Giovanni, The Winemaker @ DA VINCI Tuscany, Monday, Feb. 22nd, 2010 Here In Cleveland Park Wines, Wash. D.C. Tasting Current Releases

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

Going By Train On Wed. Oct. 26th, 2009 Into The Tuscan Countryside To Fattoria MONTELLORI

This was perhaps one of my very favorite experiences because it renewed and lit bright my faith in mankind's ability to simply be kind and helpful and do the right thing without expecting any monetary gain in the process.

I want to thank both Alessandro Nieri and his sommelier / winemaker Virgilio Del Sarto, too at FATTORIA MONTELLORI. They gave my daughter and me an incredible, unforgettable moment both in their restaurant next to their winery as well as later on a tour of their winery and grounds. We had a thoroughly enjoyable as well as enlightening time in their company as they walked us through both Italian foods and wines which included my favorite bottle of the MONTELLORI " Moro " 2005 as well a new white blend of three grapes including Viognier; as well as how to enjoy their Tuscan extra virgin olive oil, the light and flavorful frittata, and delicious vegetable soup and bread all mixed into one, and their Vin Santo that takes a minimum of 7 years in the barrels to make before releasing. We learned and observed and enjoyed so much that rather than write it all down I took many pictures all the while that either Alessandro or Virgilio were talking.





We discovered for example that Virgilio is from the town and area of Monte Carlo and I immediately mentioned the white Monte Carlo that I actually have a bottle that Jim Stutzman brought to Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C., 20008 Tel : 202-363-4265 anthonyquinn@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) to share with me and to later give to Sidney Moore Margolis as she and her parents Aaron and Helen Millman actually sold to him I believe while I still worked with them ans Michael Downey at the Mayflower Wines & Spirits? It's been a really long time since then - back in 1983-85 I recall. Wow, how many great moments have followed the many moon since that distant but bright time in our lives. Jim still comes to buy and to taste wines with us at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. Thanks for the bottle Jim : it was a great story for me to share on Monday, October 26th, 2009 with Alessandro, Virgilio, my daughter and our special guest and new friend Giulio Poli. Besides Giulio we made another great connection and friend I would like to think with his friend Torre Tiziani that was unable to be with us much to my sadness.




So, though this story is really about FATTOTIA MONTELLORI and rekindling a connection with owner Alessandro Nieri that came to Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 12/06 / 2003 ) at least two if not three times : it is also about our incredibly serendipitous and exciting way in which we actually arrived at his restaurant this beautiful Monday afternoon around 1:40 Pm or so - late, stressed a bit but elated and smiling to finally actually be there outside of the town of Fucecchio ( Via Pistolese, 1 Tel : 0571 / 260641 info@fattoriamontellori.it ).




Alessandro Nieri was smiling and came up immediately to greet us once that Virgilio announced our arrival. Giulio was the first into the restaurant followed by my daughter and me. It was all cheerful and bubbly and I immediately asked both Giulio to stay for lunch with us as he had really saved the day by driving us in his own car here ; as well as turning to Alessandro and asking him if this was okay as we would probably not be here without both Torre's and Giulio's aid? Alessandro had no objections and so we went immediately to our waiting table once that Giulio called his mother that had lunch waiting for him at home already to explain this sudden and rather crazy series of events that had led him a quarter of a mile away from his house here to a winery that he knew of but that had never had the wines or seen the property and winery. Being a pharmaceutical student in Pisa where we met him earlier I think the wine-making process and seeing it and explained by passionate Virgilio would be of huge interest?




Alessandro explained that his cell phone was not working this day and this helped us all appreciate that our earlier attempts to contact him were not problems with our phones but with his!

Alessandro also said that he had been both to the nearby train station as well as the one in Pisa to wait for us. He called our excellent tour guide Giovanni to be sure that we had gotten onto the train earlier and once sure of this he decided to return to the winery and restaurant to await our arrival. He said he knew we would take a taxi there whenever we could.

I don't know Alessandro, we were a bit frazzled at this point and so it was really a piece of extraordinary luck for all of us that Torre introduced me to Giulio when he got on the train.




