Thank you to everyone who has expressed their good wishes over the past few weeks.

We want to let everyone know that we will be holding an informal memorial celebration in honor of the life of José Joni Argueta Hernandez. It will be held on Monday, May14th, beginning at 8:30pm, here at Adega. All who wish to remember Joni are welcome to attend.

With our best,

Adega

It is with heavy hearts that we must inform you of the passing of our dear friend, José Joni Argueta Hernandez. Many of you have come to know José through the years that he has been a part of the Adega family, as well as his work at Dirty Martini. Beginning as our porter, José grew to be part of the very backbone of our business, by going above and beyond in his desire to see our customers happy. Apart from this, José became a friend to many and beloved by all. He often was the first person to greet someone as they came in our doors, and the last to wish them well upon their departure. His work ethic  and dedication were unparalleled, as were his heart and his friendliness. His absence is already felt.

In brief

On March 13 ^th , José was admitted to the hospital with headaches and nausea, later found to be due to fluid in the brain. During the initial stages of his treatment, he fell into a coma, from which he did not awaken. Unfortunately, his condition was too far advanced to be treated, despite valiant effort by the staff at Georgetown University Medical Center. On Saturday, March 31 ^st , he was pronounced brain-dead. His family has given permission for him to give the gift of organ donation, and preparations are being made to subsequently return José home to his family and friends in Honduras. To this end, we are continuing to accept donations to defray the financial burden on his family – please see below on how you can help. Thank you for your support during this hard time, and please keep his family in your thoughts.

Hopefully, the explanations below will help to answer the questions we are sure many of us have. There, we will try to tell the story of the past weeks, inform where we are going from here, explain how we might help his family, and look forward to honoring and remembering José.

The past weeks

During the evening of Tuesday, March 13 ^th , José began to suffer headaches, which, during the course of the night, worsened to the point of dizziness and nausea. An ambulance was called, and José was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was joined by members of the Adega staff. Within a few hours, he was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus, or fluid in the brain, and transferred to the neurological intensive care unit at Georgetown University Medical Center. There, doctors began the procedure of draining the fluid. During this procedure, José suffered a series of minor strokes, and entered into a non-medically induced coma, from which he did not awaken.

In the days following, José was under the care of both the neurology and neurosurgical teams at Georgetown, who were exemplary in their care, dedication to his recovery, and determination to discover the reason for his ailment. He was eventually diagnosed with Neurocysticercosis. (For an explanation, please see below.) Although the hospital attempted treatment, and indeed did everything in their power to enable José to recover, the condition was too far advanced to be reversed. José ultimately stopped showing neural response. Throughout this time, the medical teams, support staff, social workers and administrators at Georgetown showed tremendous compassion, and worked endlessly on behalf of José and his family. They continue this work even now, as they assist José’s family with final preparations. These noble individuals have our respect and undying gratitude.

Since he was first admitted to the hospital, members of the staffs of both Adega and Dirty Martini were a constant presence at José’s side, as were his friends and members of our (and José’s) extended family. A few key persons stepped into the roles of taking care of José’s care and communicating with the hospital and his family, for whom we are very grateful, and without whom this hard time would have been unmanageable. Also during this time, the greater community of Adega and Dirty Martini showed a great deal of support, in kind words, well wishes, cards and donations. All of these served to help those closest to him make it through these hard times, and for all of your support of José and one another, we thank you.

After days of conversation with José’s family in Honduras, it was decided on Saturday, March 31 ^st to run the final tests, after which, around 11:30am, José was pronounced brain-dead. Permission was given by his family for José to help others one last time as an organ donor, after which, preparations are being made to return him to his home, family and friends in Honduras.

The condition (This may be unsettling to some.)

