A SHOUT-OUT To Roger, One Of The Owners Of The Ripple Cleveland Park Sustainably-Farmed, Go Local Fine Restaurants Here In Cleveland Park , Northwest, Washington D.C., 20008 Here On Connecticut Avenue! Cheers Roger!!

I WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT - OUT to ROGER , one of the owners of Ripple Restaurant. I saw him outside his restaurant the other morning with his watering can. He was watering his beautiful parched flowers by the side curb. Beautiful - radiant - bright - intense CADMIUM COLORS to draw the sun's attention, as well as ours , and all the myriad bug and bee population that is Cleveland Park. I stopped to chat briefly with Roger and complement him on this, but to say that I LOVED the two wheel barrels filled with all the glory of the herbs at our disposal, and that grow well here : all on prominent display for all us to see and touch with our eyes, have them touch us , too ,,, and perhaps even the few daring us to touch them quickly so as to release the profusion - abundance of fragrances and perfumes and essences, cores, centers, interiors, hearts and souls and the GUTS of each of these wonderful herbs and spices. THANK YOU ROGER, we here in Cleveland Park appreciate your personal efforts as a person and as an owner to do these things, to take care and pride in them, and to help them flourish for us all to appreciate and enjoy. Cheers! Happy Friday, August 31st, 2013 everyone. Come by later to our wine-tasting with Jim Reeves of Comete Wine Selections of French Burgundy and French Rhone wines : only some of the very best, and GREAT DEALS, too : many already on SALE for this LABOR DAY WEEKEND!   Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn, Free tasting, call with any questions : 202-363-4265, or just show up ...

Anthony Quinn's Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits Store Email he Wrote & Posted On August 14th, 2012, Enjoy It Now Tuesday August 27th, 2013 One Year Later!

Cleveland Park Wine Cleveland Park Beer, Liquor & Wine
Featuring a wide, international selection of fine wines, micro-brews and spirits

Our WEEKLY WEDNESDAY 20% STILL-WINE SALE

WE WANT TO SIMPLIFY THINGS.

FROM NOW ON, each and every Wednesday here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits you
can count on SAVING 20% on your still-wine ( non-sparkling wines not on sale )
purchases as we usually do every month.

TO MAKE THINGS EASIER we want to make every Wednesday our 20% OFF Still-Wine (
non-Sparkling wine SALE. We will not have the sale on Thursday anymore. This
means that each week here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits you can take
advantage of our 20% OFF SALE that is always a TWO-PART SALE :

1) BUY ANY BOTTLE $20 or over that is a still wine and SAVE 20% off the
marked sticker price.

2) BUY ANY 12 BOTTLES at any price ( even already On Sale ) and SAVE 20%
OFF the marked sticker prices.
You can add bottles of sake, marsala, madeira, sherry, as well as all size
bottles - even box wines.
You can in this way get an assortment of wines, ports, sherries, sakes,
marsalas, and madeiras : you can help stock your wine racks, bars, etcetera and
be prepared for many events.
IF YOU CANNOT COME to do this in person please call and ask for either
Michel or for Tony and we will be glad to assist you over the phone.
YOU MAY ALSO RESPOND directly to this store email and let us know how we
may help you with your selections.
IT'S SIMPLE : CALL : 202-363-4265 or EMAIL :
anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwines.com or :
Michel.Dumas@clevelandparkwines.com.
EITHER OF US will be more than happy to walk you through your many
possibilities.

CLEVELAND PARK WINES & SPIRITS is the place to be with this heat and humidity.
It's nice and cool here and you can come in and chill-down a bit and collect
your thoughts and we will show you some of the CONSTANT, EVER-CHANGING,
continuously-growing landscape of wines, beers, spirits, apple ciders, liqueurs,
waters, sodas, and more. It's pretty amazing and it takes us by surprise and
sometimes we are caught running up to catch up to whatever " new " development
that was just proposed to us.

FOR EXAMPLE : Lindsay Marsh just showed Michel and me this past week an
assortment of the " new " whiskies from the LEOPOLD BROS. I have two here in the
office. We tasted 19 I believe? I know that we tasted a number of them and that
they are working on a " new " one that they cannot as yet divulge.

