Indulge me in this article, as I sometimes write ahead, like this article because I am writing this prior to an operation to correct the prior operation.
I received a leather embossed hip flask akin to what used to be used during The Prohibition, and then later seen especially at Football arenas, until the arenas started getting wise and getting their own beverage licenses. Now, they have the right to inspect bags for such contraband as this. It is a cute curio and will join my other flasks that I have received. Though I did like its theme.
The next is from a company called Monkey Business and it is “Corkers Classics.” It kind of reminds me of my youth, where we had something called “Mr. Potato Head” where one applied ears, noses, mustaches etc. onto a potato; and there were actually feet to apply, so that the potato could stand erect. I didn’t open the package, but it looks like there are eyes, ears, hat, mustache (sounds like someone I know), arms and legs. Now, if I can only find a cork in this house.
The last item is from “Songbird Specialties” and it is a Bottle Pourer and the accompanying message on the package is “Hear it SING with Every POUR.” I haven’t tried it out yet, but I guess it is a type of aerator, and it may be very popular at her next Annual Ladie’s Party. My Bride is very fond of cardinals, birds and not the team. We have several cardinal appearances, both as decorations in the house, as well as outside of the house as well.
Normally at this time of the year, I write about the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners that we attend, and we usually just take a turkey or her famous Caesar Salad, and of course bottles of wine.
Everything was going great on Christmas Eve, as my Bride was making a turkey and I was carving it and placing it in one of the many electric warm trays, in case we ever go into catering. Back in June of this year, I had a hernia procedure, and this morning I discovered that it had popped up again. I told her that I thought I could make it through the holiday season. Alas, I was wrong, as I couldn’t even make it through the day. We discovered that our internist was on holiday, and his service recommended I go to an Emergency Care facility, we went and it was not affiliated with my doctors or surgeons, so we ended up going to the Emergency room at our hospital. I am a terrible patient, but after nausea medication and morphine in the IV, I was calm enough for all the tests, including a visit from one of the associates of the original surgeon, who was corresponding with the Chief Partner, who was my surgeon. After about six hours, I went home and my Bride took all the Christmas presents for the people that we were going to see that day.
On Christmas day, my Bride went to church without me, as she had to lector and also because of the crowd, she also functioned as a Eucharistic Minister, so she was in the spirit of the Season. She came home and made Poached Eggs, bacon and Mimosas. We now have at the house, the same “California Champagne” that most of the restaurants use, as it is strictly for the commercial trade and not sold retail. We have our version of the “Bottomless Mimosas,” with a bottle of bubbles and a very small carafe of Orange Juice, which is where I came up with the term “a tincture of Orange Juice.” I have finally decided that Orange Juice is dearer, compared to Charmat Method William Wycliff Winery “Brut” “American Champagne” NV, which is now part of Gallo (and they probably bought the winery for the designation). A wine that was grandfathered in, so that it can claim the “American Champagne” designation and is I believe still made with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier. This wine is perfect for making Mimosas and we try to keep a case at home, just for our breakfasts when we feel fancy.
Later, that day, my Bride made us dinner from the turkey, and stuffing that she had made to take to another party, but my trip to the emergency room precluded that trip. I figured that we make the most of the day, as I may not be able to enjoy any wine if I am on meds. To pair with the turkey, I chose a bottle of Domaine Gilles Noblet “La Collonge” Pouilly-Fuissé 2022. Pouilly-Fuissé is known for the famous white wines of the Maconnais, and the appellation was awarded in 1936, but had actually been structured back in 1922. It is exclusively Chardonnay and grown on limestone-rich clay over a granite base. Since the 2020 vintage, a Premier Cru appellation level was approved and there are twenty-two Premier Crus. Domaine Gilles Noblet was founded in the village of Fuissé in 1927 with a current vineyard of twelve hectares. It was during the fourth generation led by Gilles Noblet, who began bottling their own wines and moved the estate and new cellar to “En Collonge.” They are now in the fifth generation and in 2019 were certified as a high environmental value operation. At harvest the bunches undergo pneumatic pressing and settled for twenty-four hours at low temperature, then the juice is placed in casks and oak barrels for both Initial Fermentation and Malolactic Fermentation; with aging on fine lees for twelve months. A soft-golden-yellow wine that offers notes of lemon and citrus, hazelnuts, and spices. On the palate beautiful tones of fruit, and spices, big and fresh, balanced, and ending with a splash of salinity, perfect for dinner.
