With all that is going on around here, it is always a pleasure for me to find time to stop at my local wine shop The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  My Bride knows that it is one of the few places that I will stop at, that requires time.  We can get a week’s grocery shopping quicker than me at the wine shop.  It is an oasis, not only for me, but for most of the regulars that stop there, and I am learning some of them, as they probably see, oh, there is that crazy guy with the hat, that takes photographs of the wines.  But, by this point, we are now comparing notes and discussing wines from non-professional viewpoint and I always enjoy hearing other ideas about wines.

The first club selection and representing the Old World is Domaine J. Boulon Morgon 2019.  In the village of Corcelles-en-Beaujolais, between Lyon and Macon, the Domaine J. Boulon estate of twenty-seven hectares has been situated for seven generations. They produce three Cru wines, a Beaujolais, a Beaujolais Nouveau, a rosé, a white and a “Cremant de Bourgogne.”  Morgon is one of the ten Beaujolais Crus on the slopes of the Beaujolais hills, famed for ancient weathered, volcanic soils of granite and schist with traces of iron; the appellation only applies to red wines and the Gamay varietal.  The vines of the estate average about eighty-five-years of age.  The fruit is hand-harvested, pressed and fermentation and aging are done in Stainless Steel vats to maintain the freshness of the fruit.  The wine is a deep garnet color and offers notes of ripe cherry and plum with a touch of peach and apricot.  On the palate tones of bright cherry and cassis, with herbs and spices and soft tannins with a finish of fruit and some terroir.  Perfect for a dinner on St. Valentine’s Day.

In keeping of the theme of St. Valentine’s Day, the New World selection is Celani Family Vineyards Vincenza Rosé Napa Valley 2021.  I have written many articles about Tom Celani, his ties to Detroit and his continued largesse to his former home of metropolitan Detroit.  Celani Family Vineyards produces about four-thousand cases of wine each year, from their estate grown Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, and their Cabernet Sauvignon is both estates grown and from select vineyards in Coombsville and Mount Veeder. This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that is fermented in used red French Oak barrels.  A deep pink wine offering notes of cherries, cranberries, melons and white florals.  On the palate watermelon and strawberries with bright acidity that beckons a second and a third taste.