Three Vintages from Paula Kornell Wines

Posted on March 26, 2026 by thewineraconteur

After we enjoyed the two non-vintage California sparkling wines from Paula Kornelll Winery of Napa Valley at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan, we were ready for their following three vintage sparklers.

We started with Paula Kornell Wines Blanc de Blanc Napa Valley 2020.  While all the wines from Paula Kornell are Methode Champenoise, this was the start of a vintage year and not a blend of years.  This bottle of wine is pure Chardonnay and after the harvest the grapes are pressed, and the juice is first in Stainless-Steel tanks.  The “tirage” was done on January 22, 2021, and this is a crucial step in the process known as Methode Champenoise.  A mixture of sugar and yeast (Liqueur de Tirage) is added to the still wine, which is then bottled; this mixture creates a second fermentation in the bottle and is essential for creating the effervescence qualities of this type of wine and explains the need for heavier and sturdier bottles.  Disgorgement is the next step and is the removal of dead yeast cells that have accumulated in the neck of the bottle.  The small amount of liquid is replaced with additional wine, and perhaps some sugar, and allows some fresh oxygen to let the wine “breathe and evolve.” The wine was a pale straw-color leaning towards a soft-golden shade with fine, persistent bubbles that offered notes of pear and lemon zest, along with white florals and baguettes and croissants.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of citrus and golden apples blending into a creamy-textured wine with a medium-count finish of fruit, brioche, chalk and almonds.

We then went with Paula Kornell Wines Blancs De Noir Napa Valley 2020.  This Methode Champenoise wine is a blend of seventy percent Pinot Noir and thirty percent Chardonnay.  The grapes were harvested in August 2020 and underwent Initial Fermentation in Stainless-Steel tanks, then Tirage occurred on February 1, 2021, to start the Second Fermentation.  The Disgorgement occurred in October 2024 after three years of “riddling” which is process to finally get the bottles upside down very gradually, to allow the art of disgorgement to proceed.  This golden-colored wine with tiny, persistent bubbles offered notes of lemons, strawberries and currents followed by freshly cut hay.  On the palate, this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of lemons, peaches and white cherries, followed by croissants and brioche ending with a medium-to-long finish of citrus, fruit, brioche and a whisper of ginger.

The final bubbly that we had and created a bit of a stir was the Paula Kornell Wines Rosé de la Vallée Napa Valley 2022.  It had created quite a stir as it had just arrived, moments before Mike and Jenny Farmer came to the shop to discuss the wines during the tastings.  It was also an exclusive, as it was only available at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan as there were only one hundred cases produced and the would only be sold at the winery.  I also should mention that the fruit for the vintage wines came from Mitsuko’s Vineyard in the Los Carneros appellation. The vineyard is named after the late wife of Jan Shrem, the owner of Clos Pegase, who gave her this property proclaiming his love for her.  This coppery-salmon colored wine with tiny, persistent bubbles offered notes of strawberries and white cherries, along with rose petals and cherry blossoms.  This medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of strawberry, white cherry and pears, blending seamlessly rosewater with bright acidity to create a subtle mousse, and ending with a medium-to-long count finish of fruit, oystershell minerality and a subtle salinity beckoning for another taste.  

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Paula Kornell Wines at The Fine Wine Source

Posted on March 23, 2026 by thewineraconteur

Club membership at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan pays off finely with another perk.  This time with a wine tasting presented by Mike and Jenny Farmer, owners of Paula Kornell Wines and ZFG Wine. 

Hans Kornell arrived in America in 1939 with only a couple of dollars and hitchhiked to California and in 1951 began making sparkling wines in Sonoma County.  By 1951, he had saved enough money to buy the old Larkmead Winery, which was started in 1906.  Paula Kornell is a fourth-generation sparkling wine producer with over thirty years of experience, including time at Eleven Eleven Wines, Vichon and Robert Mondavi.  Last year, after Vintage Wine Estates filed for bankruptcy, Paula Kornell and some thirty-odd wineries were left unprepared and facing the auction block.  Then in November, Paula had new partners with Mike and Jenny Farmer of Calistoga. 

The first wine of the session was Paula Kornell Brut California Sparkling Wine NV.  This sparkling wine was the perfect way to begin the tasting, as it is a California wine and comes from certified sustainable vineyards in the some of the coolest growing regions and are managed by fifth-generation grape growers.  The wine is entirely done using Stainless-Steel and then glass, without the use of any oak.  The wine is made in the classic Methode Champenoise and not by the bulk method.  A blend of eighty percent Chardonnay and twenty percent Pinot Noir.  After the Initial Fermentation the wine was aged for twenty-four months, before disgorgement and then a few more months before being released for retail.  A beautiful golden color with consistent small bubbles offered notes of peaches, apricots and lemon zest along with white florals.  This medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of green wines, fresh fruit, racy acidity, a mild toasty mousse and ending with medium-count finish of fruit and florals.  And way too nice for Mimosas.  

