 Cleveland Park Beer, Liquor & Wine
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ITALY WAS GRAND! Italy is grand!romania is great, transylvania is grand!
WHAT AN AMAZING day
Halloween! Love it! BOO to you all, come by, feel the spirit, feel the
vibes, get excited, live on the edge, the fringe, celebrate tonight,
let it all out, do not hold anything back, this is your moment, this is
your time, shine, be bright, be dark, be creative, let things shout,
shriek and curdle and foam up, froth, be and show your MAD, all inside
you hidden and wanting to come finally to the surface and rage and rant
and be part of the living dead!!!!
WOW ! Everybody is coming by now
and I have to write this store email and get it out to you! Always this
way, always the unexpected, the rush, the flair, the flame, the
intensity, and now I will be talking and tasting quickly with Aleks of
his own Balkan Wine Project and seeing what Serbian Zilavka and Vranek
he has to show me, and I will tel him I already ordered them from our
new Winebow rep Ari! All good The STOBI wines will be here tomorrow,
and that is really very exciting, a real treat, we need back here our
fine wines of Serbis, we really do. Thanks Alkes and Ari. Cheers, happy
Halloween to you both!!!!!
FINALLY, Aleks brought me a
Starbucks coffee and everyone is gone and I can finally focus on
writing a Halloween email/ newsletter/fan-letter/love and all to you!
COME BY and sip tonight from 5-7:30PM these fine MONSER ( pronounced : " Mon chere " like in French, and see what you think, buy them if you need some for tonight's
Halloween! They are really fine, the dry Sarba and the soft floral
white, too called Tamaiosa Romaneasca, BOTH On Special for $6.99, and I
have the red marker to add the " T " to make the word Monster! Yes! Just
spoke to Narayan, he may come and help me pour tonight, that would be nice!
IT IS A LOVELY DAY today and everyone is all charged up with this cooler weather. We have tonight and also tomorrow, Friday and Saturday : all with events, including Thursday
across the street to drink some fine Chilean wines from Manuel Rojas (
DOS PASOS, IN SITU, and ALMA ) , and to look at the art, make some art,
talk and be inspired by both art, wine, culture, conversation and
people, - all , what a chance here.
THURSDAY-
across the street at the Uptown Arts DC Center for Chilean wine and
art, including mine ( come see my art ) : and the art of others like
Marc, Maps, Parker, Jamal ( his music is wonderful ), all for sale, too.
Nov. 2nd, 2017 ( 6:30-8:30PM
). What a great occasion of the moment to submerge yourselves in this
experience. and buy the wines, too later here if you would like any of
them. Cheers!
Happening NEWS NOW on Halloween :
we have Channyen Williams and Bisi Nnaji of TWELV31 Velvet Berry -
available in either the white bottle or the black bottle . I guess it
never occured to them to bottle also one in a gray bottle as so much of
life is in the gray zone?!? ) , and Andy Gable and I both like it very
much neat $23.99 a bottle. Let us know if you are interested, will come
soon. With a tasting, too!
CALENDAR OF EVENTS this week :
TONIGHT, Tuesday, Oct. 31st , 2017 ( Halloween ), 5-7:30PM - Come taste the Romanian Monser wines On Special and chilled already for $6.99 a bottle.
WEDNESDAY, November 1st, 2017 ( 5-8PM
) : we have David of Furmint USA here to pour four of his great dry
white indigenous Furmint wines from Hungary , all that we usually sell,
introducing one new one I believe? They are all so different, so
diverse, and so everyone can get something that suits their palate, so
that the experience is really rewarding and exciting!
THURSDAY, November 2nd, 2017 ( 6:30-8:30PM
) : Come taste some great Chilean wines with me and Manuel Rojas, and
talk art, make art, be inspired by the whole DC art scene, and so much
more, yes!
FRIDAY, November 3rd, 2017 ( 5-8PM
) : We have a Bulleit Bourbon and Rye tasting set up by Jimmy, and on
wine we have Chris coming to pour some fine French wine selections from
France and Germany, maybe even Portugal. He is just back from Germany
and so it will probably be all German, something for everyone from
sparkling to still dry, off-dry and maybe even sweet? We will see, it
will be good, of that I am sure!