I went back to my local wine shop The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan the next day after the Lingua Franca tasting, as the shop was wall to wall people with those leaving the tasting and making purchases, and others tasting some different wines prior to going in for the main event. It was just easier to pick up the wine club selections the next day.
The first wine representing the Old World was Mas de Daumas Gassac Rosé Frizant Mousse IGP Pays de l’Herault 2021. IGP Pays de l’Herault is a department of Languedoc-Rousillon on the southern coast of France and well over a hundred varieties are allowed to be used, and the region is so vast that it encompasses plenty of different terrains. Mas de Daumas Gassac is well known and is nicknamed “the Lafite of the Languedoc.” The winery cellars were built in the foundations of an ancient Roman mill. The wines are vinified in Stainless-Steel and kept naturally cool by two springs running under the cellars and slows down fermentation. The first vines were planted in 1972. The estate is still family owned and operated. The wine is a blend of seventy percent Cabernet Sauvignon and thirty percent Mourvedre; all hand-harvested and grown on white clay soil. They use free-run juice (saignée) at low temperature, followed by fermentation in the Charmat Method. A coppery-rose colored wine offering strawberry, raspberry, cranberry and violets. On the palate a charming sparkling wine with tones of watermelon, strawberry, soft mousse and short finish of fruit and terroir.
The second club entry was Three Wine Company Faux Pas Contra Costa County 2024, that is “chillable,” and their sentiments are “the dirt, the micro-climate and don’t screw it up.” Winemaker Matt Cline’s philosophy is that the dirt, the micro-climate, and sustainable winegrowing form the cornerstone of good winemaking, and he places them in every bottle of wine he produces. He has a passion for preserving and educating on the historic varietals to California, such as Zinfandel, Mataro and Carignane. He and a like-minded group stood up to the State and saved an historic vineyard. This wine is a blend in two ways, first the wine is a blend of sixty-three percent Carignane, twenty-nine percent Zinfandel, six percent Petite Sirah and two percent Mataro. The Carignane is from the Joaquin Jose Vineyard which was planted in the mid-1880’s with an average age of over one-hundred-thirty years. The Zinfandel came from the Vineyard Lane and Oakley Road Vineyards. The Petite Sirah is from the Mazzoni-Live Oak Vineyard planted also in the mid-1880’s of which only 1.9 acres remain but is part of the seven-acre portion of the vineyard that is planted to the same varietal. The other part of the blend of this wine is that it is a blend of rosé and red wine lots fermented in Stainless Steel tanks. The rosé portion is a blend of mostly Zinfandel with some Carignane with about twenty-two hours of skin contact and fermented for forty-two days. The red wine portion had the Carignane fermented on its skins for thirty-one days, while the Petite Sirah was fermented for fifteen days. All the lots were unfined, and once the blending was complete, the wine was aged for four months in Stainless Steel. This wine is suggested to be lightly chilled before serving. According to the notes, this light crimson colored wine wine offers notes of Bing cherry, raspberry and pomegranate. On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displays tones of fruit, a touch of minerality and fine acidity, ending with a medium-count finish ending with a dominate finish of cherries. It is suggested that if you drink this wine during the summer months that a slight chill to the wine will make it feel more refreshing.
