In the picture above Jody Jackman of Winebow Imports chats with Alfredo Bartholomaus after our lovely luncheon at the Nam Viet Vietnamese restaurant that is just three or so store fronts down from 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 the last ten years.
This was a fun, serendipitous and thoroughly informative luncheon where it had to be. The rest was simply just a wonderful opportunity for me to have an intimate, relaxed and very positive experience with two friends. Thanks Alfredo for recommending this, and thanks Jody for having been such a good salesperson to us over the years for the Winebow Imports broad selection of wine offerings that started way back when in the early 80's with so many incredible Italian wines. I have been selling these Italian wine selections since then and it has been fun to grow young again together so-to-speak with Alfredo and a selection of both the Winebow as well as the Billington Imports selections ( Chilean, Argentinian and now also Spanish, Austrian and New Zealand).
Times have certainly changed over the years and things have either evolved or not depending on one's personal perspective on all these things concerning wine.
I have known Alfredo since the mid eighties and it certainly has been a treat in most instances to have watched our paths as they crossed over these years and we helped one another with whatever project or set of wines that was key at that particular moment in time.
It was thanks to both Alfredo and Nora Favelukes that I got to go on a small 12 or so person trip to Argentina back in 1995. I'll never forget that trip so you may count on me mentioning it frequently.
I received a call from Jody asking me whether I was free to go to lunch with her and Alfredo at Nam Viet? She said that Alfredo had some things that he wanted to go over with me. I already knew this because two or three weeks prior he had arrived in the store unannounced with Ernesto Catena the son of Nicolas Catena that I also met years ago back in the early 1990's I believe. The rest is history but back then I was invited by Nora Favelukes to meet with Nicolas Catena as he wanted to talk to people that were familiar with the Washington D.C. wine scene and that might be able to advise him as how to approach this market with his wines? I was very flattered of course and said " yes " immediately to our luncheon back then on some weekend at the Bilbo Baggins cafe/restaurant in Old Towne, Alexandria. I have a couple of photos of us seated at our table and I will have to find them, scan them and include them here in one of my many now blogs at chatwine.blogspot.com.
Alfredo had said that when he brought Ernesto Catena with him that he would be back soon to show me and talk with me about some " new " projects. That was fine with me : I always enjoy my visits with Alfredo and we almost now always meet outside the store over lunch. Nam Viet is becoming a quick favorite of his as it has already been mine for years now.
By the way Ernesto Catena is the mastermind behind the ALMA NEGRA Argentina still reds and sparkling wines that we sell here in Cleveland Park and have currently. There are two dry reds including the Malbec/Bonarda blend and the dry rose and the dry brut both made from the Pinot Noir and the Chardonnay grapes. I think that all three that we have in the store and sell for $22.99. Come by and check them out and enjoy them with a meal in this pretty close to sweltering heat of our Washington D.C. summer.
When we got to Nam Viet and we sat down I realized that Alfredo wanted me to taste his latest project with FRED LOIMER and the current release of the Gruner Veltliner dry white indigenous Austrian wine. I knew it already having already sold it and so I was looking forward to trying this dry white.
It turned out to be the only wine that Alfredo wanted to show me at our lunch. I have taken these pictures of our meal with the bottle on the table. I was so hungry at first that I did not get the before-and-after pictures as I devoured some of my meal right away. We all did. The FRED LOIMER Gruner Veltliner dry white worked really well with all of our food.
Above is a picture of Alfredo enjoying his meal.
Both Alfredo and Jody realized that I knew the food quite well and Alfredo immediately gave me the okay to order for him. When Jody heard what I had ordered she immediately ordered the same and so we all enjoyed a similar lunch on this occasion : fun but rare.
For an appetizer I ordered the sampler plate that comes with a Spring Roll, a Garden Roll and some Crispy/Airy Shrimp in a thick wafer form. I love this combination as it also includes a skewer or two of barbecue/grilled pork.
Above is an enlarged/curved-through-my-wine-glass shot of one of the skewers of pork.
The appetizer arrived and then was followed by our main dish. We normally had some Jasmine tea but on this occasion drank our iced water and the lovely, charming and extroverted FRED LOIMER Austrian Gruner Veltliner which is made from that indigenous grape variety that has become for many the signature dry white wine of Austria. There is also a less well-known version of the Roter Veltliner : red and not green( Gruner ). I like both for completely different reasons.
It was great to get away from the store that I have manged for the last fifteen years ( if only for 30 minutes ) and that was a true treat when you combine food and wine and Alfredo and Jody and no ringing phones and people asking me for things.
The grilled pork was served after our appetizers. It comes on skewers ( chicken or steak may be substituted ) and it was served with toasty/slightly-charred larger shrimp that have been marinated for awhile and are absolutely divine between their moist chewy shrimp flesh centers and their charred/dry gritty exteriors. The pork is simply comfort food for me and I could eat many skewers and be so ever happy!
It's all served in a large bowl on a bed of both thin vermicelli white noodles and a bed a dainty/delicately baby-green lettuce and diced carrots, cucumbers and straw-paper-light bean sprouts, too. Oh, don't forget the wonderful garnishing of sprinkled/crunched peanuts and tiny-thin dark green onions. OMG!
Go Alfredo!
I like this picture of the FRED LOIMER Gruner Veltliner in the wine glass and Alfredo serving himself some of the food as seen through the glass.
I got one of our excellent servers to take this photo of us all together above.
Thanks again Alfredo, Jody and Fred! You three rock!! Cheers, TONY
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