A Rainy Day In Brazil's The Vale Dos Vinhedos Com Laurent , In Late June 2012 : We Are On The Verge Of Something Very Special!

This was quite the experience, quite the opportunity, quite the way to pass a day driving through Brazil's Vale Dos Vinhedos just outside their town Bento Goncalves. It was warm even though it was their winter there in late June 2012.




I was having the time of my life driving in the passenger seat of a Fiat that drove like a small, stick-shift tank : and yet it was all lush, verdant, green, growing and such a great treat and discovery.




I felt like the only American there in the Vale Dos Vinhedos. I might have been, too?!? No way to know. When I did ask Paula and Barbara if they knew of any other Americans there they paused and said : " There is a British gentleman married to a Brazilian woman and they decided to raise their children in Brazil and not England. "




Anyway, even in the winter and the cool and refreshing drizzle this Vale Dos Vinhedos is beautiful and the wines are really quite special and unique and many of them filled with promise.




I am so glad that I took the time and the effort and the ten days to discover just how special this region, it's people and it's wines are and I look forward to going into much more detail about all of this here and elsewhere really soon.




There is still so much for me to learn and yet I feel that I have learned many books' worth in my ten days. This is the beginning of a glorious new relationship that I intend to pursue and develop actively. I have already been working on it for the last five or so months and it is so stimulating and fun and I smile always when I think about it all.




So please stay-tuned as I will have many more observations and petit revelations to impart. This is a really " happening " place of the world and yet no one knows it yet! How is that?!?! My/ our opportunity : let's grab it, let's work it together - let's grow together.




These are the vines that border the narrow country roads that we drove down in our Fiat.




I should have rolled my right window down on some of these. Sorry, I did not think of it at the time. I was too excited.




They still give a real sense of wines sleeping! They will wake-up and come to a flowering life once again shortly. We just have to wait and be patient. I have many more pictures and will add them gradually here so you may all see better these vineyards and the views that they afforded us in this green and blossoming valley of southern Brazil. To see blooming oranges and so much really green vegetation between the rows of vines was breathtaking : I loved it all, ate it all up!




Pretend it's a cool and refreshing and rainy day outside as you look at these pictures. Picture the grapes as well as the wines and their colors. Close your eyes, come and get some of the wines of Brazil to taste. You will not be sorry. Leave a comment here below and I will respond. I/ we can help you discover the excellent wines of Brazil.




Like I said it's all just staring to happen. This is the calm before the storm of activity and growth that Brazil will have so soon.




Let's be on the cutting-edge together and be an integral part of this wine experience that is uniquely Brazilian and well-worth any efforts that we will make with rewards that will gratify, stimulate, inspire and impress even the most skeptical of us. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

Tasted Yesterday W/ Arielle Monaco & Michel the CASA VALDUGA Brazilian " Arte " 2009, the Reserva Merlot 2007 & The Reserva 2010 Chardonnay From The

Vale Dos Vinhedos Grape-Growing/ Wine-Making Region Of Brazil... the headline should finish.

There are five wine-producing regions of Brasil and it seems that the most important so far is this Vale Dos Vinhedos. Arielle Monaco of the Country Vintners Imports in Ashland, Virginia, Michel and I tasted three wines from the CASA VALDUGA family vineyard yesterday, Wednesday, July 26th, 2012. Other sales people were here and so I invited Lucinda and our customer Graham to join in as well. It was a treat : it was fun.

Arielle Monaco had been here this past Saturday doin a weekend-wine-tasting here and somehow it came out that she had wines from Brasil. She immediately told me that she had the CASA VALDUGA wines. She did not pause or hesitate, the name came immediately to her. She told me that perhaps two years ago when the Cafe Atlantico was still around here in Washington D,C, that she had taken them to taste with the owners/ wine-buyers then. She said that they had not shown well then. She did not say whether she sold them any of the wines? I will have to ask her.

I asked her to bring them to me yesterday so that I could taste them. I was really excited to hear this news and she brought me three to taste with Michel and one to take to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to enjoy with my family this first week of August when I take my vacation, Thanks Arielle, I appreciate that very much.

When we tasted them early Wednesday afternoon here the Reserve 2010 Chardonnay ( Estate-Bottled, 13% alcohol by volume ) really was tight and closed and no one liked it : no one. It was really quite tight and acidic and with no body or middle or finish to it.

The " Arte " dry red blend, a 2009 at 12.5% alcohol and a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon , 30% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc was fruity and fleshy and a bit like an unfocused picture that had promise and was pleasing enough after having just been opened for us to taste. Arielle opened each of the bottles here for us to taste. We all liked it enough and thought it was very reasonable for the price.

The Reserve 2007 Merlot was bigger, broader, richer, deeper, more spicy with more tar and leather and tobacco : a more serious wine altogether. We all liked it, too. I preferred it to the Arte 2009 dry red blend. We will buy that and have that here the first week of August 2012.

I asked Arielle to pour me some of the Chardonnay to try later as I wanted to see what would happen later ? She left me the bottle along with the Arte 2009. I took them home with me. I shared some with neighbors and then enjoyed them at dinner. I reversed my decision from earlier : at dinner the Chardonnay 2010 Reserva Estate-Bottled was the clear star and at dinner the 2009 dry red blend " Arte " was showing way too much alcohol in the taste that made it very hard for me to enjoy my glass.

