This was a nice visit this Wednesday when Kate and Bruce Clugman came around with their " new " project to reveal to me. I had no idea quite what it would be but was looking forward to seeing Bruce once again as he was my original contact with the GOTHAM and PUPPETEER wines about a year or so ago when Sal Furfari of Bacchus Imports brought him to the store to introduce him to Mike Martin and me.
It was late in the afternoon when they came around and many of our customers were getting off work and so we invited them to taste along with us and I snapped a number of pictures then and included them in my first blog here about Bruce and his excellent, friendly, fleshy and sometimes firm, spicy, too wines that I told him were a bit safe and commercial but that would sell well like the hotcakes of long ago. Of course Bruce countered and defended both his wines and their style and Mike and I went on to ordering more for the store as we had already been selling them for a few months without really knowing them so well. Now we were fully-equipped to do our jobs really well. Thanks Bruce and Sal. We only worked with the GOTHAM line ( all $16.49 a bottle ) at that time.
Then sometime at the end of last year 2009 ( maybe October-November ? ) I get a call on the phone from Kate saying that she is Bruce Clugman's daughter and had seen my blog on him and their wines and was wondering if she could come by and introduce herself ? I said of course she could and so the second part of our history started eventually when we met and she introduced Mike and me to the PUPPETEER line of their wines ( $10.99 a bottle for all of them ). I have since blogged twice on Kate's visits and tasting with our customers here in Cleveland Park N.W. Washington D.C. I have also written some poems inspired by this at : chatpoetry.blogspot.com. Go to : view complete profile on the right of my home page here, click it on, scroll down and see the rest of my blogs listed and click-on the chatpoetry. Later I will include some artsy photos as well on my chatart.blogspot.com.
Now we start our third part of our business/extended family relationship as I got to see both Bruce and Kate together and try their " new " GOTHAM wine that Kate called the " baby " GOTHAM which is actually titled The Men Of GOTHAM. As I said above I loved the brightness, freshness, no heaviness, no sharpness, tannins or biting acids of the Shiraz.
Of these " new " The Men Of GOTHAM wines all designed to sell for under $10 a bottle I also liked the Chardonnay as it was lovely, fresh, balanced and ever so drinkable under most any circumstance. The Grenache blend I found a bit more angular, spicy and sinewy and yet when I said this to everyone on Wednesday, May 5th ( Cinco De Mayo )2010 here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com Tel: 202-363-4265 ) I found that they did not agree with this? What wines were they tasting? Are our palates that different? I will have to re-taste it later.
Kate, when the wines arrive you will have to come an do another in-store tasting of them before you depart for California for the next stage of your visit to the U.S. with your husband. Let me know when they arrive so that we may purchase some of them.
I said that The Men Of GOTHAM Shiraz would sell really well with the ladies and Bruce immediately said that the Grenache-based The Men Of GOTHAM would sell really well with the women and that the The Men Of GOTHAM Shiraz would sell really well with the men. That's the exact opposite of what I think. I said so immediately and I think that we need to continue this conversation more Bruce. I simply do not understand your thinking here so please explain more here in our comment area at the end of this blog.
Bruce when you came I told you that Kate was doing and excellent job and as a result we were buying and selling your wines well here in Cleveland Park. I asked him if he knew this and he said that he did.
When you came back into our store again you said that it seemed like we were always having a party here. I got the impression that you liked this. Correct?
It's because I always include everyone so that everyone may gain from the experience of being in the same place and time and hopefully sharing and learning and coming away with a valuable exchange and overall positive experience. This is paramount to me, really.
Thanks Bruce and Kate for stopping by and sharing your new " baby " The Men Of GOTHAM wines with Chris Barker and me. I really enjoyed them and look forward to selling them soon in Cleveland Park, Washington D.C. our nation's capitol.
Cheers and stay-tuned for more on all of this. TONY
1 comment:
Thanks Tony for your support. We love working with people like yourself.
On the issue of Men and women preferring one red over the other, I cannot claim to understand but anecdotally in tasting I have done so far with these wines it always seem that Men prefer the Straight Shiraz and women prefer the Shiraz Grenache.
This has plenty of exeptions for sure but I have noticed this trend. In seeking answers I have asked consumers why they prefer one over the other and it would seem (not a scientific analysis by any means) that men prefer the Straight Shiraz for it boldness and up front fruit, whereas females prefer the Shiraz Grenache for its beautiful perfumed nose and lovely savoury palate and as such would suit food better??
I think the best solution is to conduct and in-store tasting and let's see if this theory holds up.
Watch out for the new Gotham Barossa Valley (2008) and Langhorne Creek (2009) releases. Wines again we are very proud of.
Bruce Clugston (nee Clugman)
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