Chateau Gontey Saint-Emilion Grand Cru De Laurence Et Marc Pasquet / Pictures Of Marc @ Laurent Givry Tasting W/ Our Cleveland Park Customers 2008-9?

I wrote this a couple of weeks ago with the intention of sending/ posting it and here on the eve of Father's Day ( Sunday, June 19th, 2011 ) I want to finally post this as it's now the Friday before and there is till plenty of time to come to us here in Cleveland Park N.W. Washington D.C. and get a bottle of either the 2007 or the 2004. They would be great to enjoy this Friday. My father would have loved either. I will have to drink and toast him this Sunday. Cheers and Happy Father's Day to all you fathers like myself out there. TONY

It's been nice to reunite once again with the CHATEAU GONTEY Grand Cr Saint-Emilions of Laurence et Marc Pasquet. We know Marc at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com , http://www.clevelandparkwine.com/, anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com and also now on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and Twitter, too at : cpwinespirits ) as he has visited us and tasted in the store now at least twice but I think more like three times.


We did not see Marc last year because of all the bad weather and the volcanic ash spill-out from Iceland that spread all over the northern hemishphere and over to Europe so that the take-off of planes was delayed. That was too bad : it would have been great to have Marc with us once again. We did get Bernerd Bouvier into the store as a result of this so that was a really nice thing, though totally unscripted or planned. I thrive on these types of occasions and so I was sad not to see Marc but delighted to get Bernard into the store anyway.

Marc , will you pour both me and my father a glass? I will drink his as he has passed away and think of him and all that he meant to me as it is on this Sunday Father's Day. Nice.

Laurent Givry pictured above.



Vignerons a St-Emilion, Gironde, France ... ce Grand Cru ( $41.99 ) 2004 is superb ... and we move to the 2007 pictured here tasted to us by Laurent Givry ...

Big Theme Bordeaux Tasting With Olivier Bombart & Jean Gagliolo Wed. May 25th, 2011 @ Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits

What Fun for our Bordeaux Big-Theme Wine-Tasting on Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 from 5:30-8:30PM. Great event, TONY

Tasting @ Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits N.W. Wash D.C. In Early 2011 Some DYNAMITE California Merlot & The Dry Red Blend / Buy Which?

I told Kelley Bigell our rep then for the Pinnacle House wines at Washington Wholesalers ( she worked with her excellent boss Eric Platt ) that we wanted to decide which of the DYNAMITE California reds to bring in? Either the DYNAMITE Merlot that we had been using for a year or so already or perhaps the DYNAMITE dry red blend that we had also already just purchased and used? I wanted one at least and which one would it be?

Back then in early 2011 at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel : 202-363-4265 anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com also now on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits , also on chatart.blogspot.com and chatpoetry.blogspot.com ) when Kelley tasted us on the dry red blend I loved it for it's explosion of lush and forward and juicy red berry flavors that were never too much or over the top - just right and very generous. We bought some immediately and that's how I sold it. However, a month or so later when she came to taste it with our customers it was much more tightly-wound and much less forward and generous? So I asked to try another bottle, this one, the third one.

I wanted to see how this third bottle of the dry red blend DYNAMITE was showing. Oscar from his own Voila Imports was there and a witness to this all. I am sure that he tasted along with us. Anyway, I liked it on this third go-around and I told Kelley that I would buy some soon and perhaps also get a case or two of the Merlot for our shelf. The dry red DYNAMITE blend I would stack on our floor.

I had always liked the bold, colorful labels of this DYNAMITE wine and I also liked the fact that they were working to be organic and soon to be so. I did not like that the Cabernet Sauvignon could be found everywhere. That interested me less to promote a wine that for me needed no promotion. We like much more to introduce our customers to " new " wines and " new taste " sensations. Kelley and Eric both all knew this about me and Cleveland Park. They both worked really well together with us here in our Northwest Cleveland Park, Washington D.C. neighborhood.

This is sort of a " Swam Song " and a " Thank You " to both Kelley and to Eric as they have both since left their jobs to go onto other opportunities. We wish them both well.

Eric Platt came by the store a few days ago and I told him I was writing this " thank you " note to both him and to Kelley. He was pleasantly surprised I think. We talked Kiwi wines as he has some really fine offerings. I will be getting more of his SEIFRIED Vineyard, Nelson Bay wines soon through Elite Imports and that pleases me, Agnes Seifried and her daughter Mary have both done in-store wine-tastings at Cleveland Park Wines over the years. It's nice to have some of the excellent wines from the Nelson region of New Zealand to sell. They are really fine and have always done quite well in Cleveland Park N.W. Washington D.C..

