Anthony Quinn's Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits' Store Tuesday Email Written & Posted January 7th, 2014 : Read It & Enjoy It! Cheers, Happy New Year 2014!

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I JUST STEPPED OUTSIDE ( with American Hustle the movie playing across the
street at the Uptown Movie Theater, and the " new " baby panda down at the
National Zoo having her first public appearance now )  in this frigid, arctic
cold wind and brilliant sunshine to place what Brent had just purchased to enjoy
with his wife and friends tonight I believe? They are making a chicken dish that
has some flavorful seasoning, some heat, too and he asked what I thought would
go well?

BRENT REACHED FOR a bottle of the Chilean Elqui Valley 2008 Reserva Syrah,
$17.99 a bottle and asked if it would work?  He was holding his really
well-bundled little girl in his right arm as he showed me the bottle in his left
hand? I asked him how flavorful the meal would be? He said medium-to-light-heat
and so I said : " Yes."

I GOT THE IDEA  of pairing it with the LOUIS
CHEZE 2010 northern Rhone Syrah from France, $17.99, 13% alcohol by volume? I
asked him if there would be more than his wife and he at the meal? He nodded his
head ' yes '.

I THEN ADDED  that he should open the two at the same time and pour a glass of
each for everyone so that they could compare and see what Syrah picked up better
on what taste on their plates? I also wondered about the alcohol of each and how
that would effect the combination? I remembered how bold and hearty the FALERNIA
was when I last tasted it. It needs a meal, the bigger the better in my opinion.
So you can make it hotter Brent if you like the heat in your food?

I ASKED MALKIT how it was now that we are open on Sundays? I asked him if
customers were pleased, and if they were still surprised? He answered " yes " to
both, saying that he was hearing good comments from you all that have shopped
here now for the past three Sundays. We are glad to be able to be here for you
and that it is a help to you to be able to shop here and not go elsewhere on
Sundays. Please respond here on this email with any comments that you may have
on this subject; as well on any other where we may improve what we are already
doing to make this a more successful shopping stop for you?

THE STORE HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER stocked than it is now. This is great news as it
is easier to satisfy your requests when we have more in the store to work with.
We feel strongly, too about our selections here for you as we have, in fact
tasted many of them and actually know what they taste like, what they will
complement, what should not usually be combined unless you happen to like that
blend anyway?

IT'S SO ENCOURAGING to be able to make more suggestions for you and to have more
product to back up those suggestions ; and not to feel that we will not be able
to easily repeat the same combinations if they are successful and you want more
of the same. That feels really good. Malkit and Jagir have worked hard to make
this a reality and so for that I want to thank them as it makes everything so
much smoother and with less stress and headache.

WE ARE DAILY working on making this a greater shopping experience for you. We
are cleaning up our shelves and reorganizing them. Soon we will also have
scanners that will scan the bar code on each bottle and make things easier with
fewer problems or mistakes. We hate making mistakes and taking any longer to
ring you up at the register than necessary. That is why we are making the
counter longer and have also put another register on it for those busy times
here.

JAGIR Is The " New " RAVI : You have heard me say that and though we miss Ravi
as we do, we welcome Jagir that brings a really nice smile when it is coaxed
from him as well as a real even-keel disposition that is so comforting. he's
there to help you ring your purchases and get them bagged or boxed for you to
carry home with you, or ready for us to deliver to you. He's a really nice man
that is slowly learning his way and learning about all of you. I try and
introduce you as often as I am able. Jagir says " hello " to you all!

MALKIT is the taller gentleman that also is up our register some of the time but
not always. He's so busy on getting our " new " ideas implemented here and
trying his best to make this a better destination stop for you all. He's trying
to learn his way, too here and to meet as many of you as possible as he does.

PROGNOSIS : It's all a transition, and there is stress in any change and yet, SO
FAR, SO GOOD! All is well here in Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and we love
being here for you all!