LINDSAY MARSH has come to the store now and already tasted five or so of these
LEOPOLD BROS. whiskies. They were already really well-received. When Michel and
I tried them last week we had nothing but praise for them. I think that we have
six of them now in the store. Here are two that I brought to the office :

1)  New York Apple Flavored Whisky ( $35.99, 40% alcohol by volume, Batch
No. 1226, www.leopoldbros.com, Denver, CO. 80239) made from : " ... New York
State apples marry perfectly with the subtle oak, vanilla, and raisin finish of
our whiskey in this uniquely blended spirit ". It's so rich and thick and full
on the palate. You get so much immediately and it's so nice to sip slowly and
let all the flavors spread over your tongue and seep into you many senses, too.
It's pretty amazing. Don't rush it, close your eyes, swallow in steps - always
leaving a bit still on your tongue - as the flavors explode and intensify and
multiply. it's pretty much like enjoying a good bottle of wine. You pay for the
whole bottle so get your money's worth and let the flavors and tastes linger and
make their subtle influences known fully to you. The patience will be well worth
your time and care and notice.

2) American Small Batch Whiskey from the LEOPOLD BROS - Pot Distilled from
Open-Fermented Sour Mash ( $35.99, 43% alcohol  by volume, www.leopoldbros.com,
Denver, CO. 80239 ) makes a Classic, Old Fashioned :  2 oz. Leopold Bros.
American Small Batch Whiskey, 1 sugar cube, 2 dashes of bitters and 1 large
orange peel.
LINDSAY will come here and pour these again over the next four or so
months. She is scheduled to come again in September and I will include that date
as soon as I know it.
I JUST RECEIVED an email from Lindsay and I have three other web pages to
add. This company is doing a whole lot of really good things. Check them out at
: www.NonoFogo.com, www.TequilaRack.com,www.MotherEarthBrewing.com. I have a
really good feeling about all of this and I do think that we will be a great
source for the LEOPOLD BROS whiskies for you all.

BUT HEY, this is also beer weather and I have some really fun suggestions from
Santos for you all. Here are some of them, I had to pick and to choose:

1) Double-Wide India Pale Ale " It's Twister Proof " bottle-conditioned
from the BOULEVARD BREWING COMPANY ( On Special for $10.99 a 750ml bottle, 8.5%
alcohol by volume ) is from the Smokestack Series ,
www.smokestack.boulevard.com, Kansas City, Missouri ) : " The classic India Pale
Ale is a traveler's beer, aggressively hopped to withstand the long, hot ocean
voyage to the British East Indies. ... ".
2) Dream Weaver Unfiltered Wheat Beer from the Independent Pennsylvania
TROEGS Craft Brewery( On Special for $9.99 a 6-pack, 4.8% alcohol , Hershey, PA.
www.troegs.com ) is handcrafted by the Troegs brothers.
3) Red Nectar All Natural Ale , Nectar Ales ( On Special for $12.49 a
six-pack, 5.4% alcohol by volume, www.NectarAles.com ) is something that will be
a real treat for this sunny weather that we are enjoying now as the clouds have
cleared from the morning and the sun is gearing-up to be a full-force-FULL
FACTOR for us all. Yesterday was great and so maybe the humidity will vanish and
the sunshine and blue skies will prevail once again?
4) Humming Ale from the ANCHOR BREWING Company, ( On Special for $10.99 a
six-pack of 12 ounce bottles, since 2009, San Fransisco, CA.
www.anchorbrewing.com ) : " Humming is an ancient term, used centuries ago to
describe both ales and beers. ... suits this bold, hoppy ale which we have
created to celebrate the anniversary of our first brew at 1705 Mariposa Street
... ". It's all there to read in fine print on the neck of the bottle. Come
check it out. Great taste.

CIDERS ARE SO BIG NOW, They are everywhere , especially here in the store.
Santos discovered a " new " one that we need to mention here :

1) Ragged Mountain " Virginia Apple Cider from the ALBEMARLE CIDER WORKS (
$16.99 a 750ml bottle, 9.8% alcohol by volume, www.albemarleciderworks.com,
North Garden, VA. ) : " Ragged Mountain Cider is a blend of classic apple
varieties - Albemarle, Pippin, Winesap, Staymen and others - historically grown
on and around the Ragged Mountains. This semi-dry cider pleases a wide range of
palates. It is good with spicy foods and pairs well with sharp cheeses and
fruits. "

Ravi, WHAT ELSE DO YOU HAVE for us? What LIQUOR, what LIQUEUR?