I will ask our new rep Matt Janssen about the DYNAMITE wines. He placed the Cabernet Sauvignon that we currently have on our shelves. We will now have to see about these others once again : the dry red blend as well as the Merlot : both which in my opinion have always offered better values for the money, especially in these cash-strapped times.

In fact now we are carrying presently the DYNAMITE Cabernet Sauvignon as I just mentioned. I will soon include vintage and price here.

I do not know where Kelley landed and what she is doing but I want to wish both her and Eric Platt happy new year 2012 and thanks them for their excellent service of our account at Cleveland Park. Cheers and until our paths next cross, all the very best. Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

P.S. Being an artist I like the bright, colorful labels and the " fighting organic " aspect of what they are doing. The image of the black hawk in the lower left hand side of the labels was always a really nice touch, too as they help to keep the " natural " balance of things in the vineyards. Bravo!

Love The Organic, Biodynamic and Free Trade Wines Of Calypso Imports That Siobhan Kelly Sells Us / 2011 Here In Cleveland Park Wines, Wash. D.C. N.W.

Bye to you Siobhan Kelly of the Calypso Import selections of so many wonderful biodynamic, organic, free trade, green, vegan-friendly wine selections that we have used over the years at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ever since Brett Chappell brought them to my attention years ago. Thanks Brett, thanks Siobahn and thanks to the husband and wife owners that poured their blood and sweat and dreams into making this a wonderful reality and a wonderful inspiration for countless others that surely have followed and will continue to profit from their model and example and continue to offer us other wines or the same in this constant struggle to keep the organic, biodynamic, vegan and more dream alive and thriving to those of us interested in living a life that does what it can to protect us and our earth. It's a constant struggle and has to start somewhere.

The wines came from Chile and Australia and Italy and France and Argentina, too. I cannot remember them all. Some are pictured here in these photos that I took of one of Siobahn's last tastings with us at Cleveland Park ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel: 202-363-4265 anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwines.com, also now on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits ). She knew that the company was folding and she told me that she would probably leave the wine business after this and get into another field entirely. She is very photogenic and so I really enjoyed taking as many pictures of her as I could with her wines. I hope that you enjoy these.

Look at the color of that red above? Was that the Aglianico dry Italian red of hers that we loved so much? I will have to take a better look now. We have perhaps one bottle left at the store of that one. We have perhaps a couple bottles, too of the excellent Falanghina dry Naples white as well and perhaps a bottle or two left of the equally excellent PERO Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon that blew me away for only $11 a bottle. What a deal!

I will check at the store later today and include those names here before they are gone. It's now Friday, November 18th, 2011 here at home in northern Virginia as I try and finish this blog post that has been sitting here now for months I fear in DRAFT form. Oh well, life is rich and busy and complicated and so fulfilling!

The problem, of course is the pricing. WE needed to have more wines like the PRO series and well as that VINEHDOS Syrah that was also pretty great for the money. People now more than ever are watching their dollars and cents really carefully and so this all came at a bad time for Calypso. Just as they were starting I believe to make a real " go " of things the economy dropped out and and things became more and more difficult. That's a shame. I do not know what larger import house picked up this excellent line? Who was it? I need to know as I would like to continue to offer them. Please fill me in people.

AS I said years ago Brett Chappell that used to sell to me way back in 2000 came to me one day with some samples of these organic French wines and I tasted and I liked a couple of them very much and bought them pretty much immediately. I think that one was an excellent Loire Valley dry white Muscadet de Sevre et Maine and one was a Bordeaux? Is that right Brett? It's been so long.

I bought and sold and reordered them and then started to look at more as I had different sales people come to me with them. I have already blogged here about previous visits from my Calypso reps at : chatwine.blogspot.com. Check them out.

Brett began to work more in the office and so I saw less and less of him. Too bad as I have always liked working with Brett.

I already miss you Siobhan. You never did return to say your final " bye byes " to us at Cleveland Park. You still can : come by and let us know where you have landed since leaving Calypso? You did an excellent job promoting the wines and the wines, of course spoke volumes all by themselves when we tasted them.

