OASIS Winery On My Mind Saturday, Nov. 28th, 2009

It saddens me all of these recent developments that involve the old owners, Corinne and her husband of the OASIS Winery out in Hume, Front Royal, Virginia. What has gone so wrong?

I remember when Corinne used to come to Burka's Fine Wines N.W. Washington D.C. where I was the wine manager back in the late 80's. She would come with her current releases and taste me on them and I would either buy or not. I almost always bought something and was happy to have them on our shelves as they represented something from our back yard and I was proud to be able to offer and share them with our customers.

I would have to reorder as they sold and people enjoyed them : the dry blends as well as the Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon, the Chardonnay and the sparkling wine, too. Prices were reasonable and they added to the selections that we offered and took nothing away. I liked this. I still fervently believe in supporting Virginia and Maryland as they are our back yards.

Two memories that popped into my head recently about Corinne was both her hard work and effort at supporting the local Montessori school programs in northern Virginia as well as I guess out in Front Royal? We talked about it on a number of occasions and I liked her focus and dedication to that.

I also really enjoyed hearing about how OASIS provided the house wines of red and white ( special labels ) for George Washington's Mount Vernon. What are they doing now : Mount Vernon I mean? She was proud of that I know and as well she should have been. She and her husband worked hard to make wine that was good enough and better to have the special Mount Vernon labels on them.

Of Corinne's husband I remember that he was soft-spoken and felt quiet and had to be drawn out some as he took us on a tour of the winery. I could tell her was proud and thoroughly invested in his wine. They were like his babies : his extended family and I warmed to that immediately as we tasted one wine after the other and he explained quite a bit about each.

OASIS Winery was on a roll back then in the late eighties/early nineties and I look forward to them opening again and bringing us more good sparkling wine, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and whatever goodies their dormant vines might yield now that the winery I understand is closed and the vines are left to fend for themselves?

I don't really know much except that it does sadden me all of this. Good luck Corinne, TONY


PS : It occurred to me as I wrote this how much Corinne's husband, Dirgham Salahi came alive as we/ I engaged him in conversation about his wines as he took us on our tour through the winery. We did taste many wines still in stainless-steel and still in barrel. This was a treat of course. However, to have this treat combined with that of the energy and conviction/ the fire that came from Dirgham's words and gestures as he brought all his wines alive for us was a very special experience. He was a bit slow to warm-up but he did and the wines were his muses and through him and his tongue they found expression and life as he spoke of them with such commitment and conviction. They were his tremendous labors and they shone as a result pleasing some more than others depending on their own palates and moods of the moment. So natural, so appreciated ... and we went up later to the tasting room to enjoy more of these OASIS wines.

This was a very special event and I think that the small group of us gathered from Wines Limited Imports really enjoyed ourselves out in the countryside of Hume, Virginia as the night took over the day and the wines and the animated conversation warmed and cheered us ...

Funny, I remember rushing to get there in time for all of this while there was still light and then driving home in the dark of the night and the long shadows and the contrasts of light and dark as I wound myself home in the still and the quiet and the winding roads that crossed through the countryside often bordered by grape vines ...

OASIS was all the buzz for me as I drove along and I was glad to have been there with both Corinne that I knew quite well by this time ; as well as having finally made a connection with Dirgham that was responsible for all these wines , new and old, some still being conceived and some like really welcome old friends ...

Wine Tasting April, 2009 Of WOLFFER ESTATE, Long Island New York 2008 Chardonnay @ Cleveland Park Wines W/ Jody Jackman

Look at the great gold-bright, sun-enriched/drenched-baked-saturated color of this Chardonnay in my Reidel tasting glass here above? Can you believe it : like the warmth and the attraction of the sun itself ... and wait till you get to the bouquet and then next to the taste of this 2008(?, I think so ) taste : like the pull of a benevolent siren that only wants to please you in every way possible in this instance, of course ... you're safe at least if you know and trust your taste buds. Go on : taste it! You'll thank me if you do. Many have already before you ...

It's now Sunday, December 6th, 2009 at 1:25 PM and I am trying to get my tear organized and I realize that I never posted this blog and am sorry for that. I was able to try an assortment of these wines with Jody Jackman of Winebow Imports along with the rep from the WOLFFER ESTATE.

This was back in April and so you can see that this entry is way-overdue. You can also see from the photos that I could have as easily included it in my chatart.blogspot.com as I focused a lot on getting some artsy photos here of the label and the light in the store as well as the color of the bottle and trying to pierce through it and see both our rep and the store. I loved the deep yellow of the label ; it mirrored nicely my deep attachment to this particular wine in the group which included reds as well.