1) Creme Yvette Delicieuse Liqueur, L'Original : the Original since 1890 (
$52.99, from France, 27.75% alcohol by volume ) : " handcrafted from a masterful
blend of all natural fruits, spices and provincial violet petals ... " makes the
famous drinks , 1) the Stratosphere :  one-quarter ounce of CREME YVETTE and top
with sparkling wine served in a fluted glass. You can also make   2)  the Pousse
Cafe : Triple Sec, Creme Yvette, Creme de Cacao, Creme De Menthe and Grenadine.
2) Berkshire Bourbon Whiskey from the BERKSHIRE MOUNTAIN distillers, Inc (
$45.99, 43% alcohol by volume, since 2007, Sheffield, MA. ) is triple distilled
utilizing a traditional pot still method and is aged in virgin American white
oak barrels. " It is round, rich and complex with hints of toffee and spice".
3) GLENGRANT Single Malt Scotch Whisky, established 1840, aged 10 Years (
$45.99, ) is " seductively smooth, fruity and rich ... delicate nutty finish ".
WE are happy to have this back once again. It's a great crowd-pleaser and a very
good value, too.
4) Swiss Absinthe Superieure from KUBLER is :  grain neutral spirits with
herbs and spices, since 1863, ( On Special for $52.99 a bottle ) is distilled in
the Val-De-Travers in Neuchatel, Switzerland, 53% alcohol by volume, a full
liter bottle , www.kublerabsinthe.com )  has been revived by Yves Kubler the
great-grandson of Kubler in 2001. It contains all natural herbs and flavors and
formulated without using of preservatives, artificial flavours or colors,
according to Swiss and European law. We have recently had a lot of interest in
this KUBLER. Note that it comes in a full liter bottle and so this is a GREAT
DEAL.

TITILATING WINES From Michel & Tony :

REDS :

1) Tempranillo 2011 dry red from Hacienda LOS HAROLDOS ( On Special for
$8.99. Mendoza, Argentina ) is new and exciting and such a special wine to enjoy
now with or without a meal. Very smooth, no bite, medium-bodied and
fruit-forward, chill and enjoy anytime now., inside or outside.
2) 2009 Cotes Du Rhone dry red from Charles Thomas ( $8.99 ) : delicious to
enjoy slightly chilled now : medium-body, really a nicely-balanced inexpensive
dry , spicy, toasty red.
3) 2009 Gamay Noir called " Bone-Jolly " from Edmunds St. John from Eldora,
California ( $19.99 ) is a great red to chill and to enjoy anytime outside,
anytime you grill. Tasty and fresh and lively with good spice, too.
4) " Paco Rojo " dry red Virginia wine - a blend from the FABBIOLI CELLARS
is fruity and fruit-forward and a delight to enjoy chilled. This is fun, this is
fresh, this is so pleasing : I loved it the other night sitting with two Swedish
ladies, one on each side of me as we discussed life and as I had to defend all
men as there was a wee bit of men-bashing that I survived beautifully, thanks to
the Fabbioli Cellars!      5) " Falcon's Perch 2010 from the J.LOHR Estates, CA.
( On Special for $13.99 ) is a great red to enjoy now with all this intense heat
and humidity. Chill it twenty minutes and open it twenty minutes before drinking
and enjoy with or without a meal.

WHITES :