I thought I would just like to mention a few more facts about Larry Stone that was gleaned from his hour long tasting with nine wines from the day before. Besides his accolades from being a Master Sommelier and Best International Sommelier, he also managed a couple of restaurants that I know of. He was in the back room and the front of Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago and for Francis Ford Coppola’s Rubicon. Which is great training for dealing with the public. He began as a winemaker with the creation of Lingua Franca in 2012 and in 2022 he sold to Constellation Brands, leaving in place his original winemaking team, and he is now their “Brand Ambassador.”
We were coming up to the end of the special wine tasting at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan. Larry Stone was very informative and unfortunately, he had only an hour per session to talk about his wines. I was very happy that the photos came out well, as I am not a photographer by any stretch of imagination and I had to the photos while one of the assistants was pouring the wines. I only had time to photograph the glass of wine and the label, but I could not feature the wonderful artwork that was also on each label.
The next wine that we had was the Lingua Franca “The Plow” Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2022. The fruit for this wine comes from the estate’s Block One which represents “Massal Selection” the traditional French practice of replanting new vineyards with cuttings from exceptional old vines. Block One is planted on Gelderman-Jory soil, moderately deep, well-drained soils found in the foothills of the Willamette Valley. The soil is comprised of basalt (volcanic lava) and tuff (volcanic ash). Three other Blocks from the estate are also used, and each features a different Pinot Noir clone. The fruit was hand-harvested and only four percent of whole cluster fruit was used, the balance was hand sorted and destemmed berries. Fermentation was spontaneous using wild yeast in concrete and Stainless-Steel tanks, with gentle pump-overs and even some “pigeage” by foot (for fun, think of the episode of Lucy stomping on grapes). The wine was then aged in French Oak, of which twenty-one percent was new, for twelve months, followed by an additional five months in Stainless-Steel tanks after blending the wines, before bottling. This ruby-red colored wine offered notes of black cherry, pomegranate, raspberry and plums with violets and roses, and then spices, cocoa, and crushed rocks. On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of black cherry, pomegranate, followed by tones of blood orange and vanilla blending with ripe tannins and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit, spice and terroir.
The penultimate wine for this tasting was Lingua Franca Tongue ‘n Cheek Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills 2022. Tongue ‘n Cheek arose from a discussion over the use of whole cluster fermentations; that finer lots would benefit more compared to lighter lots. This wine is made from two sites on volcanic soils: ninety-two percent in Yamhill-Carlton and eight percent from Dundee Hills. The fruit was manually and mechanically harvested and sorted, then entirely destemmed and fermented using wild yeast, in a combination of concrete and Stainless-Steel tanks. After fermentation the wine was racked into French Oak barrels, of which twenty-five percent was new, and aged for twelve months. Then the wine was assembled in a Stainless-Steel tank and aged for an additional four months prior to bottling. This ruby-red colored wine offered notes of black cherry and raspberry, roses and violets, and sous-bois and spices. On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of black cherry and raspberry, along with traces of licorice and cloves blending with full tannins and ending with a medium-to-long-count finish of fruit, black tea and terroir.
The last wine of the session was Lingua Franca Mimi’s Mind Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills 2023. This wine is an homage to Mimi Casteel and her vineyard that was sold to Lingua Franca and is now their Block Eleven. She had been a role model for regenerative farming in Oregon with practices to improve the environment. Even though she has sold her vineyard, she appreciated and approved of her name on the cuvée. The fruit is hand-harvested and sorted in the vineyard and then again, prior to the crush. The fruit is then destemmed and only whole berries for the fermenters. Fermentation is spontaneous using wild yeast in Stainless-Steel tanks with gentle pump-overs, followed by traditional pigeage. After fermentation the wine is placed in French Oak barriques, of which twenty-six percent is new, and aged for twelve months. Then the barriques are emptied and blended in Stainless-Steel tanks for an additional five months before bottling. For this tasting the wine was “splash decanted,” a process where the wine is decanted and aerated for about twenty minutes and then poured back into the bottle. This ruby-red colored wine offered notes of black cherry and blackberry, violets and roses, sous-bois and spices. On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of cherry and blackberry, with black tea blending with firm tannins, ending with a medium-count saline finish of fruit, spices and graphite (terroir).