But as I said this is also about FATTORIA MONTELLORI and the really fine wines and food that we enjoyed there this unseasonably beautiful Italian fall day about thirty minutes outside of Florence where we had just enjoyed this incredible 3-hour walking tour of the city from 8-11 AM with our guide Giovanni. I was beaming head to toes from all of this and what now awaited both my daughter, Giulio and I.




I have to be off for work at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits now so I will continue this story a bit later. Stay-tuned for more.

I was also reeling from the extraordinary kindness and warmth of everyone involved here. Cheers, TONY




As I said I would include more. I feel a bit bad that I devoted the first part of this story more to the people and less to the wines. I realize more and more these days that I am following my artistic tendencies and that is to complete more of an entire moment and not just focus on one of the areas and virtually ignore the others.

The obvious one to amplify because of my business is the wine. That's easy and it has become easier and easier for me to register and record in my brain my impressions of each and every wines as I taste.

Now I chose to do more than one thing at a time as I snap away photos that I compose or that I find pretty much composed for me. There are those photos that I take to record images and memories that I want to recollect like foods and wine labels so as to speak more intelligently about them as well as for them to help you piece together whatever you can that means something to you from both. It's a lot of work and it does take me a " wee " bit away from simply tasting and recording my impressions on paper.

Oh well, I hope you like this larger image that I hope I am providing. I hope that it adds to the equation of things that are already available in abundance about the wines and how various people have tasted and evaluated them.

The wines that we tasted are the 1) Mandoloro 2005, the 2) Chianti 2007 red, the 3) Moro 2005 red , the 4) Dicatum 2004 red ( named and in honor of Alessandro's father , the 5) Salamartano 2004, and the 6) Vin Santo 2001. Of course we also tasted the excellent extra virgin olive oil that I have mentioned.

These are my brief notes on the wines :

1) the 2008 white Mandoloro ( a dry blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier ) was bright, full-flavored, very immediate and impressive from the first sip. I liked it's character and nuances of distinct flavors that continued to deliver different elements as I spoke and listened and tried the antipasti assortment of salami, olives and cheese ( Pecorino I believe ).
2) the 2007 red Chianti was youthful with good promise; lush, full, up-front flavors and delicious with the assortment of salami.
3) the 2005 Moro was fuller, rounder, softer, smoother : more elegant and yet to me still very much a diamond in the rough that still needs time to reveal all of it's buried treasures of tastes.
4) the 2004 Dicatum ( on top of the hill, named after the father Giuseppe, from one vineyard site ) is 100% Sangiovese and I loved the dry rose-petal/fruit in the nose very much and then the power and the finesse of this wonderful single-vineyard Tuscan red. Again, I could hold it much longer before drinking.

I think that all of Alessandro Nieri's wines are for the long term as they will all age some and some quite a lot and it is a shame to be in a rush to drink them. Evaluate carefully before you do as you may really be missing many of the flavors at a young age as they have not clearly developed or formed yet.

5) Salamartano 2004 I also enjoyed thoroughly and enjoyed it;s power and earthy and rustic and lovely dusty-dry characteristics that speak to me of the entire growing season as the grapes hung and baked and dried and developed so many intoxicating flavor components that cry to be heard as well as tasted with flavorful Tuscan meals. It's another gem that you can enjoy down the road and not rush into immediately.

6) the 2001 Vin Santo came more and more alive to all of us later as Virgilio took us on a tour of the vineyard and showed us up a narrow staircase into a long rectangular room lit by a few light bulbs and back through the mesh of a partition into the back room where the grapes were still hanging and drying and awaiting their next step. The room before was filled with these smaller, darker, aged barrels that held the liquid promise of vin santo for years to come.

Virgilio said that they never wash these barrels and that they keep each vin santo in a barrel for a minimum of 7 years. He said that you could use these same barrels up to 200 years and there's a picture of six or so that I took that are this old. That's incredible and hard to imagine that they could have survived for so long.

Virgilio said that the combination today with vin santo is no longer the biscotti but rather with Gorganzola and honey. The three together and " you are touching the sky ". Either Virgilio said this or me : but I believe it must have been Virgilio this time. We did try the combination and it did work beautifully with so many pleasing nuances of flavor sensations that were subtle and intriguing : and which really should have been given more of my undivided attention if not for all of us being gathered there with many things still to do as we left the dining table and headed outside for the winery.

