As I started this blog, I had no idea what to expect, nor did I have any belief that anyone would read my recollections, other then perhaps my Bride. Soon after I had begun, I had a gentleman that started to “follow” my blog and I in turn returned the favor. We soon had a correspondence between the two of us, not only on our respected blogs, but also we became friends elsewhere as well.
My fellow blogger’s name is Oliver and I have developed a strong admiration for his writing and his knowledge. I also have to mention that his blog is called The Winegetter, a play on the Anglicized pronunciation of Oliver’s surname (http://thewinegetter.wordpress.com//). I have found him to be very Continental in the classic sense of a well educated individual from the Continent, narrowing it down to Germany. Oliver has a passion for the Riesling wines, especially from his Homeland and is very knowledgeable and words just flow from him about those wine, as well as all of the other wines that he has enjoyed. I do believe it was Oliver that suggested originally that we get together to meet, as he is living in Ann Arbor at the moment, and I am in Livonia.
As we started to communicate about possible restaurants that the four of us could meet at, I suggested a couple of ideas, because one always has to check if there are food allergies or potential problems, so as not to have any problems during the evening. We settled on a fine little café called Amadeus in Ann Arbor, where my Bride and I have dined before. I would say that the restaurant is more of an Austro-Hungarian themed eatery as there is an Eastern European flavor of the cuisine. Oliver told me that the menu reminded him of comfort food, so we made plans to finally meet.
The restaurant is an old retail establishment and they have tables in the part of the building that would have been windows displaying the wares of the establishment in days gone by. We all met and had a table in one of the windows, which was perfect as we could enjoy our conversations away from the other diners. What wonderful conversations we had, talking of past trips and about wines, of course.
We enjoyed appetizers and salads. The dinner plates were very filling, plates of pork, salmon and beef with potato pancakes and more. The food this evening was secondary to the conversation, as it was if we were two old friends that had found each other after years of separation. From our writings, we were friends before we had even met. The wine list contained about three to four dozen choices of wines to choose from, and it was a very eclectic mix of wines. One would surmise that with the choices of the menu, that it would lean more towards French, German and Hungarian wines. While all three countries had offerings, there were also wines from other parts of Europe as well as from the New World. I was curious to see what wine Oliver would select, as I saw a couple of wines that I would have chosen. He had selected a Rioja wine, and then we had to decide between two different Rioja wines, and our waitress said that the Lan Rioja was the proprietor’s favorite wine, so that made the selection for us. The wine Lan Rioja Crianza 2008 was made exclusively from the Tempranillo varietal and it was subtle enough that it worked with the assortment of entrée plates that we were enjoying.
After dinner we also enjoyed a nice dessert wine a Tokay Aszu 2001 with 4 Puttonys which indicates the level of sweetness with 5 Puttonys being the sweetest. It was a fine way to end the evening’s camaraderie, and we look forward to meeting with them again, and until then, we shall read each other’s blog.
The Wine Raconteur 
What a great way to build a friendship. Looks like it was a wonderful evening.
Yes, it was a most enjoyable evening, but then through all the posts, we both felt as if we knew each other before we had actually met. Thank you for your kind words and for taking the time to read my blog.
– John
Oh John, you flatter me…way too much. (So much that I might just go ahead and reblog this post on my blog). Thank you for a great evening out. One of the best parts was when we both were able to say: “Oh, yes, I know.” because we did in fact know each other through our blogs. What a wonderful addition to our lives. It was a GREAT night out indeed (always a good sign when the waitstaff is getting ready to close the doors behind you). BUT, now I want to know which wines you had in mind!!
Thank you for your friendship. And we’ll see you soon! Give my best to your bride.
Oliver,
There is no flattery, just truth. I would feel honored if you did reblog the post, as you were there, and may have even wrote a better piece. Believe it or not, in my mind, I had a toss up between the other Rioja or going all out for the Chateauneuf-du-Pape (but I thought it may have over powered the dinners). I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, meeting you and your charming Bride. I look forward to another night together and my regards to your Bride as well.
– John
Thank you John for telling me what you eyed. Yes, I saw that Chateauneuf but was discouraged by the price tag…as all too often with these wines. You had better reasons to opt against it!
I agree, I was concerned that it may not have been stored properly and the price was so out of the range of their other wines. I do like that wine though.
Livonia? I had no idea! I went to high school in Plymouth!
Yes, I now reside in Livonia, near the Plymouth, Northville borders. Plymouth is a charming community and five of my articles have been about venues in Plymouth. I don’t know if you get back there or not, but there are some very nice wine venues in Plymouth.
– John
Pingback: Sunday Read: An Evening of Two Bloggers and Their Brides | the winegetter
Oliver,
Thank you and I am honored.
– John
Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun!
And, Tokaji Aszu: what a nice way to finish off a good meal! 🙂
Stefano,
It was a fine way to end the meal, though I was a little disappointed, because the wine list said 5 puttonys, but 4 is close enough.
Thank you for your kind words and for taking the time to read my article.
– John
I agree, 5 puttonyos would have been better (and Esencia would have been to die for!) but 4 is close enough, just like you said, and still plenty good 🙂
Thank you, and congratulations on a very nice blog – I am thankful that Oliver made me become aware of it!
Take care, John.
Stefano,
I thank you for your time in reading my blog and for your kind words. An Esencia is a fabled wine, that I have not had the pleasure to encounter, though I have had 3, 4 and 5 puttonyos, which for mere mortals is excellent.
I am also glad that Oliver is so kind, as to offer the article by link from his own enjoyable blog. I have told him on occassion that he is becoming a raconteur in his own right.
I do hope you stop by again.
– John
John,
One “technical” question: are you considering adding a WP “follow” button to your blog? I think it would be a nice option that would let anyone who clicks on it receive your posts by email, with the added bonus that you can also be followed by non-WP readers. I for starters would be delighted to sign up and follow your blog! Just a thought! 🙂
Stefano
Stefano,
I would be honored if you became a reader of The Wine Raconteur. To the best of my knowledge, there is a small gray box that pops up on the lower right hand corner that says “follow” where you can enter in your email address. My Bride is one of my followers in this manner. If you have problems, I will see if there is more that I can do for you.
– John
John,
Thank you very much for your time and explanations.
For some reason I cannot see the box in the lower right corner (maybe it is a question of browser?) so I just hit follow in the dark grey bar at the top of your blog.
The only difference compared to a WP “follow” button is that that way your posts will be added to my reader, while by clicking on a WP follow button your followers would receive an email whenever you publish a new post (which is the way I tend to prefer to receive posts from the blogs I follow), but it is not a big deal.
Anyway, just in case you ever wanted to add a follow button to your blog, just bear in mind it is a super easy and quick process: you just go to Appearance/Widgets in your Dashboard and then drag the follow button to your sidebar and you’re done!
I look forward to reading more of your interesting posts!
Best,
Stefano
Stefano,
Thank you for “following,” when I get to the page, that is where I always see the “follow” button appear. I shall look into it more.
– John