Thanks for coming to the store and tasting them with our customers on the weekends. It was a pleasure to have you and to have such excellent wines being offered to our customers here in our Cleveland Park Washington D.C. Northwest neighborhood. We have people shopping with us from all over the world.

I used some of the PRO Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile in one of my Saturday wine-classes and it showed beautifully. People were very impressed and it sold quite well that Saturday afternoon. How could it not?!? What great value it offered and still does.

Look at that rich red color in the photo above? Gorgeous. Wow, I hate to see this chapter come to an end. What a chapter it was. Thanks everyone from Calypso Imports for making it so enriching and colorful and wonderful for all of us. WE miss you all. Cheers and good luck to you in whatever paths you pick to take next. Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

2010 @ Potenza Ristorante With David Pinzolo Of Winebow Imports ( VALDIPIATTA Anyone? ) : Always A New Discovery & Treat:Today 9/11/2011 Wife's B-Day!

Thanks David for this marvelous dinner meal at the Potenza ristorante in Washington D.C. back sometime in 2010. You took me to dinner after our very successful in-store Italian wine-tasting at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com, also now on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wine & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits ) from the excellent Winebow portfolio. We sold lots of the Winebow Italian wines on this evening from wineries like VALDIPIATTA, FALESCO, COPPO, STELLA and more. It's been awhile and I forget now.

Dinner at Potenza was fun and special and delicious with pizza and a whole white fish that was de-boned fro me by our waiter right by our side before plating and serving it to me. I took my trusty camera with me and have many photos of it : some of which I have already included here in previous blogs on chatwine. Memorable. I did your portraits on this evening, too David.

When are you coming again David? Ask Miriam of VALDIPIATTA to come and do an in-store wine-tasting of her wines with you. We could focus some on the excellent Chianti Colli Senesi this next time and then perhaps return for another meal at Potenza? Just a suggestion. Thanks again David.

It's Sunday September 11th, 2011 here at home in northern Virginia and we are celebrating my wife's birthday today. It's a special moment in time for our family. Cheers e a presto, caio, TONY

P.S. As you can see I love to get menus signed by the chef(s) to better remember both the event and the food, too. It's a win-win situation.

Lindsay Pike Sold Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits Some BLACK BOX New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc ( 4 750ml bottles In Each 3-Liter Box : What A Deal!

Again More @ Cleveland Park / Always Nice To See A Photo Of Alessandro Furlan / @ Annual Michael Downey Portfolio Wine-Tasting

We always sell the Italian Veneto DEGANI Valpolicella wines at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com, anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com, http://www.clevelandparkwine.com/, also now on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits ) : this is the Ripassa bottling and it sells for around $23 and we have some in stock now. I just sold a bottle last week to one of our customers.





Alessandro Furlan is an old friend and buddy of mine and I always have some of the wines that he reps from Italy in Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. You can call or come by anytime and I will show you what Alessandro sells us. I will have to talk to Brennan Downey this week and order some more as we are almost completely out now. We had great business last week with first the earthquake 5.8 point and then with Hurricane Irene that passed through on Saturday. As a result we sold out of many of our excellent wines like these from Alessandro and will have to order more to come in on Thursday, September 1st and after that, too.





Come on by and say hello and hang with us for awhile and see what we offer and what makes us special and stand out from the crowd. Cheers e a presto Alessandro e caio! TONY

Who Does Not Love Chianti ( DA VINCI , 2005)?! We Have Our Wine-Maker 2nd Visit Tasting / More Special Moments Shared@ Cleveland Park Wine & Spirits

I wrote about this and it did not save and I lost it and so I am here on my second round trying once again.





On this day in Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com , http://www.clevelandparkwine.com/ , also now on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits ) the wine-maker of DA VINCI Chinati Tuscan red wines came by for his second visit to our store. He had some of his current dry Chianti wines to taste including the excellent 2005 Chianti Classico. he also had a Pinot Grigio white that he was making from grapes from Veneto I believe?





Anyway, he came and it was fun to see him once again and this second visit was as nice as the first if not even nicer. It was like seeing once again and old friend and I like that a whole lot.





As you can see from this one picture above I introduced him to one of our customers and the customer's daughter ( a prospective " new " customer down the line ) and he bought one of the white Pinot Grigio DA VINCI wines.





