I have a wonderful story to write here about my second visit with wine-maker Giovanni of the DA VINCI wines when he came by last week ( Monday afternoon , ) to Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008, Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) where I have now managed the wine department in our nation's capitol for almost ten years. What a great run it has been so far. I still feel so inspired : and I believe even more inspired and energized and focused that ever before even though I am embracing a lot more now than ever before and entertaining and pursuing more options and threads and inspirations and leads to things than ever before. It's exhausting and exhilarating all in one and boy do I sleep well when my head finally hits the pillow at night.
And seeing Giovanni for the second time in our store is what is perhaps one of the most meaningful and stimulating parts of my job : and this visit was no exception. As a matter of interest I believe strongly that this was so much better than I could have ever imagined. I loved the way he recognized me immediately and we picked up almost immediately where we had left off on his last visit when I tried then his current releases ( one was an excellent 2003 Chianti Classico that I remember well and fondly as it tugged at my guts and massaged my heart and coated my palate and tweaked my brain and jarred and smoked my thoughts ...
These moments and those where I have customers like Les that take this all in and appreciate it ( he's pictured below with his signed bottle in his hand and then later with us ) is a great culmination of all my efforts at keeping as many of the venues of communication open and welcome everyone and introduce them and get them to relax and open-up and share and embrace the moment - ours - the one we are actually a part of and that should thus matter the most ...
We had five wines on hand for this lovely mid afternoon in-store/wine-tasting : starting with a 2008 Pinot Grigio that comes mostly from grapes grown in Friuli ( was it the Grave region Giovanni? ) and Alto Adige. I learned this from you Giovanni as we discussed this white that is not from Tuscany and the importance to the line to have a white counterpart to the excellent 2007 current vintage of the Chianti.
I love this picture of you above Giovanni that I took through my Reidel glass filled with one of the three excellent reds - all Chiantis from Tuscany - tasted then. Your expression is pensive and shows experience and life and the character that comes with having paid the price for it as you went along ... I like it very much.
I really liked both the DA VINCI 2007 Chianti and the dry white 2008 Pinot Grigio from DA VINCI. They both sell for $15.99 in the store and today I am at home here in northern Virginia on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 5:16 PM. When I left the store this past Saturday night all of the four wines were at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and ready for sale.
The DA VINCI Pinot Grigio 2008 ( $15.99 ) surprised me with it's extra flavor, character and crisp focus and freshness. It's a well-balanced wine and one that I would enjoy under many circumstances. Really quite an elegant wine that would show well in many settings. Bravo.
The DA VINCI 2007 Chianti ( $15.99 ) had some extra weight and heft that I think would work really nice with a heavier meal. At first this did not please me : it was just a bit too much of it : too much like solid and thick columns of flavor that are harder to pierce with your tongue and palate and thus for me less -appealing as I have trouble getting myself into and around the taste. This did soften with time and the wine seemed almost to relax as if that were something that can happen in a wine? It got to where I could taste through these columns of what I refer to as the more muscular, heartier and modern flavors that so many people today associate and expect as the norm.
This 2007 DA VINCI Chianti became more enjoyable and more approachable to me as it opened nicely in the bottle. For me I would like to have it open an hour or more before drinking. I will have to buy a bottle myself now and bring it home here and put this to the test to see and to taste first-hand. I am pretty sure that I am correct about this.
So anyway I did like the wine more as Giovanni and I tasted the other three reds : a 2005 Chianti Classico, a 2005 Riserva Chianti 2005 and a super Tuscan ( without any Sangiovese in the blend I believe? ) Sto. Ippolito . I liked best the regular 2005 Chianti Classico and that has come to the store and I will check the price of that and include it tomorrow when I am there.
I liked the DA VINCI 2005 Chianti Classico best of the four reds because even though it was bolder and bigger and spicier and earthier. It seemed to me to be the best of the three that was the most ready now to drink and to enjoy fully with a meal. It also tasted to me to be the classic/ traditional style that I love so very much with herbs and spices, tar and leather and tobacco and warmed, dusty-dry flavors of the grapes that have survived - even thrived in the Tuscan sun and elements of the year to shine their trademark struggle and sacrifice and triumph of glorious Chianti reds at their most honest and humbly stunning. There's nothing quite like a classic Tuscan red in this world and we are all so blessed to have them in our lives today and for all the years before.
The second to last of the four - a DA VINCI Riserva Chianti showed all the promise of this DA VINCI 2005 Chianti Classico but it needed more time : classic and it will follow suit as soon as it is ready. I can't wait to try it with you Giovanni on your next visit. You must come again next year and we will check it together just as we have this day these here. It will be just like when on your first visit I remember getting all wrapped up/ entangled and mesmerized and excited to the point where I was singing loudly the praises of the DA VINCI Chianti Classico 2003. That was a beauty, too that would really complement well a seasoned and flavorful dish whether elegant or simply a tasty comfort food like a ragout or thick pasta and red wine sauce dish ... count me in : I'm there !
