I have to admit that I always accuse my Bride of being repetitious in her selections, but I totally agreed that we had to have dinner while we were up north at the Walloon Lake Inn.  It began as a quaint country inn on the shores of Walloon Lake, back in 1891.  Originally called Fern Cottage, it was a haven for the travelers, who enjoyed northern Michigan by carriage, train, or steamboat. In 1981, it became the Walloon Lake Inn, as a “bed and breakfast” and a restaurant.  In 2014, there was a total renovation and it became the current Walloon Lake Inn. 

We ended up being seated at the same table, overlooking the water, as well as all the diners out on the patio.  My Bride started off with her usual, but it was not the same; she had a Caesar Salad with Romaine lettuce, croutons, but with Heirloom cherry tomatoes, a Parmesan crisp and Caesar Salad.  I had Scallops and Pork Belly with Mexican street corn and Hazelnut Molé. For her entrée she surprised me and had the Seafood Risotto with Scallops, Shrimp, a Vegetable Risotto with an herbed butter wine sauce.  I had the Braised Short Ribs with Whipped potatoes, roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut squash, Fennel and Carrot slaw, and a house made demi-glace.  She really doesn’t give me too much grief about having Braised Short Ribs, because after she made them a couple of times, she decided that it was better for the restaurants to go through all the effort, instead of her.  We shared a Crème Brulee with Cappuccinos afterwards.

I was studying the wine carte, trying to find something that I thought would work for both of us, and she kind of hinted that she wouldn’t mind a red.  I went with a bottle of Stephane Aviron Julienas Vielle Vignes 2017 imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons, Ltd.  Stephane Aviron has adopted an almost radical return to tradition in Beaujolais; insisting on sustainable viticulture, old vines minimum of forty years, and classic Burgundian techniques.  He wants his Cru Beaujolais to emulate a fine Burgundy.  He has shifted away from recent Beaujolais practices.  Julienas is one of the Cru Beaujolais districts and are on the northern part of the region.  They have historically been regarded as being heavier and more full-bodied, but also have the potential of being the most short-lived of the Cru designations.  They have had vineyards there for more than two-thousand years and the village is named after Julius Caesar.  It can be found that Beaujolais allows a small portion of white wines to be blended with the Gamay grape, but this wine is pure Gamay.  The fruit is harvested from two areas of Julienas “Vayolette” and “La Prat” and these parcels have soil that this is a mixture of granite with clay and limestone.  The grapes are vinified separately until the final blending and bottling.  Whole bunches are fermented and then macerated in temperature controlled Stainless Steel for about nine days.  The wine is aged for twelve months in large, neutral oak foudres of fifty hectoliters.  We had such a good time, that I forgot to take a photo of the wine in the glass. The wine had a nice red color and offered notes of cherry, strawberry, and herbs.  On the palate the wine offered tones of ripe fruit, soft tannins, and a nice finish with some terroir.  It was definitely not the run of the mill Beaujolais and I think it had the perfect amount of bottle age.