1)  LEVA Winemaker's Selection Chardonnay/ Dimiat and Muscat ( $10.99 )is a
new and exciting product of Bulgaria. WE are thrilled to have it here as it is
quite tasty and flavorful and something fun and different. I mean , after all
who has ever heard of the grape Dimiat? What is the character of Dimiat? What
does the Dimiat add to the Chardonnay and to the Muscat? We will have to taste
it here soon with our local rep that sells us this LEVA and she will be here as
soon as we can determine a date. More to follow.
2) Chardonnay 2011 Hacienda Los Haroldos de Mendoza ( On Special for $8.99
) that is light and unoaked and everyone this past weekend loved it when Marcie
had it open this last Saturday.
3) Grill indigenous dry white makes this " Zagra " from the VALLE DELL'
ACATE vineyard ( $19.99 ) and it's shiny bright, thoroughly refreshing and
energizing and a dream to drink now with all this humidity. It will elevate your
spirits, Medium-t-light-bodied with great minerality/ theatricality, too.
4) Alianca Dao Reserva 2010 D.O.C. Dao from the QUINTA Da GARRIDA in
Portugal, this is another flavorful, original-tasting dry and complex and
multi-layered white made from 100% of the Encruzado grape. Jody Jackman tasted
it with you all and it makes for a great food wine : anytime you marinate food
well, cook your fish in lemon and lime juice, and order out from the two Thai
restaurants here, for example. This is pretty amazing - pretty special. Do not
rush through it, take your time, relax, close your eyes, hold your breath,
swallow in " steps " and always leave something in your mouth as the flavors
will expand and explode and intensify and clarify and overall amaze you.
Wonderful, really a nice treat, especially in these humid days, you need
something like this to enjoy. Thanks Jody for bringing this Encruzado grape to
our attention. Cheers!
5) Amontillado medium-dry sherry from ALEXANDRO ( $21.99 ) are really nice
at this time of the year chilled and served with many various nuts and some
semi-hard and hard cheeses, crackers and specialty breads like Olive and also
rosemary bread.

WEEK'S TASTINGS :

Friday, August 17th, 2012 ( 5-8PM ) : Join us with Chris of Lanterna
Imports as we try some great French dry Rhone wines : a red, a white and a dry
rose, too. These are great summer wines that are very inexpensive and will taste
great anytime that you are outside and with family and friends. Chill all three
down and enjoy now- no need to wait, they are ready now.

Saturday, August 18th, 2012 ( 2-6PM ) : join us with Nolan Hale when we
taste  through a series of the excellent California FRITZ CELLARS WINES : the
Old Vines Zinfandel, the Chardonnay , the Cabernet Sauvignon : all from the
famous and excellent Dry Creek Valley! These are really superb wines : my father
loved this winery and it has become a favorite of mine, too.

I KNOW THAT I HAVE FORGOTTEN SOMETHING : Sorry! However, it's time to send this
email now and alert you to our new schedule with our WEEKLY WEDNESDAY SALES
mentioned above.

JOIN US TOMORROW and start saving 20% on your still wine ( non-sparkling ) sales
here. It's a Two-Part and you can find ways to make our weekly Wednesday sales
work for you. Let us help you try. Cheers and thanks for all your business and
faith in us, we appreciate it and do not take any of it for granted.   Cheers,
TONY

Please visit our website below for more information, events and specials, and
our calender of wine tastings!

[1]www.clevelandparkwine.com

I Like The Music Of Pink BUT I DO NOT LIKE WALMART & Their Facebook Ads That Want Me To LIKE Them Because They Sell Pink's Music & Other Artist's Music That I LIke / ENOUGH is ENOUGH!

I WROTE THIS a few minutes ago and posted it on the Walmart Facebook page. I keep getting pictures on the right of my screen with pictures of people like Pink and Shakira and others with messages saying that their music is available at Walmart and would I like to like them and the artists?  YES< I would like to LIKE the artists, but DEFINITELY NOT LIKE Walmart.  This is what I posted below.


I like Pink and her music and am always happy to hear her sing, I simply do not like you and your company and am not going to LIKE or shop with you. Become better neighbors and don't always squeeze the last penny or the last breath out of everything that stands in your way or your path to open more stores and put more small businesses out of business and I may change my tune. BUT for the moment I will be glad to hear Pink and all the others sing on the radio and feel better that I am not helping you to grow your vast empire and pretty much demolish everything else that stands in your way. Just my opinion, just what I believe, just what I see, feel and read : I do not claim that these words are shared by others. I am just tired that each time I see a picture here on Facebook with an image of a singer I like that I am asked to LIKE you because I may buy their music at Walmart becasus you sell it.  Anthony Qunn   7/21/13

Store Email For Cleveland Park Wines & Spiirits Written & Posted In Late July 2011, Outer Banks, Wine, Art. Life, Family & Friends, ENJOY!

