas de la Deveze ) Sarabande , Cotes du Rousillon red 2006 ( $16.49 ) and made by Olivier Bernstein. I enjoyed it for it's strong personality and distinct flavors that I would enjoy matching with a meal either inside or outside somewhere as an assortment of appetizers are brought to the table and my family, friends and I wax poetic about life and the present moment that we celebrate and smile inwardly toasting our good fortunes and the bounty of life.
Being an artist I love taking more artsy photos as the one above with the reflection of the top of the green bottle here in the red color of the wine itself. It adds something special, don't you think?
I don't have it yet but I will talk to Susan tomorrow about getting some soon for 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 now managed the wine department for almost ten years.
Olivier honed his wine-making skills in burgundy before creating his own domaine in the Roussillon region of southwest France.
Look at the beautiful color here in this picture above of the Sarabande Cotes du Roussillon : it's so dark and deep and authoritative - got weight and substance that's almost intimidating and regal : you don't know whether you are allowed to enter into it's domain - to put your lips to it's surface and disturb it?!? Go on - disturb it - revel in it - dip your tongue into it! Only grand pleasure awaits you ...
Now look at it in the picture above bathed in the intense and bright light of our celing lights. It's so inviting here this Sarabande Cotes du Roussillon. What a transformation that light can make to the color and the allure of a wine. I love both personalities of the wine as exhibited here through the colors alone : the brighter and more forward, sunnier side here : and in the previous picture the more pithy and earthy, the more " grounding and concrete " personality to it. Wine is always a blend and a mixture of various flavors and tastes. To me the best is one that exhibits both highs where you touch the clouds and lows where you must burrow in through bramble and dirt and mineral and rock ; and then all that's in between, too. Wine can give you it all and when it's reflective of the grapes and where they are grown then I tend to celebrate it all the more. Let there be variety and true character of place and time and all the conditions that were a part in it's formation from grape to wine bottled and sold and enjoyed by you an me ....
Is this bottle above the J. Lopez Ribeiro Vinho Verde 2008 " Mica " biodynamic Portuguese white from CASA De MOURAZ about to be poured? Maybe? Ican't tell : it's so dark here on my monitor screen.
Look at the red color above here in the picture above ; doesn't it make you just want to drop everything and have a sip of it? It does me ...
The wine above is the CHATEAU De ROQUEFORT Provence red " Les Mures " 2006 ( a blend of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault. It sells for $21.99 and we need some more wines from Provence as we are very low in this category right now in our store. Raimond de Villenueve has 24 Hectares of vines of which almost half are old-vines and biodynamic. They come from outside of Bandol in a protected amphitheater with 350 m of altitude Susan tells me. Again, this wine had volume and power and tremendous character and would be best when served along side a really nicely-seasoned meal. I could walk down the block to Lavandou restaurant at the end of our block and ask owner Florence to have prepared for me a nice daub dinner and I would be very pleased indeed. The strong meat flavors of the daub would counterbalance those of this CHATEAU De ROQUEFORT. And if you want to try something at home just marinate well some meat and vegetables and cook them outside on your grill : shish kebob for example on skewers? That would be nice with some peppers of all colors as well as onions and mushrooms and the meat, too? Some nice cheese like a Camembert? You don't have to work too hard to enjoy these two wines.
Susan also tasted me on the " Mica " 2008 ( $15.99 ) Vinho Verde J. LOPEZ RIBEIRO ( Casa de Mouraz ) made by Antonio Lopez Ribeiro and his wife Sara Dionisio with nine different " terroirs " by Tondela in the Dao region of Portugal. I liked it for it's medium-body, for it's brightness, clarity, smoothness and overall very pleasing taste. I like, too that it is biodynamic ( started in 2006 ) and that they follow the bio-dynamic calendar. It's stylish and has real polish and finesse and is nice with or without food. I can see many of our Cleveland Park customers enjoying some outdoors with family, neighbors and friends watching the world go by and talking with both passion and a relaxed demeanor with " no worries " for at least these moments.
I will talk to Susan about all of this tomorrow and see what we may bring in immedaitely which may also include some of the MOUTARD champagne that she dropped-off to me last night. It's 30% Chardonnay with 50% Pinot Noir and I guess the rest being Pinot Meunier? I will have to ask. It will sell for $50 or so a bottle and I will write more about it once that I have tasted it. It's a rose Prestige bottle, non-vintage from the Cote des Bar region of champagne and I can't wait to try some later today when the moment is right. It's a small family labor of hard toil and love and if you read this and want to stop by today ( Wednesday, April 1st, 2010 ) on what looks to be a sunny day now please do by all means.
Cheers and thanks Susan ,Tom and Scott Sherk, too. I look forward to getting some " new " selections from you to sell here in Cleveland Park N.W. Washington D.C. in our nation's capitol really soon.
A la prochaine, TONY
This is an update :
Ruth called me this past Saturday January 12th, 2014 at the store wanting some dry Provence French pale and delicate rose for her bouillabaisse recipe for this weekend with friends. I put her on hold while I went to see what I had? We both were in luck as I had three bottles of a Tom Calder selection dry rose that had just the right pale color and was $16.99 a bottle I believe that I got through Potomac Wine Selections. Tom was a writer and moved to Paris, France to continue that as well as to enjoy being in France. He left his job as the wine-buyer at Wagshalls here in Washington D.C. where Pam The Butcher moved to work at once leaving Brookville Market. This should work really well Ruth. You will have to let me know? You have shopped with us now for many years. You know Sidney Moore Margolis the old owner of the Mayflower Wines & Spirits where I worked once with Sidney. I miss her. She, too was a customer at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. Let me know how the wine worked from Tom so that I may pass it on to Tom. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn Happy New Year Ruth and Tom! It's now a nice , warmer , drier, half clouds and blue skies day here in northern Virginia on my day-off, 1/13/14 Sante Tom! Happy Monday to you in France!
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