SATURDAY, November 4th, 2017 : ( 2-6PM
) : We have Serghei or his wife Stacy pouring a fine selection of their
wines of Moldova! That will be great as usual, open a lot of eyes and
taste-buds to the splendors that are liquid wines from Moldova!
We also have a WHEATLEY tasting from 4-7PM, more on that soon, have to check with our local rep to see what is available.
EVERYONE is always welcome, bring family and friends. The more the merrier.
IN BEER From Santos we have -
1) Saison with Brettanomyces
, from the ANCHORAGE Brerwing Company, ale brewed with spices, aged in
French oak Pinot Noir barrels, On Special for $16.99 a bottle, 750ml
bottle, come check this out from Anchorage, AK, with 8% alcohol by
volume.
2) Barrel Aged Ale from
GULDEN DRAAK Ale , product of Belgium, it is aged in apple brandy
barrels, $20.99 a bottle, with 10.5% alcohol by volume - this will warm
all of us as the temperatures continue to finally drop and we enjoy a
fall and winter holiday end of the year 2017!
3) Sour brewed with coffee
cherry and spices, this ESCAPE VELOCITY is definitely defying gravity,
from the D9 Brewing Co., On Special for $18.99 for a 4-pack of 12-ounce
bottles, with 14.2% alcohol by volume. Yes! Knock yourselves out!
4) Special Double Cream
Stout from BELL'S, a 6-pack On Special for $13.99, from Comstock, MI,
with 6.1% alcohol by volume, ' new and exciting ' and perhaps also
seasonal? I will ask? Cheers, come get some while you can.
IN Liquor - Liqueur we have -
1) VECCHIA GRAPPA from
CAFFO, On Special for $27.99 : so much flavor and taste and character
and weight, more texture, a dark grappa aged in wood that blows me away
at such a low price, yes!
2) SEAGRAM'S 7 American
blended whiskey, On Special for $15.99 : still a great deal, made here
in Norwalk, CT : an old classic that still delivers.
3) 101 Kentucky Straight
Bourbon Whiskey from WILD TURKEY, On Special for $25.99, what a great
deal, warmer, more alcohol, balance flavor and taste, yes, thanks Jimmy
Russell!
4) WIDOW JANE Whiskey
distilled from a Rye Mash, an American Oak Aged bottle, cloudy,
unfiltered, all the flavor and taste left there for us all, unfined,
pure, raw and honest and untouched - yes!From Brooklyn, New York, $52.99
: great name, come check it out tonight!
5) Limited Release KNAPPOGUE CASTLE from Ireland, $49.99 : tasted here with Rachel to you all on Saturday
- I have never tried a whiskey so smooth, subtle, pure, refined,
elegant and such a wonderful , wondrous delight - LOVE it sooo! Great
gift, too.
6) American Dry Gin from
District Distilling called " Checkerbark ' , On Special for $30.99, what
a distinct, bright, edgy flavorful gin made here locally by master
distiller Matt Strickland - very special, really nice!
7) Amaro Liqueur from
LAZZARONI, On Special $25.99 , what a great way to settle your system
after a great night of intense enjoyment!
THANKS FOR EVERYTHING - come and see us here, across the street activities on Wednesday with a drawing class with a nude model on Wednesday, bring your own art supplies and draw on Thursday,
too - say that Tony sent you and ask for Parker Blair, Maps, Marc,
Jamal - and have a blast - then come here and shop or anywhere here ,
and dine locally, too! Cheers
YOU ALL ARE THE VERY BEST, we love you, cheers, happy Halloween.
WE RAISED $215.35 dollars to send
to Sonoma, CA> to give to the local Rotary Club there in Sonoma to
buy toys for the kids that lost everything in the recent fires.
ANDREW STOVER was here, so was Jae, and then Tatiana!
Always something happening here, always, come be a part of it.
SAVE EVERY Wednesday on your wine purchases! Thanks, TONY 10/31/2017
BOO BOO BOO!