We then had their second non-vintage sparkling wine, Paula Kornell Brut Rosé California Sparkling Wine NV.  This is a multi-vintage blend of seventy percent Pinot Noir and thirty percent Chardonnay using the classic Methode Champenoise.  The wine was aged for thirty-eight months on fine lees in the bottle and then an additional several months after the disgorgement.  A pretty salmon-pink colored wine with persistent small bubbles offered notes of strawberry, raspberry and watermelon along with wet stones.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of currants, cranberries, pomegranate seeds and tart cherries followed by lively acidity, a creamy mousse and ending with medium-count finish of fruit, terroir and some toasted hazelnuts.        

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Bahama Breeze

Posted on March 20, 2026 by thewineraconteur

My Bride and some of her girlfriends get together, along with their spouses for a dinner periodically, and I am not sure how the restaurants are selected, but we were going to Bahama Breeze. 

My Bride and I tried the restaurant when they first opened, went back several years later, and then this time; they began in 1996 in Orlando, Florida by the Darden Restaurant chain.  Between the time the venue was selected and the appointed date, the Darden Restaurant chain announced that they were closing all the Bahama Breeze locations as they were “no longer a strategic priority” due to declining sales and increased competition.  My thinking is that they will probably retrofit the building into either one of their Olive Garden or LongHorn restaurants.  I always thought that the restaurant was cute, I have never been to Bahama, but the design of the buildings evoked a structure on Kiawah Island or parts of the Lowlands in South Carolina.  My Bride and I shared a spicy shrimp appetizer, then she went with a “themed” salad with salmon, and since I had discovered from previous times, that I am not partial to their cuisine, I opted for a burger and fries.

The wine list was a “no-brainer” of common popular brands.  Her first choice was no longer available, as they were probably selling the available inventory down; this also happened to some of the dishes that others had ordered.  My Bride had Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay California 2024. We have enjoyed a lot of Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay wines through the years.   We used to keep some in the house for our friends that enjoy this wine and has been our “go-to” wine in restaurants that have a limited selection of wines on their list.   The late Jess Jackson started the winery in 1974, and his first vintage was in 1982.  I once heard a statement that I will paraphrase that “people tend to talk about dry wines, but that they prefer some sweetness.”  From what I have read his first vintage under his own label was not a true dry Chardonnay, so he labeled it a “vintner’s reserve” and it took off from there.  He was an attorney, but he was a marketing genius.  This is an extremely popular bulk-wine and a classic example of a California Chardonnay.  The golden colored wine offered notes of tropical fruits, citrus, a trace of honey and vanilla.  On the palate this light-to-medium bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of pineapple, mango and papaya, along with citrus peels blending with some good acidity and ending with a short-to-medium count finish of fruit, oak and butter.

As for me, I selected from the wine list of “common popular” wines a Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon California 2023.  There is nothing wrong with going with the big brands, especially as you won’t have to keep printing menus, especially if you conveniently omit the vintage year.  Robert Mondavi began his career with his family and was known for his technical and marketing skills and was one of the original promoters of Napa Valley.  He was originally a proponent of labelling wines varietally, which became the norm for the New World wines. Though in the 1990s he created a joint venture with Baron Philippe de Rothschild to create Opus One Winery.  In 2004, Constellation Brands acquired the Mondavi winery.  He then partnered with his younger son and daughter to make a single wine from a single estate.  The Robert Mondavi Private Selection was founded in 1994 by Robert Mondavi to capture the flavors of California’s best Central Coast vineyards.  This is a bulk wine created in tanks, with some time in barrels, to maintain a popular price point.  The wine is predominately Cabernet Sauvignon with some Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Petite Sirah and Sangiovese.  A deep ruby colored wine that offered notes of blackberry and black cherry along with spices and graphite.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine display tones of cherry, plum, with some coffee and mocha blending with velvety tannins and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit, spices and graphite.  A decent chewy wine to accompany my burger.     

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The Fine Wine Source Club – March 2026

Posted on March 17, 2026 by thewineraconteur

With the doldrums of enduring the last of the winter season, waiting for signs of Spring, the high point of the month so far is going to The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan and picking up the Club offerings for the month.  The Club always features a selection from the Old World and one from the New World.