I was surprised by my reaction being so strong and in favor of the Chardonnay over the other reds? Why was this? Usually I would pick a bottle of the reds over the whites as I love reds more than I do many whites.

However living now with my wife contentedly for so many years my love and appreciation for whites has grown greatly as wife overall prefers to drink them and not reds. That's okay and I have tasted many more whites as a consequence which is good for my job when it comes time to recommend them on their own and along with food accompaniment.




I first got onto the WOLFFER ESTATE Finger Lakes, New York wines years ago when our then-rep Nikki Neufeld ( how are you Nikki? It's been quite some time and you , too did bring us many interesting people from the Winebow portfolio including the owner of the NARDINI grappa house who's products still sell really well for us , thanks for all of that and Happy New Year 2009 ! ) brought me some of the sparkling WOLFFER wines and I think we immediately included one of them and then two? It's been quite awhile since then and I should now look again at buying some of them as it is the season and I do not have any New York State sparkling wine in the store.




It has been a pleasure to represent the WOLFFER ESTATE wines and I am sad to state that at this particular moment in time that all we have now are a few bottles of their excellent dry " Apple Wine ". Jody, I'll call you on Tuesday and we will address this dilemma together and correct the imbalance.




As I said before on this visit and tasting the wine that impressed me the most was the WOLFFER Long Island, New York Chardonnay 2008 was it? I can't read the label here : it's too fuzzy? It was the current release as I recall. I will ask Jody on Tuesday and add it then to be correct.




Anyway the Chardonnay was the winner hands-down and I think that there are two big reasons for me in this case. One, I don't expect to be blown-away and very impressed with Chardonnays these days if they are nor white burgundies. Second, at that point in time in April I also found it the most enjoyable and ready-to-drink of the bunch that was presented to me. I'm looking for wines that show well when I taste them. I like wines that need to be aged : or that can be aged more.




However, I respond really well almost immediately to those that are showing well at the moment that I taste them : and they catch my interest more as a result. I know from lots of past experiences that no one wants to wait anymore : they want the wine to taste good yesterday and not tomorrow! That seems to be a fact for many of our customers as I also know that they will be drinking the wines today and not tomorrow.

They only own a bottle or two or three and so will drink them now and not wait, simple as that. That's just the reality : it is in no way or form a value judgement on my part. Why should it be? I am happy for their continued business and support. And knowing this I am interested in buying more wines that show well right now and not as many that will need another six or eight months or more of time in the bottle.




This Chardonnay was delicious and according to the weather back in April which might have been quite cool it really hit all the spots that I am interested in. I told both Jody and the lovely rep from WOLFFER ESTATE this at the time. I cannot now for the life of me remember her name but it was her second or third visit to Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel: 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) and she remembered me and we got off to a great start on this last visit.

I loved her smile and her " look " this day with the beautiful curly hair on this day : the way the store lights above shone and bounced off of it as well as her warm earth colors in her clothing , and the jewelry, too. I think I told her all of this at the time. Being an artist I quickly am drawn to all of this and take it in quickly as we talk and I taste and we get comfortable around one another once again.

It's a bit of a ritual and one that I enjoy thoroughly and which also works really well fro some of the people that I meet for the first time as well as for those that I am seeing once again. It's not for everyone but it's my way and I don't think I will ever change.

I took some extra pictures of her because of all of this and have included them here for you all to enjoy as you call us at the store or email us in search of a bottle of this excellent WOLFFER ESTATE Chardonnay. Don't delay : call now and I will have some by Wednesday for you all to enjoy while you reread this blog and enjoy the pictures as well as the stories here.

I almost forgot to mention that I ordered the Chardonnay for the store and that soon after Jody used it in one of her in-store Friday night wine-tastings.

It has been excellent to work with Jody as she brings so much to the table each and every time that she comes to see us. On top of this she gives so much or herself and gives it her all when she tastes with customers; drawing them in with many notes and observations of the wines that she is tasting. People learn when they come to one of her tastings ; and they relax and enjoy themselves marvelously, too. Often people ask when is she tasting again and is she included in this or that " big Theme " bi-monthly tastings that we conduct on Wednesday evenings at the store with thirty-forty wines or more to taste. She's really a big part of the Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits family at this point and we all love her.

