Italian Wine Owner Of LIBRANDI Ciro Southern Calabrian- Italian Wines @ Cleveland Park Wines / Later @ Dinner @ Spices W/ Miriam Caporali

I like the more dark and deep colors of this photo of Paolo Librandi through the Reidel wine glass filled with some of Miriam's VALDIPIATTA Rosso di Montepulciano 2006 ( $19.99 ) in it. Paolo has a great smile here. Welcome to Cleveland Park Wines and Spirits ( see the sign behind him? ) for the second time now Paolo.

And now Paolo - welcome back for a third time ( it was yesterday with Jody Jackman of Winebow Imports ) Thursday, March 4th, 2010. It was great to see you again and taste all of your current releases with Winebow : one white and four reds I believe. Today, Friday March 5th, 2010 we will be getting a case each of the dry red and white " Ciro " Calabrian wines made from indigenous grapes to the region ( Bravo for using indigenous grapes Paolo ! ), the Riserva bottle( $19.99 ), too as well as the second to last that we tasted ( $33 ) that was bolder and more earthy, meaty, pithy and thicker-skinned-blood than the more refined and elegant last bottle. When I get to the store soon I will include their names which escape me just now , as well as their vintages.




Miriam Caporali ( owner of Tenuta VALDIPIARRA, Montepulciano, Tuscany ) and owner Paolo Librandi ( LIBRANDI, Calabria, Italy ) take a break after our in-store wine-tasting with Miriam and her VALDIPIATTA wines at Cleveland Park Wines and Spirits ). Check out the blogs that I have posted here on : chatwine.blogspot.com as well as : chatpoetry.blogspot.com - and qynothna.blogspot.com - if you want to stay in a beautiful place in Montelupciano where they filmed recently part of the Trilogy book series ).




Here Paolo is in the back of our store in Cleveland Park, Washington D.C. N.W. on Connecticut Avenue signing some of his bottles of white " Ciro " dry Calabrian wines for me. Boy are they fruit-forward, smooth , bright and really a joy to drink with or without food!




I forgot to mention two things on yesterday's visit to the store : Paolo is engaged to get married or married! One or the other - I have to ask again which? Congratulations Paolo an all the best and all the success to you both.

Also : when Paolo came into the store he asked me if I was still sketching and I said that I was and that I would do another one of him. I did two portrait sketches before he and Jody left and we took pictures of him with them before I gave them to him. He said that he would add them to those I had done at Spices restaurant on his last visit. I liked that.

I will include those pictures and another blog to follow this one that is was overdue now and speak about the wines that he tasted yesterday with Chris Barker and me in the store. Stay-tuned for more on that and read on for more on this visit ...




Here Paolo is concentrated on signing the bottles of his that we had on our shelves. Thanks Paolo. They make great gifts signed like this.

You buy the bottles perhaps in any store but you can't buy them signed in every store!





What a big, happy smile Paolo!




This was a great evening of tasting the wines of owner Miriam Caporali of TENUTA VALDIPIATTA in Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy : and then enjoying a fabulous meal at Spices restaurant down the block after the tasting with the owner Paolo Librandi ( S.S. 106 C. da San Gennaro 88811 Ciro Marina ( KR ), Calabria , Telefono +39 0962 31518 Fax: +39 0962 370542 p.librandi@librandi.it www.librandi.it ) of the LIBRANDI, Ciro southern Italian wines in mid or early 2009. I will have to check this now.




Dinner at Spices with Patricio, David, Miriam and Paolo Librandi owner/winemaker of LIBRANDI ( of Calabria, Italy ) was one of the nicest meals that I have ever enjoyed : and boy did I relax and enjoy myself.




Actually I relaxed but was amazingly busy as I did sketches there ( quick ones ) of everyone gathered around our table. I'd love to be there again now. Too bad I cannot wiggle my nose like Samantha the witch of the show " Bewitched " ( I'm dating myself as that is really an old t.v. show that was very popular back in the 70's was it? ) and find myself quickly there again as if it was then and nothing had happened since!