The featured wine from the Old World was La Bioca “Adae” Barbera d’Alba Superiore DOC 2022.  La Bioca is a relatively new winery in the centuries-old region of Langhe, in fact, it is still in its first generation.  Bisso Atanassov, is La Bioca, a former wine critic from Bulgaria, who decided that he needed to move to the Langhe and produce his own wine.  The winery is in Serralunga d’Alba and they have almost eight hectares of vineyards in the Langhe; and they only use grapes from their own vineyards.  They have seven plots of vineyards planted between 1961 and 2017, in Monforte d’Alba, Novella, La Morra and Barbaresco.  The terrain of this region is varied composures of sand, clay and limestone in a temperate Continental setting.  Adae is Barbera grapes from an older vineyard, and locally the owner of the vineyard is known as Ada, or in Latin as Adae.  The fruit is manually harvested, destemmed and undergoes cold maceration for three days in Stainless-Steel tanks without temperature control, with fifteen days of punch-downs and pump-overs, followed by post-fermentative maceration for about twenty-one days.  The wine is then aged for about five months in used oak tonneaus.  The wine is described as ruby-red and offers notes of black and red fruits, violets and spices.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of cherry, plums, menthol and balsam blending with firm tannins and ending with a medium-to-long-count finish of fruit, oak and spices.

The wine representing the New World is RouteStock Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2023.   In 1978, Wilson Daniels was founded as a fully integrated marketing and sales company by Win Wilson and Jack Daniels. In 1979, they became the exclusive US importer of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. In 2003 Wilson Daniels was bought by the Underwood family and their Young’s Holdings.  RouteStock winemaking emphasizes minimal intervention, indigenous yeasts, natural Malolactic Fermentation and avoiding chemical additives.  The fruit for this wine is sourced from vineyards in Coombsville, St. Helena, Mount Veeder and Rutherford, on a mix of alluvial, volcanic, loam, sandstone and shale soils. The wine is a blend of ninety-two percent Cabernet Sauvignon, three percent Merlot, two percent Cabernet Franc, two percent Malbec and one percent Petit Verdot. The wine is aged for twenty-one months in ninety-eight percent French Oak (eleven percent is new, the balance is neutral) and two percent American Oak.  The wine is described as a deep garnet color and offers notes of blackberry, tobacco, flint and graphite, and wet stone.  On the palate this full-bodied, well-balanced wine displays tones of blackberry, dried cranberries, rhubarb and licorice blending with firm tannins and ending with a long-count finish of fruit, spices and terroir.

I will mention another wine that I had a chance to taste, which is Bodegas Manzanos Siglo Crianza Seleccion Rioja 2020.  The story of this wine begins in 1890, when a small winery was started in Azagar by Fernandez de Manzanos.  In the 1940s a new facility was created and in the 50s and 60s the family consolidated their projects and exceeded 1.5 million liters of wine.  In the 90s, the fourth generation created Bodegas Manzanos.  In 2025, Michel Boutin of the Domaines Michel Boutin group acquired the Manzanos Wines Group.  “Siglo” is the most recognizable brand, because they still use the classic Burgundian bottle wrapped in a patterned fabric, made by Asprodema, an association for people with intellectual disabilities.  The wine is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha (Grenache) and Graciano from vineyards in the Rioja Alta and the Rioja Oriental, with vines from thirty-to-fifty-years of age.  The fruit is hand-harvested, with Initial Fermentation occurring in Stainless-Steel tanks with twenty days of maceration and about five daily pumping over done manually.  Malolactic Fermentation occurs in concrete tanks, then twelve months of aging in French Oak, with an additional six months of aging in the bottle, before release.  A deep red colored wine offering notes of cherry and plums, with licorice, cocoa, tobacco, vanilla and Sous-bois.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displays tones of black cherry and figs, followed by some caramel and mocha, blending with some bright acidity and velvety tannins; ending with medium-count finish of fruit, spices and terroir.   

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Wine and The Velvet Fluegeltones

Posted on March 14, 2026 by thewineraconteur

When my Bride and I go with The Wine Raconteur, Jr. you just must go with the flow.  One evening before the holidays, the joys of a raconteur, we met him and his wife, along with his parents, for dinner and then a night of music, across the street from a biker club.

