Charlotte, North Carolina has been sending a siren call this way, since the last time we went there.  Alas, this time was I was not as accessible, but my Bride was as she went off on a “girl’s” vacation and spent a week with one of her best friends that had moved to this city of finance and a little organization known as NASCAR.  I wish that I had been able to have joined her, as her friend in Charlotte is a hoot, and we do have so much fun.

While they were in Charlotte the young ladies made a side trip to Asheville, North Carolina and they stopped by and had dinner one night at Bouchon French Bistro.  When she called me and told me the name of the restaurant, I was surprised at the name, which means Cork in French, and is the same name as two different restaurants we have dined at, that are also bistros, but owned by Thomas Keller, famous for his French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley.  The restaurant in Asheville was not part of the chain, but they enjoyed the dinner so much, that on the return trip back to Charlotte they dined there again.

The first night, my Bride was very excited because she selected a bottle of her favorite varietal, namely Cabernet Franc.  She found a bottle of Domaine de la Butte Borguiel 2012 from the Loire Valley in France.  The Loire Valley is most noted for the white wines, and rose wines.  The district known as Touraine is known for two villages that produce red wines; Chinon and Borguiel (with a side note that Rabelais was born in Chinon and would often mention the local wines of his birthplace).  My Bride was indeed in heaven having enjoying bistro food and a bottle of Cabernet Franc.  On the return trip, the two ladies while having dinner enjoyed a bottle of Rombauer Vineyards Chardonnay Carneros 2011 with equal enjoyment.  While Rombauer Vineyards is located in St. Helena in the Napa Valley, this wine was produced from property in the Carneros district.  While my Bride does not get gushy or descriptive in her discussion of wines, I knew that she enjoyed them both, because if she didn’t then I would have heard more about the wines, when it is negative.