Cysticercosis, in short, is a condition caused by the presence of the eggs of a parasitic tapeworm, which are usually transferred by way of ingesting of infected meats. Neurocysticercosis refers specifically to the condition of these eggs having taken root in the head and brain. It is believed that José may have acquired this condition years ago, most likely in Honduras. The condition normally manifests in headaches, which often go untreated or misdiagnosed. By the time the condition showed in José, it was already past the point of treatment, and we are assured there is nothing else that could have been done.

What is happening now, and how we can help

At this time, there are preparations being made to return José to his family in Honduras. He leaves behind three children, one son and two daughters. For the past week, we have been collecting donations towards José’s recovery. It is our intention, at this time, that these funds be used to facilitate José’s trip home, and, as much is possible, his family’s expenses. We are working with his cousins, with whom he lived, to ensure delivery of his personal belongings, amongst which are many boxes of gifts and necessities he had been collecting to send to his children. His brother is also making preparations to come up from Honduras, to make final arrangements and accompany José on his trip home.

We are, to this end, keeping our donations page open, and any money therein collected will be used for these purposes. We do not know what the final expenses for this process will be, but believe them to easily be in excess of $10,000. If, by some great outpouring, there are funds left over after all is taken care of, we intend to find a way that the money can safely and directly be used for his children.

Looking ahead

It is currently our intention to, in the near future, hold a memorial for José, where we can all gather as family and friends to celebrate his life and gifts to us. Once arrangements have been made, we will let you all know, as much in advance as possible. We hope that anyone touched by José’s life and presence with us will attend. For now, we hope that the love, support, and caring that his friends have shown for one another will continue, as none of us is left unaffected by this tragic loss.

José truly enjoyed seeing his fellow staff and our customers happy and enjoying one another’s company, and dedicated himself to working hard to ensure that every hour of every day he was with us. Therefore, out of respect for José’s legacy, it is our intention that, moving forward, Adega will remain open during normal hours, apart from any memorial planned in the future. Please know that this is not done out of callousness towards his passing, but rather in honor of his life among us. We are certain José would want nothing more at this time than to see us, his extended family, coming together.

In closing

                We thank you for your support of José, Adega and Dirty Martini’s staff, and you, José’s adopted family here in Silver Spring and Washington. If you have any questions, or need clarification, about anything presented here, please do not hesitate to ask. We will answer to the best of our ability and to the extent that his family’s privacy and wishes permit. If you wish to contribute to the fund being raised, please visit http://www.wepay.com/donations/helpinghands , or speak with a manager.

As always, thank you for being part of our, and José’s, extended family.

Rest in peace, José Joni Argueta Hernandez, coworker and friend. You are greatly missed.

All wines featured Saturday at a free tasting from 2pm – 5pm, with 10% of bottles for the whole day!

This Week’s Featured Wines

Mwitu Chenin Blanc, W.O. Western Cape, South Africa (2011)

Medium bodied with a pleasant roundness. Shows off Chenin’s acidity without being too racy. Reminds us of a Sweettart, in all the right ways.

$15.99/bottle, $8/glass

99 Vines Zinfandel, California (NV)

Showcases bright, red fruit characteristic of Zinfandels from Lodi, et al., with an easy-going nature that makes it approachable and quaffable.

$14.99/bottle

Veglio D.O.C.G. Moscato d’Asti, Italy (2010)

Gorgeous, full body with light carbonation (‘Frizzante’). Pleasant fruit sweetness of dried apricots, with just a touch of cane sugar on the end.

$21.99/bottle

Zaleo Tempranillo, D.O. Ribera del Guadiana, Spain (2010)

Fruit forward; more robust than value wines featuring this grape, but still light enough for small plates. Lingering finish; tannins present, but soft.

$19.99/bottle, $10/glass

Codice Tempranillo

Dominio de Egurin, Vin de Tierra Castilla, Spain. 2009.

Protocolo’s Older Brother!

Style: Tempranillo is Spain’s great Noble grape. The backbone of Rioja (one of two D.O.C. regions in Spain), Tempranillo tends to make softer, medium-to-light bodied wines that nonetheless showcase a vibrant dark fruit character. Spice and oak can vary greatly from producer to producer.