Larry Stone, the founder of Lingua Franca, was at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan for three wine tasting sessions of his wines. “Lingua Franca” has been referred to as the universal language used to connect people of diverse backgrounds, which goes back to the days when the French language was the premier language of international diplomacy.
The last white wine that was poured was Lingua Franca Sisters Chardonnay Willamette Valley, Oregon 2022. Larry Stone named the wine after his sisters who were separated during a war. Fifty percent of this wine was sourced from the Lynx Hill Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills, while the other fifty percent came from the high-altitude Maple Grove Vineyard in South-West Salem. The wine is pure Chardonnay and the fruit was all hand-harvested, and whole-cluster pressed and allowed to settle for twenty-four hours in Stainless Steel tanks. The wine was then transferred to French Oak barrels, of which twenty-five percent was new; Initial Fermentation with wild yeast, and then spontaneous Malolactic Fermentation occurred in the barrels while aging Sur Lie for eleven months. The wines were then blended in a closed-top Stainless-Steel tank on its lees for an additional five months before bottling. This pale golden-yellow wine offered notes of pineapple, lemon, yellow flowers, ocean spray, terroir and a dash of sulfur. On the palate, this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of green apples, pears and quince, along with fresh acidity and a touch of butter ending with a medium-count finish of fruit, refreshing salinity and terroir.
We then tried our first red wine, Franca Lingua “Avni” Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2023. This wine, just a week or so before the tasting, was awarded by The Wine Spectator the position of Number 16 in their list of the Top 100 of 2025. The fruit for this wine comes from several locations, hence the Willamette Valley AVA. One third of the wine comes from their estate vineyards, and other sites are in the Yamhill-Carlton, Van Duzer Corridor, and from the recently created Mt. Pisgah region with its uplifted marine sedimentary soils. The fruit is hand-harvested, sorted and destemmed and are fed bin by bin into small tanks and then pumped into larger Stainless-Stee and concrete tanks, where they ferment spontaneously with wild yeasts. Ten percent of the fruit undergoes Carbonic Maceration in airtight tanks. After fermentation the wine is aged in French Oak barrels and casks, of which twenty-five percent is new, for eleven months on the lees. The wines are then blended and aged for an additional three months in a tank before bottling. This ruby-red colored wine offered notes of cherries, raspberries, and pomegranates along with lavender, sous-bois and spices. On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of red fruits, mingling with black tea, graphite and clove with bright acidity and velvety tannins ending with a medium-count finish of fruit, terroir and licorice.
We then had the Lingua Franca Estate Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills 2022. The wine is pure Pinot Noir and most of the fruit for this wine came from two of their finest Blocks (1 and 2), while seventeen percent came from their Block 3 with slightly deeper soil and then thirty-one percent from their higher Blocks planted with a different clone. The fruit was hand-harvested and sorted, with the use of wild yeast fermentation in medium-sized concrete and Stainless-Steel tanks. Nineteen percent of the fruit was done in the whole cluster and the balance destemmed and only whole berries. The Initial Fermentation and the Malolactic Fermentation were both done spontaneously, followed by traditional punch-downs. The wines were aged for twelve months in French Oak, of which twenty-five percent was new, then the wines were blended for an additional four months in a tank before bottling. This deep ruby-red wine offered notes of cherry, raspberry, blackberry and pomegranates along with lavender and spices. On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of red fruits and citrus with bright acidity and ripe tannins ending with a medium-to long-count finish of fruit and terroir.
There was a special wine tasting event at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan with only three one-hour sessions, and it was all booked up. The tasting was hosted by Larry Stone, the founder of Lingua Franca. More about his wines is forthcoming, but within months of becoming the ninth Master Sommelier in the United States, he became the first American to win the prestigious Best International Sommelier in French Wines competition in Paris.