BACK FROM THE OUTER BANKS, North Carolina and feeling a bit disoriented as a result of cooler weather there as well as a lovely breeze and very few mosquitoes. It was pretty magnificent there and I am happy to say that it was quite relaxing : almost to the point that I was concerned that I was doing so very little at times. Working on a Walt Disney puzzle that was perhaps the hardest that I have ever seen with a scene from the animated film " Under The Sea ". We did finish it I am happy to report. I WAS ALSO ABLE TO DO SOME DRAWING and even more important record myself drawing with my Flip camera on three occasions I believe? The body surfing was also key here and the waves did manage to make me scrape my chest on the very first wave that I rode. I was much more careful after that.Wave-running with my son was also a big highlight for me : my main job being to hold on and not fall off as he steered and zoomed and I had to keep my cap from flying off every split second as well as not losing my balance and landing way behind in the wake of our waves. That was challenging, let me tell you. But I did manage somehow. HOPE THAT ALL OF YOU ARE ENJOYING YOUR VACATION or time-off with family and loved ones. WHAT ARE YOUR " Big Plans "? May we be of any assistance here in helping you to relax and enjoy yourselves to the very max and to the fullest extensions of your fingers and toes and hairs wild and tame on head, arms and legs?! I AM ALSO HAPPY TO REPORT that ( on my trip to the Outer Banks ) there was also plenty of wine to go around. I was, of course the master of wine ceremonies as well as of cheeses and crackers. Our " Happy Hours " would start later in the afternoon and extend on into the wee hours and depending on our own remaining stashes of energies, enthusiasms, catching of dreams, chasing of fantasies and trails of conversations and many words on many books. Picture-taking was a key element as well as there were so many Kodak moments to preserve as we do not see one another very often and so we have to " max-out " on our time together. THE WINE FLOWED SO EASILY( at the Outer Banks ) BECAUSE many of our wine reps were nice enough to drop off some samples each for me to take to Salvo, North Carolina. Thanks to them my extended family as immediate one did quite well and we enjoyed many great wines as well as stories and " new " shared moments together with broad smiles, giggles, outright laughs and moments of discovery, too. SINCE THE WINES WERE SAMPLES I WILL mention in their places several similar wines that we currently have here in the store. I will naturally speak to our reps and inquire about buying some of these wines for the store : probably to arrive here in August. MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW for Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 ( 5:30-8:30PM ) when we have our " Big-Theme FRENCH Loire Valley Wine-Tasting with many dry reds and whites that also include some sparkling, some rose wines and some off-dry as well. We have invited some of the most informed and qualified people in the business to be here like Danny Haas of Vineyard Brands, as well as Roy Cloud of Vintage 59 Imports and Charles Noel Gendrot of Williams Corner Selections. Jeremy Sutton of Kysela Imports will also be here pouring his wines. There should be something for everyone. The Loire Valley makes lots of great wines to be enjoyed in the heat and the humidity and so we will discover different towns and areas, grapes and styles and levels of dryness as well as of minerality and citrus, too. Here are some of the wines being considered for pouring : From Charles Gendrot ( Williams Corner ) - 1) J. MOURAT Collection Rouge 2010 ( $16.99, sustainable agriculture ), from the Fiefs Vendeens region 2) DOMAINE DE LA BERGERIE Rose De Loire 2010 ( $15.99 ), Anjou 3) Bernard Baudry Chinon dry rose 2010, $19.99 4) Bernard Baudry Chinon Estate dry red Cabernet Franc " Les Granges " 2009 ( $24.99 ) and more being considered ... From Roy Cloud ( Vintage 59 ) - 1)09 BOVE Sparkling Chenin Blanc ,$15.99 2) 09 BRAGER Muscadet, $14.99 3) GARRELIERE Cendrillon Sauv. Bl., $24.99 4) 10 Sancerre MERLIN-CHERRIERE,$29.99 5) 09 ROCHER , Montlouis white, $27.99 6) GARRELIERE Touraine Blanc, $19.99 7) GARRELIERE Touraine Rouge, $19.99 From Danny Haas - 1) DOM. DE BERNIER Chard 10, 2) Muscadet De RAGOTIERE 09 3) PATIENT COTTAT'S Sauv