Description: Codice is excellent for its pricepoint and intended style. While it remains strongly representative of a true table-style Tempranillo, it shows its age well. A lightly inky color gives way to a medium body, balanced and with a certain heft that its younger brother lacks. Wild cherries dominate the palate, while the soft tannins leave just a touch of a brown sugar note on the finish. Look deep enough, and one might find a little bit of basil hidden within the noticeable oak structure.

Notes:  Any wine such as this, necessarily must be placed within its own context. As to its relation to Protocolo, it is, perhaps “Not as spicy, a bit bigger, and more properly balanced.” As a wine with dinner, it demands slightly heavier fare than its easy-going counterpart, but still makes for an enjoyable glass all on its own. We do warn that if you are a “Light-bodied Tempranillo Only” type of palate, this wine may be a tad bit too big and dense for your liking. However, this particular vintage is nearing the end of its run, so we encourage you to try it while you can. We hope to have Protocolo itself back in stock soon, but until then, we recommend that you try a bottle of Codice, if you’re open to exploration and to a wine that is quite different – and yet reminiscent – of its magazine-cover-model younger brother.

– Jarrod, with commentary by Will and Meggan, Adega Wine Cellars (Reviewed 2/7/12),

$15.99, retail and dine-in!

Enjoy Heavy Seas’ Loose Cannon IPA? Read on!

Black Ale (also called Black IPA and Cascadian Dark Ale) is a beer style that has been growing tremendously over the past few years, as brewers experiment with the new style. It’s also a favorite of ours here at Adega – black ales will commonly feature the intense hop backbone of an IPA, but blended with a strong malt presence and full body.

Black Cannon is a seasonal release from Heavy Seas (formerly Clipper City) in Baltimore: you may know them from their Loose Cannon IPA, one of our best sellers, or any number of other pirate/nautically themed offerings. This particular beer shows a good restraint on the part of not being overly-hoppy. Where other black ales tend to showcase a sweeter side of malt, this take on the style showcases a nuttier, toasted character, while retaining a slick, almost crisp mouthfeel.

It’s hard to say if this is a “true” example of the style, as the style itself is still being hammered out by various breweries across the country. This beer is certainly worth a try, however, especially if you haven’t experienced the Black Ale movement for yourself. Fans of Heavy Seas should find that this beer will fit right into your refridgerator – just be sure to drink it before March or so, as I can’t see this particular brew as able to be cellared for very long.

– Jarrod, Adega Wine Cellars (Reviewed 1/26/12, based on bottle serving)

$9.49

Hey, Adegans!

Stick with us — in the next few weeks, we’ll be moving towards updating this page far more regularly. For today’s post, let’s discuss Oktoberfest.

I know our stationery says “wine cellars”, but we also sell great beer, too!

This week, we’ve got Spaten Oktoberfest in the six packs. Spaten is (very arguably) the world’s oldest continuously-operating brewery.  I remember my trip to Munich, and being able to tour the Spaten brewery. It’s a class act, and despite the volume, there’s still an attention to detail that’s unrivaled by many of the worlds’ bigger breweries.

The Oktoberfest is a Marzen. In Germany, a Marzen is a specific style of lagering, which produces Helles (think Spaten Premium and Lowenbrau) and Dunkel, and everything in between. The Oktoberfest Marzen is a beer style developed for the celebration of Oktoberfest itself. It’s based on a malty, yet bold understanding of the lagering process, but still with a depth and firmness not found in other German lagers — this means, for those of you who love Yuengling and Sam Adams, you’ll want to give this one a try!

It’s just $8.99 while supplies last, and truly is a great beer with which to welcome in the Fall.

Check back with us soon, as we introduce more of our wines, beer, employees and specials. Make sure to join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter (@AdegaWine)!
We’ll see you soon, Silver Spring!

For Adega:

Cheers!
Jarrod