Here's Bobby above. I had to get a few pictures of you Bobby for this blog. This one is pretty nice showing you " wax poetic " over one of your wines ...
This was a really nice tasting for me to be able to attend to meet some of Bobby's wine-makers and owners that I already knew as well as to discover some of the " new " ones, too. This of course was the Robert Kacher annual wine portfolio tasting at the Washington Club held on Dupont Circle for the very first time. I had never been to the Washington Club and so this was another attraction for me. It's always fun to discover " new " things even though they be old-hat to many others.
I liked both the building and the space of the Washington Club. I liked it's age and it's ability to transport me back into the past - Washington D.C.'s past. How many interesting events have happened over the years in this space? being an artist this type of thing interests me and catches my attention.
I took the metro from Cleveland Park two stops down on the Red Line to Dupont Circle and got off and did the very daring thing to climb up the escalator motionless steel stairs on a rather hot and muggy day and it was quite the climb! I got to the Washington Club in rather a pant and went inside to be greeted by a French lady handing out name tags.pamphlets and even pens with the wine glasses on a table to her left side. I forgot to get my glass and when I remembered I was half way up the two-part back-forth staircase. I was staring at a lovely wall and fountain - a lovely space and I said to myself that I would later take a picture of that feeling a bit self-conscious at this exact moment. I never did : too bad.
This is the lovely Kelly in the picture above at the rose table pouring for me and others. It was nice to see and chat briefly with you Kelly.
Getting my glass and rushing up I was immediately greeted by the always lovely Mary-Leigh that was smiling and happy to see me. We talked briefly as she was leaving to go to work and I was arriving. Nice to see you after all these months Mary-Leigh.
Next I bumped into both Randy King and Tom McKnew and we stood there side-by-side in this picture above being served some of Bobby's Grand Cru champagne. That sure was a lovely way to start the ball rolling for me with the Frenchman pouring the bubbly with the big /open window behind him and the light flowing freely into this entrance/hall space between two of the larger rooms. I had arrived : I could now begin to enjoy myself. I spoke briefly with both Randy and with Tom but was eager to discover who was there and so I pressed on into the room to my left with Antoine Songy there and the food, too.
Here's Tom above looking at one of the bottles of the Grand Cru champagne. Not too bad Tom. I did enjoy my glass and really if time had not been an issue stayed to try the others.
As I said I wanted to know which of Bobby's owners and wine-makers were in attendance because it was these that I wanted to focus on. In the end it meant that I did not try a lot of great and expensive wines from France. But I was not there for simply that : I never am. It's the people behind the wines and bubbly that interest me as much as their results as they are tied inextricably together. I like listening to their stories and anecdotes / names for wines and hearing about their families and what they each do to make these wonderful wines a reality : all here to be tasted , appreciated, bought and sold by us retailers and restaurateurs for our many customers - probably shared for the most part.
Here is dynamo of energy Dianne the owner above of the southern French Costieres de Nimes " Only Girls " Syrah that I like so much and which she named because her family includes five girls and no boys. I later teased Dianne about this wine as I came back to taste it later with her and eat some food quickly as by that time I was starving!
I like taking pictures of the owners and wine-makers through the wine glasses. In this case I had some white Puligny Montrachet in my glass.
I remember so fondly the " Only Girls " Syrah because perhaps two years ago my wife, daughter and son went to listen to an Elton John concert at the John Paul Jones stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. I was at work and our Robert ( Bobby ) Kacher rep was doing an in-store wine-tasting for us tat Friday evening between 5-8 PM. He had a bottle that he wanted Mike Martin and me to try : it was " new ". It was this " Only Girls " Syrah from Dianne and I tried it before getting ready to go home. He left the bottle with us after the tasting and I took it home to have with my dinner.
Anyway, to make a long story short I got home and was reheating my steak and making a baked potato when the phone rang. It was my wife that simply said : listen". And listen I did to the voice of Elton John " live " over the cell phone ( it died on me so I had to call back on our land line phone later ! ). The concert was great : like listening to a bootleg version of songs and thrilling and wonderful and a bit out-of-the-ordinary - so very serendipitous! I loved it all. I made and ate my meal ; poured my glass of " Only Girls " Syrah and took it all with me down here to my computer EMACHINES ( a dinosaur these days ) and started my blog on Dianne and her " Only Girls " ( which drinks smoothly and wonderfully - massaging my throat and tired senses and hungry spirit wanting to be nourishes and excited ) . I posted the blog as this " live " concert ended and it's all there for you to read if you want here on my : chatwine.blogspot.com.
Thanks Dianne for this " Only Girls " Syrah which we have now sold since this one and I need to order more from Ronnie as I am now out again in the store. He's coming to do another in-store/wine-tasting tonight and I will give him an order. We are tasting Dianne's lovely dry rose tonight from 5-8 PM so join us if you are free. There is never any charge for our wine-tastings and everyone is always welcome.
Here's Randy above enjoying his Grand Cru champagne.
I've got to go to work now so I will post this as it is and finish it this weekend. Enjoy this part so far and all the pictures. A plus tard mes amis, TONY
May 2010
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