The first wine that was poured was Lingua Franca “Avni” Chardonnay Willamette Valley, Oregon 2022. Larry Stone bought the estate in 2012, was planted in 2013 and the winery was co-founded with Dominique Lafon in 2015. The estate is sixty-six acres in the Eola-Amity Hills district of Willamette Valley. The wine is pure Chardonnay and sourced from multiple vineyards in the region with the fruit grown on shallow volcanic soils; Eola-Amity Hills Lingua Franca’s Bunker Hill Estate Vineyard, Chehalem Mountains’ Yamhill Carlton and a site in the Van Duzer Corridor with marine sediments. Whole cluster pressing with settling in the tank for twenty-four hours, barrel fermented with wild yeast. Initial and Malolactic Fermentation were spontaneous and completed in barrels, with French Oak, of which twenty-six percent is new, for eleven months Sur Lie. The wines were then put back in closed tanks with their lees for another six months prior to bottling. A soft golden-yellow wine that offered notes of fruit, citrus, white florals, minerals and spice. On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of green apple, pears, lemon zest and ending with a medium-count finish of white fruit, spice and terroir.
The second wine that we had was Lingua Franca Estate Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills, Oregon 2022. The estate is composed of individual vineyard blocks, which are farmed by organic and regenerative farming principals. This wine is pure Chardonnay, and eighty percent is sourced from the original plots that were planted in 2012, while the balance is from some new plots planted in 2018 and 2019. The fruit is manually harvested, with field sorting, resulting in eighty percent whole cluster pressing and the other twenty percent crushed and pressed, then is allowed to settle for twenty-four hours in a tank, barrel fermented with wild yeast in French Oak, of which twenty-seven percent is new. Initial and Malolactic Fermentation is completed spontaneously in each barrel, and the wine lays on the lees for eleven months, then combined in tanks with the lees for five additional months on the lees, prior to bottling. This soft golden-yellow wine offered notes of jasmine, gardenia and lemon blossoms. On the palate this medium-bodied, well balanced wine displayed tones of green apples and lemon cream, chamomile and sea salt; ending with a medium-count finish of while florals, terroir and a salinity that beckons another sip and some more food.
The penultimate bottle of white was the Lingua Franca Bunker Hill Chardonnay Willamette Valley, Oregon 2022. Their Bunker Hill Estate Vineyard is in South Salem Hills, and represents the oldest source of fruit, as it was planted in 1995 and is among the earliest of the Dijon-clone plantings in Oregon. The grapes are hand-harvested, with sixty-seven percent whole cluster pressed and thirty-three percent crushed and pressed, settled in a tank for twenty-four hours, then barrel fermented in French Oak with twenty-six percent new, on fine lees. Full Malolactic Fermentation occurred spontaneously in each barrel. After eleven months of aging on the lees, the wines were combined in a tank with their lees for an additional five months prior to bottling. This pale-yellow-green colored wine offered notes of green apples, yellow flowers, flint, herbs, wet stones and lemon zest. On the palate this full-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of green apples and thyme, very polished and ended with a medium-to-long count finish of fruit, spice and a mineral salinity that was very refreshing and totally food friendly.
People think of my Bride and I when they want to try a restaurant off the beaten track, both in cuisine and destination. My Bride didn’t think twice about us going back to Alpino Detroit with someone that hadn’t been there. The Corktown district of Detroit has exploded in the last couple of years as being the trendiest region, as well as the oldest residential area, with homes dating back to the 1860s and was originally where the Irish immigrants lived, hence the name, derived from County Cork.
For a relatively new restaurant, that opened in 2023, they have won numerous awards. The site was originally another restaurant “Lady of the House” which evoked the Irish origins of Corktown, while Alpino Detroit represents Northern Italy and incorporates Switzerland, Austria and Germany, and the French Alps. They sit seventy comfortably, and during the summer, they also have patio dining. Another big factor is that they have their own parking lot, which is a big plus for the area. We started out by sharing a couple appetizers. We had the Gurkensalat, which is Persian Cucumber, Pickled Shallot, Crème Fraiche, Dill and Marigold; and it was very refreshing. We also shared an order of Rosti, a Swiss Potato Pancake with Smoked Salmon, Crème Fraiche and Mustard Greens.
