The next day came and again I did not feel like trying it. However, today earlier this morning the occasion seemed right as I had some good customers come to shop with us. I retrieved it and opened and poured some. It was cold but even cold the response was very positive and favorable.
I continued to pour it all day long to favorable reviews. I even sold some from this bottle. That pleased me of course. There were people that did not care for it but no one said that it was bad or that there was a problem with it. Just goes to show : you never know.
I'm really glad that I tasted it again and checked to see if it was indeed corked or rather just not a taste or a bottle that the couple wanted to drink on Thursday evening. As it turned out they either did not appreciate these old, aged Portuguese wines or they simply did not care for this one in particular. I maintain that it would have opened slowly and gracefully and been a tremendous addition to much of the food that is prepared and served at DINO. Unfortunately this couple will never know as they did not give it the chance to open and perform for them. That's life.
But on the flip side of the coin it did give me and our customers at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits a chance to try it and see if it worked/pleased/displeased them and their particular palates.
One of our customers that came late in the day was very interested in trying it as she loves Portuguese wines ( as a matter of fact, two of our female customers love Portuguese wines - one the dry reds and one the ports ). She had stars in her eyes as she spotted it and later as she tried it and her tongue and palate communicated immediate satisfaction to her brain. I've got a picture of that which I will have to include soon.
Here I have pictures of the wine at the bottom of the bottle with sediment in it. It's brown and cloudy and rustic, earthy, pithy, sinewy - with lots of sweet fruit taste that has been fully integrated into the wood and oak and now soft tannins. There's tar, leather, spice, tobacco, some olive and earth flavors. It's now a food wine to be enjoyed with a tasty meal. Make it simple and buy a bottle and grill something and serve the two together.
Pictured here along with the bottle and the Reidel glass of this excellent 1994 QUINTA DI COTTO red is the young lady port-lover. I have taken the pictures at such an angle as to catch her unawares trying the wine as well as her glass.
I was unable to capture her and her glass at the same time. I will have to try again sometime later. She liked it but was clearly looking for a Portuguese port wine and not a dry one. I got her a bottle of the Lodger Reserve SMITH WOODHOUSE character port fro $26.99. I hope that she likes that.
In the pictures of her at the register I snapped after the bottles were placed into her bag. Alas, I did not do my job very well here as I am about to go on vacation and am quite tired.
The next time she comes I will ask to take her picture with these bottles of Portuguese reds and ports. They will be more posed but so be it. I want to get the whole shot with the bottle, the glass filled with the wine and her of course.
So, stay-tuned for the continuation of this very serendipitous story as it continues to unfold for us.
Cheers and enjoy these partial shots as I was not looking through the view-finder or the screen as I snapped away trying to preserve the moment in all it's freshness and spontaneity - without facial pictures that are self-conscious.
I loved the wine and am thrilled to have had another chance to taste it today, Saturday, August 1st, 2009. We also have the 1995 vintage ON SALE at $34.99 and the 2000 vintage, too. TONY
I stand corrected, I did capture our customer with the glass and the wine in it. That's good. I do love her look of concentration as she tastes and factors the flavor profiles all quickly. You can see her earnestness as she tastes. She loves wines and has now come to our store on a number of occasions in search of one wine or another.
I do love the serendipitous nature of taking pictures, snapping away at random and letting chance and fate and some skill hopefully all combine to at least get one good shot if not more.
Being an artist I am interested in telling stories and these pictures help to tell them. I am just adding some of the details here.
Also, as an artist I am interested in " new " approaches and angles and " views " that I hope are somewhat if not all " my own ". Everything has been done before, but has it been caught on film or digitally? What does the artist bring to the table/ to the story / to this story?
She's a beautiful young lady that is quite passionate and serious in her quest to learn about port wines so that she may better enjoy them. Bravo to her and her quest and I for one am very happy that she has chosen us to assist her in this important quest / personal journey of hers. Cheers ...
I love this last picture of her trying the wine that I got from raising my camera and pointing it downwards. I just got a bit in the corner of my leanse and shot this way and yet it is enough to tell something of her concentration and reaction.
Enjoy these pics, cheers, TONY
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