CORONADO San Diego, California Beers ( 3 Types, IPA, GOLDEN & MERMAID'S ) Tasted In March, 2010 : Then Again With Our Customers In April

I love this picture above of you smiling Tim with the CORONADO CA. beer in my glass just below your neck and you giving the thumb's up sign! . You gleam, you sparkle, you rock ... and look at the color of the beer - so dark and rich and thickly,lustrously burnt-golden-toasted hued ! Gotta love it, too ...


This was one of those totally unexpected pleasures that I was made a part of one afternoon at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 2010 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) when Santos Rivera our beer-specialist called me over to our tasting table.

There was Tim that sells for Jocelyn Cambier of his own company called J.CAMBIER Imports. It's interesting to note that Jocelyn now seems to sell more beers than wines. I knew him almost ten years ago when he himself would come to our store with samples and wine-makers/ owners and taste Mike Martin and me on whatever they had to offer at the time.




Jocelyn stated bringing some excellent French beers to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area perhaps four or so years ago and they got some nice press in the Washington Post newspaper's Food Section in the weekly beer articles. That caught my immediate attention and soon we had an old sales rep friend Shannon bringing them to us to try and she later did two really excellent in-store beer-tastings with an assortment of them. She left and I heard that Jocelyn had sold his business and so imagine my surprise when I looked down on the price sheet on which the beers had been poured for me and saw the words : J. CAMBIER IMPORTS! Oh well, I asked Tim about this and he said that it was not true and that he was enjoying working with Jocelyn and selling the selection of beers which included the CORONADO San Diego, CA. beers as well as those of SIMPLE MALT ( 4 types : the Stout, Altbier, IPA and the Porter ) also pictured here in these photos ( we did not try these as Santos did not think it was the right time to buy them yet ) ; and others of course including some from Canada. I'd like to try the Canadian beers myself as they seem not to be represented well here in our area at all except for the really big names.




I liked all three beers especially the first one , the Golden. The others had too much body and kick, weight and alcohol for me. I'll just drink the first for the most part and be quite contented.




This blog entry is more about the beer and their froth and foam and their lovely colors : I celebrate all of this from an artist's perspective as with these pictures I try and draw together and connect the dots to the things that are all integral here : the beers, their colors and clarity, their froth and the labels, bottles, glasses that they are poured in along with the people that bring them to us here in Cleveland Park. All this is key : this is the story and for me for the most part the rest is hype. I like these core elements and so I spend my time trying to bring them to life for you all so that you are inspired and want to go out and try one or all three of these CORONADO San Diego, California beers.




I also like trying to come up with some interesting compositions as the one above. I think it works and makes one look harder to see what is in the photograph.

I hope that all you artists out there appreciate and enjoy some of these photos. I am having fun with it all and am adding these images to all the written reviews that already exist about these beers. Combine the two and you get a bigger picture and one that tells you more and gives you all the more reason to go in search of these beers and come to see us here in our nation's capitol.




Tim has already come and done an excellent tasting of these beers here in Cleveland Park N.W. Washington D.C. and I think that Santos has already had to reorder them three or so times? They sold well at the weekend tasting in early April or was it late March, 2010? So many questions!




Tim keeps coming to see us and so I feel sure that more in-store beer-tastings are on the calendar so stay-tuned for more information or call us ( 202-363-4265 ) and give us your email address so that we may send you weekly emails on Tuesday afternoon. You may also check our web page at : www.clevelandparkwine.com for updates.




Funny how time goes by quickly. My last contact with Jocelyn was through email when he gave me some unappreciated advice on how or how not to have purchased some of the premier cru Puligny Montrachet 1999 white burgundies that he had imported to the U.S. and sold through Franklin Selections. I thought again more about him soon afterward when I got a call from Danielle De L'Ansee ( of the DOMAINE DE L'ANSEE Touraine, Loire Valley Sauvignon Blancs and some Cot/Malbec reds ) desperate to reach him and asking me if I had any information on him or other contact info? Jocelyn brought Danielle and her husband to Mike Martin and me years ago and I am happy to say that we have still sell her wines in our store and have some now for sale at $13 or so a bottle. At the time I really felt badly that I could not help her any. I hope that she got a hold of him and got things worked out.