For our main entrée orders my Bride had the Walleye with Wilted Savoy Cabbage, Walley Velouté and Sauce Verte. While the two men had orders of the Wienerschnitzel which was a Breaded Veal Cutlet with Morel Rahmsauce and Pickled Mustard Seeds. It was easy that we were all going to have white wine and we went with Pierpaolo Pecorari Traminer Aromatico Venezia-Guilia IGT 2021. This wine is from the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, also known as Tre Venezia region in northern Italy. Wine growing in the region dates to the 18th century and since the 1970s there has been focus on traditional winemaking. The Traminer grape is said to derive from Tramin (Termeno), a town in the Alps of Alto-Adige and the grape dates to the 11th century. It is believed to be the German Gewurztraminer of Alsace, but which area was first can’t be determined positively. In the Alpine region it is also known at White Traminer and Savagnin Blanc. This golden-yellow-colored wine offered notes of dried white flowers, rose petals, citrus and nuts. On the palate this light bodied wine with moderate acidity displayed tones of lychee, citrus, herbs and spices coming to a medium-count finish of fruits, spices, nuts, smokiness and minerality.
For dessert with multiple spoons supplied there was Bonet featuring chocolate, honey caramel, dark chocolate crumbs and hazelnuts as well as an order of Apfelkuchen which was an olive oil and thyme cake with Honeycrisp apples, maple cardamom, sage and an apple butter sorbet. I also ordered a glass of Domaine Rolet Pere et Fils Arbois Vin Jaune Jura 2017 to share. Domaine Rolet was created in 1942 and was produced by two generations, who then sold the estate in 2018; they produce all the classic wines from the Jura. Vin Jaune is only produced in the Cotes du Jura, Arbois and Arbois-Pupillin. It is made with Savagnin grown on blue and gray marls, manually harvest late in the season, which can produce a high alcoholic content by volume. After fermentation the wines are transferred to oak barrels and left, untopped for a minimum of six years and three months, similar to the production of the fortified Fino and Manzanilla wines. The wine is exposed to oxygen in the barrels and develops a layer of yeast on the surface officially called “gout de jaune” or “taste of yellow” (like the “flor” in Jerez). This is a wine that has a very long life. A bronze-yellow wine with notes of dried fruits, spices, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pepper, morels and minerals. On the palate this full-bodied, delicate acidity displays tones of complex flavors of candied and dried fruits, nuts, and spices ending with a long-count finish of sous-bois and minerality. My Bride and our friend did not like this wine, as I think oxidized wines tend to have immediate fans or they are on the other side of the table.
I must admit that it was a great celebration and unfortunately this time of the year always gets hectic, and I have articles that pile up on each other, especially when I have multiple part stories. I know that she forgives me, as she knows that I do try to be conscientious.
She wanted to have dinner at home that she administered, though she did claim that the menu seemed more me than her. We started out with appetizers and shrimp cocktails. We then had a salad that we discovered on our last trip to Las Vegas, a Heart of Romaine Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Strawberries served with a Champagne Vinaigrette (I even volunteered to harvest the seeds). She also made her favorite Bourbon Basted Salmon. So, the first wine that I grabbed was Domaine Jean Bourdy Cremant du Jura NV. Domaine Jean Bourdy began in 1579 with generation to generation in the Jura. Consequently, Domaine Bourdy has one of the most extensive library collections of wine in the Jura. The appellation of Cremant du Jura was created in 1995 with a history dating back to the Eighteenth Century and was then known as Vin Mousseux. Cremant du Jura now accounts for twenty-five percent of the total wine sold by Jura wineries. The wine must be at least fifty percent Chardonnay, and the remainder can be Savagnin for the white and the rosé must include Poulsard and Pinot Noir. Like all Cremant wines, they must be made in the Methode Traditionelle and aged in bottles on their lees for a minimum of nine months. The Jean Bourdy Cremant du Jura was pure Chardonnay. My Bride was enamored by this wine, and we bought a case of it about ten years ago, and it has held up extremely well. The wine had a beautiful golden color with fine bubbles with notes of citrus, floral and yeast. On the palate apples and brioche with a nice medium length offering terroir (minerals).