I could so easily have continued to sit at the table and enjoy all of these excellent wines more as they were just starting to open up and reveal their core personalities.

It would also have been fun to have drawn more sketches of everyone as I was really beginning to enjoy this.

Oh well, thanks everyone. Caio, and stay-tuned for more pictures. I still have many to include here ... TONY

Virgilio or Alessandro also told us about the vineyard and lands. They are 500 years old and originally had cows in the beginning and then later the vines.

Conte Ferdinando Guicciardini ( Owner Of Castello Di POPPIANO, Chianti @ Michael Downey Annual Portfolio Tasting In VA. ) Monday, May 27th, 2009

With Eliza Crivell, a family memberi of the Piemontese CRIVELLI reds and whites ...


Love the food at Soriso restaurant and here in the picture above is the talented young chef: below you see the Conte pouring some of his excellent Tuscan wines.



The Conte is very invloved with everything that goes on at Castell Di POPPIANO ( Via Fezzana 45 , 50025 Montespertoli, Tuscany) . He's in charge of making all the reds with his winemaker as well as their white Vernaccia. His wife Annamaria Titti makes the excellent olive oil that we have sold here along with various of these top-flight Tuscan reds, super Tuscans, and chiantis.



Here Conte Ferdinando is pictured with Eliza Crivelli of the CRIVELLI Piemontese estate/vineyard that makes so many excellent reds as well. They were pouring side-by-side at the Michael Downey portfolio tasting and I asked them if I could take a picture of them together. It's a great one of both of them.




I just spoke with Brennan Downey and he is coming to see me tomorrow. There are still many of these excellent wines that I want him to send to us and so we have to go over our notes together. Stay-tuned for more.





I will write more shortly as I have more to add but just not enough time in the day. We did have the Conte come and taste years ago at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) amd we had quite a good crowd turnout for it. It was great to see you again Ferdinando. Here are some of the pictures that I promised you. I hope you like them.

Love your warm smile Ferdinando as well as your excellent wines.

I was not the only photographer at the Michael Downey portfolio winemaker and owner wine-tasting.

I was a huge fan of the 2007 Tricorno that Conte Ferdinando Guicciardini made with the Piemontese grapes that he grew at his vineyard in Tuscany but later ripped up to my astonishment and disappointment!

Conte Ferdinando above pouring more of his excellent wines and Peggy Downey,wife of Michael Downey circulating through the room to be sure everything was running smoothly and that everyone was being care of. That takes effort and an eye. Thanks Peggy for such a great event : together with Shannon and Brennan, Guilaume, Bill and the rest you all pulled off an amazing event. Cheers ...

That's Peggy Downey pictured above for of you that do not know her. Cheers Peggy.

Conte Ferdinando pouring above with such a steady hand.

A happy taster above : love her smile.

Elza's family sure does make some fun indigenous wines like their dry red Ruche and their dry red Grignolino as well. Bravo Eliza!

Great shot of Ferdinando above. Love the sparkle in his eyes.

It was a great tasting with a great turn out of tasters, too.

Above smiling is Max DiLenardo of his own Friuli winery called DiLenardo. WE also sell lots of Max's wines : have now for years.

This was a wonderful tasting and I enjoyed taking these pictures almost as much as I enjoyed trying these classic, balanced, elegant Tuscan reds from you Ferdinand. All that could have made it better would have been to have some bread and your wife's excellent olive oil. Caio, cheers ... TONY


Try the " Terre Di Poppiano " Chianti 2007 , $10.99 , voticoltore in Poppiano, Montespertoli, 6443 , Firenze, Italy. It's so nice, especially now with this hot Washington D.C. weather.

I love to take pictures of the winemakers and the owners through my wine glass filled with their wines : it's a great combination uniting the two that are so intertwined it's hard to tell them apart! Cheers ...

There should always be a great organist at every event like this ... he's pictured above and has come I think every year?

Grazie Conte Ferdinando e a presto!

Look at this blog and then catch the other two or three that I have done since writing this one. They are all here at chatwine.blogspot.com and also at : chatart.blogspot.com. Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn