Milton Sebben, Cossius Reis & Rodrigo Trevison Greet Us @ Dall'Onder VITTORIA Hotel Brazil In Late June, 2012 : Obregado!!

Pictured above is Milton Sebben that first greeted us at the front entrance to the Hotel Dall'Onder VITTORIA when we arrived quite tired and in a blanket of winter fog being high up in the mountains of Brazil in one of the principle wine towns of southern Brazil called Bento Goncalves.

It was quite the journey to finally arrive from northern Virginia just outside of Washington D.C. and to have driven two or more hours from Porto Allegre from sea level in a small, tank-like stick-shift Fiat on roads that many people still walk along as cars go speeding by on small and narrow country roads that are charming but I imagine could also be quite treacherous depending on split decisions made by pedestrians, motorcycles, cars and large container-long trucks.

Our stay at the Hotel VITTORIA Dall'Onder was good and central to where we wanted and needed to be and we enjoyed many good moments there. None greater, however than our arrival when we were greeted at night by Milton Sebben, Cossius Reis and Rodrigo Trevison. They were all great and all had brimming smiles. Milton offered us a glass of sparkling wine when we arrived at the reception desk there in the front lobby of the hotel. It was a glass of sparkling SALTON N.V. extra dry was it ( not Brut, though they make both )? It was delicious, really delicious and it helped to set the mood for us immediately and to let us know that we had finally arrived at our destination for the next several days! The journey was about to begin. We had done it : we were finally where we wanted to be. Milton helped to fix all of this wonderfully with his professional, assured, confident, personal demeanor as well as his warm smile. He was attentive , observant and helpful. he even offered me a second glass of the SALTON sparkling Brazilian espumante that was made right there in our new home of bento Goncalves. Obregato Milton, muito obregato!

As you can see in the photo above that I drew two quick color-pastel and ink portrait sketches of Milton as well as of Cossius below while I was there. It was my way of saying " obregato " for all their kindnesses.

Above is pictured Cossius Reis that was also a big help in getting us all set at the reception desk when we arrived for our stay with them.

It was marvelous, inviting, comfortable and a treat to have Milton, Cossius and Rodrigo greet us so warmly. They were all helpful, too and we made immediate plans to go leave our luggage upstairs and then come back down for dinner in their dining room there on the same floor. They told us about the grapes of Bordo and Isabel that we had to try. They told us about Salton and about Boscato. Milton even came to check on our progress in the restaurant as waitress Danielle served us our wine and steak dinner with a side of black beans and rice. Red wine and a meal like this never seemed better!

In Bento Goncalves, Principle Wine Town Of Southern Brazil. Other staff like Aliana, Danielle, Tainara are also quite helpful and everyone mentioned here really help to make the visit to Bento Goncalves and the Vale Dos Vinhedos, Caxias Do Sul, Garibaldi, Nova Padua and Alto Feliz the huge success and pleasure that it was.

We told Danielle our waitress that we would not be trying the Boscato Reserva Merlot that she recommended to us as we would be driving there to the vineyard the next day to meet the owners and to taste the wines with Clovis Roberto Boscato himself. We wanted to try a wine that we would not be otherwise trying, It was decided that we should try the Marson Gran Reserva 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% alcohol by volume. It was a real treat and it showed beautifully with our meal. Along with the Salton N.V. espumante we had indeed arrived and started our quest to try the wines of Brazil that are still largely, sadly unknown in the United States today.

We will work to change that now. Stay-tuned for more and enjoy these pictures in the meantime. I will add more to this as I have time. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

Our drive to Bento Goncalves in the night and just before the fog I believe.

That lovely first glass of the sparkling SALTON espumante that Milton Sebbem offered us when we arrived at the Hotel VITTORIA Dall'Onder. Obregato Milton!!!!

Fabulous nightly music provided by this talented piano player pictured above. Bravo!

A part of the downstairs lobby where we would spend some time working and later thanking some of those that we met that made our visit so fruitful and rewarding like Fernanda and Ruy Zattera, Barbara Ruppel, Paula Valenti and Francine Kaga. Thanks to you all.

Smiles and more SALTON espumante. Took the chill off the long drive from sea level up into the mountains of southern Brazil to Bento Goncalves.

Milton helps us get our bags upstairs after a long journey to bento Goncalves and Brazil's wine country! These two elevators were fun and what great views, too.

Our dining space down in the lobby of the hotel to the left side as you enter where Danielle would soon help us with an assist from Milton.

I am inspired still by Brazil...and Milton, you were the spark, the magic, the fire, the warmth and what ultimately made my trip to Brazil's wine country as grand as it was. Thank you for that. Take care and hope to see you again. Muito obregato! TONY

Enjoying Immensely CASA VALDUGA'S 2006 Estate-Bottled Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, 8/4/2012 Com New York Strip Steak & Potatoes

This was so much fun, su unplanned except that I knew that at some point soon I would be enjoying this bottle of 2006 CASA VALDUGA Estate-Bottled Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon from Brasil's Vale Dos Vinhedos ( 13% alcohol by volume ). It was given to me upon my request to my Country Vintner rep Arielle Monaco. I had the bottle that came in the heaviest, most substantial bottle possible. It was heavy to hold because the glass is thicker and gives one the false impression that bigger and heavier is better. It was bottled at a time that many wineries turned to this bottle which I have come to see as a unnecessary gimmick and cost both to the wineries as well as to the consumers as it costs more to ship and that cost must be absorbed by them. It's also as a result not as good for the environment both for the extra fuel that it costs to transport it as well as for the extra cost to melt the glass and recycle it later.