Then came the main entrée which was Braised Short Ribs of Beef with Root Vegetables and of course Armenian Pilaf (this is almost a given for any dinner at our house, as it is expected. Two hours before dinner was expected to be served, I decanted probably her favorite winery’s flagship wine Cain Vineyard and Winery Cain Five Napa Valley 1995, and from a vintage two years after we met. In 1980 when Jerry and Joyce Cain purchased the property which would become the mountain vineyard, the vineyard was dedicated to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Fran, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The fruit inspired the name Cain Five and the first vintage was in 1985, the winery was originally “Cain Cellars” and their first crush was in 1982. Cain is a mountain winery, and they pride themselves on the fact that the fruit is hand harvested, so they can actually pick the grapes at the proper individual time, because the vineyards are too steep for machinery. The fruit for Cain Five is all from one vineyard, estate grown and estate bottled. We bought this bottle at the winery when we did a tasting. I did ask why they don’t refer to the wines as a Meritage; they informed me that they were doing this prior to the creation of the Meritage association, and that they felt there was no reason for them to be a member. The wine is sixty-three percent Cabernet Sauvignon, twenty-three percent Merlot, nine percent Cabernet Franc, four percent Malbec and one percent Petit Verdot; and they came from sixteen lots that were vinified separately. The wine was aged for twenty-two months in French Oak. This was a very deep purplish-black colored wine that offered notes of black cherry, blackberry, black currant, and ripe plums with secondary notes of chocolate, cedar, and pencil shavings and no foxiness. On the palate this full-bodied, well-balanced wine “chewy” wine displayed tones of ripe dark fruits blending perfectly with now savory and mellow tannins, ending with a nice long-count finish of ripe fruit, spices and still plenty of terroir. My Bride at first objected to my opening one of her prized and esteemed bottles, but after tasting it, she was glad that it was so elegant as a thirty-year-old.
My Bride really did surpass herself with her skill in the kitchen that day, because for dessert she made a Grand Marnier Soufflé. I also had the perfect bottle to end the evening, and it was even more poignant as I later found out that the wine is no longer being made and my local wine shop sold the last seventy-seven bottles extant. I brought a bottle of dessert wine that took my breath away, and then the same thing happened when my Bride first tasted it. We opened a bottle of Roberts + Rogers Louer Family Cabernet Sauvignon Port Napa Valley NV. I had no information about this wine, nor could I find any, it was like it didn’t exist. I called and got ahold of Roger Louer, who I have met a couple of times at The Fine Wine Source, and he gave me some information. After the Cabernet Sauvignon vines were picked for the wines, they went out a picked whatever late-harvest berries were left on their St. Helena estate, and they were reading around 25 brix and after fermentation they added brandy and got the wine down to nine percent sugar reading. They only made one barrel of this wine, and they aged the barrel for one year. They produced about forty cases, because they were the smaller 375ml bottles. The wine was really made for their family and friends’ usage, but the wine shop and the winery have a long record of association and the shop got a few cases. They have only produced this wine perhaps every five years or so, and I was told that in the future the bottles would read “Port-style.” The wine was a deep-dark red wine that offered notes of dried fruits, candied nuts, and spices. On the palate there were tones of figs, black fruit, caramel, mocha, and nuts with a very long finish of dried fruit and nuts. So now, I am guarding the last of our stash.
Thanksgiving is a holiday that makes us (my Bride) totally organized and totally impressive to all that hear her accomplishments. This year, two days earlier, she had gone to the post office to mail the out-of-town gifts and the Christmas and Channukah cards. All the Christmas packages are wrapped and bundled by family and double checked on her checklist. I think that she got into this habit, because I was in retail, and she wanted to spend some time with me, on those rare days that I had some time off.
