Believe it or not, there was actually an Immersive Van Gogh exhibit that finally appeared in Detroit.  It began with teasers on social media sites, then they began selling tickets to the exhibit without telling anyone where it would be staged, then finally they announced a venue and then we bought tickets.  It appeared and then it disappeared just like everything else in 2020, and was there even a 2020 or was it cancelled by the science that was talked about, but never revealed.  Even Van Gogh himself would have had to die, because he wouldn’t have been able to wear the mask that our harridan demanded.  Then gradually there were teasers again that the exhibit was going to be running again, but the next venue fell through and even the newspapers (yes, I am old enough that I still admit to reading the paper) were questioning if it was truly legit. Yes, it happened, and we received our tickets that we had paid for, over a year ago and to make it up to us, we are supposed to be issued tickets to their next Immersive Klimt.  The venue was at the old Harmonie Club, classic beaux-arts designed building that somehow survived the wrecking ball in Detroit, as it was built in 1895 and when I was in high school the area was known as Harmonie Park. I guess it is hard to express the exhibit, it was kind of fun and different as you seemed to be in several different paintings, and your vertigo at times was even challenged as the paintings rolled up and down the walls while you were surrounded by different parts of the art.

After the exhibit, we were going to go to another gem that had been restored in Detroit, called Cliff Bells which was famous from probably the Forties on, until it lost its luster like most of Downtown Detroit and by the time, I was in high school it catered to working girls and their clients.  Alas, we were too early, so we walked around the corner and went to The Royce, a wine bar that we had been to a little while ago.  It was a pleasant day and we sat out on the sidewalk patio to have some wine. My Bride enjoyed a glass of Azienda Agricol Benito Ferrara Terra D’Uva Greco di Tufo DOCG 2020.  Benito Ferrara began in the early 1900’s and they now have eight hectares of vineyards.  Terra D’Uva translates to Land of the grapes.  Greco di Tufo DOCG was granted in 2003 and is the most famed white wine of the Campania region.  Tufo not only refers to the village, but also describes the limestone tufa. The grape varietal is also known as Greco, very predominate in Campania, as is believed to have been introduced to the region by one of the ancient tribal groups of Greece from Thessaly.  This particular wine is pure Greco di Tufo, but the classification only requires eighty-five percent. After harvest the grapes are soft pressed, the wine matures in Stainless Steel for about six months on the lees.  The soft golden hued wine offered notes of lemons, pears and almonds.  A very crisp wine with tones of pears and a nice lingering finish of terroir.   

I decided to have a glass of Paltrinieri Radice Lambrusco di Sorbara DOC Emilia-Romagna Vino Frizzante Secco 2020.  The winery was begun in 1926 and there are seventeen hectares of vineyards in Cristo di Sorbara, in the province of Modena.  Lambrusco di Sorbara is regarded as the finest of the various specified Lambrusco clones and is planted on sandy, alluvial soil. The DOC rules for this wine allows for sixty percent Lambrusco di Sorbara, but this wine is pure.  The regulations also allow for either Traditional Method or Charmat Method and this wine is Traditional.  While the winery refers to this wine as a light ruby red, I would call it more of a salmon-orange in color, and the glass didn’t allow the fine bubbles to appear.  The wine offered notes of grapefruit, strawberry, yeast and violets.  On the palate, tones of pomegranate, a light mousse feel, very dry and with good acidity.