When I tasted the super Tuscan 2004 DA VINCI called " Sto. Ippolito " I liked it and would enjoy a glass of this blend of " other " grapes ( was it Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and Syrah? ) but I would go back to the 2005 Chianti Classico and drink that for the rest of the evening ot until there was not more of it. We all have to choose our favorites and enjoy those when we can.
I liked the DA VINCI 2004 " Sto Ippolito " but it simply did not transport me to realms of experiences and fancies and moods and states of mind that thrill and excite and make me soar into the stratospheres and descent equally quickly ( almost like a ping pong ball going back and forth , being slammed each time a bit senseless and yet so welcome the attack on the senses each and every time ! ) into the depths of the earth and the grip of my bowels that is so reassuring and real and reassuring of me in this time and place and moment of this wonderful world of ours that we are lucky to share in / partake-in and be a visitor for the brief time that we have ...
I like including pictures of everyone that was a part of these moments in time of ours at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits .
I love trying to capture the label on the bottle and the wine color through the light of the glaring/ merciless ceiling lights above in our store. Sometimes the pictures work better than others: and yet they all tell a part of the story. In the picture above I do manage to capture by chance the lovely green color of the wine bottle.
In this picture above I get the around the rim of the wine in the Reidel glass a glimpse of this wonderful garnet color coming from one of these Tuscan reds. Giovanni, you are pouring it here. Can you tell by the color which wine it is? Let me know.
In this picture above with wine and glass and label and bottle it all comes together and I see that this super Tuscan " Sto Ippolito " is from the excellent 2004 vintage. I like the color here, too. It's got some nice richness and density of color of wet red-bricks from the sides of a building with the sunshine on it and bouncing off as well as being absorbed ...
Sofredo from El Salvador that works with us ( in the blue shirt next to Giovanni ) loves all things Italian and the wine as well and so I have introduced him to Giovanni and asked Giovanni to taste him on his wines. The other gentleman across from both Giovanni and Sofredo works at the Italian restaurant at the end of our block called DINO that specializes in both Tuscan and Veneto cuisine as well as wines.
I hope Giovanni that you passed by DINO after leaving out store to say " hello - caio " to owners Dean and Kay?
Look at the color of the DA VINCI 2004 super Tuscan in my Reidel wine glass above! Wish I had a glass now as I am finishing this story of this wonderful moment spent with Giovanni recently.
Sofredo is always asking me questions about wine and wanting me to teach him as much as I can so that he may learn more and be of greater service to our Cleveland Park neighbors and customers. Bravo for that Sofredo! You are in great hands here with Giovanni.
I love all these pictures that I took with my Reidel wine-tasting glass with Giovanni behind as I swirled his red Tuscan wines and bits and pieces of his head would show through : art at it's most glorious- uproarious! Bring it on ...
Giovanni pours for our DINO waiter above as he comes to the store to select what he wants for perhaps after DINO closes later this night? I don't blame him : be proactive and get what you want or need early as it may be too late afterward ...
Red shades of Giovanni here in the picture above. Do you like this shade of lighted garnet red for Giovanni? I think it looks pretty magnificent myself ...
I love how the Reidel wine glass as it is bent and rounded will distort and elongate the label and letters on it above of the " Sto Ippolito ". What do you think? I like the color perhaps best in this picture above as the ceiling lights bathe in it from above ...
These pictures like the one above I took withing ten seconds or so - all of them and I have only included three or four of them here for color and atmosphere and warmth and motion and the " thrill " of it all ...
T This picture above I took of the wine over the picture of Tuscany and the vineyards from which it comes. If you enlarge the image on the monitor it mat show through better so that you may see more of the lush, verdant vineyards below and through the red color of the 2004 DA VINCI " Sto Ippolito " super Tuscan red? I hope so : that was the idea anyway.
Ah, finally we see Giovanni's eyes through the swirl, pomp and circumstance and motion of this red Tuscan DA VINVI wine in my Reidel glass! The wait was well worth it I believe ... what are you thinking now Giovanni? What are you looking at here?
Les, here in this picture above you are enjoying your DA VINCI ( you bought the 2007 DA VINCI Chianti that Giovanni signed specially to a good friend of yours ) as Giovanni shows you in our Chianti book on the map where DA VINCI winery is located.
Les, here you look down on the bottle that Giovanni has signed for your friend : you look mighty satisfied with your treasure that you will soon take away with you.
And here we all are at the end of the tasting : in all our glory and with all our new memories and shared moments, stories and experiences : the " way better " for it all - for having had our paths crossing in such a special manner here in Washington D.C.'s Cleveland Park neighborhood of the North West ... two blocks down from the National Smithsonian Zoo as well as across from the famous Uptown movie theater. Thank you one and all for this and may our paths cross again really soon. A presto Giovanni ... TONY
