It Saddens Me, Yet I Am Heartened By Gabriele Rausse & His 2009 Chardonnay Reserve That Makes It All Better For Me, That There Was No Mention Of Him In Today's Wine Article : " This Week, Raise A Glass To Local Wine, Wherever 'Local ' Is For You ."

   

      I believe wholeheartedly in Gabriele Rausse and his fabulous wines from Virginia. I am sitting here now typing a blog while enjoying the magic of Gabriele's Virginia Chardoonay Reserve 2009, 13% alcohol by volume. Talk about richness, talk about balance, talk about brightness and freshness and pretty much everything where it should and ought to be, with some wonderful tweaks and accents, expressions that excite the imagination, rock wonderfully one's soul, and drop deep into one's guts and bowels and find the water at the bottom of the well, so-to-speak, like one finds this liquid golden-hued wine, that is the sustenance that keeps us all so happily alive. In this case the 2009 Reserve Chardonnay flames the spirit - the pilgrim spirit in all of us!

      I am loving this moment as my wife and I have just thoroughly enjoyed it with our Vace pizza, a combo of both pepperoni and sausage! Lovely : and it worked, the burn and the heat and the spice of the pizza was mellowed and left to fill and satisfy our hungers for the solids while this liquid treasure of filtered sunshine-in-grape greased the hinges and joints so that we could get up and dance, sing, move on a stage, run through a field, jump to try and touch moon and stars, and dive into the depths of whatever water sources that we might be around. Nice.

     I am saddened that Dave McIntyre that writes so eloquently and passionately about our local wines did not mention you Gabriele in today's article. You deserve to be mentioned, and all the time. You are one of the essential, great cornerstones and founders of the Virginia wine business having started according to you way back in April of 1076 when there was FARFELU and perhaps INGLESIDE? You will have to refresh my memory Gabriele.

     Anyway, I throw my attention to you and your delicious, balanced, refined and true expressions of the various grape varieties that you chose to work with grown in Virginia's soil like this Chardonnay, the Nebbiolo grape, the Refosco grape, the Cabernet Sauvignon grape, the Viognier grape, and many more. I am just back from work and tired and yet revitalized now because of your flavorful Reserve 2009 Chardonnay. It's a little work of art all in itself. Bravo to you.

     In my humble experience and opinion I believe that you should be mentioned every time that an article is written on the wines of Virginia. I am thrilled to have them represented at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits in Washington D.C. 20008, N.W. I need to order more as a matter of fact. When Claude Thibaut was in the store two-three weeks ago I mentioned this to him and how I would love the two of you to come and do an in-store wine-tasting soon together? Let's work on that : it could be really very special.

     Cheers to you Gabriele. You did not know it but tonight you came to my rescue as I have many things weighing heavily on me and your wine has made it so much easier to face the decisions that I have to make as I face my options. Cheers and thanks, prego once again. Caio e a presto Gabriele.  Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn  Wednesday evening here at home in northern Virginia on a gray, cool and drizzly evening at 9:01 PM on October 9th, 2013.