By the time you read this, one of the most exciting minutes in sports will have been completed, while most people think of Louisville for Mint Juleps, I think of wine. Also by the time you read this, my Bride will be back home from spending several days down there to keep her professional credits intact, she also ties it in with spending some time with her sister and she takes her Mother along for the visit as well.

Outside of the Detroit area, I may have written more articles about Louisville, then any other area. We have been going there for visits for almost twenty years and my Bride has been doing it for even longer. There have been black tie events, christenings, mini-vacations, birthdays, restaurants, barbeques, fund raisers and even trips to Churchill Downs; and did I mention wine. We have seen celebrities on the grounds of Churchill Downs as well as in the pavilion that is erected for a gala there. We have acquired Derby glasses, boy have we acquired Derby glasses. We have also acquired the posters by the likes of LeRoy Neiman and Tony Bennett. We have also had time to enjoy wine, did I mention that?

While most people do not think of Louisville as a culinary center, I do, when I think of all the fine restaurants that we dined at. There is a whole litany of restaurants that we have dined at over the years and they all bring a smile to my face. Quite a few of the restaurants over the years have had the honor of being listed in the Wine Spectator magazine’s annual list of restaurants that cater to wine enthusiasts, and I have always felt that a restaurant that is concerned about the right wine list, is also concerned with quality entrée offerings that would justify having a fine wine carte.

When I think of Louisville, I think of great clarets, the first growths that we have enjoyed during dinners. I think of stellar Napa wines from some of the great houses. I also think of some wonderful discoveries of some wines off the beaten track that we have had with relatives and friends. I think that the wine I most closely associate Louisville with is Chateau d’Yquem. Why this wine above all others? My Brother-in-Law has a love for this famous wine like you wouldn’t believe. He has gone so far as to acquire a jeroboam of this legendary wine, and he claims that he will probably serve it as his daughter’s wedding and since she is still attending school and has college in the offing, it will be well cellared by that time.

So if you are curious about some of the restaurants or some of the great wines that I have enjoyed, because of Louisville, may I suggest that you type Louisville in the search box and discover for yourself what great memories I have of this city and the wines that I associate with it.