One of her girlfriends for a birthday gift, the two of them went and took a charcuterie board class to learn some techniques, so we had a board prepared, among other noshes, because she announced that appetizers were at two, and dinner was at three. One of our grandsons had bought me as a birthday gift, and I saved it, until he was legally able to drink it with us. He saw it and was intrigued, and he knew that Nick and Nora would appreciate it. We shared Fratelli Saraceni Blumond Blue Wine Italy NV. Saraceni Wines is a family-owned wine producer, best known for its Chianti and Prosecco labels. They are also known for their unconventional sparkling wines. Blumond Blue is a sparkling wine made from the Glera grape (Prosecco if from the proper areas), gently pressed and fermented in Stainless-Steel tanks, with the addition of Blue Curacao liqueur (made from the aromatic peels of the lahara citrus fruit) and peach juice, using the Charmat Method. This blue sparkling wine with medium-size bubbles offered notes of peaches and raspberries. On the palate this light-bodied wine with bright acidity displayed tones of peach, citrus, a subtle mousse and ended with a short-count finish of sweetness.
The first entrée of the meal was of course, a turkey that my Bride cooks in a roasting bag in a roaster, stuffed with root vegetables. There was her Caesar Salad, her acclaimed stuffing and several assorted vegetable dishes. I was rather distracted from everything else as I was carving the bird. Now I must admit that I never enjoyed turkey, until I had my Bride’s interpretation of this bird, as I always thought it was a first cousin to cardboard, but her turkey is very moist, and the meat basically falls off the bones. We started with Roberts + Rogers Chardonnay Napa Valley 2018. This is pure Chardonnay that was aged for almost twelve months, with sixty percent in French Oak, and forty percent in Stainless-Steel; and then blended. A rich golden-colored wine that offered notes of caramel apples, baked pears and a touch of pineapple and white florals. On the palate, this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of the green fruits, baking spices, especially vanilla and ended with a medium-count finish of fruit and buttered toast.
After carving the turkey, I proceeded to carving the lamb roast that was also braised with root vegetables, and of course, there was also Armenian Pilaf. My biggest problem with these big dinners is that I am usually full before dinner is served, because I am constantly nibbling on some tender morsels as I am carving, an excellent benefit from my duties. For this entrée I had opened an hour earlier a bottle of Chateau Haut Marbuzet Saint-Estephe 2000. The estate was founded in the 18th century but has received notice since 1952 when it was acquired by Herve Duboscq and is now produced by H. Duboscq et Fils. The estate is located between Chateau Montrose and Cos d’Estournel and is about forty hectares of gravel, clay and limestone soils with a view of the Gironde, with vines that average about thirty years in age. The property was one of the original Crus Bourgeois names in 1932 and promoted to Crus Grand Bourgeois Exceptionnels in 1978; and confirmed as one of the nine Crus Bourgeois Exceptionnels in 2003, the winery is regarded as being comparable to many of the Cru Classe wines. The wine is a blend of fifty percent Merlot, forty percent Cabernet Sauvignon, five percent Cabernet Franc and five percent Petit Verdot. The fruit is picked as late as possible, and vinification occurs in large oak vats for Initial Fermentation and for Malolactic Fermentation and then the wine is aged for eighteen months in all new French Oak. The deep ruby-red wine offered immediate notes of oak and then black cherry and blackberry, hibiscus, chocolate and pepper, spices and minerals. On the palate this full-bodied, well balanced and creamy textured wine displayed tones of the dark fruits and smokiness and a dash of espresso, blended with still firm tannins culminating to a long count finish of fruit, spices and plenty of terroir. In hindsight, I should have decanted this bottle after seeing the deposits on the side of the bottle, just below the neck; I shall recall this when I open the other bottles.
The Wine Raconteur 