“Major Strasser has been shot…round up the usual suspects.” 

Day 60 of the lockdown, so by my estimation, I have been clean four times, and I was excited like a little kid going on a school excursion trip.  The only difference was that I was just going to a hardware store and my Bride was going to get some perishables at the local small Michigan chain grocer, the big stuff we are still covered with, some of the stuff like milk and fresh vegetables.  It is becoming shades of World War Two as the markets are rationing certain items now and hoarders are creating artificial shortages.  You can only purchase two meat items at a time, and toilet paper, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide and disinfectants are the new Bitcoins of the new world order.  Meanwhile, I was buying some stuff to fix up the house, as well as a potential big job in the future.  Besides wearing masks, and hats (to hide sixty days of unruly hair, because only politicians can get their hat cut) we were sporting surgical gloves; we actually had a complete carton of them and who knows what other gems we may have, half forgotten about.  It was fun and I felt like a scofflaw, because there is only supposed to be one person in a car and we had two. 

We are still eating extremely well, as we continue to have these curious Banana Pancakes, to make sure that we are getting some Potassium.  For lunch, we are having soups or sandwiches, and I know that one day when I go and sit down in a restaurant, two of the earliest items that I will order is a cheeseburger and a pizza pie and of course later on, a duck dinner, foie gras and any veal dish.  Not that I am really complaining, because there is a God and through his providence, we are still eating.  My Bride, as well as myself grew up knowing that one had to have a balanced meal and she is intent on maintaining that goal.  We had Filet Mignon with Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Asparagus, and followed by Pineapple Angel Food Cake topped with Strawberries and Whipped Cream.  While she is losing weight on the Weight Watchers food regimen, though the good news is that I have lost a couple of pounds and not gained, but then I am eating what she is, only more.

I was down in the cellar, looking for something interesting and singular, if I could and I found a potentially good wine, depending on how it matured.  I opened up a bottle of Ciccone Vineyard & Winery Cabernet Franc Leelanau Peninsula 1998 and estate bottled.  Silvio “Tony” Ciccone is a first generation American and his parents immigrated to Pennsylvania.  He eventually found his way to Detroit, got married and raised eight children while being an Optical Engineer.  All the time he had a couple of rows of grapevines in the backyard, just like his father did, and he maintained the Ciccone tradition of making home grown and hand made wine.  When Tony and his wife retired, they moved up North in Michigan to the wine country and in 1995, and the following Spring he planted by hand the first five acres with Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Gewurztraminer.  Two of his children have now taken over the business and his daughter is one of two female winemakers in the Leelanau County.  They know have fourteen acres of vines and the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Dolcetto in the area.   I opened up the bottle a half hour before dinner and I probably should have done it an hour early, as the first glass was rather indifferent, but then it really started to mellow out.  Neither of us could pinpoint the nose, and at first, it didn’t even taste like a Cabernet Franc, which is my Bride’s favorite varietal, but after an hour there was some layers of dark fruit still there, opening cautiously for us to enjoy, and like most Cabernet Franc wines it ended with a dry finish with terroir.  Maybe it is just me, but I always get more notes of terroir from Cabernet Franc at all price points, compared to most other grapes.  The other thing I noticed when we were up there and buying this wine was there was no mention of one of the other daughters that had some success in show business, by the name of Louise Madonna Ciccone, but maybe for another day.