As I continue with how my Bride pampers me, when I am a rightful gent.   I must 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.  Of course, we were there to take advantage of their early bird (Senior’s Special) which is fine, because going back to almost the earliest days in retail, back in 1972, I was the low man on the totem pole and I was appointed to have my dinner break at 4:30 and to this day, it is a hard habit to break.

We started off our meal, by having my Bride enjoying their Caesar Salad of Romaine lettuce, croutons, heirloom cherry tomatoes, Parmesan crisp with John Cross smoked whitefish pâté Caesar dressing.  I had their Gnocchi filled with wild mushrooms, roasted garlic, Sherry cream and fresh herbs. We began by enjoying Charles Ninot Methode Traditionelle Brut France NV from Famille Piffaut.  From what I can gather, this wine is made at a young winery in the Languedoc region, in a vineyard with a high altitude.  It is a French alternative to Italian Prosecco, made from Chardonnay grapes that are picked early in the season to maintain freshness and then produced under the classic method compared to the bulk method for sparkling wines.  A soft-golden colored wine with plenty of medium-sized bubbles that offered notes of citrus and exotic fruits.  On the palate this medium-bodied crisp wine displayed tones of citrus, pineapples, lemon zest with a touch of brioche, ending with a medium-count finish of fruit and candied lemon zest. 

For our entrées the menus arrived with a salutation of “Happy Birthday!” as my Bride always tries to see if there is something special done by the house.  My Bride had the Chilean Sea Bass with stir-fried Asian vegetables, Bamboo rice, and a Ginger-Miso citrus Beurre Blanc.  I am becoming a creature of habit also, as I had Braised Short Ribs with Fingerling potato hash, roasted Brussels Sprouts, Butternut squash and a house-made Demi-glace.  Afterwards we had our decaffeinated coffees and shared a Chocolate Tarte with salted caramel and Vanilla bean ice cream.  We then started with Stoller Family Estate Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, Oregon 2023.  Stoller Family Estate began as a second-generation family farm in 1943 to raise turkeys, and in 1993 Bill Stoller acquired the property from his father and uncle with the vision of a winery.  The vineyard is the largest contiguous vineyard in Oregon’s Dundee Hills and comprises 400 acres with 225 acres dedicated to vines with an elevation of 210 to 650 feet. The south-facing vineyard is planted on Jory, a fertile and well-drained red soil that is the Dundee Hills.  The Pinot Noir grapes start as a cluster that are sorted and removed unwanted materials, then destemmed, the whole berries go into tanks at cool temperatures for about ten days.  The Initial Fermentation usually takes five to seven days, and then the wine is pressed.  The wine is then aged for about ten months in French Oak and then bottled.  This deep burgundy colored wine offered notes of black cherry, cassis, cedar and sous-bois.   On the palate this medium-bodied well-balanced wine displayed tones of rich brandied cherries, ethereal tones of soil, blending with supple tannins and ending with a medium to long-count finish of fruit and terroir.