I am at home as I am typing this and so do not have all the information in front of me and so I am now winging it. Hope that's okay with you all. Anyway I think I have already blogged about the first visit and you can use this search engine to check that out.





All the wines were showing really well and I bought some for the store to sell after this visit. I think I may have concentrated on the excellent 2005 Chianti Classico at the time.





I did mention on this visit as well as the last that it bothered me somewhat to buy these wines because of the GALLO connection. I don't mind buying California GALLO wine connections but I do not like doing it so much with wines made overseas. I like that GALLO supports the wineries from California from where they started, that makes sense to me. The wines of DA VINCI are very well-made.crafted wines and I like the wine-maker so much that it is hard to say " no " : and so far on each visit I have said " yes " to the wine ( a reference to the popular show today called : " Say Yes To The Dress " ) . I am currently out of them now and will have to consider more for September?





Anyway, this was a perfect example of the business I like to do at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. I included this customer above in the tasting and he tasted and met the charming Italian wine-maker and he bought one of his wines and got the bottle signed, too. I also had the wine-maker sign a copy of the book a customer gave me ( a hardback book called : " Chianti " ) and I show that to customers sometimes when I sell Chianti. It's a fun way to make everything more personal and come alive just a bit more for everyone involved. Cheers and I hope everyone is picking up the pieces from yesterday's Hurricane Irene here in our Washington D.C. metropolitan region. Take care, a presto e caio, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

More Fun Stuff! 2011 / Jan Campbell of R.B. COHN California Wines Stops By Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits N.W. Wash. D.C. To Try Current Releases

I meet so many people at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com, anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com, also on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits ) serendipitously : and I love it. I thrive on it, I eat it. It's some of my important nourishment. I never know what to expect and I love this, really I do. I know, I've already said it. But even thinking about it excites me as I will always be meeting and experiencing different things and this keeps me humble and alive and curious and always on top of my game.

I cannot remember exactly this experience but I have met one of the owners in the past and I believe that Jan worked for them as a national sales rep for them? I will have to look later at my notes and other pictures and maybe add them here to this one.

I am often just adding one picture at a time to at least start a blog entry on the many people that pass by me and that I hopefully gain a meaningful exchange? That's the idea : share with one another? I have come to really come to count and to rely on this. Hopefully we each take something away that creates some sort of bond between us which did not exist before?

I have sold the R.B. COHN California wines, especially the reds before and will have to remember who my local resp for the wines is? So many questions. Looking at these pictures that I take helps me to stay more current and up on all that is happening so quickly now before my eyes. It's all moving so quickly now and changing so fast as well. It's hard to keep up. Really almost impossible. That would frustrate some but for me it's what keeps it all so infinitely interesting and alive and exciting. No time to pause, no time to reflect too much : just keep up! Don't fall back! Keep moving Mr.! You'll be lost and forgotten if you don't! Not a threat, just a gentle warning. If you want to be in the wine business today ( or any business for that matter ) watch out and be aware and try and keep up as you will surely be left behind and scratching your head and pondering : " what just happened to me several times over ?!? " if you do not.

Keep up and enjoy and learn , taste and share and grow from the contacts, the meetings, the tastings, the lunches and all the things you help others plan. It's all so very much worth it.

I love the store wine retail business. It's been a wonderful art form and art expression for me all along.

If any of you have any R.B. COHN stories and suggestions and comments on the wines please share in the " comment " section at the end of this blog.

It's now Monday August 8th, 2011 at 9:09 AM and I am off to walk my dog and then go for a morning swim with my wife. Cheers and enjoy this day wherever you may be. I also have to clean my art room as I have my own art show to plan here at home on Sunday, August 21st, 2011 from 1-5PM. Email me at : tonythewineguy@gmail.com and I will email back my address. Everyone is welcome to come. I have lots of art to share with you all. Go to : chatart.blogspot.com to see some before coming here. TONY

More Fun @ CPWS 2010-2011 Frederique, The Owner Of MANOIR DU CARRA Beaujolais Burgundy Wines Visits Us W/ Julienas Cru Beaujolais & More

This is perhaps the fifth visit or sixth from owner Frederique of the excellent MANOIR DU CARRA Beaujolais Gamay red wines with his Beaujolais " unfiltered " everyday Gamay, his two " nouveau " wines that include a Beaujolais and a Beaujolais Villages : and also his excellent Cru Beaujolais of both Julienas and Moulin-A-Vents. We have carried all these excellent wines and still have some of them at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com, anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com, www.clevelandparkwine.com, also now on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wine & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits ) now. Come check it out tomorrow when we open for business once again at 10AM on Monday, Juin 6th, 2011. They would make some great Father's Day presents.

