There is just something civilized about having a Mimosa, perhaps it is just tweaking the nose of the people that say “a meal without wine is just breakfast.”  Now I know that some people disagree with me, as they are partial to having a Bloody Mary, and I even know one person that is very partial to a Bloody Caesar, and we can forgive him.  Hell, I can even remember back in my youth when the Canadians would invade our home in the summer, the afternoon drink of choice was the Red Eye, a mix of Molson’s Canadian and Tomato Juice. As always, I am rambling again and I may eventually lose my train of thought, so I better get back to having a Mimosa.

As we are trying to support the local independent restaurants during our lockdown period, one day we went out to our favorite Cajun Bistro for brunch, and while the place lost something with “social distancing” the food was still great, even without the party atmosphere of the French Quarter.  We expected to have some of their “Manmosa’s” which is what they call their party size Mimosa, about double the usual size.  In today’s political clime, I guess the term may be considered sexist, but no one there seems to mind. They normally use the standby that plenty of restaurants use, which is Wycliff Brut California Champagne from the William Wycliff Winery, which is under the umbrella of the Gallo Winery group. As I heard the traditional pop of a cork, I knew that they had changed the bubbles, and our waiter said that he had just opened a couple of bottles at once, because the others were not as adept at uncorking bubbly when the Wycliff was a screw cap. Our waiter told us that the restaurant was having problems getting their usual wine orders and they had to substitute.  We were given our Manmosa drinks in a tall glass with orange juice on the side to mix with the Jaume Serra Arte Latino Cava Brut, made in Catalonia by J. Garcia Carrion.  J. Garcia Carrion is the largest winery and the second largest fruit juice producer in Europe.  They were founded in 1890 and produce wines in ten different DO regions of Spain, and also more wines and brandies outside of the DO regions.  Their major label is Don Simon was created in 1980 and one of the first box wines in Spain, the label is now used for their Sangria, juices and soft drinks.  Jaume Serra is made in the Traditional Method that is required for Cava and is a blend of Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo.  While this wine is listed as a Brut, it was more Sec and when mixed with the orange juice, it was a rather sweet drink, but sometimes one has to roll with the punches. 

We actually had a chance to have brunch at the Michigan location of The Cheesecake Factory, and it was our first time there.  I am also happy to say, that they had a good rendition of the Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes that my Bride did not have when we were in Las Vegas, so she was very happy.  I was curious to see if they had a proprietary bubbly that they were using, but they went to the Columbia Valley in Washington State.  The Mimosa we were being served was made with Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut NV from Chateau Ste. Michelle.  Chateau Ste. Michelle is the oldest winery in Washington State and they have grown into an umbrella association with other wineries around the world.  The Columbia Valley is on one side of a mountain chain and the land is very arid, almost dessert like and irrigation is the key to their success in growing wines.  Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut NV, is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, and is made in the classic “Methode Champenoise.”  It was a delicious wine and made a delicious Mimosa.