Upon learning where the music venue was, I took it upon myself to suggest a restaurant that would be close by, and have good food and wine, you understand how my brain works.  We ended up going to El Barzon, which I have written several articles about.  The restaurant is famed for having Italian and Mexican food side by side on the menu; and we all had excellent dinners.  I also took it upon myself to suggest a white wine which would accompany the dinner choices.  I chose a new wine for the others, that I was sure that they would enjoy, Sella & Mosca La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna DOC 2024.  Sella & Mosca (Sella e Mosca) is the largest wine producer in Sardinia, featuring local varieties and “international” varieties.  The winery was founded in 1899 by two Piedmontese businessmen.  Their I Piani estate is one of the largest wine estates in Europe with five hundred-twenty hectares of contiguous vineyards.  Vermentino di Sardegna DOC was granted in 1988 and covers the entire island.  The history of Vermentino on Sardinia is vague as to whether it is from Liguria in Italy where it is known as Pigato, Provence and the Languedoc of France where it is known as Rolle or from Spain, where it is barely seen anymore.  Internationally, the lion’s share of Vermentino is Italy.  There is not a lot of information about the wine, outside of soft pressing, cold settling, fermentation, and short aging in Stainless Steel.  The golden colored wine offered notes of citrus, white florals and minerals.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine crisp white wine displayed tones of tropical fruit, pear, apple, along with good acidity and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit, citrus, terroir and a trace of iodine.

After dinner we went to Ro Cham Beau, just a short drive away and right across the street from a motorcycle club that had been there for years.  I told my wife, it was probably one of the safest locations in the Detroit.  The club was just getting it all together, an anteroom on one side and an ad-hoc band stage with chairs on the other side.  We went to see The Velvet Fluegeltones, a truly eclectic group of musicians having fun, using their own custom arrangements.  There were two fluegelhorns, a flautist, a clarinetist, two bass guitars, an acoustical guitarist, an accordionist, a percussionist on the vibes and a drummer.  It was The Tijuana Brass in Motown.  The music was totally enjoyable, and I must admit that I was a bit concerned, but I was easily brought into the throng of fans that evening.  The whole evening, I was thinking of tunes like “A Taste of Honey” and the theme song from The Dating Game from the Sixties and Seventies.

In the anteroom there was a make-shift bar, as I am sure the owners were still feeling their way about the makeup of the room.  There were munchies, beer, limited mixed drinks and a couple of wines being served.  We had Agricola La Portera Tardano Macabeo Carinena Spain 2024.  Agricola La Portera was begun in 2017 by three friends to apply what they do elsewhere and apply for themselves as well.  Their first wine was La Pinada and in 2019 they began Tardano, in a vineyard in Carinena, Aragon.  At one point, Carinena had given its name to a variety, and dominated the area, one of the oldest appellations in Europe, with a DO status in 1932.  Winemaking in the region dates to the Roman times.  The vineyards are in high altitudes along the plains of the Ebro River, with a Continental climate and a rocky terrain.  Macabeo is known as Viura in Rioja and Navarra as a versatile white grape grown on both sides of the Pyrenees, and in France it is known as Maccabeu.  There are two plots encompassing four hectares in the Almonacid de la Sierra Vineyard at 650 meters above sea level, on calcareous and clay soil; and the vineyard was planted in 1983.  After manual harvesting, the grapes undergo a soft and short maceration and fermentation is with indigenous yeasts. The wine is aged for twelve months in a mix of glass, concrete and neutral French Oak; glass is the traditional method of the region for generations.  A deep golden yellow wine that offered notes of orchard fruit, citrus, spices and wet stones.  On the palate this light-to-medium-bodied, well-balanced dry wine displayed tones of yellow apples, lemon zest, and tarragon blending with moderate acidity and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit, nuts and flint.     

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Domaine Gille at The Fine Wine Source

Posted on March 11, 2026 by thewineraconteur

It was a special wine tasting event at The Fine Wine Source featuring Matthieu Gille and his wines from Domaine Gille, represented by Michael Corso Selections.  We were also allowed to order through MCS other vintages of some of the wines as well as Vosne-Romanée “Basses Mézières” 2022, Nuit-St. Georges “Aux Bousselots” and three vintages of Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru. 

