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