Blanc 2009 4) DELAPORTE Sancerre 2009 5) BERTIERS Pouilly Fume 2009 6) BERTHIERS Pouilly Fume Cuvee Eve 2008 7) Vouvray Cotteaux de la Biche 2009 8) PICHOT Vouvray 2010 From Jeremy Sutton ( Kysela ) - Jeremy has a variety from his three sparkling Loire Valley wines, a dry light-bodoed and inexpensive Chardonnay, a Vouvray, and a biodynamic L'ECU Muscadet, too ... and more. THINGS ARE STILL BEING WORKED OUT and so more will follow next week. Feel assured that you will learn lots about the Loire Valley at this tasting. ALL WINES WILL BE ON SALE by the bottle at this tasting. Bring family and friends. Cheers. BACK TO TODAY and the HERE and the NOW and the heat and the strong sunshine and the need and desire to chill. Here are some great suggestions, the first of which I took to the beach and enjoyed thoroughly this past week: Reds: 1) 2008 Chianti Colli Senesi ( $16.99 ) from VALDIPIATTA. It drinks so smoothly, so wonderfully , so brightly. It's a charmer and a pleaser and a thorough delight no matter which way you taste or evaluate it. I'm thrilled to have it here as it tasted great even with all the heat and direct, over-head sunshine of the Outer Banks. Lovely, really lovely and such a bouquet and rich color, too. I highly recommend this for now. THREE REDS From West Virginia - ALL OFF-DRY and fun 1) WEST WHITEHILL Sweet Mountain Spice Wine ( $10.99) 2) WEST WHITEHILL Raspberry Royale ( $10.99) 3) WEST WHITEHILL Highland Mist Blush Wine ( $10.99, with natural flavors of orange and lemon)... CHILL ALL THREE and just enjoy with or without any food. Fruit baskets would be nice, of course as well as some dark chocolates, too : and so much more. MORE REDS - 1) 2009 Cotes-Du-Rhone from Charles Thomas ( $9.99 ) was tasted here just this past Saturday with some of you lucky enough to have been in the right place at the right time! It sold really well but we still have some for you now. Don't wait too long , it will sell quickly. 2) MARCHIGUE Carmenere 2010 Gran Reserva, from Chile's Colchagua Valley, this dry red Carmenere On Special for $14.99 is a real,beauty with a great bottle and label and once tasted by you it will win you over immediately : even with this really hot and bright weather. What a winning taste. SOME SURPRISES IN WHITES - 1) TERRANOBLE 2010 Sauvignon Blanc from Chile's Central Valley ( $7.99 ) is so dry and bright and refreshing and light enough for this heat and blaze/craze ... and the price is wonderful, too! 2) ROSENBLUM Cellars Vintner's Cuvee California 2009 Chardonnay ( $9.99 ) has just the right amount of flavorful butter and oak tastes and at this price I predict that it will become a big favorite for a number of our customers.It showed beautifully the other day. Not my style at all but really well-made and also a value. 3) KENWOOD 2009 Pinot Gris Sonoma County at $10.99 is a real steal! KENWOOD is on a roll and makes some really classy, well-balanced wines and has stood the test of time. What a lovely dry, aromatic white at a ridiculous price, too! 4) HUSCH " La Ribera Vineyards " estate-bottled 2010 Mendocino Chenin Blanc ( $13.99 ) is hugely popular here with a number of our customers. We tasted it out here this past Saturday with Nolan and it sold quite well once again. It's very forward and very bright and the rich fruit Chenin Blanc flavors just jump right out of the glass before you even have a chance to weigh-in or have an opinion on it or not. Not shy at all : quite the contrary - quite extroverted in fact. Charming and full of character and pizzaz! Cheers. 5) LA VAL Dry White Albarino Spanish white from the Rias Baixas region ( $19.99 ) was just tasted here this past Saturday by Estebe to quite a favorable response. We still have a few bottles left of the brustling and totally refreshing dry white made with Spain's famous Albarino grape that is still it's most famous after many years of competition from other grapes like the Verdejo and the Verdelho and Godello grapes, just to mention a few. SOME DELIRIOUSLY Delectable Roses - 1) VITIANO Dry Umbrian Rosato blend of Merlot and Sangiovese is really quite amazing. So much more flavorful with more personality than most and at the ridiculous price of only $6.99 a bottle. It's the 2008 vintage and for many bottles of rose that would be the end of them but for the VITIANO dry roses their life spans are long and glorious. How refreshing to hear. Cheers. 