I was meeting a friend for lunch, as I had something to give him, and he suggested that we meet a J. Alexander’s.  This is a chain that is found in about twelve states and they give a good meal, classic American cuisine.  Nothing pretentious, but quality and I think they have achieved that goal admirably.  My Bride and I use this restaurant, when we want to have dinner and wine before catching the latest cinema.  I was meeting my friend, and we both showed up in the parking lot at the same time, so there was no need to look for each other in the restaurant.  This particular restaurant has always evoked the feeling of an old train station in its motif, at least which is the feeling I always feel.  We were led to a booth in the bar section, and that was fine.

Our server showed up almost immediately with menus and a carte with the daily specials, but no wine list, which she brought back after I requested it, though I found it odd that as she handed it to me, she wanted to know what I was going to drink, before I could focus on the selections, she decided that she would return in a few minutes.  We were catching up with what in the world was going on in our lives, as well as deciding on what to have for lunch.  Originally my friend was going to go “healthy” and get a salad, then he decided to change it to a steak sandwich, and then finally he opted for a “French-dip” sandwich, and I said that it sounded good, and I ordered one as well.  I being “high maintenance” asked if the horseradish that came with the sandwich was fresh or a sauce, I was told normally a sauce, but they had fresh as well, so she brought both with the orders.

The restaurant had a nice wine list, but I was looking for a wine by the glass, as we were not going to have a leisurely lunch where we could finish off a bottle of wine.  As I was looking at the list of red wines by the glass, there were some that I have already had, and I wanted to find something different.  There on the list was a wine that was listed as a Meritage and so I decided to go with that.  The wine was Elements by Artesa Red Wine Sonoma County 2009.  This is a collection from Artesa Vineyards and Winery of Carneros, and the winery offers wines made from varietals in Napa Valley and Sonoma County.  I had our server bring the bottle, so that I could take a picture of it, since I would not have the label for later reference.  I noticed that it said “red wine” and not “Meritage,” so I knew that they must not belong to the society.  I have had plenty of blends that do not belong to the society, so I was not too concerned.  This particular wine was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petite Verdot.  It certainly reminded me of Claret, but not as heavy, which was fine for lunch.  The color was good, and the nose was decent for a popular priced wine, which this was.  I do believe this was a case, where the wine was enhanced by the quality of the friend and the conversation.