Four men and one beautiful woman : this was a nice group and it was fun to talk and laugh and smile and not have to be thinking of selling another bottle of wine at that moment. We had already sold many of Miriam's wine earlier in the store and that quite the treat in itself. Miriam was probably quite tired after that experience of pouring many a glass of wine and signing bottles until her hand was tired I am sure. But she smiled the whole time.




Here we have Patricio and Paolo clowning around for me and my Canon digital camera. I think I got a good shot of the two of them.

As I said, this was a very special evening and I'd like to repeat it again. Any of you game to do this all over again? Let's make a date.

In the meantime I enjoy selling both the LIBRANDI and the VALDIPIATTA wines very much from both Calabria and from Tuscany respectively.

It's now Friday, March 5th, 2010 here at my home in northern Virginia at 8:53 AM and I have to be off to work really soon as there is so much more wine - both LIBRANDI and VALDIPIATTA to sell to our customers for them to enjoy this weekend with their family and friends. Cheers Paolo e a presto! 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

Owner-Winemaker Doug Fabbioli, FABBIOLI CELLARS, Leesburg, Virginia Winery Here Thursday, February 5th, 2009 Tasting Their " New " Releases / Vintages

     It was great to have both Doug Fabbioli ( of the FABBIOLI CELLARS ) and his importer Doug Caldwell here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits on Thursday, February 5th, 2009 tasting the " new " releases from this excellent Virginia winery in Leesburg ( 15669 Limestone School Road Leesburg, Virginia 20176 Fax; 703-381 7126  ( winery ) 703 771 1197 VinoFab@aol.com www.fabbioli.com ). 

     I was thrilled to discover both the red Chambourcin 2007, $18.49,  indigenous red that drank so well as well as the raspberry/ Merlot ( I think there may be as much as 60% Merlot in the blend - bot come through in the taste ) dessert red. I expected to really enjoy the Cabernet Franc 2007, $21.99 , red and I did. I also liked the red " Tre Sorelle " 2006  Bordeaux-dry blend. However, I was really impressed with the 2007 Chambourcin and expect to do some really nice business here at Cleveland Park ( Wines & Spirits, 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008, tel : 202-363-4265  www.clevelandparkwine.com  sales@clevelandparkwine.com ) with it!

     For more technical information you can go to the web page at : www.fabbioliwines.com. 

    Our good customers Pat and Susan told us about FABBIOLI. Pat was here one evening raving to Mike and me about the raspberry/ Merlot dessert wine that he had tried. He also told both Dougs about us and so just a couple of days I received a call asking if we would be interested in meeting with and tasting with them. 

     For me that's a " no-brainer " : I always want to meet the people in the business - owners and winemakers are always welcome here with or without an appointment. Thanks Pat for the lead on FABBIOLI : it was a great one. If all works out well Doug Fabbioli will be here himself in April or May to an in-store wine-tasting. We will get the wines sooner : I hope in March sometime.

     I don't see many Chambourcin reds anymore. I used to see them all the time from Virginia back in the eighties, no more. So it pleases me greatly to see one of this superb quality that I can recommend when someone wants to drink something with so much character and personality that represents perfectly a great example of our local, regional taste.

     I just looked back at the pictures that i took and realized that our good friend, importer ( Greek specialist ) Sotiris Bafitis was here in the store at the same time. I asked him to taste the wines with us. He tried them and I have to ask him what he thought. He was in a hurry. he now sells the Spanish portfolio of Aurelio Cabestreo's wines ( of Grapes Of Spain )  through Elite Imports. Always good to have you here in the store with us Sotiris. We still enjoy selling your Greek wines.

     Cheers, to both of you Dougs and to you Pat and Susan. Here are some pictures that I took of both Dougs with the wines, the glass, the bottles and of course both Dogs! Hope you like my artistic licence with all these pictures.  TONY