We actually had our glass of wines in hand as we walked from the Four Vagabonds to Clara’s Table for dinner at the Dearborn Inn.  Clara was Henry Ford’s wife and the restaurant in the newly renovated hotel was named in her honor.  The hotel is now managed by Marriot in their “Autograph Collection” series of hotels, which are historic and not cookie-cutter in design.  It was built by Henry Ford, and Alber Kahn designed the building; as a side note he also designed many of the great buildings in the Detroit area, in the heyday of Detroit.  For the historical purists of Detroit, the magnificent checkerboard black and white marble floor, as well as the exterior façade still beckons the traveler to a more genteel era. 

We were escorted to our table with a great view of the bar, which also has seating.  Clara’s table is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with down times in between, so plan accordingly.  Since we started with shareables at the Four Vagabonds we just had to order our dinners.  My Bride wanted to try their version of a Caesar Salad, as if anyone would be surprised, and the salad had crisp anchovy, grilled escarole, smoke dressing and Pecorino cheese; she smiled and claimed that her version is much better.  My Bride continued with another white wine, Cave de Lugny Macon-Lugny Les Charmes 2023.  Macon-Lugny is part of the much larger district known as the Maconnais, and the commune of Lugny has become very well known because of the hard work of the cooperative Cave de Lugny.  The Macon-Lugny is only used for white wines that are entirely Chardonnay, they also may use the designation for red and rosé wines made from Pinot Noir and Gamay.  Cave de Lugny is the largest producer of White Burgundy in the world, controlling a third of the production of Southern Burgundy and half the total production of the Maconnais.  Founded in 1926, they are a cooperative of family-owned estate, but not a negocient with over two-hundred-thirty estates.  Cave de Lugny claims that they are the home of the birthplace of Chardonnay, and they boast some well-known lieux-dits (or registered localities) like “Les Charmes,” “Les Beluses” and “La Carte.”  Les Charmes comes from the 105 hectare limestone plateau of the same name and is the flagship of the cooperative.  The vines average over forty years of age, and part of the crop is the “Musque” Chardonnay. The fruit is mechanically harvested, and vinification is done in Stainless-Steel tanks.  This golden-yellow wine offered notes of citrus, honey and acacia flowers.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine offered white fruit, with traces of mushrooms and honey in a velvety-smooth wine that had a nice medium-count finish of fruit and savory spices.

I went with an order of Short Ribs with Venetian Polenta and Roasted Carrots. I had Austin by Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles NV.  The Hope family has been farming in Paso Robles for over thirty years and they planted apples and grapes.  As more and more people recognized the quality of the terroir, the apple orchards disappeared and now they are enjoying mature vines.  Originally they began with Rhone varieties and recently Cabernet Sauvignon.  Hope Family Wines, now have six individual brands: Liberty School, Treana, Quest, Austin Hope, Troublemaker and Austin.  With the Austin brand, they wanted a Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon.  After harvesting, select vineyard lots were fermented individually in Stainless-Steel tanks for about two weeks, with extended macerations and pump overs to enhance the extraction of color and tannin.  Lots aged separately for about eleven months, in a combination of new, and used French Oak barrels.  As a whole the blend is then aged an additional three months in seventy-five percent new and twenty-five percent once-used French Oak.  The deep ruby red wine offered notes of black cherry, burnt sugar and some smokiness.  On the palate, this medium to full-bodied wine displayed tones of black cherry, roasted coffee, vanilla and some cooking spices, with supple tannins, slightly acidic and a medium-count finish of fruit and spice, which work well with food.