Every year in November the ' Nouveau " wines of MANOIR DU CARRA are our center piece. And now as the weather is so hot these wines all made in southern Burgundy with the Gamay grape make excellent hot-weather quaffs that you should not miss as they also are excellent food wines and complement many foods and that's a real plus.

Cheers and see you soon. TONY

New 2010-2011 I Hear Through The Grape Vine That's It's Claude's Birthday Soon? It's Now Sunday, July 31st, 2011 Claude " Bonne Anniversaire A Toi!

It's always good to be thinking of you Claude Thibaut because your name is synonymous with good wine : starting with sparkling wines ( your own now from Virginia called Thibaut-Janisson ) and real French champagnes ( JANISSON )
and the dry French still wines you and Pamela Margaux import. All of these are sold through your import company Margaux & Company in Charlottesville, Virginia.

We ( Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 2011 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com, anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com, www.clevelandparkwine.com, also now on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits, too ) have been there since the very start for you Claude. We were one of the first two stores ( Potomac being the other ) I believe in Washington D.C. to start carrying your French and then your Virginia sparkling wines? Anyway, we are still delighted to have them with us and sell them as often people come in search of them and often we recommend them ourselves as they are always really well-received by our many customers. That's a win-win situation the way I look at it.

My only suggestion would be that you would occasionally bring them by for us to re-taste as they do change slightly from year-to-year and it's nice to have tasted them more recently as we always sell on taste and talk about the products themselves and the people behind them and never about the points or the scores that they receive.

We currently I believe have some of the very last of your Virginia vintage-dated 2006 sparkling wine ( $41.99 ) in the store to sell. Come by people and get some of these remaining few bottles. They are pretty special. You can ask Claude himself about this.

Cheers Claude et bonne anniversaire a toi. A la prochaine, TONY

Excitement In The Air 2010-2011 Tasting The " New " Vintage Of BOGLE CA. Pinot Noir W/ Rep Marcie Weinstein 2010

We sell a number of the BOGLE California wines really well, especially the Petite Sirah, the Old-Vines Zinfandel and the Chardonnay. We buy these three all the time. For the rest of the time we buy some of the other flavors from the Chenin Blanc to the Cabernet Sauvignon, the Merlot, the Pinot Noir and even the Riesling I believe?





I love the color of the wine above and so had to post these pictures including this one. It just had to be. It's nice, too for me to occasionally write about really popular wines as well. Also, being an active artist I am really inspired by colors and compositions and contrasts and textures and so when I was looking through some of my old photographs and found this one and simply had to share it.

Oops! I mounted this picture here by accident. It's not one of Marcie's wines so enjoy it but it's not part of this Bogle montage.

I love all of the reflections that I get and the variations of colors, too of this BOGLE Pinot Noir. Hope you like it.

By the way this vintage of the BOGLE Pinot Noir was showing well and I told Marcie that I would buy it when I needed some Pinot Noir and it has been on our shelves now - may still be? - at least three or four times. I buy it when I need to fill this category and am always happy to have it as people know and trust the BOGLE name. Cheers and thanks Marcie and thanks BOGLE. You have both been a big part of our store now for several years and we appreciate you both very much, TONY

A bientot Marcie, merci, TONY

Ohh Ppp Praaah's Hurrah / Tra La La Dee : My Quick Morning Poem Of Oprah's Last T.V. Show Day Today / Wed. May 25th, 2011 4-5PM

This is what I wrote today to celebrate the final last day of Oprah Winfrey's 25th Season T.V. show day today of simple, plain talk with her audience. We're having a party to watch this and celebrate with Oprah today here at home from 4-5PM. What fun. This is what I wrote for my part :

OHH PPP
PRAAAH'S
HURRAH
TRA LA LA DEE
DAAHH DAY
CELEBRATE
GREAT LADY

And then I added between the lines above :

Wed. May 25th, 2011
Party Time
Chez Quinns
Chez Alan
Have Fun 'Cause
Baby You Were Born This Way
Hip Hip Hurray!