We proceeded with Domaine Gille Vosne-Romanée “La Croix Blanche” 2022.  It was a pleasure having these wines and the estate discussed by Matthieu Gille and his family has resided in the village of Comblanchien since 1570.  Today the nine-hectare estate is run by Pierre Gille and his son, Matthieu.  In Burgundy the largest region is the Cote d’Or, which is basically divided into the Cote de Nuits and the Cote de Beaune.  Cote de Nuits begins south of Dijon to Nuits-Saint-Georges and Corgolin and Comblanchien and then the start of Cote de Beaune.  The small commune was originally Vosne, but applied the suffix of Romanée in 1866, in honor of the prized vineyard La Romanée.  They have been growing grapes in this region for over a thousand years, and the total area is 151-hectares, of which a third is for 14 Premier Cru sites and 8 Grand Cru appellations (specific vineyards). Domaine Gille owns a .25-hectare parcel and produces a mere 120 cases per year of Pinot Noir from this famed commune.  This parcel was established in 1900 and replanted in 1956 on Clay and Marlstone, with a Limestone subsoil.  The grapes are harvested manually followed by five days of cold maceration and natural fermentation without external yeast or temperature control.  The wine is aged for eighteen months in tine textured, medium toasted French Oak barrels, of which a third are new.  The Lieu-dix (place name) of “La Croix Blanche” is at the southern border of Vosne-Romanée.  The deep ruby-red wine offered notes of cherry, strawberry and cassis along with violets, truffles and sous-bois.  On the palate this full-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of the red fruit, the earthiness of truffles blending with ripe tannins ending with a long-count finish of fruit, sous-bois and terroir.

The penultimate wine at the tasting was Domaine Gille Nuits-Saint Georges “Les Brulées” 2018.  Pinot Noir accounts for about ninety-five percent of all wine in the Cote de Nuits.  Nuits- Saint-Georges has had its appellation since 1936, and the area has been respected for its wine for almost a century.  The Saint-Georges vineyard has been famed for ages, and the town of Nuits (Latin for walnuts) appended its name to the famous vineyard, and this wine carries the appellation of Nuits-Saint-Georges Village.  The lieu-dit vineyard of Les Brulées is south-east facing central Nuits-Saint-Georges, located directly beneath Les Poirets 1er Cru.  The Domaine has 1.21-hectares of twenty-to-ninety-year-old vines planted on Limestone and Clay soil and produces about 6,500 bottles each year.  The Domaine has all work done by hand, following traditional methods, using sustainable farming practices.  After the manual harvest, the grapes undergo five days of cold maceration followed by natural fermentation without the use of external yeast or temperature control.  The wine is aged for eighteen months in fine textured, medium toasted French Oak barrels, of which a third is new.  This ruby red wine offered notes of red fruit and hints of blackcurrants, as well as violets and spices.  On the palate this full-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of red and black fruit blending with elegant tannins and ending with a long-count finish of fruit, vanilla and terroir.  

The last wine of the tasting was Domaine Gille Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru “Les Cailles” 2022.  Nuits-Saint-Georges is the second largest of the twenty-six communes in the Cote d’Or with three-hundred-twenty-hectares of Village and Premier Cru vineyards of which there are forty-one Premier Cru climats.  The Premier Cru vineyard Les Cailles totals 7.11-hectares of stony limestone and clay with poor topsoil and is held in the same esteem as Les Saint-Georges.  Domaine Gille has .43-hectare of this famed vineyard, and the Pinot Noir vines were replanted in 1975, and they average about 2,500 bottles each year.   The Domaine has all work done by hand, following traditional methods, using sustainable farming practices.  After the manual harvest, the grapes undergo five days of cold maceration followed by natural fermentation without the use of external yeast or temperature control.  The wine is aged for eighteen months in fine textured, medium toasted French Oak barrels, of which a third is new.  This deep ruby colored wine offered notes of cherry and blackcurrant, along with violets, rose petals, licorice, spices and crushed stone.  On the palate this full-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of red and black fruit, blending with bold acidity, silky texture, and dominated full tannins and ending with a long-count finish of fruit, vanilla and terroir.             

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Domaine Gille and Michael Corso Selections

Posted on March 8, 2026 by thewineraconteur

It was another important and curated wine tasting at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan featuring the Burgundian wines of Domaine Gille.  Matthieu Gille was speaking about his wines as he was brought in by Michael Corso Selections.  Michael Corso began his wine career in 1972 at The House of Glunz, Chicago’s oldest wine retail shop and since then he has been in wine sales at restaurants, wholesale, distributor, and importer.  He helped create Chicago Wine Merchants, one of the leading fine wine distributors in the United States.  The basis of Michael Corso Selections was formed during this time frame.  In 2008, he established MCS as an independent importer of high-quality estate wines and spirits from France and Italy. 