So, here it is now Monday, April 19th, 2010 at home in northern Virginia at 10:52 AM and I am off to the Michael Downey annual portfolio tasting to taste wines on my day-off and see my old friend Alessandro Furlan that now imports Italian wines that we sell. That will be fun.

If all works out I will also go to the Elite portfolio tasting to see some of the French wine-makers/owners that I have gotten to know over time as we sell their wines in the store really well. If I remember I will mention to owner of Elite Imports, Laurent Givry that I just posted a blog on Jocelyn Cambier and his selection of beers. Laurent and Jocelyn worked together once really well a long time ago at Franklin Selections.

Take care and cheers, and enjoy this beautiful spring day. TONY

Oh well

Sept. 2006, Chile's Day Of Independence ( @ Cleveland Park Wines ) & The Chilean Ambassador Makes A Special Appearance : ALMA, MIGUEL TORRES, CONO SUR

We must have tasted between 40 and 50 Chilean wines on this evening and we had Manuel Rojas as our special guest for this evening. He was up front at our round tasting table and the first person that our customers saw when they entered through the front door.




We had a blast this evening and sold lots of wines and I will have to get a list of what we tasted to include here soon. It was packed inside our store at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel : 202-363-4265 , sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ).

Among some of the wines that we tasted were CONO SUR ( part organic production ), ALMA , MIGUEL TORRES , COUSINO-MACUL, ERRAZURIZ and more. I can't recollect them all just now.




It's now Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 here at home in northern Virginia as I type this and as our holidays begin for one and for all. I have a lot to add but will continue tomorrow morning when I am fresh...




I'm sorry that these photos are all a bit out of focus. I guess my lens needed a proper cleaning at the time and I was unaware of it as I excitedly took many of these pictures to both capture and preserve split-seconds of so much energy, fun and enthusiasm.




Both the suppliers pouring as well as the customers were feeling the moment fully as they either poured or went from station to station in search of the next " big " discovery for them of their perfect Chilean red or white.




Many of our customers showed up and were ready to dive completely into the experience to both learn, have fun and meet and interact with many people : some they already knew already as well as many that they had never seen before or had and were curious about learning more? It's not only just about the wine, is it?




And with all the buzz over the Chilean ambassador coming with some of his staff? Well, this really animated and energized the crowd as everyone waited and tasted and wondered : when? what will he/ they/ it all be like?




WE all just had to wait until it was fashionably late and then the three of them made their entrance : two smart/dashing men and one lovely. beautiful woman. The stage was now set and everyone took it all in and the tasting really began at this point.




Everyone was pumped with energy and excitement over these special guests and the excellent wines being poured on this evening in September, just around the day of Chile's independence? This was the theme and the reason we did Chile in September : because of their day of independence. We could celebrate along with them on this evening.




Everyone mingled and posed for many of these pictures to preserve this fine moment in time in Cleveland Park at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits.

As I said I have much more to add but for now I will post this so that at least the photos and part of the story can be enjoyed. Many of the details I will hopefully add this weekend. Cheers, and stay-tuned for more really soon ... TONY




Many of our favorite customers like Lindsay, Gaby , Lane , Don, Chris, and Bill ( and many, many more ) came : and reps like Sal Furfari ( Bacchus Imports ) and Andrew Scheider ( Monument Selections ) poured their wines. Owners of their own import companies like Manuel Rojas ( ALMA & DOS PASOS wines ) and Laurent Givry ( Elite Selections ) came and poured, too. It was a full house : a full-out grand scale effort on the part of everyone involved and we could not have done it without everyone's combined help and efforts. Thank you to you all for making this the evening that it was.











Here are the pictures that I took of this special evening of Chilean wines at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits which also included a very special visit from the Chilean ambassador himself and some of his staff. Wow, what a night this was! TONY

Stephen Fanning Volunteers His Time At Cleveland Park Wines In 2006 To Learn The Wine/ Liquor / Beer Business & Is A Big Help : Thanks Steve!

Here are some pictures that I took of Steve Fanning  while he helped us at the store. Hope you like them. He helped us for three or four months back in late 2005 I believe. The picture I took of Steve and Vahe is dated 11/05.

