I think it was about twenty years ago, that we were told that we were going into a fifteen-day lockdown mode and it has been a roller-coaster ride ever since, my recollection of the time span may be off, but it sure feels like it.  I miss going to restaurants, just like everyone else, but we have been told that science has proved that one can get the Chinese disease shopping in a small neighborhood store or in a restaurant, but not a Wal-Mart or a Target.  I am glad that I am retired, because for the bulk of my career, I worked in small independent companies and I guess they are the carriers or the spreaders of this disease.  We always liked to go out for brunch after church, in all honestly, my Bride goes to church faithfully, until it was discovered that it was also a spreader of the disease.  We have been trying to recreate our brunch days ever since.  It is funny to know that my Bride also has made an appearance on her church’s Sunday video that plays on demand through the computer, as she has been a lector there for years.   So, our Sunday begins with our 3K walk in the subdivision, she watches church on a monitor along with one of her girlfriends and we have brunch.  

Brunch is a fancy word that is a mash-up of breakfast and lunch and years ago, it was a popular item for fine dining establishments and country-clubs.  I can remember when the Big Three (which means the automotive corporations in Detroit) decided on trying “Casual Fridays” the memo to the employees stated, the attire one would wear for brunch.  The executives understood it, but the majority of the work force, needed some clarification.  I only mention this, because back in the Dark Ages, I was a clothier and I helped plenty of people with this new concept.  Brunch to me meant a much fancier breakfast, maybe not as elegant as Breakfast at Brennan’s, but beyond bacon and eggs. I am spoiled, if I could get it on a daily basis, I would have Eggs Benedict, but I am still married and have survived the lockdown this far, but we do have great brunches on Sunday. 

Brunches require Mimosas, well maybe Bloody Mary cocktails as well, but we are in the realm of The Wine Raconteur.  Not only have we been going through the wine cellar and finding wines that were forgotten, we are also kind of cleaning up the selection of bubbly that is down there.  Mimosas do not require the top end of Champagne and it would be a sin, especially on a Sunday to mix orange juice and Dom Perignon.  In reality, we have more sparkling wine, than we should have or need and thankfully, most of it is in the popular price range and that is fair game.  We ended up with several bottles of splits of Champagne Duval-Leroy Brut NV.  Champagne Duval-Leroy is a Champagne house in the Cote des Blancs region and was founded in 1859 by Edouard Leroy and Jules Duval and is now in its sixth generation of family ownership.  They were one of the original houses to be environmental in their approach and the first to produce a certified organic Brut Champagne. They have about five-hundred acres of vineyards and forty percent of their property is Premier and Grand Cru vineyards.  While this wine is not at the top of the heap for the house, it is their “meat and potatoes” and what they produce year in and year out, trying to maintain the same taste and it is a classic Champagne blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.  This might have been overkill for a Mimosa, but they were excellent especially with just a tincture of orange juice, just for color and Vitamin C.  Another bubbly that we have been enjoying is the Scharffenberger Cellars Brut Sparkling Wine Mendocino County NV.  John Scharffenberger founded his winery in 1981 in the heart of Anderson Valley.  The wine is a blend of fruits from both the estate’s one-hundred-twenty acres and select contract vineyards.  The wine is made in the classic Methode Traditionelle process.  The wine is a blend of sixty percent Chardonnay and forty percent Pinot Noir.  After two years on the lees, the wine gets the finishing touches to be set out into the world.  Once again this is a wine that could be enjoyed on its merits, but the trace of orange juice just finishes the process and it is officially a Mimosa.  I pray that within my lifetime that restaurants will be legal again, you may be aware that marijuana is (in this state).  Afterall, a meal without wine is just breakfast.