The next wine that we tried was Domaine Gille Bourgogne Cote d’Or Pinot Noir “La Lutheniere” 2022.  The Gille family has resided in the village of Comblanchien since 1570 and over the years the estate has increased to a nine-hectare Domaine.  The vines are forty-five to eighty years old, and some plots have been with the family since the 18th Century.  All work is done manually in the time-honored tradition of respecting the terroir and still being sustainable.  This is only the second time in the history, that this plot has not been blended with other wines, and they devoted a few barrels, and even some of this wine was allotted for the American consumer.  This plot of Limestone and Clay soil sits just outside of the border of Vosne-Romanée.  After the manual harvest, the vinification begins with five days of cold maceration followed by natural fermentation without external yeast or temperature-control.  It matures in fine-textured, medium toasted French Oak barrels of which a third is new.  This deep garnet-red wine offered notes of cherry, blackberry, and currants with rose petals and violets, followed by mocha, anise and sous-bois.  On the palate this full-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of black and red fruit along with savory spices and ripe tannins and ending with a long-count finish of fruit, spices and terroir.

We then went with Domaine Gille Cote de Nuits Villages “Reserve Comblanchien” 2022.  Domaine Gille is an historic estate located in the village of Comblanchien with viticultural activities dating from 1570 and always within the family.  The “Reserve Comblanchien” comes from prime terroir at the edge of the Cotes de Nuits, noted for it limestone and clay soils and vines from fifty to over one hundred years of age.  The Domain employes traditional, handcrafted techniques emphasizing minimal intervention with traditional biodynamic principles.  The grapes are manually harvested and undergo a cold maceration period of five days (not temperature-controlled) and then fermented with indigenous yeasts, with aging for fifteen months in French Oak, of which one-third is new.  A deep garnet colored wine that offered notes of black cherry, blackberry and currants, along with rose petals and violets, followed by mocha, spices and sous-bois.  On the palate this full-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of red and black fruit, mocha and anise blending with silky tannins and ending with a long-count finish of fruit, spices and terroir.

The next wine is where we began entering the communes of Cote d’Or, with Domaine Gille Pommard “La Chaniere” Cote de Beaune 2022.  The appellation for Pommard is only for red wines.  It is named after Pomona, the Roman Goddess of fruit trees.  The Premier Cru vineyards of Pommard, almost run uninterrupted from the boundaries of Beaune in the north, to Volnay in the south.  The vines for this wine were from forty-five to eighty years of age and planted on Limestone and Clay soil.  This part of the estate was established in 1900 and is .26-hectare in size of pure Pinot Noir planted in chalky soil with iron and clay.  The vines are from thirty-to-fifty years old, and the lot averages about 1400 bottles each vintage.  La Chaniere is a lieu-dit (place name) in the northwester part of Pommard in the Beaune side.  All the work is done by hand, respecting the terroir and using traditional and sustainable farming methods.  After the manual harvest, the vinification begins with five days of cold maceration (not temperature controlled) and natural fermentation using indigenous yeast.  The wine is then aged for eighteen months in fine textured, medium toasted French Oak barrels, of which a third are new.  A deep ruby colored wine that offered notes of black fruit, spices, sous-bois and crushed stones.  On the palate this full-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of dark plum and black cherry along with some fresh acidity and silky tannins that end with a long-count finish of fruit, spices and terroir.    

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Domaine Gille Tasting with Matthieu Gille

Posted on March 5, 2026 by thewineraconteur

I attended another wine tasting at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  The Fine Wine Source and Michael Corso Selections presented a Domaine Gille Tasting with Matthieu Gille, and his wonderful wines from the Burgundy region of France.

The Gille family has resided in the village of Comblanchien since 1570.  Since that time, the Domaine has been passed down continuously through the generation and has changed sizes due to purchases and marriages.  The current Domaine was developed by Vivant Gille in the beginning of the last century and currently the nine-hectare estate is managed by his great-grandson, Matthieu Gille.  The vines on the properties range from forty-five to eighty-years of age, with some parcels owned by the family since the late 18th Century.  All the work is done by hand, following traditional methods to “respect the terroir and the unique character and challenges of each vintage.”

We started with Domaine Gille Bourgogne Chardonnay 2024.  This wine is pure Chardonnay grown on a soil of mixed clay and limestone.  The fruit is manually harvested and free of pesticides and herbicides from their estate in Comblanchien.  They employ sustainable and organic practices and this is from their plot Bellevue or beautiful view.  Vinification begins directly in new French Oak barrels with fine texture and medium toast.  The juice slowly fermented over a period of eleven months with no additional yeast or chemicals added and just occasional stirring.  Even though this wine only carries a basic Appellation of Bourgogne, there were no short cuts, and it impressed the crowd.  A nice golden-colored wine offering notes of apples, citrus, white florals, hazelnuts, vanilla and gravel.  On the palate this full-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of orchard fruits and tropical fruits and ending with a strong medium-count finish of fruit, vanilla and terroir.

