There are some times when we make a day trip, just to get away, sometimes just to another community to walk around or even to a farmer’s market.  This time we extended the drive to Port Huron, but we didn’t cross the bridge into Canada.  

We started off by having breakfast at an interesting restaurant/bistro that I had read about.  I tend to save articles that I see on the internet about quirky places to visit.  We went to the Raven Café which is both a coffeehouse and a spot for cocktails along with food.   Edgar Allen Poe is featured everywhere, and there are books, especially his or studies of his writings and biographies in bookcases, that just seem to pop up all around.  They maintain a rotating collection of local art that is for sale, plus eclectic statuary mostly geared to The Raven, plus they also feature at times live music. My Bride had the quiche of the day, and I had a breakfast sandwich, while my choice was excellent, she had the better selection.  While she had a coffee, I had a Mimosa, after all what is the purpose of having a wine blog.  The Raven Café used Salmon Creek Brut California Sparkling Wine NV, part of  Bronco Wine Company, one of the largest wine producers and vineyard owners in the United States and located in Ceres, California.  Bronco is family-owned and founded in 1973 by Fred, Joseph and John Franzia after the sale of Franzia winery, and today they have the capacity to produce 230 million liters of wine a year.  They have over sixty brands, including the Charles Shaw (“Two Buck Chuck”). Salmon Creek Cellars is sold exclusively to restaurants.  The wine is 84% Chardonnay and 16% French Colombard and is made using the Charmat Method (bulk production) and is called California Sparkling Wine, as Gallo has the grandfathered brands for “California Champagne.” The golden colored wine offered notes of apple, pear, lime and a trace of brioche.  On the palate this wine displayed medium-size bubbles and displayed tones of orchard fruits and ending with a short count finish of fruit.  It was fine for a Mimosa drink.

After breakfast we went to the Blue Water Sandfest, which was the purpose of the trip.  This was the Eleventh Sandfest and it was on the grounds of the Fort Gration Lighthouse, which is a bonus to my Bride, as she and most Michiganders love lighthouses, since there are so many in the state. We were watching as the works of art were being created, one was going to depict the original Batmobile from television fame, and another was a whimsical take “Hare B&B.” There was a large pavilion for live music, plus food and beverage service around the sand art.  We also decided to scale the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse. The original lighthouse was built in 1814 and collapsed in 1828. The replacement was built in 1825 and is the oldest in Michigan and the second on the Great Lakes (which is Presque Light/Erie Land Lighthouse in Erie, Pennsylvania).  There are ninety-four iron steps in a circular staircase to get to the top of the lighthouse, and you better not be in a hurry.  Also the handrail, which is a must, must have been designed for Quasimodo, as it was so positioned at a much lower stance to today’s standards.  One could walk the entire circumference of the lighthouse at the peak outside, so there were beautiful vistas.

Later on, we walked the downtown Port Huron district admiring the architecture of the buildings and then we ended up at the Vintage Tavern, which is not on the water, but the restaurant up on the second floor, one could observe the water way and the ships and boats, plus we could hear the horns for the two drawbridges as they would stop automobile and foot traffic to allow boats onto the rivers from the lake.  It was a shame that we really weren’t that hungry even with all of the walking and stairclimbing, because the restaurant has a great menu and wine list.  We just noshed, though my Bride did have a bowl of Pickle Soup, along with the Smoked Salmon Spread.  The restaurant has a small wine carte, and we had Privatkellerei St. Antonius Biroth Kreuznacher Kronenberg Riesling Auslese Nahe 2023.  The winery is located in the small wine village of Schweppenhausen in the Nahe region and known for Riesling wines.  The winery is owned by Anton and Stephan Biroth.  There are 4100 hectares of vineyards in Nahe, basically planted on clay overlays of sandstone and known for long, warm summers.  A golden colored wine that offered notes of pears, apples and plums.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine with low acidity displayed tones of pineapple, mango, apples and pears, a dry wine with a splash of sweet, that ended with a medium-count finish of fruit, honey, petrol and slate.  Not a terribly indicative example of a Riesling Auslese, but very reasonably priced, even at a restaurant.