THE BOTTOM LINE is : we are trying to do everything to make this a better moment
in your lives, to have more choices for you, to have better prices, to make it a
more pleasant and productive stop, whether you call and we deliver, or if you
come and see us yourselves. It's ALL ABOUT YOU! That's our bottom line : YOU.

SO :  WE WELCOME OPEN ARMS ( they are covered up in layers to protect us from
the cold and the winds as it's between 8-17 degrees today )  this New Year 2014
here now on the 7th day of January. A beautiful baby blue skies and COLD-WINDY
brisk sunny morning rallies us all! ... certainly as we set about to
accomplishing our tasks, following our dreams, accomplishing our New Year's
goals and smiling as much through the day as possible. It's a good feeling :
it's really a great feeling if you stop to reflect for even the smallest of
nano-seconds. Thanks again for all your business over the years.

IT WAS FUN TO SEE  so many of you last week and sell you many of your
last-minute needs/wants and desires. Two years ago with Lisa of FABBIOLI CELLARS
of Leesburg, Virginia ( she made the FABBIOLI Raspberry-Merlot sparkling
cocktail with both the $10 bottles of STAR TREE South African ( sold-out on New
Year's Eve! ) and PIERRE LAROUSSE Wissembourg, Alsace French, $9.99 - we still
have some for you, great value always  ...

And BAILEY KASTEN  tasted her own chocolates that she makes here in Washington,
D.C. Chocolates and sparkling wine and everything else : I think we all helped
ring in the New Year here in style as we all got what we needed to head home and
continue the festivities later. Have to call Bailey as we are out of her
chocolates now and see what we can arrange?

YEARS AGO I promoted this French Champagne and sparkling wine on NBC4.  I
enjoyed the experience immensely and it was a great way to share some of my
champagne and bubbly ideas with you all before coming to work where I continued
to pour some of all four of these suggestions from the two mentioned above to
our " Most Popular For The Last Two Years... BOTH are still in stock now :

1)" MONTELLIANA Extra Dry Prosecco ( $11.99 ), our best-selling sparkling wine
in the store , so consistent, so fresh and dry and impressive, too ...   to
the...

2) " Recoltant Manipulant : harvester and grower and maker " of the Grand Cru
MICHEL ARNOULD & FILS ( On Special for $49.99 ) French dry rose champagne from
Versenay.This is the top-of-the-line French champagne. We still have a great
selection of them. Come by and see for yourselves!

YOU CAN GO TO : NBC4 Washington Home Page and see the " FABBIOLI Sparkling
Cocktail " that I wrote and which they reprinted for anyone interested in
serving a fun and modern and " go green / go local " variation on the " classic
" Kir Royale. This " new " version is both less-alcoholic as it is a semi-sweet
red wine of 12.5% alcohol by volume ( the creme de cassis is sweeter and with
more alcohol and a bit more jammy, too ). BOTH have their places. I love my
traditional French Kir Royales! However, this is nice variation and it's so nice
to be able to " custom-make " it to each person's taste preference. That's what
I did before Lisa arrived here and then she continued. Hope you all liked your "
Fabbioli sparkling wine cocktails " this past Saturday. I want to take this
opportunity to thank both Lisa and Bailey for their time spent here on New
Year's Eve. What a blast it was ...
WE SOLD A LOT LAST WEEK and yet we still have quite a bit so do come by after
work and check out what is here. There is still plenty for everybody. We will,
of course restock whatever we did sell out of. Here are some suggestions from
Malkit, Jagir and Santos for you to think about as you settle into a " new "
routine this 2014.

DO ANY OF YOU  feel any different? Let us know, we'd love to hear from you.

BEER From Santos Rivera :

1) Oak-Aged Beer Seasonal Scottish Porter from INNIS & GUNN , brewed in
small batches ( On Special for $12.99 a 4-pack of 11.2Fl. Oz bottles, 7.4%
alcohol by volume , product of Scotland ),  : " ... we also added treacle (
molasses ) which gives the beer its rich, bittersweet character." Try some!