We then had our first red wine Domaine Gille Bourgogne Cote d’Or Pinot Noir 2022.  This is from a sustainable estate plot of just under three hectares of Pinot Noir grown on a soil of limestone and clay.  These are vines that are thirty-years-of-age.  The Clote d’Or is the heart of Burgundy, an escarpment that runs from Dijon to Santenay, and then it is divided again between the Cotes de Nuit and the Cotes de Beaune; while there are other great regions in Burgundy, we will settle here for the moment.  This is a hand-crafted wine, from manually harvested, and the initial vinification is done with five days of cold maceration without external yeast, or temperature control (real Old School).  Then the wine is aged for eighteen months in fine textured, toasted French Oak barrels, of which a third are new.  A deep garnet colored wine that offered notes of blackberry, black cherry, currants and cassis along with rose petals, violets, spices and sous-bois.  On the palate this medium-to-full-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of ripe cherries, blackberries, and cassis, followed by mocha and star anise, blending with ripe tannins and ending with a medium-to-long-count finish of fruit, spices and terroir.    

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Dinner at Zingerman’s Roadhouse

Posted on March 2, 2026 by thewineraconteur

Every couple of months my Bride gets together with some of her school friends, one going back to elementary school, and the husbands all tag along.  The group no longer live in the old neighborhood, so there is always logistics that take place in deciding the next venue.

We were meeting at Zingerman’s Roadhouse on the western edge of Ann Arbor.  Zingerman’s began as a delicatessen in 1982 in an historic building near the Ann Arbor Farmers Market, within walking distance of the famous university in the city.  It was started by two friends and Zingerman’s became an entity of it’s own, with assorted secondary businesses and has become a legend in the area, and very well respected.   My Bride and I were the first to get there, and we were trying to figure out what business was there before it became the Roadhouse.  The room our party’s table was in, revealed the name, as they moved the old sign from the parking lot and installed it above the fireplace.  It used to be Bill Knapp’s Restaurant.  Bill Knapp’s was a regional chain that began in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1948 and ended up in five states, before the company went into bankruptcy and total closure in 2002.  I would venture to say that every “boomer” has had at least one encounter with the chain.  They were famous for their chocolate cake, which was a gift to the table, if you came in on your birthday, and the cakes are still being made today.  The other thing that they were famous for, was that if you came in on your birthday, you received your “age” as a discount for your meal.

There were five couples, so I will just mention what we had.  My Bride naturally went with Herb-Crusted Whitefish (from the Great Lakes) crusted with Dijon Mustard, herbs and breadcrumbs, and served with Carolina Gold rice and Sautéed Spinach.  I went with Niman Ranch South Carolina BBQ Ribs, smoked for nine hours with a Mustard BBQ sauce, along with Anson Mills’ heirloom grits, and some Mustard Slaw.  We also shared an order of Pimento Cheese & Bacon Macaroni, with Nueske bacon, house made Pimento Cheese and their Bechamel Sauce caramelized with Mancini pasta.  We had a bottle of Carol Shelton “Wild Thing” Damiano Vineyard Viognier Placer County 2023.  Carol Shelton began her career in 1981 working for Rodney Strong and Windsor Vineyards.  In 2000, she and her husband created their own winery, starting small and actually began the second year by selling futures, for the business to keep going, and some of the original investors are still with her.  Placer County is in the heart of California’s Sierra Foothills wine region, once the home of some of the largest wine industries during the Gold Rush, then abandoned and now recently re-discovered by some boutique wineries.  The soil is mostly decomposed granite and loam.  Most wineries use the more recognizable appellation of Sierra Foothills. The vineyard is in the Gold Country town of Auburn, and the fruit is picked slightly less ripe to ensure citrus and aromatics.   The wine is ninety-four percent Viognier and six percent Chardonnay.  The fruit is destemmed to press and cold settled, then it is barrel fermented (neutral barrels), stirred weekly sur lie for five months, with no Malolactic Fermentation to keep the wine crisp.  This pale-golden colored wine offered notes of jasmine, gardenia and honeysuckle along with grapefruit and orange zest.  On the palate this light-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of peaches, nectarines, orange-cream and ending with a mouth-watering slight tart, medium-count finish of fruit, florals and granite.