WHAT FOLLOWS BELOW is my old
store email from November 3rd, 2009, read and enjoy it and check for
current prices and vintages and availability, cheers, TONY 10/31/2017 Happy Halloween all!!!
ITALY WAS GREAT, GRAND, a great COUNTRY - ITALY - Tuscany, ...
No wonder all our
customers seem to have gone or want to go and speak about it with stars
in their eyes. I was able to go with my daughter as a special " thanks "
that both my wife and I feel for the excellent job that she has done in
college and now in grad school. This was not specifically a wine tour
or a wine-business trip per se : it was a bit of both as I bet you
cannot imagine me going there and not trying any wine or visiting any
wineries. As it turned out it was my daughter's first real
indoctrination into red wines and it could not have gone better. We were
able to visit four wineries and they treated us like gold and went 120
percent over whatever was normally expected. We visited in order of the
visits : MONTELORRI, IL BORRO, VERBENA and VALDIPIATTA wineries all in
the fabulous Tuscan area.
This email will be primarily
about Italy and why you might all consider drinking more Italian wines :
many of which we have and are always thrilled to sell. You will have to
indulge me here and go along with this unique premise of mine for this
week's email as I am just back and already running out of times as this
beautiful day is already passing by my very eyes quickly.
The Italians were wonderful.
They all treated us with a professionalism and a care and a real
respect that goes way beyond what anyone would expect or think to find. I
was amazed , pleased, surprised, thrilled and both honored and a bit
humbled by the reception of all four of these properties in Tuscany.
Thank you one and all for your kind and attentive reception of both my
daughter and I.
We were also able to taste
the very first pressing of two extraordinarily fine extra virgin olive
oils as we were there at exactly the right time. My daughter and I
tasted first on Friday, October 30th the extra virgin olive oil of
VERBENA winery which is located just a five minute drive away from the
town of Montalcino. Wow, what beauty we enjoyed visually as we drove
around in our Hertz rental car - a Mercedes Benz. We invested in a
navigational system, too and my daughter often refered to it as my
female friend as the voice was a female's. It saved our lives on more
than one or more occasions and was quite accurate in getting us to our
destinations as quickly as possible. In the case of getting from the
town of Montepulciano ( where the are filming or have filmed some of the
sequences for the story/ book and now film " Twilight " ) it actually
had us driving through the rows of the vines as we approached TENUTA
VALDIPIATTA. Wow, this blew us both away as by the moonlight and the
otherwise darkness of these lush, ripe, verdant and pregnant valleys we
were able to drive between two beautiful cypress trees and arrive at our
beautiful guest house for that night's much-needed repose. We could not
believe ourselves until we finally got there and were able to finally
collapse and collect ourselves and prepare for the next day's
activities.
We got to TENUTA VALDIPIATTA
too late to taste wines that evening and so both Sara and owner Giuoio
Caporali were nice enough to wait for us even being four hour's late and
have a dinner set up for us with people waiting ( sommelier Tony ) at
the Cafe Politziano in the town of Montepulciano. It was so deserted by
the time we finished our excellent meal. It spooked my daughter into
exclaiming that she could see why they would film the movie " Twilight "
there. I sort of liked it. Though seeming to be deserted it was clear,
brisk and refreshing and we had just enjoyed some of the excellent dry
white blend of white wine from TENUTA VALDIPIATTA as well as some of the
2006 Vino Nobile. We are currently selling the Vino Nobile 2005 here in
Cleveland Park for $28.49 a bottle and I highly recommend that you come
by and pick some up. You will not be disappointed.
We sell the most of the 2006
Rosso di Montepulciano 2006 ( $19.99 ) TENUTA VALDIPIATTA. As I said
this is just a five minute or so drive away from the picturesque,
imposing town of Montepulciano. I like the Rosso because with a meal it
is medium-to-light-bodied and so approachable. It really is superb and
will delight many a palate that enjoys a classic/traditional European
style dry red. I love it, really I do.