2) Port Barrel Aged Scotch Silly Limited Edition 2013 Scottish Style Ale
aged in port wine barrels ( $13.99 a 750ml bottle, 9.4% Fl. Oz , from Silly,
Belgium ) : this should warm us all up with these biting winds and cold
temperatures! Cheers! Stay warm!!

3) " Sculpin " India Pale Ale from the BALLAST POINT Brewing Company In San
Diego, California ( $10.99 a 22 Fl. Oz bottle, 7% alcohol by volume, go to
www.ballastpoint.com for more info ) : " Our Sculpin IPA is a great example of
what got us into brewing in the first place. After years of experimenting, we
knew hopping an ale at five separate stages would produce something special ...
" Oh yeah.

WE SOLD the three below before  and they are still available but now
out-of-stock here. Ask Santos if you are interested in them now and what the
current pricing is. Thanks and cheers!

1) BAYING HOUND Aleworks " Long Snout " Stout ( On Special for $5.49 a 1
Pt. 6 Fluid Ounce bottle, 6% alcohol by volume, 1108 Taft Street, Rockville, MD.
20850, www.baying-hound.com ) is made by two local Cleveland Park residents. Can
you believe this?!? They make three different beers so far and we only have one
today but the other two will return soon. I know both families that make this
beer : they both shop here. It will be great to do a local " beer-tasting " here
really soon with them. I will report more as I know it. I was supposed to get an
email from them over the weekend, but it was New Year's Eve after all! So look
forward to more in next week's email.

2) SAM SMITH'S Tadcaster " Yorkshire Stingo " Bottle-Conditioned Ale ( $12.99 a
1 Pt. 2.7Fl. Oz. 550ml, 8% alcohol by volume , merchantduvin.com ) is " ale aged
in oak ale casks matured for over a year ". Come check it out.

3) KOSTRYZER Schwarzbier Hochste Premium Qualitat ( On Special for $9.99 a
six-pack of 33cl/ 11.2 Fl Oz bottles ) of German Black Lager Beer : Gebraut Nach
Dem Deutschen Reinheitsgerbot ... seit 1543. That's a whole long time to be
making quality beer! I can barely remember back that far, how about you?

LIQUOR From Malkit & Jagir:

1) Double Rye! from HIGH WEST Whiskey , a blend of straight rye whiskies (
$37.99 a 750ml bottle, Bottle # 970, from Park City, Utah ) : not chill
filtered, 40% alcohol by volume, : " DOUBLE RYE - the most excitable member of
the High West family - is dedicated to the cowboy in all of us. ..." I am
interested ...

2) 1792 Ridgemont Reserve Barrel Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (
$28.99, 46.85% alcohol by volume, ) : " ... commemorates the year Kentucky
became our 15th state. ... "

TWO From LEOPOLD BROS :

1) American Orange Liqueur ( $35.99 a 40% alcohol by volume, Colorado ) : "
a small batch and triple dry ... is  pot distilled with two types of
traditionally prepared orange peels : Curacao and Bergamot. We add a touch of
both Belgian candy sugar and agave nectar to the orange distillate to balance
the flavors and then age the liqueur in glass carboys to relax the spirit and
refine the balance. ... "

2) Michigan Cherry Flavored Whiskey Batch No. 1305 from LEOPOLD BROS (
$35.99, 750ml bottles, 40% alcohol by volume , Colorado ) : we will make our "
new " Kir Royale with this and the SALTON " Intenso " Brut Serra Gaucha
Brazilian sparkling wine to celebrate early the D.C. Cherry Blossoms coming this
spring. Cheers.

3) MEZCAL Reposado Produced by ILEGAL MEZCAL , Coleccion Privada ( On
Special for $64.99 a bottle, from Oaxaca, Mexico, 40% alcohol by volume ) : such
beautifully intense and vivid color! You have to see it, have to taste it, too!