For dessert we shared an order of “Ari’s Donut Sundae” which is a house made Dutch donut topped with Vanilla Gelato, Bourbon Caramel sauce, Virginia peanuts, and a Woodford Reserve Cherry.  She was happy that she had a decaf Cappuccino and I had a wee dram of extra dessert.  I went with The Rare Wine Co. Historic Series Madeira Savannah Verdelho Special Reserve NV, produced by Barbeito; and they have the longest brand name known to man or woman.  Verdelho is one of the drier and fresher (high acid) of the four varietally labeled, fortified wines of Madeira: Sercial, Bual, Malvasia and Verdelho.  Verdelho Madeira now represents a wine style, as much as the varietal.  After the phylloxera devastation of the 1860’s, Verdelho Madeira almost disappeared as they began using a resistant hybrid Jacquet, now outlawed, and Tinta Negra Mole, but in 1993, legislation was introduced that stipulated at least eighty-five percent of the variety must be used, if it is on the label.  Madeira Verdelho historically is a relatively dry, very fresh, fortified, oxidized white wine.  This wine was released in April 2010 and is still available.  This tawny-amber colored wine offered notes of orange zest, shortbread, ginger, milk chocolate, and almonds.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine is lightly sweet and displayed tones of candied citrus, ginger, and some spicy honey that ends with a delightfully long finish of spice and citrus sweetness.     

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A Shopping Spree of Wines – Part Two

Posted on February 27, 2026 by thewineraconteur

It was a lively event at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  The shop had taken advantage of some great discounts on several wines from a vendor, if they bought the entire offering, which they did and then gave the savings first to the wine club members, who had signed on at hourly intervals for the tastings.

The first red that I will discuss is Convene by Dan Kosta Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2021.  Dan Kosta has over twenty years of quality experience including his namesake Kosta Browne wines, which he founded in 1997.  Convene by Dan Kosta was launched in 2019.  The Pinot Noir fruit comes from the Campbell Ranch and the Umino Vineyard in the Sonoma Coast region.  It is aged for ten months in French Oak of which thirty percent is new.  This deep red wine offered notes of cherry, strawberry and plum along with roses, blood orange, spices and minerals.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of red and black fruit, cola, mocha blending with plush tannins and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit, vanilla and graphite.  

The next red wine that I will discuss is Domaine Julien Cruchandeau Ladoix Les Ranches 2022.   The estate was established in 2003 and currently comprises nine wine appellations from the Burgundy region.  The vigneron Julien Cruchandeau is not from a winemaking family; in fact, he is a successful musician that retired to become a winemaker.   He began first with Bouzeron and built his Domaine in the Hautes Cotes de Nuits and is working towards sustainable viticulture.  Ladoix was originally granted an appellation in 1937, and the vineyards were classified in 1982.  Ladoix is a small village that lies at the bottom of the hill of Corton, in the Cote de Beaune; a large proportion of village’s vineyards are covered by other appellations, which makes Ladoix one of the least prolific communes of the region.  Les Ranches means “spiky thorny bushes” in old French and was planted in 1974 on a soil of clay and limestone and is located where the Cote de Nuits ends and the Cote de Beaune begins on the Corton slopes.  The wine is crushed, using thirty percent whole cluster, and maceration is done using low temperature for the first ten days.   The wine is then fermented in vats for about six weeks with frequent pump overs and then aged for fifteen months on fine lees in French Oak, of which twenty percent is new.  A deep red wine that offered notes of cherry and currants along with roses and kitchen spices.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of cherry, strawberry, currants blending with silky tannins and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit, toasted oak and licorice.

We then had Bodegas Urbina Seleccion Rioja DOCa 2000.  Salvador Urbina moved to Cuzcurrita del Rio Tiron in 1870 and begins making wine in oak barrels and with the first vineyards in his estate, which has since grown to seventy-hectares.  The soil has a healthy mix of clay, iron and alluvial components, giving it a redder color than its northern neighbor’s sandy white soils. When compared with Rioja Alavesa, these wines tend to be lighter in body and lower in acid, with the emphasis on elegance.  Now, the family is in the fourth generation, and in 1986 began employed Stainless-Steel tanks as well.  All the wines that they produce are from their own estate, using traditional practices, limiting the use of pesticides and fungicides, and only using indigenous yeasts.  Cuzcurrita is in the Rioja Alta, and this wine is pure Tempranillo from fifty-year-old vines. The wine is aged in a mixture of American and French Oak, all new, for one year, and then is aged in Stainless-Steel tanks for over fifteen years, before bottling.  This deep purple-red wine offered notes of cherry and plums, with baking spices, leather, tobacco, cedar and sous-bois.  On the palate this medium-to-full bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of cherries and plums, with savory herbs and spices, earthiness and a touch of mocha blending with subtle polished tannins and ending with a long-count finish of fruit, spices and the ethereal sous-bois.   

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