What does this have to do with wine? Well, I know that Oprah loves champagne and tequila. We have both at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits in Washington D.C. N.W. 202-363-4265 www.clevelandparkwine.com on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wine & Spirits. Read yesterday's email there about this week's activities. Cheers and come see us tonight for our Big Them Bordeaux wine-tasting with 25 wines, on the 25th, on the 25th season finale celebration of Oprah Winfrey's show. It's all a sign! What does it all mean?!? Discuss! Cheers, TONY

New Happenings @ Cleveland Park Wines With ALan Cohen The President Of LVDH Imports 2010-2011/ LOGAN, QUENTEN ( Both Aussie ) STUART DAVIS Vnyds(CA)

At least once a year the President of LVDH Imports Alan Cohen comes to see me to say " hello " and check in and sometimes taste me on current arrivals. My regular rep from LVDH at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel : 202-363-4365 sales@clevelandparkwine.com , anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com also now on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits ) is Sam and between the two I always see quite a variety. On a recent visit with Sam he brought me the owner of LOGAN vineyards in Mudgee, Australia and we tasted a whole range of available releases and will feature these wines with Sam at our Big-Theme Wine-Tasting of Australian wines at Cleveland Park Wines and Spirits on a Wednesday in mid October I believe. Call for more info on that.

On this last visit Alan brought me some of his excellent STUART DAVIS 2007 ( great vintage ) Syrah to try ( we have sold it in the past ) and some of his QUENTEN Aussie Shiraz as well. We have also sold that in the past. It was great to revisit both of these and we will more than likely have them once again. he also tasted me on an excellent dry red Cotes Du Rhone which is in the store currently. I will have to talk to Sam and see what is available now in September on Monday the 12th, 2011 as I get ready to start this week.

Sam, be prepared for a call from me. We will have to talk this time about more than the 2009 dry red Bordeaux " value " wines that I have purchased now twice from you and that I sell for the very fair value of only $11 a bottle. I will include their names when I get to the store later today. In the meantime enjoy this blog entry " as is ". Cheers Alan and Sam : always nice to see you both anytime. Thanks for all your help, too. Cheers, TONY

Lucas Nemesio, Owner Of NEMESIO, Patagonian Wines Visits Cleveland Park Wines Thursday, May 20th, 2011 & Tastes Briefly

This was a great, serendipitous meeting. I wrote some poetry about it earlier today, Saturday, May 21st, 2011 before work. Cheers, TONY

2007/'08 ( Boxwood & Topiary ) Tasted @ Cleveland Park Wines By Family Member Rachel Martin Of The BOXWOOD Winery, VA. 2011/Billy Joel's "Piano Man"

Funny, here I am listening to Billy Joel sing the song " Piano Man " and I'm downstairs checking my email and seeing that I got an email from the BOXWOOD Winery in Virginia and that immediately makes me think of family member Rachel Martin and that it would be a great idea to get her to the store to taste her BOXWOOD and TOPIARY wines with our customers once again?

Rachel, do you hear me? Can you hear me? Hope you read this as it will be a great idea to get you back to taste your 2007 TOPIARY if you still have any left? I really like it : it shows so well : " It's sad and it's sweet when I wore a younger man's clothes ... sing us a song, you're the piano man ( ma'am ) ... " sings Billy Joel and I continue to type quickly as we will all be watching the " Millionaire Matchmaker " dating show with host Patty soon. My daughter and wife are descending soon into our basement to watch it and I will watch it, too with them as I like spending time with them.

Anyway, as I saw the email from BOXWOOD and thought of Rachel and that she now has a wholesaler ( it's Country Vintners I believe ) and so as I'm thinking of this " and we're all in the mood for a melody .. it's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday ... the manager knows it's me that they've been coming to see to forget about tomorrow ... la la la dee dah ... sing us a song " ( more from Billy Joel's " Piano Man " hit that launched his career so many years ago ) ... pour us a glass : " you've got us feeling alright, we're all in the mood ... " ( sings Billy ) so Rachel, funny how this song parallels you doing a tasting at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel: 202-363--4265 salws@clevelandparkwine.com, http://www.clevelandparkwine.com/, anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com, also now on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wine & Spirits and on Twitter , too at : cpwinespirits ) here?

When are you free Rachel? Let's get Billy Joel to come sing " Piano Man " the next time you do an in-store wine-tasting? I'm a bit panicked that because now Rachel you have a wholesaler that we won't see you as often or frequently This upsets me of course as these type of things often do : or at least concern me. Oh well, a zebra can't change it's stripes as an artist shouldn't change either. Being an artist I feel strongly about this.