Unfortunately Miriam the
daughter of Giulio was away in California promoting the TENUTA
VALDIPIATTA wines but both Giulio and their assistant Sara were there to
give us all the experience that we could possibly expect or hope for.
They were both amazing as well as the gentleman that is Giulio's
assistant winemaker who's name I cannot recollect right now.
The other wine that we have from TENUTA VALDIPIATTA now in the store is owner Giulio's pride and joy that he exclaimed just days ago to us that was better than the best Brunellos. That bottle is the 2003 " Vigna D'Alfiero " that we sell for $63.99. Giulio was nice enough to pour some of the 2009 that was just placed in the stainless-steel vats and just beginning it's long, glorious life. Wow, cloudy, thick and yet creamy-dreamy smooth it was pretty amazing. He also tasted us later on the 2003 and I have to say he has a strong point to make here.
It's funny that there seems
to be a rather strong rivalry between the people of Montepulciano and
those of Montalcino. I think they both make excellent wines. You need to
come by ans splurge on some of this 2003 " Vigna D'Alfiero ". It is an
incredible experience and one that must be experienced personally and
serendipitously. Don;t read too much : let it was over you and do all
that it can to massage and please and satisfy all the muscles, nooks and
crannies of first your tongue and mouth before moving onto the rest of
your body and your other hungry senses. Believe me, this is a great
experience that goes into many levels of consciousness and unconscious,
too.
We also tried the great red
wines of VERBENA from about a five minute drive from the town of
Montalcino. We sell very well here the Rosso di Montalcino 2007 ( ON
SALE for $27.99 ). It is much bigger and bolder than the 2006 TENUTA
VALDIPIATTA but also worth experiencing. You can buy all of these here
at Cleveland Park now so don't delay and come taste some of these
fabulous Tuscan Italian wines. They are not every day but well-worth an
occasional special moment or splurge in your busy lives.
Some of the wines that we
tasted on this trip that we currently have are more everyday values. For
example we spent some time with my old Italian friend Andrea Fossi and
with him we tasted the D & N 2003 Chianti Classico which is drinking
beautifully and a deal great deal at $14.49 a bottle. We are thrilled
to still have it. Andrea told us that he made quite a bit of this wine
and that we will be able to offer it for still a bit more time before it
is all gone. It's ready to enjoy immediately as it has really filled
out nicely and is showing most of all it's complexities. The other D
& N Primitivo del Salento was not tasted but at $10.99 a bottle for
the 2007 it is a great everyday deal.
We also have from Alessandro
Furlan that brings us the VERBENA both the 2008 DEGANI Valpolicella
Classico at $14.49 that is smooth, bright and fresh like a medium bodied
to light-bodied red like a Pinot Noir as well as the heartier, beefier
ANDREA OBERTO 2007 Dolcetto, $19.99 that can really be used to full
effect with a meal.
ALL these wines above are
worth your trying sooner than later. Rush over to the store now, drop
everything and COME UNDER THE SPELL of these wonderful wines from Italy :
just as both my daughter and I did recently this past week.
WEEK'S WINE-TASTINGS :
Friday, November 6th, 2009 : We have Olivia and or Sotiris
coming to pour a selection of the excellent French wines of VOILA
Imports from 5-8 PM. Join us, never any charge.
Saturday, November 7th, 2009 ( 3-6 PM
) : We have Lisa Guifre of Elite Selections here to pour an assortment
of her wines which we think will include some of Aurelio Cabestrero's
Spanish portfolio of the Grapes Of Spain and hopefully will also include
an hour with Aurelio here himself. Call for an update if you need one :
we should know more tomorrow.
I know that I have forgotten many things. I hope you like this
off-the-cuff email about Italy. it's nice to change things around once
in awhile. I will go back to the regular format next week. However today
I am a bit jet-lagged and still thoroughly in love with my week in
Italy : so please excuse this indulgence of mine today of everything
Italian. Caio and cheers and come to see us soon. For more pictures of
the trip and the winemakers/ owners go to both our web page at : www.clevelandparkwine.com as well as to : chatwine.blogspot.com. Thanks again for all your continued support which keeps our doors open. TONY
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