Wine-Maker/ Owner Andrea Mullineux of MULLINEUX Family Wines, Swartland, South Africa Visits Cleceland Park Wines Yesterday, Sat. Feb. 26th, 2011 @ 2

PM ... with Jeremy Sutton, rep of Kysela Pere Et Fils Et Fille ...

I had never met Andrea Mullineux the wine-maker and the owner of the MULLINEUX Swartland South African wines. I had met perhaps a year ago her husband Chris Mullineux with importer Theresa Morrison of South34 Imports and had been so impressed then that I had given them an order for the three wines to come to Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits as soon as the wines arrived in their Maryland warehouse. I even blogged about Chris and Theresa's visit and posted it and also put a picture of the three of us on our web page at : clevelandparkwine.com. Imagine my surprise when Theresa informed that even after she had printed up the new price lists with them on it that the wines had been taken away from them. I was stunned and sorry for John and Theresa Morrison.

And as I told Jeremy Sutton two or three weeks ago : I would not be buying the wines on principle alone. i stand by John and Theresa Morrison and even though I think the wines are excellent I will not be buying them for the time-being. Sorry but I do not like the way all this played out. Even though you may initially get more business by going with Fran Kysela you said that you would first work with John & Theresa. You have to keep your word and since you did not I cannot support your wines and sell them even though I know they are excellent and that I would like to have them on our shelves. Business for me is personal. I don't agree with Donald Trump on this. He says it's just business : well it's all business but for me it's personal , too!!

I really enjoyed meeting you yesterday at the store Andrea. It was fun to try your two wines and I was once again pretty much blown away by your dry white blend of three grapes including the Roussanne Rhone white that I gather from listening to you Andrea is not so well-known or appreciated in South Africa? Did I hear you correctly? I wish that I would have had more time to really listen to you as you spoke about your wines.

It's always hard for me to really listen carefully to what is being said when so many people are gathered together as they were yesterday afternoon ( Saturday, February 27th, 2011 ) around 2PM. I feel it's important to share the owners and wine-makers with all of our customers and so that means a bit less time for me to really listen i as there is usually many things happening and many people to help spread out throughout the full length of the store.

Thanks for coming to the store Andrea. You are pregnant and I think due in July of this year you said? It was great to get to meet you and to slowly get a better sense of you. I wish that we had had more time to talk as it really sounded from the little snippets that I heard that you had many things that you were saying that would have been interesting to me.

It's Oscar night tonight and I am typing through the red carpet hour pre-Oscar and it's hard to concentrate. I will have to read this over carefully as a result as I do not want to make any mistakes.

Also, tomorrow Fran Kysela has his second evening with wine and food and wine-makers and wine owners out in Winchester, Virginia where his warehouse is. I am thinking about going as there are always interesting people to meet and see. I will call you tomorrow about this Jeremy and ask you who will actually be there that I might like to spend some time with?

I took some pictures while Andrea Mullineux and Jeremy Sutton were here at Cleveland Park yesterday and I will add them soon to this blog entry. I will probably add more as I have a chance. Thanks you Andrea again for stopping by and sharing both your wines as well as the picture of your two-year old. I loved that last smile or two of yours just as you were leaving. I think we broke the ice then and would have moved onto some interesting conversation given the chance.

I'm glad that I showed you some of my art watercolor and oil pastel beach sketches before you left. Good luck to you and keep making really good wine that is just that. As you said you try to make the best wine that you can with what you have and not specifically in any particular style - simply the best that you can. It tastes it and shows and that's why from the very first time when I tried your wines with your husband Chris and importer and friend Theresa Morrison I was hooked and became a believer. TONY

P.S. Go to the search engine above here and plug in : Chris Mullineux South Africa to get to the earlier post I did on him with Theresa Morrison on June 2nd, 2010, Wednesday I believe. Cheers.