Steve sure was a big help to Mike and me as well as Santos and even Ravi I believe as he stocked shelves, filled displays, put beer into our coolers, whatever needed being done and he was always willing and ready and cheerful about helping us in any way that he could.

Thanks Steve for you invaluable assistance for these few months in 2005 ( were you with us, too in early 2006? ) as you learned about the business that you one day were thinking of buying for yourself.

You always went /worked the extra mile and were both a big help and an inspiration to us all as you followed your dream, sweating it out often as the temperatures and store heat took it out of us all. Yet you never complained. We had fun together and we're glad to still have you returning to Cleveland Park when you need champagne, wine or beer. You're family now as well as a friend.

I'm glad I found these pictures to post here for you and for us to remember some of these nice moments when you could take a break and meet some of the most important people in the wine business.

It's always nice to have Aurelio Cabestrero ( owner of Grapes Of Spain Imports ), Vahe ( owner of a Chianti estate as well as a maker of other Italian wines like Le Corte and I believe also wine in Bulgaria is it? And Jo Pithon of the Loire Valley sure is jolly and friendly and has worked all his life making an assortment of dry to medium to sweet Loire Valle Anjou Chenin Blancs.

If I find more pictures of you Steve I will add them. Thanks again.

Cheers, TONY

Jo Pithon Winemaker Of Loire Valley Chenin Blancs In His Prime In 2006 With Laurent Givry Of Elite Wines At Cleveland Park Wines / Stumbles In 200

The headline should finish reading : " ... Stumbles in 2009 With Dry Wines That Are All Oxidizing Too Quickly ?!? How Is That Possible? " I ran out of space unfortunately.















Back in his prime in late 2005-2006 Jo Pithon was at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits with Laurent Givry doing an in-store wine-tasting. It appears now in late 2008 and early 2009 that he has stumbled badly and that the wines he made ( especially the dry ones ) may be all oxidizing and turning bad now way before their time? That hurts if it is true because Jo has made some brilliant expressions of the Loire Valley's Chenin Blanc grape.

I liked very much Jo Pithon and his broad grin and smile. I bonded with this extroverted energy and enthusiasm of his. He made it awfully hard for someone to not like him : and like him very much I did. He always made me want to smile just as broadly as he did and cover all my face from ear to ear in a similar beaming smile and countenance.

We are sorry to hear this news and the problems there seem to be with the JO PITHON wines oxidizing quickly and turning way before their time. This is very unusual as generally in the Loire Valley Chenin Blancs age beautifully and gracefully.

I struggle now with whether I should be the one to mention any of this? Are other states having these problems with Jo's wines? Perhaps I have spoken too quickly? I'm torn whether to even post this blog now.

Anyway, these are happier times back in late 2005 in Cleveland Park, Washington D.C. with Jo and we don't want to get ahead of ourselves here. We have not heard all the facts yet and I just wanted to share these pictures with you that I took I believe in November 2005 at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue Wines & Spirits N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel: 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ). Boy did we sell a lot of Jo's wine this evening in the store!

Please correct me if I am wrong : I'd love to be wrong about the wines oxidizing/turning early, especially all the dry ones. How is this possible anyway ?

At the same time we did this tasting Jack from Washington Wholesalers was also tasting some of his wines with our customers. We had two tastings going on at the same time : the more variety the merrier.

Some of our favorite customers were here to enjoy themselves and the wine. You can see the fun that some of them were having! This was also the time period when Steve was helping us in the store to learn the wine/liquor/beer business so that he could perhaps buy his own store soon. Thanks Steve. TONY


PS : It's now Thursday night, December 10th, 2009 just after midnight and I want to finally post this blog as I want to share the pictures of a happy time at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits four or so years ago.

I love the Chenin Blanc grape : especially it's expression in France's Loire Valley. This is a toast and a kudos and a bravo to it and all that it can and has done to make our world a better and more interesting place to enjoy white wine with many of our meals here in Washington D.C. as well as everywhere in the world.

Jo, I hope you have straightened things out and that things are back on the track of the quality and excellence of Chenin Blancs that you tasted with our customers on this evening.