Anyway, there I was : " sing us a song ... sing us a song tonight ... " pour us a glass of the 2007 TOPIARY ? How is it showing Rachel? I haven't tried it for awhile and I miss that special taste. Please bring me a sip or two next time that you are in the neighborhood Rachel. " Well we're all in a mood for a melody and you've got us all feeling alright tonight ... " sings Billy Joel as I get close to finishing this totally impromptu and serendipitous email.

I've been completely swept up by the wings of this mood and this moment here in Annandale, Virginia on my Monday my day-off that I have thoroughly enjoyed on this brilliant, crystal-clear day of baby-blue skies and gentle breezes and freshness and coolness and heat without humidity. Wow, could any of us ask for anything more?!? Even this night and late afternoon have been really special. All we had to look out for were the female mosquitoes that must also be enjoying this wonderful weather.

Anyway, there I have been thinking of you Rachel and your wines and of Andrew Stover, too that I know you know. Funny, you two are linked in my thoughts somehow? I know you know each other and I don't think that you both have ever been in the store together? You should both come together ... : " and they are sharing a drink they call loneliness, but its' better than drinking alone " ... sings Billy Joel in " Piano Man " as I continue to record my thoughts and memories of times spent with Rachel Martin and enjoying BOXWOOD vineyard wines.

Rachel, drinking your wine is much better than that : it's not loneliness, it's always drinking with somebody else or a group and that's always special and never lonely at all. As a matter fact, it's really memorable to be able to share a bottle of the BOXWOOD wines with someone else ( even more when that person is someone close to you already ) and it will be fun to see you again?

I must say that I miss you coming by from time to time or calling and asking if we need anything at the store? I also miss you delivering the cases that I order. I also miss you being at the store on Saturday the same time that I am doing one of my wine classes and I happen to invite you to be a part of the wine-class and you accept? Those are some really good memories and I am happy to have them.

Here in this photo above I think you were doing a tasting of the TOPIARY 2007 and the 2008 as well as of the BOXWOOD 2008? How are the two 2008 bottles showing now? Have they softened and blossomed more? They just needed more time the last time that I tasted them ( the 2008 vintage that is ) with you when you tasted them with our customers in the store. I am sure that they are much more approachable now than they were then?

I love this photo that I took of you above. I love the whole series that I quickly took of you tasting the BOXWOOD wines. You look fabulous in these photos. I love your blouse and I love your hair and your earrings and necklace : all discreet and understated - just the right touches for me anyway. What don't I love?!? I think I have said enough.

Your BOXWOOD wines are just like their French Bordeaux counterparts and they simply need the same amount of time to soften and mature and become gradually what they are intended/ meant to be. I am willing to wait and the wait is well worth it.

Hope to see you soon Rachel. Let's do a reunion with Andrew Stover and with Lucie Morton? Cheers and hope to see you soon. Cheers, TONY

More Wines @ Cleveland Park Wines! Andrew Stover & Michael Shaps Taste Side-By-Side Late 2010 @ Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits / Happy Memorial Day We

eekend May 30th, 2011 1:00PM ... this headline should finish.

It's been great to work with Andrew Stove over the past year or so that works through Siema Imports while he is a sommelier at Washington D.C.'s Oye restaurant and now helps, too at the Sax restaurant that opened recently with much fan-fare for the bubblies they serve as well as the correct or politically-incorrect artwork spread throughout the restaurant as well? being an artist I notice this type of thing and like to mention and to record it just as I have with the picture above of Mark Congdon's metal, shiny ice bucket above that holds the bottles from Andrew as well as his own with the wines of wine-maker/ owner Michael Shaps' own wines, those of WINEWORKS and the red and white burgundies that he poured like the white Meursault and the 2005 Vosne Romanee.

Andrew poured the wines from his collection of what I term the " lesser-known U.S. States " wines of Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho and Michigan ( STRONGHOLD, SAWTOOTH, l.WAWBY and more ) that he poured on this double-billed event with he and Michael Shaps. It was quite the weekend event at our store in the Washington D.C. neighborhood of Cleveland Park N.W. at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com, anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com http://www.clevelandparkwine.com/ , also now on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits, too ) late last year. It was a grand event and we introduced and sold many " new and exciting " wines to our customers.

