A perfect afternoon for my birthday sitting down and tasting wines at Wines on Main in Chelsea, Michigan.  My Bride had found some items to buy, plus some wines and that category was growing from the time when we sat down.  Not only did I know the resident sommelier for the shop, but while we were there a young couple came in to do some wine shopping and tasting and it turns out that not only did I know his grandfather who used to hold tasting classes back at Schoolcraft Community College, but at one of the other wine bars that I used to go to.  The young man also recognized me, because I had sold him some clothes in a past life, so we had some nice chats between tastings as well. 

It also was a nice afternoon, because one of the other employees in the shop, I had once worked with at another store.  We kind of caught up, even though we had maintained friendship through Social Media.  While she was helping others at the end of the bar, the proprietor had told me that my friend is the one that prepares the assorted trays of munchies that one can get to go along with the tastings and we did one of the dishes as well.  When I am at a tasting, if the people do not know me, I do tell them that I write a wine blog, but in no way, do I try to get anything complimentary, or discounts.  I only tell them, because I take photographs, which don’t always come out that well, and I take notes, and I realize that if I don’t explain, it could look a bit squirrely.

Now for a couple of red wines from the tasting.  The next wine that we tried was Cline Family Cellars Cashmere Red Blend 2017 and Fred and Nancy Cline were part of the original Rhone Rangers, a group of California winemakers that were not interested in Bordeaux style wines, but had a passion for the Rhone Valley and all of its varieties.  This wine is a blend of sixty-two percent Mourvedre, twenty-nine percent Syrah and thirteen percent Grenache and aged for ten months in French Oak, of which twenty-eight percent is new.  The fruit came from the Contra Costa County and from Oakley which gives it its California appellation.  This was a good solid bottle of wine that most would call a medium red wine, because it was not an over the top style of a Meritage style, but the wine easily delivered dark red fruits in the finish and to me that is a great finish.  The last of the wines of the tasting was from a winery that I have had before, but not this wine, which was Roots Run Deep Winery Educated Guess North Coast Red Wine Blend 2016.  Roots Run Deep was founded in 2005 with the intention of producing affordable Napa wines, and the winery does not own any vineyards, but has since developed some long-term relationships and contracts and now also using some fruit from Sonoma, hence the North Coast appellation.  This wine is a blend of sixty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon, thirty percent Petite Sirah and five percent Merlot and was aged for twelve months in French Oak.  This was a nice big wine that easily was worth the price, and left me with that finish that I was expecting.  It was a great tasting, a good afternoon for this high-maintenance birthday boy.