However, that is a small point for me now as I still remember how I immediately loved this wine last night when I opened and shared it with our next door neighbors that were nice enough to take care of our dog and feed our fish while our family was away at the beach for a week. We all remarked on how good it was. It made us stop our conversation and pay attention to it's taste and flavors that for them complemented their brie and goats' cheese and for me complemented my New York Strip Steak. For me the tar and leather flavors of this 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon married so very well with the red meat and together they created tastes and flavors that only soar to those lofty heights as when combined in this classic ballad of liquids and solids. Fab : really uma ben vinho vermelho em meu copo! Obregado para la familia Valduga.

I am just learning Brazilian Portuguese and I am stumbling / plodding along using my Larousse Portuguese dictionary and I love it, really I do. It will take time, I will make many mistakes, but I will start to see the end of the tunnel with time.

In the meantime I will buy some of this excellent 2006 CASA VALDUGA Estate-Bottles Vale Dos Vinhedos Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon and offer it to any of my customers that want to have a fabulous dry red with a fabulous cut of red meat, or with some cheeses instead if they are too tired to cook at that particular moment in time as often we can be as we all work so very hard these days.

Pictured above are two other wines, the Arte 2009 dry red blend ( Cabernet Sauvignon 40%, Merlot 30%, Cabernet Franc 30%, 12.5% alcohol by volume - seemed like the alcohol was much higher than marked ) as well as the Estate-Bottled Chardonnay that I have already written about and included here at : chatbrasilwine.blogspot.com in a previous blog. Check it out. I really did love the 2010 Reserva Estate-Bottled Vale Dos Vinhedos Chardonnay ( 13% alcohol by volume ) that was really slow to open up and reveal it's many charms but once it did it was quite magnificent and well-worth the wait. I will buy some of it, too and offer both to the customers of Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008, Tel: 202-363-4265 anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwines.com, also on Facebook : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and also on Twitter at : cpwinespirits. ALSO : check out my other wine blog at : chatwine.blogspot.com ; as well as chatart.blogspot.com and chatpoetry.blogspot.com.

Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

Stay-tuned for more.

It's all so very exciting!


" 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 

Brazilian Wine Bottles & Wine Labels Of Late June & August 2012 /So Much Promise To Share & Offer, So Little Still Known : Look-Read On!

This is just the start of many pictures to show the wealth and the colors, the clarity, the spectacle of all wines, labels, bottles, people and places BRAZIL. It's a pretty special place : I lived it richly and profoundly for ten days straight and have so much to say and to share and it will all take time.

Is this for the Olympics or for the World Cup : or for both? Laurent and passed it on our drive back from Porto Alegre heading back to the wine country of and around the Vale Dos Vinhedos and the town of Bento Goncalves where we stayed.

I will continue to add to this so enjoy these pictures so far and stay tuned for more. I will add as I have the time. Cheers, Muito obregado Brazil!!! TONY 8/3/2012

It was Brazil's winter here in late June, 2012.

I love black beans and rice and ate them every chance that I got. Also, seeing the labels marked DC made me think of Washington D.C. where I have worked for the last thrirty years in the wine business and seen it grow up all around me.

Wine Bottles, Wine Labels

Bits & Pieces Discovered In Brazils Wine Country In & Around The Vale Dos Vinhedos In Late June, 2012 : Oh What Fun

I love all the colors of Brazil : even in their winter it is so colorful. Even leaving the town of Bento Goncalves in the fog high up in the mountains way above sea level the colors and the fruits in blossom hanging ripe on the trees like so many oranges is quite magnificent. The incredible pastels that cover the buildings really spoke to me from the very first glimpse I ever got leaving the larger town of Porto Alegre headed for one of Brazil's great wine-producing regions : the Vale Dos Vinhedos. I started seeing these rich pastel colors and I immediately fell back in love with Brazil after having been away for fifty years. These wonderfully enriching colors on the buildings and hanging outside on so many clothes lines to dry in their winter's sunshine , as well as them wearing many of these colors stirred my soul and brought an incredible smile to my face and an inner warmth that is overwhelming and hard to describe : so intoxicatingly welcome and brought me a a certain peace and contentment, too. I loved it all.

These pictures and those to follow are my reward, my gift back, a small measure of my satisfaction and thank-you to the people, the place, the wines and all that they offered me during ten incredible days in late June, 2012. Cheers and stay-tuned for more. In the meantime enjoy these pictures so far that mirror the drive of Laurent and me through the Vale Dos Vinhedos as we left the town of Bento Goncalves on the road to " find out", to discover and to learn, absorb and now share as best we can with you all.