4) " Red Stag " By JIM BEAM ( On Special for $16.99, was $19.99, 750ml
bottle ) is " Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey infused with natural flavors "
BLACK CHERRY. From Clermont Frankfurt, Kentucky : come check this out. You will
enjoy it as it's a nice change of routine and adds some " new " flavor to the
BEAM bourbon that you already love.

5) " Limited Edition " ABSOLUT Swedish Vodka ( On Special for $19.99, come
in an artsy cut-glass bottle  ) and would look go on a bar with the lights
bouncing off of it : or as an orb with a light inside it and shining from the
ceiling down on everyone once empty. Looks fun, tastes the same. Come get some
while you still can as it is a limited edition and we cannot buy anymore.

6) Straight RYE Whiskey from JEFFERSON'S ( $49.99, 47% alcohol by volume,
94% Proof, 750ml. made by distiller Trey Zoller that has been here and tasted
with you all ) is " new and exciting " for us. You should check it out as
everything that Trey makes seems to be of the very highest quality and
standards.

7) EFFEN Vodka ( On Special for $29.99 a 750ml bottle, 40% alcohol by
volume, imported from Holland ) : " expertly distilled from wheat grain and
perfect water ' " Sounds so very wonderfully perfect and the packaging, too is
so much fun and makes me think of snow. Any snow on our horizons ? Cheers
everyone, we have the wine, we have the cold, white-snow-white anyone?!?

French Cider :

WINES / CIDER  From Michel & Tony :

1)  Cider de Normandie  LE PERE JULES from Leon Desfrieches et Fils
Brut Dry ( On Special for $11.99 a bottle , 5% alcohol by volume, from St.
Desir, Normandie, France, go to : www.calvados-leperejules.com for more info ) :
apple cider brut , 2012, made from 100% pure apple juice with no added sugar.

WHITE :

1) 2012 Pinor Grigio Delle Venezie from LAGARIA ( $9.99 , 12.5% alcohol
by volume , Italy ) always delivers a whole lot of flavor for the money. We were
just enjoying it at my house this weekend and it sure is a balanced delight,
with or without food. We send our " best wishes " to Neil Empson that we just
heard had a stroke. We hope you are well Neil!

2) Torrontes Estate-Bottled 2013 from Argentina's Valle de Cafayate ( On
Special for $9.99 a 750ml bottle, 13% alcohol by volume ) : more body, more
floral qualities, excellent now with this deep cold weather! Cheers!

3) Malvasia " Adriatico " from BASTIANICH is made in Croatia and has
plenty of flavor and taste to hold it's own even in this really cold and breezy
weather now! It's lighter, brighter, not as dark as past vintages, but it has
plenty of body and presence to do the trick now. Highly recommended!

4) Orvieto Classico dry Umbrian white that has more of the Grechetto grape
blended with the Trebbiano grape to have more grip and grist and flavor and
backbone! It's pretty impressive, medium-bodied and at $18.99 a bottle, from
VILLA BARBI showed really well here this past weekend when Joe tasted it with
you. We still have some, it's a great dry white to enjoy with a meal!

RED :

1) Syrah 2011 from the CHANARMUYO Estate in La Rioja, Argentina, north of
the Mendoza region ( On Special for $9.99 a bottle ) has lots of fresh and
generous fruit and flavor with still good structure and backbone, and it's a
fine wine for this really cold weather now - and what a value, too! We like it a
whole lot here.

2) Touriga National and Tinta Roriz dry red Portuguese blend from BARCO
NEGRE, this 2009 ( $12.99, from Douro, Portugal ) has some good Cotes Du Rhone
flavors, medium-bodied, fleshy and peppery and spicy and also very generous a a
delight to drink now, agora! Cheers!

3) Chianti Classico 2010 from the TENUTA DI ARCENO ( $18.99 a bottle, 14.5%
alcohol by volume, from Tuscany, Italy , go to : www.tenutadiarceno.com for more
info ) was tasted here recently by Scott of Monument Imports and it, too has
some real body and good acidity and extra spice and toasted-roasted berry
flavors to light a space up with taste and energy! It's a fine meal wine.