2) 2010 Touraine Dry Rose from the DOMAINE DE BELLEVUE ( $10.99 ) has consistently been one of the most popular dry roses and we are thrilled to have it here. It's so bright and refreshing and so perfect for this intense heat and scolding sunshine now... HEY SANTOS, What BEER Do You Have: 1) BROTHERS Reserve " THe Beer " ( $9.49 22 Fl Oz bottle, 9.5% alc. by volume , limited release #4 Spring 2011 ) Galaxy Hopped, Barleywine Ale, " ale brewed with huskless malt and Belgian candy sugar ". 2) WEYERBACHER " Slam Dunlel " Double Dunkelweizen Ale ( On Special $6.99 , 12 Fl. Oz, 7% alc. by volume, 4-pack ) is brand, spanking new! 3) PAULANER Salvator Double Bock Munchen ( $9.49 a 6-pack of 11.2 Fl. Oz Bottles, 7.9% alc. by volume , www.paulanerusa.com, from Munich, Germany ) is a special order for a good customer and we liked it so much we ordered some for the store as well. Oh yeah ... Oh Ravi, What You Have In Liquor?!? - 1) JEREMIAH WEED Blended Bourbon Whiskey 90 Proof On Special for $14.99 a 750ml bottle. From Norwalk, CT distilling company ... www.jeremiahweed.com for more info. 2) Pear Williams Alto Adige-Sudtirol ( $37.99 a 750ml bottle, 40% alc. by volume, Osterreichischer Williamsbrand ) pear brandy is also " new and exciting ". 3) HIGH WEST Distillery " The 36th Vote " Barreled Manhattan ( $54.99 ) is Manhattan made with rye whiskey and vermouth, 37% alcohol by volume is also " new and exciting". So much that's new to consider. This is a good thing. " The 36th Vote commemorates Utah's role as the deciding vote to end Prohibition". 4) ATLANTICO Ron Private Cask Rum from the Dominican Republic ( $29.99 ) will be here tomorrow or this week anyway. It's owned in part by singer Enrique Iglesias and I believe that we will be tasting it here shortly. Sounds pretty exciting. Will Enrique be here for the tasting? We sure do hope so. Perhaps we could get him to sing a couple of songs during the tasting? What do you say Enrique?!? Venga aqui por favor ... WEEK'STASTINGS : Friday, July 15th, 2011 ( 5-8PM ) : We have wine rep Ann Skillman back again to taste her wines from India called THE GOOD EARTH which includes a dry, spicy, flavorful 2998 Reserve Shiraz " Brio "( $22.99 ), an earthy and old-world style Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ( On Special for $19.99 the " Basso " ; and a dry white Sauvignon Blanc 2008 ( $16.99 ) : all three from Nashik, India. Join us, the wines are exceptionally nice and great with flavorful meals as they all have tons of character and personality. Nothing light-hearted or innocuous here. Oops, that was last Friday! Were you all here? Thanks Ann for the tasting. Sorry I missed it but I was at the Outer Banks chilling. Friday, July 22nd, 2011 ( 5-8PM ) : We have Jeremy Sutton of Kysela Pere Et Fils here to taste a selection of his wines from France, Austria, Spain, and Italy. Saturday, July 23rd, 2011 ( 2-6PM ) : We have Matt of Washburn Imports here tasting some of his excellent selections which will include Chile and California and France I believe. What fun! Matt brings a lot of experience to the table here with him. He's been a really fine Washington D.C. waiter for years and can answer questions about that, too if you are interested. I WANT TO THANK all our reps for helping both Greg and myself last Saturday here as we were both off. I hear that things went really well. I AM SURE THAT I HAVE MISSED MANY THINGS but it's time to get this email to press and release it into the infinite cyberspace that is both exciting and mysterious, too. Come check on us and learn more at : www.clevelandparkwine.com, on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits, on Twitter at : cpwinespirits, and at : chatwine.blogspot.com, chatpoetry.blogspot.com , too. Tell us what we may improve here. Let's always work together as a team. Some of the best work done ever is because of team work. Cheers and thanks as always for all of your support now and over the years. Let us know what we may do better for you all to repay in part your support and kindness. Take care, TONY Please visit our website below for more information, events and specials, and our calender of wine tastings! [1]www.clevelandparkwine.com If you have any orders, suggestions or questions, you may e-mail us at [2]sales@clevelandparkwine.com or call (202) 363-4265. References 1. http://www.clevelandparkwine.com/

