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
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