This was a very quick and thrilling, serendipitous tour-de-force as old friend and wine colleague Alfredo Bartholomaus ( owner of Billington Imports Until it got sold recently ) brought me Ernesto Catena and a beautiful young lady to see me at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) earlier this afternoon, Tuesday, June 1st, 2010.
I was completely caught-up into the moment as Alfredo quickly introduced me t Ernesto and the young lady with him. Ernesto greeted me in English that at first was a bit halting and making me wonder how much English he spoke and how much would have to dust off my really rustic Spanish and try and use it here?!? I was panicking a bit as I very much wanted to communicate with Ernesto my new guest here at Cleveland Park! The young lady greeted me in perfect English and this made me smile inwardly and relax outwardly. Gracias senorita.
I immediately brought my book that I was given back in 1995 by the Catenas when I visited there gracias a Alfredo y Nora Favelukes our Argentinian guide that gave us a 129% excellent tour. Ernesto, on seeing this book of contemporary oil or acrylic paintings and poetry on land and vine and wine said immediately that he had not seen it in a very long time! This caught me by surprise as I thought it was near and dear to the Catena familia's corazon? I love it and show it to all my visitors from Argentina, especially those associated with the Catenas as back in 1995 I got a number of them there on our visit to sign it for me. Y amo il libro.
I got caught up in a conversation that ran a mile a minute- so fast - for both Alfredo and for me - it was a god thing that I had my wits about me because I had no idea how brief this visit would be! I got my book for Ernesto to sign and as he did I took a couple of quick pictures of this.
I also snapped quickly these pictures of the joven y linda senorita rapidemente, claro que si ; yo tengo raison! I'm glad that I did as the conversation flowed s quickly. Entonces una historia con Alfredo y mio a Washington D.C. despues 1984-1985? Yo no me recuerdo exactemente ahora ...
Please excuse my rustic and bad Spanish but I want to try anyway where I can...
I read these poems here in this book and tried valiantly to get into them and unlock them and I am glad that I did. To make them come alive for me I even read them out loud and I think that that was a great decision on my part as it forced me to see and understand more clearly about this wonderful land of people and vines and wines and food, music, art and culture in Argentina that I only saw this one time gracias a Alfredo y Nora. Blood-bonds exist here for me between us three that will not be severed ever for me on my part ..
Here we all just moments before they left for their next appointment. There was an important tasting to go to : Alfredo mentioned it quickly when he introduced me to both of them. He mentioned several times the name ALMA NEGRA and that he thought I normally sold it? I told him that I did and that Andres Rodois had been to the store twice and had tasted with us here and some of our customers at least once now.
I told Alfredo that I had just got off the phone with Jody Jackman of Winebow Imports and that I did not know that ALMA NEGRA was Alfredo's project ) oops! that's a bad thing! sorry Alfredo ) : but that I had just ordered a lot of the YEALANDS Kiwi wines that are his as well.
I got Jody on the phone quickly as I looked at my FIX watch ( that Aris Zissis gave me recently ) and saw that it was twenty minutes or so to four PM, or was it just after four PM?!? ) and that I might just have enough time to add to my order coming to Cleveland Park Wines Y Spirits tomorrow? I hoped so. Jody picked up and we were off to the races with my question about ALMA NEGRA and what she had in stock? Jody was flustered and surprised and names like Andres Ridois came out quickly in her conversation as I mentioned Ernesto and she seemed puzzled as I said that he was right there in the store with me now. Que? Como? I could see her asking herself these questions : and another one that she did not know that he was even in town, that she did not know that Alfredo was there in our store, too : that she had never met Ernesto yet and clearly wanted to ... so much going on all at once as I passed the phone over to Alfredo.
Later, after Alfredo left with Ernesto y : como se llama senorita? I'm furious that I did not listen ; that I did not pay attention at the time. This is bad : really bad. Please excuse and forgive me senorita ...
Anyway, Alfredo said that I was the only person that he was visiting on this trip here with Ernesto to Washington D.C. He had announced earlier that as was his tradition he always brought me the important visiting owners and wine-makers from Chile ( Arturo Cousino, both Matias wine-makers, the first and older Jaime, ) y Argentina ( the vineyard manager was the first to come from Catena, then Jose Galante y su esposa Beatrice Galante - at the Gabriel's restaurant for the launch of the Nicolas CATENA ZAPATA 1997 vintage - and Alejandro Sejanovich most recently. Just before Billington got sold Alfredo brought me from New Zealand Peter Yealands and then later Tamra Washington his young wine-maker. It's been a wonderful roller-coaster ride with Alfredo over the years. Gracias muchas Alfredo para todos kindnesses siempre mio amigo ...
That's all a bit confused and yet I hope that you will all be able to untangle it.
Alfredo did say that he would return later next week and he did recommend that I get the ALMA NEGRA wines back immediately which I did right after with Jody : the two sparkling wines : a blush and a regular dry bottling as well as the dry red blend of Malbec and Bonarda. They will all three be back in our store tomorrow, Wednesday, June 2nd for any of you wanting to come see us and purchase some. We have enjoyed selling them over the years ever since Jody first sold me some of the Chardonnay sparkling followed by the blush. At the time she did this we included them both in our Big Theme Sparkling Wine-Tasting that we hold annually in the first week of December at the store. They were liked and sold quite well. They sell for around $20-$22 a bottle : same for the dry non-sparkling red blend.
I liked very much Andres Ridois and always enjoy his visits. I think that I would feel very much the same about you Ernesto and it pained me greatly to realize that our visit together was so short. I am glad that I had the foresight to snap these pictures so quickly. The ones of us together I asked Santos Rivera to take of us - two to be sure that at least one was good. They were both excellent Santos, gracias senor.
I was smitten immediately with this joven linda senorita even though I did not know her or anything about her. I noticed quickly the tattoo but not before I noticed her beautiful skirt and white legging/hose. I am not shy as many of you know and as she was walking to the front of the store I paused her and asked her to stop so that I could take this picture of her with this beautiful tattoo on her right back side. I asked her to turn her head towards me so that I could get a picture of her face, too. She was nice enough to humor me and she did as I asked. What a beautiful face and flowing hair and smile - eyes wide and bright and a mesmerizing tattoo, too.
It was all too quick and yet I am both thrilled and thankful for this visit. It shot me full of adrenaline and had me in a wild excitement and buzz that would not abate. I still feel it now ' thrilling, fun, so sudden. so unexpected, so out-of-the-blue. I loved it all.
I hope that you come back sometime Ernesto. Being an artist I would love to chat with you some more and drink the ALMA NEGRA sparkling wines together with some food. Perhaps Alfredo and Andres could join us? I think that we would have a wonderful time together : I can feel it in every bone of mine...
So, I will sell once again your bubbly and still wines of ALMA NEGRA tomorrow. Come back with Alfredo and sign the bottles for our customers before you leave Washington D.c.? Por favor senor venga encora aqui uno mas tiempo ... Bring the chef from Patagonia that cooks on wood fires with you that wrote the book and that only talks about Malbec with your country's cuisine. I am upset with him for that : he should also mention that Argentina makes very fine Bonarda, Sangiovese, Syrah, Tempranillo y claro qui si Cabernet Sauvignon! I loved this book that was given to me recently : I read a whole lot of it this past February during our snow-storm/blizzard of the century in 2010...
It's now 11:59 PM, just turned 12:00 midnight and I will post this now. Cheers, TONY
As Ernesto was leaving I mentioned my blog and said that I had written twice about ALMA NEGRA and asked if he has seen them? He said " no " and I was about to show him when Alfredo said that there was no time for that! Oh well, I didn't even get Ernesto's card or give him mine. I was simple too quick but I have burned the memories just made deep into my skin like the linda joven senorita's tattoo and I know it will remain alive and strong with me for many moons still to come. Don't worry about that and in the meantime enjoy these quick vignettes and pictures, come see us and buy some ALMA NEGRA, too ...
The ALMA NEGRA sparkling wines are perfect for this Washington D.C. heat and humidity ...
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