Retailers Versus Sommeliers : When Someone Talks About A Restaurant & Their Sommelier I Ask : " But Do They Have A Good Retailer On Staff ?!? " That's So Important / I Will Explain Myself Here

I say this in complete earnestness as I feel strongly that retailers in fact teach more people about beer, liquor and wine than do sommeliers : and yet sommeliers, restaurants and chefs get ALL THE ATTENTION, as if us retailers do not exist, do not count, do not matter. How have we allowed things to degenerate to this point? It's unacceptable , someone has to say something, someone has to bring this ugly development out into the open to be seen, discussed, addressed completely and healed. There's no other option. I do not mind sharing the spotlight with restaurants, chefs and their sommeliers, but I refuse anymore to be silent, stand still, watch and say nothing. So be if it falls to me. It's really not what I want to spend my time addressing and defending. It's pretty obvious, lots of people agree with me I am sure, certainly many of them that I have spoken with over the last ten years as this has become a real sore thumb - a BIG BEEF with me. It upsets me when I attend important tasting events and the sommeliers are presented in glowing terms with praise and adulation and complete respect, almost as if they are celebrities, rock stars, movie stars in their own realm. Well, they are, but they are not the only ones. So are we in our realms. We should be included , too in these tastings, consulted and asked to express our opinions as well as the sommeliers. What?!? Having a restaurant where food is prepared and served and brought to one makes them forget all reason and abandon all their faculties and thinking and succumb to these comforts and joys and not look beyond them to us the retailers that, in fact, see and talk to, on a real one-on-one basis a whole lot more than sommeliers do with their customers. A retailer's customer can return as often as they want, ask for as much advice as they want, and have a much easier, much more personal and comfortable one-on-one with a retailer than they ever can with a sommelier. This is all so obvious, so clear to me. We do so much more for the average customer than does a sommelier. The only difference is that we do not have a meal to serve our customers, we do not have a special place for them to be seated and to be served , dined and wined and pleased. That's too bad of course but we prepare our customers to return to their homes or go to homes of others and do the best that they can to match wine and food together and make as many people as happy as possible. That's pretty special, too if you ask me. Perhaps not as glamorous, perhaps you will not see a famous celebrity pass by you but perhaps you will?!? As I have already said : live and let live : that's my motto. I do not mind sharing the stage with chefs and sommeliers, but I also want to be included, courted and asked to speak about both food and wine and how the two belong together and benefit immensely from being served together. Let's have both a sommelier speak and then a retailer. Do not say that we retailers are all sommeliers. We are not. We were not trained as sommeliers. In fact a whole lot of our experience comes from a constant weekly hands-on experience with our customers , where we have nowhere to hide : we face our customers face-on repeatedly, daily and weekly and monthly and live and breathe beer, cider, food , liqueur, liquor, water, and wine! It's what we do. We take it home with us, we taste constantly, we combine constantly, too. It's our job, our necks are on the line each and every time! So, when you ask about a restaurant or about a tasting or a meal or any occasion involving food and wine and all the rest I simply ask : " Do you have a good retailer on hand, that you trust, that you have consulted?!? Cheers, I am open to discussion about this. It's an open-ended blog this one, say what you have to say : let's have an open dialogue about this and clear things up and put things straight and give everybody the credit that they merit and deserve. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 6/24/ 2103 Happy Monday Night! I wrote this recently at night and am just now proofing it to post now on Friday, August 2nd, 2013 from work. I have just finished my lunch and will return now to helping customers and many subjects and try and do the best for them that I possibly can. Cheers, have a great weekend. It's beautiful here now in Washington D.C., Northwest. Take care, TONY 8/2/13