Andrew and I came up with the idea and we reached out to Mark Congdon to call Michael Shaps that agreed to do the tasting at our store. We all really enjoyed ourselves and the wines all really showed well. It has been a great collaborative effort for all of us for this past year and is strong and growing well into 2011 here on Sunday, May 29th, on Memorial Day weekend. We still have some of all of these wines.

Later today I will go with my family to Wolf Trap on our annual visit to hear the President's Band sing patriotic songs and play them, too as well as tell many stories and anecdotes. We will drink our wine and eat our food out on the grass by the stage and then move over to the hill by the stage and have an incredible display of wonderful fireworks go off just 200 yards above our heads or so and listen to a medley of songs by the artists that will play this summer at Wolf Trap. This will be a great way to celebrate the lives and efforts of those alive and dead that have served in the armed forces to keep us protected and safe from harm in ever-growing trying world times. Thanks to them all : we are humbled and proud of their courageous efforts.

Drink some of these wonderful wines in the ice bucket above this weekend. Come to our store in search of them or ask your local wine retailers to find them for you. You will not be disappointed. Rather, you will be elevated, invigorated, pleased, teased, charmed and overall fall into their intriguing spells. Cheers and Happy Memorial Day to one and to all.

Thanks Andrew, Michael, Mark and the import houses of J.W. Sieg and Siema for all your assistance over the years and especially now. We appreciate it all very much and could not do what we do and offer what we do without your invaluable assistance, time and energy and expertise and belief in us. TONY

More Fun! Owner Of PURIRI HILLS, Clevedon New Zealand, Here 2011 @ Our Big-Theme Wine-Tasting

We had our owner from Lynchburg, Virginia here at our Big-Theme wine-tasting tasting a series of her red wines - all Bordeaux-style from PURIRI HILLS in Clevedon, New Zealnd. She poured a range of six wines. We still have the 2006 Reserve ( $43.99 ) for anyone wanting to try a fabulous Bordeaux-style French red from a " new and up-coming " region of New Zealand called Cleveldon. You should check it out.




I have already blogged about PURIRI HILLS here on my blog. This is just a reminder of that. Check it out. Cheers and Happy Memorial Day Weekend to one and to all.




You can find all these wines here by request at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com also on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wine & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits.com ). Come by and check out these PURIRI HILLS dry red Bordeaux-style wines with us. Take care, TONY

Alexis Thompson of International Spirits & Wine LLT That Represents L.A. CETTO, Baja California Wines In 2011

We are thrilled to have the L.A. CETTO Mexican wines from the Baja California region of northern Mexico. I liked them from Alexis' very first visit and we have had them here in Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com sales@clevelandparkwine.com also on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wine & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits ) for the last year I believe. The clincher for me was the everyday Cabernet Sauvignon2008 ( $11.99, 13.5% alcohol by volume ) that tasted then and still does like fresh blueberries. I love that : it's perfect for this heat and humidity of the Washington D.C. summer. It's medium-to-light-bodied and wonderfully refreshing. Chill it down some and serve and enjoy it.

The L.A. CETTO Nebbiolo 2005 Private Reserve Barrel Aged Nebbiolo estate-bottled is the one ( $23.99 ) that has won all the awards - awards awarded in California, too. Impressive, needs food but it, too is very tasty and well-balanced and very flavorful.

We just added the L.A. CETTO Zinfandel 2008 Estate-Bottled Valle De Guadelupe. Baja California ( 14.5% alcohol by volume ) dry red at $11.99 that the Mexican ambassador served this past week at the Mexican embassy at a dinner. We are happy to have it, too. That, along with the dry Chenin Blanc and the dry Sauvignon Blanc ( both selling for $11.99 as well ) are all here for you to come here and buy some and enjoy this Memorial Day weekend. It's now Saturday, May 28th, 2011 and we are open until 9:30PM on this bright, sunny, hazy hot and humid ( slight breeze ) late spring day. Come on by.




Alexis, you have done a really nice job here selling to Greg and me. Thanks for everything. We look forward to seeing more of you and I look forward to writing more here. Enjoy this " as is " and I will add as I have time. Cheers, TONY


We sell the L.A. CETTO Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ( $11.99 ) at 13.5% alcohol by volume really well here. It tastes like fresh blueberries. Really nice and unique and special.