What has happened? Please fill me in sometime soon...

It's also the holiday season for one and for all ... cheers et bonne annee a tous le monde entiere .... n'oublie pas de boire des bons vins du Chenin Blanc du Val du Loire ... a bientot, j'espere ... venez nous voir au magasin a Cleveland Park, Washington D.C. , le capital d'Auxs Etats Unis ...

Spanish Wines From Elite Imports / CASTELO DE MEDINA ( Rueda) And AGRICOLA LA BASTIDA ( Rioja ) With Carlos, Spanish Wine Owner- Maker

We had a wonderful tasting of Laurent Givry's portfolio of excellent French and Spanish wines earlier this year : Friday April 25th, 2008 from 5-8 PM to be exact. I forgot to download the pictures of our two guests from Spain and their wineries : CASTELO DE MEDINA ( Rueda - Valladolio ), we poured the Verdejo white, 2007, $11.99 ) and AGRICOLA LA BASTIDA ( we poured the Rioja red, $14.99 ).

It was a great evening at our store with these excellent French and Spanish wines. Carlos is the Rioja owner with the great Hawaiian-style shirt on and the other gentleman who's name escapes me now ( pouring the CASTELO DE MEDINA Verdejo white works for that winery ) is in a gray/muted green short-sleeve t-shirt with his long dark hair in a pony-tail.

Both these gentleman had loads of personality ans quite the flair. It was nice to have them in our store as we sell a lot of Laurent and Aurelio Cabestrero's ( Grapes Of Spain Spanish Imports, president ) wines ; some from Aurelio and some that Laurent finds on his own.

It has been great to work with these Spanish wines and we are currently out of Carlos' Rioja red and white. We sell more of the red but each time we include the white on the shelf it seems to disappear fairly quickly, too! and will have to buy some before the end of 2008! We do have the white Verdejo in stock and it's always been a favorite of our customers.

Another note about the CASTELO DE MEDINA : we started carrying it years ago when it came in a tall Riesling-style bottle and was introduced to us by Tatiana Maria ( worked for GEMMEX then ) and her sisters. We loved it then and it at that point had more of a banana bouquet. I believe they used a banana yeast on at least one of the past vintages and as it matured in the bottle ( deepened into a golden color as well ) the bouquet of bananas intensified! How many of you remember any of this?!? It wasn't that long ago and yet memories tend to fade quickly I am sorry to say! Check out my blog on Tatiana Maria and the camera that she gave me years ago.

It's been a grand year with Laurent and our rep Lisa Giufre. They have both taken great care of our store and always been there when we need them for anything. They don't ask why when we ask ; they just ask how can they help?!? Gotta love that : we do.

Anyway, I have also just about finished another blog to include soon about this tasting and both Lisa and Laurent's invaluable help and readiness to be involved with us and our events each and every time. I treasure that commitment and as a result end up doing more business with Elite because of it.

I was very pleased when Laurent offered to bring us many of his growers/owners/winemakers as they arrived from France and Spain for this annual portfolio tasting of his at their warehouse ( and this year at MIO restaurant in Washington D.C. on Monday afternoon April 28th, 2008 ) I believe. I did not attend because I had just sampled so many of these excellent wines. I know I missed out big but then there's always next year.

Laurent, cane we do the same tasting here in our store next year? What do you say? Are you up for another rollicking good time tasting an assortment of your wines with the Cleveland Park customers that we love so much?!? I hope so. I'm sort of counting on it unless to tell me otherwise.

Lisa, you were there for the whole three hours of the tasting and were a big help to me and the store. I told you so then and am happy to tell you again now. Thanks.

Enjoy these pictures. Laurent is wearing the red baseball cap and Lisa is the short-cropped brunette pictured with Carlos twice.

Call Mike Martin or Tony Quinn ( me ) at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 2008 , sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com Tel: 202-363-4265 for more information. We can offer you pricing on the whole selection of Elite wines and if we do not have them get them within a day or two ( availability not an issue ) for you.

Happy Holidays to one and to all. Enjoy the last days of celebration of 2008 and cheers to 2009 and a new president. TONY