Jody also tries to bring us all her reps and owners and wine-makers when she can. I love this part as much as any other part of my job and it is nice to be able to say to those that I am tasting with that we will include within a three-week period one or other of their wines when Jody comes to taste next on a Friday evening at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits in our nation's capitol from 5-8 PM.

Jody, maybe we should include a WOLFFER ESTATE bubbly or the Chardonnay once again? What do you say?

There, I think I have included a lot of what I would like to say. Now all I have to do is try some of the reds once again to see which one is showing optimally at this point? Is it one of the Merlots?


Cheers and Happy Holidays to one and to all this 2009 : may your New Year be grand, too .... TONY

Marc Clapes Puig, ROGER GOULART ,Spanish Cava Tastes" New " Cava Sparkling Wine Releases Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 At Cleveland Park Wines & Spiri

The headline should read " Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits, the last two letters were left off ! Oops!

It was great to have Marc Clapes Puig , export mamager of ROGER GOULART ( Corsega, 73 1er 1 08029 Barcelona, Tel : +34 934 191 000 Fax : +34 934 193 170 email: mclapes@montferrant.com ) here to taste his four excellent Spanish cavas with me yesterday, Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 sometime mid-afternoon. My rep Irene Bender ( 703-927-1704,  cpobender@yahoo.com )from Dionysos Imports called to see if she could bring him by to taste these exceptionally fine, clean, flavorful and balanced Spanish cavas. I personally liked the first three 120% and not so much the extra-dry because of it's extra fruit. It was simply not my style but it, too was masterfully executed and I can see it will do very well along with the others.

I especially liked the first two that were text book examples of sparkling wine at it's very best. The first ( Reserva 2005 brut, $22.99 ) was a bit leaner, a bit more steely and linear. I could see that with certain appetizers doing fabulously and I do think I would like it all the more when served alongside some food.

The second, vintage-dated 2001 Gran Cuvee ( $31.99 , we received the 2003 vintage, not the 2001 just now, Thursday, Feb. 5th, 2009 ) extra brut and not made every year was my favorite because it combined so many of what makes bubbly so great to me : richness, complexity, brightness yet depth and some yeast and dough/bread overtones ( accents that provide texture and background and support ) . I could fully stretch my tongue out in this cava and feel quite expansive. I like that. I loved all the complexities that were so balanced and entertaining, and with a wonderful finish, too.

The third 2006 ( $24.99 ) , the dry brut rose was quite rich and creamy and very focused. I did not find it nearly as stimulating or layered in different flavors and profiles. It was, though a beautiful color and the texture on the tongue was so pleasing and put me at rest and to a really nice comfort zone that was hard to deny or resist. I could possibly sit the longest and chat and catch up, listen to family and friends and just " be " drinking this smooth, bright dry rose.

The fourth 2005 Reserva  ( $22.99 ), the extra dry as I said had just a wee-too-much fruit for me. It weighed more heavily on my tongue and left me with less relief and overall enjoyment. But many will love it and I don't want to impose my personal tastes here. There should always be something for everyone to enjoy. The principle at a party or meal is that everyone enjoy what is in their glass and not leave it sitting, deserted because they did not care for it. That to me spells failure, and there should be no failure if possible when gathered around a table with family and friends, whether at a meal or not.

Marc was there at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com Tel : 202-363-4265 ) with Paul F.S. Doble ( East Coast sales manager ) of GrapeMoments ( www.grapemoments.com pauldoble@grapemoments.com ) that provided Marc's wines as well as other Portuguese wines, Spanish, too to Dionysos Imports.

I realize that looking further at Marc's business card that he also represents MONT-FERRANT. I will have to check into this to provide more information later.

It was a grand tasting and we all had a wonderful moment shared together : many jokes, anecdotes and I felt that I quite-bonded quickly with both Marc and Paul that followed my string of comments and quickly added their own. Together we four were able to quickly flesh-out pretty much any scenario we envisioned or began to create from nothing but the germination of an idea. Nice.

We will have all four of these finest Spanish cavas tomorrow ( Thursday ) at Cleveland Park for any of you wanting to come check them out for yourselves. In the meantime enjoy these pictures that I took, mostly of Marc. It's now Wednesday evening here at home in northern Virginia at midnight on the dot as I type this last sentence. I will post it tomorrow after proofing it and adding a few more details. Cheers, thanks Irene, Paul & Marc -  hasta luego Marc , TONY

Four great " new " cavas we will now carry here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. TONY