This was a fun, last-minute luncheon that was set up between me and Lisa Giufre ( now Norris ) that just got married so her name changed two weeks ago to . Wow, that's what I thought when I saw the email that it was the same Lisa that I knew but I was not sure and knew that I would get to the bottom of this mystery when I saw her. The burning question at the back of my head being : why would she change her name? It never occurred to me that she would have gotten married just two weeks ago!
I was excited to see Mike Radcliffe , owner of the WARWICK & VILAFONTE ( Series M and Series C with Zelma Long ) South African wines that we carry at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008, Tel:202-363-4265 anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwine.com, also on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and now on Twitter at : cpwinespirits, too ). We have three of Mike's wines in stock now : the WARWICK dry Sauvignon BLanc, the WARWICK First Lady dry red Cabernet Sauvignon and the . I had also wanted to bring the Pinotage to the store but decided to wait until next month which has come and gone now and so in June we will have four of Mike's reds come to the store once again : more of The First Lady, some of the Pinotage, some of The Three Cape Ladies, also some of the 2002 Reserve red that only 3 cases were left of that we will sell for $32.99 and tell others that if Mike had any left ( he wanted the Country Vintner stock of 2002 ! ) that he would be selling it for $100 a bottle at the winery! Ouch, that hurts! I will love telling this story and happily selling my twelve bottles to a few lucky and deserving good customers.
The luncheon was grand and a real treat for me to see you Mike once again and to have a chance to catch up with you and hear what's " new and exciting " chez toi. I also loved hearing of Lisa's recent marriage two weeks ago and about the " Wedding Cup - silver " that you brought her as a wedding present Mike. It was great to see it, too at the end of our luncheon.
We talked leisurely and covered subjects like those of " busy people ", we tasted through your Sauvignon Blanc and then all the other reds, six others I believe? I took some pictures and drew some quick portrait sketches of you Mike. All fun and exciting as I ate my steak sandwich on a bun and had it with my baked potato with melted butter. I had this because of all the reds as well as all the wine that I knew I would try later at the Hendry House in Arlington, Virginia at the annual Michael Downey portfolio wine-tasting. Better to be prepared and armed with some solid food to absorb all the taste of the wines! It worked, too as best as it could work drinking and tasting so many wines at lunch and in the afternoon.
It's now Thursday, May 19th, 2011 at 8:41AM here at home as I continue this blog as I want to post it before work soon in Washington D.C. where I will return to sell more of Mike's wines as well as those from the Downey portfolio selection. I had a great time at the portfolio tasting and in fact got to see many of my old Italian friends now as well as sketch them, too while tasting their current releases. It was all quite wonderful I must say.
Mike, you and I talked across the board about many things and one of my favorite subjects was getting things accomplished and you said that I should get " busy People " to help me. When I asked : " Why ? " both you and Lisa said immediately because " busy people " get things done. Then I started to add that busy people then may not have sufficient time to incorporate into their busy schedules all the wonderful serendipitous stuff that happens and which is often pretty amazing and essential : at least for me?!? I love the serendipitous of life as essentially eat both in fairly large mouthfuls and often I must swallow whole before carefully masticating and getting everything that I possibly can from the experience that can leave pretty large, gaping wholes that may or may not ever be filled in? Oh well, that just gives me more hunger for the next busy moment or serendipitous happening. That's okay with me.
It was great to try all the wines side-by-side. I preferred the styles of the WARWICK wines over the VILAFONTE which left in my mind wondering to a large extent to their area of origin? What makes the two remind people of South Africa where they are from? Does that / should that matter? To me it should. Of the two I liked the more expensive one which I still do not have in the store yet. I did once in a previous vintage. I am sure that both Lisa and Mike that you will convince me to buy some. I will, especially when one of the two of you come to the store and taste it out with our customers. Of the two VILAFONTE wines it was clearly my own personal favorite because I thought it showed more range and depth and variety in it's flavors. The other was simply too round and full and lush on the palate. It was also much fruitier and I was looking for more " highs and Lows " range that is and breadth in it. It was too easy to drink and did not challenge me enough to keep my interest. However saying this I can also readily admit that it will have a very large audience that loves it.
Of the WARWICK reds I pretty much really liked them all - the Three Cape Ladies might have been my favorite on this tasting, however because it did challenge my palate just a bit more than the others now. I often judge the wines on which I feel is showing the very best at the specific moment and time that I taste them. I will often refer to this and explain because of the weather and my mood why I feel this way. I think that that is only fair.
I have much more to say . I have also written some poems of this visit with Mike and Lisa and posted them at : chatpoetry.blogspot.com. Check them out. I have also made several references already of all of this at our Facebook account at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. Check these out if you have time. Also we are now on Twitter at : cpwinespirits if you want to get info from us that way.
Cheers and thanks Mike and Lisa. Congratulations once again Lisa. Take care the both of you. TONY
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