CAFE BOHEME Coffee & Vodka Creme Liqueur Tasting Saturday Nov. 1st, 2008 Here At Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits Tasting

     Smooth as can be! No bite, no burn, just great cream churn silk! It was a fun tasting . We sell it for $26.99 ON SALE and did quite well with it. For more technical information visit : www.cafeboheme.com. It is best served chilled and do avoid citrus and acidic mixers when serving.

     Allyson was nice enough to come pour for us and we sold several bottles at the tasting and I feel quite sure that it will sell even better now that some of our customers have tasted it here.

    It's such a small world! I just went up to the front of the store and I see Allyson tasting the " new " LAPHROIGH single-malt scotch along with the two 10-year old bottlings for us today, Saturday November 8th, 2008 - one week later. More about that soon. 

     It was a really fun afternoon here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits with Jody Jackman of Winebow Imports tasting some Italian reds as well as a unique French Savoie dry, mineral and citrus white Chignin  ( Andre et Michel Quenard 2005 ( $15.99 ) that really needs food to soften and round-out it's intense flavors. Jody also tasted the wonderful GIUSEPPE CORTESE 2001 Barbera A'Alba, $14.49 from Piemonte, Italy as well as the  LIBRANDI ( owner Paolo was just here ) San Felice Ciro 2006 red Reserva that almost melts on the palate where the 2001 CORTESE is more meaty-gamy-earthy. Both are great contrasts to enjoy. The LIBRANDI sells for $19.99 and is a great way to get an evening started.

     Jody also tasted the excellent PALLADIO Rosso di Montalcino Tuscan Sangiovese-based red.

     We also had Karen one of our favorite customers stop by with her sister and another friend to visit the store. It was Karen's birthday so we opened a bottle of sparkling  JAILLANCE cremant de Bordeaux dry, smooth rose, $16.49. They liked it so much they bought two bottles to take home later!

     Here are pictures of the tasting with CAFE BOHEME, our customers and Allyson. For more help here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Conn. Ave. NW, Washington D.C. 2008 tel: 202-363-4265  sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) ask Mike Martin or me ( Anthony-Tony-Quinn. 

     Cheers,  TONY

VINIFERA Imports Is On A Roll With Their Italian Selections / I Taste Weekly And Love Them! 2008

It's always a pleasure to try the Vinifera imports Italian selections of world-class wines. Our old rep Michael Weiser really took good care of us and now Gustavo Fernandes is stepping up to the plate and doing a fabulous job. Each week I try a bevy of wines to " ooh " and " ahhh " over from ICARDI, TENUTA MORMORAIA to Franco MARTINETTI, ODDERO CASALE GIGLIO ( Lazio ), SANT'ELENA and many more. You might like the style of wines being produced by these wineries but you cannot dispute the quality! Here are some pictures I took to remind me of how really fine they are : hope you like them. I last tasted a selection of them including the fabulously old-world style ICARDI last week, Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 I believe with my rep.

On January 19th, 2007 we had owner Maria Grazia of ICARDI at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits tasting some of her family's latest wine-releases. We tasted a whole range of Maria Grazie's wines from the white dry Cortese features in the array of recent wines brought to me recently. We also tasted her Barbera , her Barolo and her Moscato and more. I have included some pictures of that tasting at our store.

Yesterday, Wednesday October 29th, 2008 Gustavo came by with a sample of the ICARDI " Rousori " Dolcetto D'Alba DOC 2003 ( it was a bit too cold because it was really cold outside yesterday! ) and once it warmed a bit in my Reidel glass it really started to open and show some earthy, dusty dry mineral and fruit-integrated-fully into the well-worn, warm, shiny wood overtones. I could still taste some of the last rays of Italian sun that had touched the grapes before being picked ! It will sell for $21.99 when we get it in November along with the white Cortese.

Gustavo also brought me a surprise bottle of the MADRE SELVA rosso Lazio 1994 from CANALE DEL GIGLIO that I absolutely fell in love with! I've already ordered a case of it to come as well! It's pictured in the glass and Gustavo is holding the bottle up to his face in the first two photos appearing on this blog. Impressive wine and tasting great with this extra fourteen years of bottle age and showing nor signs in the least of getting tired yet.

Call Mike Martin or me ( Tony Quinn ) for an update at : 202-363-4265.

For more technical information on ICARDI go to : AZIENDA AGRICOLA ICARDI : Strada Com.le Balbi, 30 12053 Castiglione Tinell ( CN ) Tel : 0141 855159 Fax: 0141 855416 email : icardivini@libero.it.

This is what Maria Grazia wrote in our guest wine owner/maker book :

" Carissimo Tony, Grazie per aver apprezzato i nostri vini. E stata una bellissima giornata! In dimenticabile. Caio a presto in questo bellissimo wineshop. Con affetto " Maria Grazia

Cheers, TONY