I told my wife that it was a very rare moment in my life when I would drink a Chardonnay over a dry red Bordeaux blend. Here I was doing just that. More to follow soon with the pictures of the bottles. Cheers and thanks / muit obregado Arielle! Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

UPDATE :

" Doing Thai " Eladio said to me. " Not going to be fancy, a friend of a friend ... " he continues. Eladio said : " Around twenty." Eladio answered when I asked him what he wanted to spend. I already knew that with " a friend of a friend " that it had to be more about tasty and flavorful to match the flavors of the Thai food. I sold Eladio a bottle of our 2007 Merlot from the CASA VALDUGA winery in the Valle Dos Vinhedos, $19.99 just south of the wine capitol of Bento Goncalves. I told him that it was flavorful and dry like a good bottle of French Bordeaux or even an Italian Friuli or Veneto dry red, as the ancestors of CASA VALDUGA are either from Trentino or Veneto, Italy. Eladio seemed pleased and he mentioned the World Soccer Cup  in Brazil. So, now all I have to do is wait to hear from Eladio. Cheers, Happy New Year Eladio. Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn  1/12/14

To Gerard & Gustavo : Bringing French, Italian ( FATTORIA MONTELORRI 1999 Salamartano ) and Brazilians Together / All Combined! Cheers! 2010-2012

How do these pictures merit being here on my newly-created blog site on Brasil? Well, Gustavo is from Brasil and we have at least once or twice discussed this and the MIOLO Family Vineyards' wines ( the Lote 43 in particular, 2004 - a very fine vintage in Brasil Gustavo knows this wine well ). We have also discussed Pele and translating my story for him about when I met him as a young child of 5 years or so of age on the beaches of Copacabana and how he taught me how to dribble the soccer ball on those white, pristine sands.

Gustavo used to work for Vinifera Imports and these bottles pictured above are all excellent and Italian and expensive. He was tasting me on them at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits where I manage the wine department in Cleveland Park, Washington D.C. N.W. 20008. This was perhaps two years ago : late 2010 or early 2011? I cannot remember just now.

The Vale Dos Vinhedos in southern Brasil with the major town of Bento Goncalves was settled by Italians from both the Trento and the Veneto region. Gustavo might have a Veneto wine here in these selections? I will look closely at the wine bottles and let you all know before I finally post this entry shortly. I want to stay current and at least weekly with posts here as I am so excited from my visit there recently. It helps to make the years from 2-8 years of age when I was there from 1955-1963 come alive all over again for me. That's more than fifty years ago for me now and I do love Brasil as a result of that time that I spent there with my family because my father worked for the State Department and the American Embassy. His first post were the Azores Islands that also speaks Portuguese. I guess just like Brasil that the Azores have developed their own dialect as well?

Gerard pictured above is also in the wine business and he loves the wines of France and Italy and knows about the importing business and some even about the wines from Brasil. He actually knows more about the cachaca business and I believe even knows the original owner of PITU that brought this first cachaca to the United States which is still available and the least expensive of all cachacas available.

Both Gerard and Gustavo have been to Cleveland Park recently and we have had some good discussions, too. Both make me think of my recent ten-day trip to Brasil and here I discover that they were both in Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwines.com , also on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and on Twitter at : cpwinespirits, and check out my larger blog at : chatwine.blogspot.com where I have at least three or four blogs already about the MIOLO Family wines ) at the right time by chance. I may be introducing them to each other soon as they both may be interested in working with Laurent and me? We will see, what are the odds : history repeats itself?!?

Look at the rim of that Italian white wine : glorious!

Look at the amazing hue of the Italian red Piemontese PELISERO wine above.

The color, the glare, the luminosity, the reflective qualities of this multi-hued red wine above is stunning!

Who does not love Italian wine? And since these Brazilian wines are made by fourth and fifth generation Italian immigrants in southern Brasil in the Vale Dos Vinhedos by process of association : who does not love Brazilian wines?!?

And to think I just stumbled upon these pictures by chance earlier this afternoon?!? I think a bit more than chance and I am not embarrassed to admit it. Things do happen for many reasons and paths do cross and fortunately pictures like these remind us and bring things into focus. I like it.

So, to sum things up I am happy to post this as I am still really excited about my ten-day trip to Brasil and I look forward soon with sharing many of my observations as well as many of my pictures, too. Being extroverted like I am it is hard to contain my excitement. It will explode on the scene soon enough. Stay-tuned, enjoy these pictures and soon I will share with you all many of my thoughts and observations. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

P.S. We all really did love this bottle of 1999 " Salamartano " Tuscan dry red made at the FATTORIA MONTELLORI and owned by Alessandro Nieri. Three years ago my daughter and I visited Alessandro Nieri at his FATTORIA MONTELLORI and he treated us to a great lunch and then a tour of his winery and it was a truly great and inspiring experience.