4) 2011 Patelin de Tablas, a dry red blend from California's Paso Robles
TABLAS CREEK Vineyard - 52% Syrah, 29% Grenache, 18% Mourvedre and 1% Counoise (
$24.99, 13.7% alcohol by volume ) : This is a BEAUTY, fresh and bright and
FRUIT-DRIVEN, defies gravity and is as light and as pleasing and as pleasant as
ever and great to sip all by itself, and will warm you to your core even with
this frigid, arctic cold blowing and rearing it's heartless head over us now!

Two Bubblies To Enjoy :

1) ALMA NEGRA dry Malbec 2010 ( $21.99 ) is so light and fresh and bright
and elegant : where less is clearly more. It's a delight to sip and enjoy all by
itself. From Mendoza, and made by Ernesto Catena : go to for more info :
www.almanegrawines.com.ar

2) " Annalisa " sweet sparkling Italian Malvasia D.O.C. 2010 ( $14.99 )
from MONTELLIANA is great when you want a deep, dark, rich red dark color and
lots of brightness, toasty berry-cherry flavors and the sweetness, too. The more
you chill it the less-sweet it will seem. Enjoy. It's made by MONTELLIANA that
makes the Prosecco above that is our " Most-Popular " sparkling dry wine here at
$11.99 a bottle.

WEEK'S TASTINGS :

Friday,  January 10th, 2012 ( 5-8PM ) : We have Chris Bartha to pour some
great French, German and West Coast " specials " of his from red to dry rose to
whites, too with some real body and character to withstand this COLD BLAST of
ours coming from up North and staying way too long for our comfort. Ugh!

Saturday, January11th, 2012 ( 2-6PM ) : I am talking now to Stephane Defot
and arranging that he come and taste some of his excellent French Z Wine Gallery
Import wine selections. We just got disconnected and so we will see what we can
come up with when he calls me back? I am thinking some hearty northern and
southern Rhone wines? That would be good? If not Stephane, then perhaps
Dmitri?!? Working on it as I type ... love my work!

JOIN US, there is never any charge for our in-store wine-tastings. Bring a
friend or two and make it a special moment here. We welcome you.

FOLLOW US  on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and also on
Twitter at : cpwinespirits, and wineenabler ;  as well as on my blogs at :
chatwine.blogspot.com,  and chatpoetry.blogspot.com. See all the pictures that I
take of you and our owners and winemakers  downloaded onto Facebook. You will
like them we sincerely hope. I am telling the " fun " stories now, too like  ...

1) Milt that came in and asked me earlier for some CABIN STILL Bourbon? No Milt,
haven't see that in years! He wants it for a blending-bourbon, and we settled on
a liter of JIM BEAM at $19.99 On Special.

2) We also just had Eladio that asked if I could help him : " You know what
you're doing, you always give good advice. " He said this after I told him about
the Brazilian Vale Dos Vinhedos dry red 2007 Merlot red from CASA VALDUGA and
said : " They're Italian, they know what they're doing. It's beautiful there."

3) We also had Paul that came today asking for the GLENFARCLAS Single Malt
Scotch, the 12-Year-Old On Special for $57.99 saying : " It's a steal. Not as
well-known as the Laphroiag with the peat ... " I said I thought we had it and I
had to search for it and indeed we did have it. He saw the 25-year-old and said
that that was too much for him. I said that we were pleased to have it as well
as the 12-year-old! Cheers Paul, Eladio and Milt. Thanks for venturing out in
today's real cold!

CHEERS and HAPPY NEW YEAR to One and to All.     TONY

Please visit our website below for more information, events and specials, and
our calender of wine tastings!

[1]www.clevelandparkwine.com

If you have any orders, suggestions or questions, you may e-mail us at
[2]sales@clevelandparkwine.com or call (202) 363-4265.

References

1. http://www.clevelandparkwine.com/
2. mailto:sales@clevelandparkwine.com