Miss Leopard, Mr. Zebra & Sam Pepple Of National Geographic Magazine ( For New Blog Popomnivore, Google It! ) Here @ Cleveland Park Wines 10/21/10

     This was fun a totally serendipitous as first Sam Pepple ( Cartographer ) walked into Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008  Tel 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com, www.clevelandparkwine.com  on Facebook at : clevelandparkwine&spirits ) on Thursday evening ( October 21st, 2010 ) at 6:30PM or just about the time I was getting ready to go home.

      I had to stay! This was TOO PRICELESS and I had to get to the bottom of this wonderfully unexpected event! How and why were a man with a nice camera and Miss Leopard and Mr. Zebra here in our store?!?!

     I introduced myself as I snapped away with these pictures. Turns out that the lot of these three were very friendly and more than willing to chat with me. I introduced them to all our customers, I offered them some wine to drink, it was all very chummy and lovely.

     They bought some beer for later : good beer, too. They had been already on the metro and at the National Zoo and now they were going to go off and play ping-pong somewhere. Where? I never found out. 

     I asked them about their reception and they said that most people did not react to them being in their presence. That's too bad. We did our part here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits to make them feel welcome and comfortable.

     Turns out that they were out promoting the " new " blog for the National Geographic Magazine called Popomnivore. You can google it to get there. I still have to go but will soon as I am curious about this. 

     It sure was fun and I think that we all had a blast and created a whole lotta good will in these twenty minutes or so here in Cleveland Park. I will also add more pictures and story at : chatwine.blogspot.com and add a picture or two today to our Facebook account as this is too good to be true : priceless!

     Cheers,  TONY

     Thanks Sam, Miss Leopard and Mr. Zebra, you guys are the best!   TONY

Oct. 2010 My Portrait Sketches Jacques De La Giraudiere of Clarence Dillon Wines, Visits Cleveland Park Wines To Taste " New "Bordeaux Wine Releases

     Jacques and I bumped into each other a few months ago at the Wine Spectator's Grand-Wine-Tasting at the Ronald Reagan building downtown and we chatted for awhile there as I drank some decadent and delicious red bordeaux with him. Merci Jacques.

     He came to the store in October 2010 to taste me on some of his great " Value " Bordeaux wines from Clarence Dillon : a dry red ,a dry white and a dry rose. We will buy and sell some of them really soon and I will blog about that soon at : chatwine.blogspot.com.

     In the meantime enjoy these artsy photos that I took of Jacques with the bottles and the two " quick " portrait sketches that I did of him before he left which he tells me have now found a home chez lui in Bordeaux, France. Not bad, I like it : ca me plais enormement en realite! Merci Jacques et a la prochaine,   TONY

Dancers Ann & Victor: All2Dance @ 17th Annual Georgetown Day, Grace's Church Garden, Sat. 3-4 PM Oct. 9th, 2010, Raising Money For The Homeless

This is Edward Rahr Borscerdt, retired marine captain USMC ( that was on the commission to build the Korean War Memorial in Washington D.C. ), eighty years old today here sitting on the steps to the Grace Church in Georgetown, Washington D.C. on late Saturday morning ( must have been around 11 AM ) on October 9th, 2010 waiting for the 17th Annual Georgetown Day celebration/festival to get under way to help raise money to feed and shelter the homeless.

After Sam Gessner and I set up our TOAD HOLLOW wine-tasting booth/table/station I walked over to him to say " hello " and to introduce myself. He seemed like someone that I should meet and get to know : he impressed me that way and so I did.

Edward has now worked for ten years helping the Grace Church raise money for the homeless here in Washington D.C. He was a marine captain, too in the Korean war as I have also said already. Too bad that I did not have more time to talk with you Edward and get to know you a bit better. Anyway, I'm glad that I did introduce myself and I hope that Grace Church raised lots of money this past Saturday for the homeless.

It sure was one of the nicest days possible weather-wise for such a purpose to be outside and feel special and like a million dollars and do something good, too for others in need.






It was later as we were just finishing pouring the wines that I noticed both Ann and Victor dancing over by the musicians playing. They were just to the right side over closer to Grace Church and they started to dance as the jazz poured out into the garden there. The music and the lady's voice moved Ann and Victor just as it did the rest of us.




Here above are three of our regular customers at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com on Facebook at : clevelandparkwines&spirits ) : one a Democrat, one an Independent and one a Republican - what fun!

The TOAD HOLLOW California and French wines really did show well on this Saturday afternoon here in Georgetown just off Wisconsin Avenue N.W. and right next to the canal and looking down onto the Potomac River.

Sam Gessner our rep for LVDH IMports was there pouring the TOAD HOLLOW wines with me that TOAD HOLLOW donated to support the 17th Annual Georgetown Day event and that we purchase through LVDH Imports and sell at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits.




It's now Wednesday morning here at home on October 13th, 2010 at 9:02 AM and all the wines will be back in the store later today if you want to purchase any of them. They all showed really well at this event and on this beautiful day.




It was such a wonderfully serendipitous moment for me to catch Ann and Victor dancing. I immediately started snapping pictures as their dancing really did please me and I wanted to catch more of it as they continued to dance on the stone path. They were quite good and it was so pleasing to watch them as they moved to the live jazz music with a talented female singer and an excellent male saxophonist, too.




Once that Ann and Victor stopped dancing I poured two glasses of the TOAD HOLLOW dry Pinot Noir rose " Eye Of The Toad " and went over to offer a glass to each of them in thanks for their stimulating dancing. They smiled and accepted immediately. I did the rose because it made me think of Ann's rose colored top as well as the passion and heat of their movements.




Turns out that Ann and Victor are professional dancers with ALL 2 DANCE.com ( info@all2dance.com, 202-422-6250, MacArthur and Foxhall, N.W. where Georgetown meets the Palisades ) and that they have classes in Ballroom Dance, Ballet Stretch, Latin Dance, Salsa and the Tango. Judging from what I saw here all these classes promise to be excellent.




Anyway, thanks Ann and Victor for the grand impromptu and engaging and stimulating dance here on this past Saturday afternoon. I for one really did appreciate it and am glad that I was there to witness and meet you both afterward. Cheers and keep on dancing! TONY

Portriats Of Ashley : 2 Quick Ink Sketches In Multiple Colors , Red and Black, Maybe Blue, Too? Early Oct 2010

I like to do these quick multi-penned ink portrait sketches of my wine owners, wine-makers and customers and other resp that I get to see sometimes just once and sometimes often as it may be. It's my gift to them all and it keeps my eyes vigilant and trained and focused and " missioned " as I quickly try and capture the essence of my subjects as I look at them, rarely ever down at the piece of white paper I am drawing on and sketch madly.

I am sure that it is a process that id maddening to most, catching them completely off-guard and wondering what it is exactly that I am up to and doing?!?




I like to give them away afterward as my gift to them to show them my appreciation for the time that I have just spent with them. If they like them and it means something special to them well then it is especially nice for me.




In talking with you Ashley you said that this was really special for you. You also said that you liked the one you are holding best in your right hand ( that was the first of the two that I drew ). I told you that you, too had made my day. Thanks.

I have already blogged about Casey's visit here much early in something entitled : " subtle blues " or something like that. Check it out, too. I think you will all like it. Cheers, TONY