Reading Fernanda Mari Zattera's " Vinho & Paixao Historias De Vinho ... " In Portuguese / Learning Language & Wines Of Brasil

This is a great way for me to both learn Portuguese as well as about the wines of Brasil as I read Fernanda Mari Zattera's book : " Vinho & Paixao - Historias de vinho e de seus apreciadores ". I understand at least 50% of what I read if not more and I can't wait for my Brasilian / English dictionary arrives so that I can piece all the bits together. It's like one big and fascinating puzzle all about the history of wines and especially about the history of wines since 1999-2000 when it seems that there has been a sort of mild revolution as many of the 4th generation give their legacies, hopes, aspirations, dreams and faith to the fifth generation. In fact it seems as if these two generations are working pretty much hand-in-hand to accomplish so much in such a short period of time : fifteen and less years. What great heights they have attained together. They should be proud of this and Fernanda Mari Zattera's book sure does paint a great picture of these efforts and both successes and failures as these mostly Italian heritage families from both Trento and the Veneto proceed forward.

I have learned about a whole new vocabulary of grape varieties as well as approaches through different styles and grapes that I never hear much about in the United States like the Isabel and the Bordo grapes , even the Niagara grape. This is exciting : this is something not being done or at least not being spoken of in the United States. At least not spoken of in the Washington D.C. metropolitan region where I manage Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits in Cleveland Park N.W. Washington D.C. This is encouraging to me.

I encourage you all to purchase a copy of this. I understand through emails with Fernanda that the book is going into it's second printing. I hope that some will be translated into English. I will in the meantime get a whole lot of pleasure and satisfaction plodding along reading it in it's original language of Brasil's version of the Portuguese language. This effort on my part as I read and I write from this book will be filled with great rewards and insights.

Since I have been in the wine business for more than 30 years and much of the lingo and expressions, facts and ideas are already known to me it is not that difficult for me to follow especially since I spoke Brazilian Portuguese as a child and later learned both Spanish and French, also romance languages.

I will write more soon as I continue to read. In the meantime do make an effort to get a copy of this excellent book of Fernanda Mari Zattera. Cheers.

Fernanda, Eu estou contente para ler voce livro que eu ensenyo muito. Obregado, ate proxima. Anthony Alan Quinn

Obregado Fernanda!    TONY  3/29 / 2015

Owner Of Brasil's LIDIO CARRARO Boutique Winery Comes To Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits, Thurs. July 19th, 2012, First Time, Tastes Current Vintages

Finally J have been able to add these more current pictures here to start with that I took this year within the last month or so to add to the older ones that follow. Cheers and enjoy, TONY

That Are Available Through Winebow Imports ... is how the headline should finish.

It was just Bastille Day , le 14 Juillet , 2012 and I did celebrate that as I love both Brasil and France.




These are old pictures and the one above is of our salesperson from Winebow Imports, Jody Jackman doing one of her weekend Friday Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel: 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwines.com, also on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits , also on Twitter at : cpwinespirits, check out my other blogs here like : chatwine.blogspot.com ).

Jody Jackman and Kay Mallon of Winebow Imports will bring soon the owner of Brasil's winery called LIDIO CARRARO Boutique Winery that I still do not know. But one of our other wine reps Mark Congdon of J.W. Sieg Imports told me that he tasted the wines at a Wine Enthusiast Wine-Tasting perhaps three-four weeks ago here in Washington D.C. Is that correct Jody and Kay? I am sorry that I missed that. I would have liked to have tasted the wines then as I spent the years of 2-8 years of age there in Rio De Janeiro when it was the capitol, and then in Brazilia when it became the capitol ( 1955-1963 ? ) : I think those were the years. I loved what I still remember of them and have always loved Brasil as a result and always wanted to support Brasil where I can.




In my last store email that I have both posted on our Facebook page as well as our web page I spoke of the wines of MIOLO Family Winery that we currently have and have supported here for the last 4-5 years.




Here in Cleveland Park N.W. Washington D.C. two of our landmarks are the National Smithsonian Zoo as well as the large scree Uptown Movie House. The movie playing now at the Uptown is the " new " Spider Man with Anne Hathaway. Looks fun. I may see it, you never know.
It's hot and the summer here : so very hot and sticky with the sun beating down hard on everyone. In Brasil it's the winter time now. I wonder what the owner of LIDIO CARRARO Boutique Winery will think of this hot weather of ours? I will ask her if the weather in the Vale Dos Vinhedos that is up in the mountains is as hot?




I will fill in more soon. In the meantime enjoy these pictures I took before and wait for the new ones from today.




Bom dia e obregado ... Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

Querido Anthony and amigos do Cleveland Park,
Foi um prazer e uma experiencia maravilhosa conhece-los, sentir a paixao e o envolvimento com o vinho e com as pessoas em torno dele! Este e o verdadeiro sentido de elaborarmos os melhores vinhos que pudermos e compartilhar experiencias unicas com as pessoas.
Faco um convite a todos americanos a descobrir o terroir brasileiro. Abracos, com carinho,
Patricia Carraro,
from Lidio Carraro Boutique Winery

Obregado Patricia, it has been great to meet you and taste with you just now here in Cleveland Park Wines! Cheers, TONY

Bom dia ...