My Bride and some of her girlfriends get together, along with their spouses for a dinner periodically, and I am not sure how the restaurants are selected, but we were going to Bahama Breeze. 

My Bride and I tried the restaurant when they first opened, went back several years later, and then this time; they began in 1996 in Orlando, Florida by the Darden Restaurant chain.  Between the time the venue was selected and the appointed date, the Darden Restaurant chain announced that they were closing all the Bahama Breeze locations as they were “no longer a strategic priority” due to declining sales and increased competition.  My thinking is that they will probably retrofit the building into either one of their Olive Garden or LongHorn restaurants.  I always thought that the restaurant was cute, I have never been to Bahama, but the design of the buildings evoked a structure on Kiawah Island or parts of the Lowlands in South Carolina.  My Bride and I shared a spicy shrimp appetizer, then she went with a “themed” salad with salmon, and since I had discovered from previous times, that I am not partial to their cuisine, I opted for a burger and fries.

The wine list was a “no-brainer” of common popular brands.  Her first choice was no longer available, as they were probably selling the available inventory down; this also happened to some of the dishes that others had ordered.  My Bride had Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay California 2024. We have enjoyed a lot of Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay wines through the years.   We used to keep some in the house for our friends that enjoy this wine and has been our “go-to” wine in restaurants that have a limited selection of wines on their list.   The late Jess Jackson started the winery in 1974, and his first vintage was in 1982.  I once heard a statement that I will paraphrase that “people tend to talk about dry wines, but that they prefer some sweetness.”  From what I have read his first vintage under his own label was not a true dry Chardonnay, so he labeled it a “vintner’s reserve” and it took off from there.  He was an attorney, but he was a marketing genius.  This is an extremely popular bulk-wine and a classic example of a California Chardonnay.  The golden colored wine offered notes of tropical fruits, citrus, a trace of honey and vanilla.  On the palate this light-to-medium bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of pineapple, mango and papaya, along with citrus peels blending with some good acidity and ending with a short-to-medium count finish of fruit, oak and butter.

As for me, I selected from the wine list of “common popular” wines a Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon California 2023.  There is nothing wrong with going with the big brands, especially as you won’t have to keep printing menus, especially if you conveniently omit the vintage year.  Robert Mondavi began his career with his family and was known for his technical and marketing skills and was one of the original promoters of Napa Valley.  He was originally a proponent of labelling wines varietally, which became the norm for the New World wines. Though in the 1990s he created a joint venture with Baron Philippe de Rothschild to create Opus One Winery.  In 2004, Constellation Brands acquired the Mondavi winery.  He then partnered with his younger son and daughter to make a single wine from a single estate.  The Robert Mondavi Private Selection was founded in 1994 by Robert Mondavi to capture the flavors of California’s best Central Coast vineyards.  This is a bulk wine created in tanks, with some time in barrels, to maintain a popular price point.  The wine is predominately Cabernet Sauvignon with some Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Petite Sirah and Sangiovese.  A deep ruby colored wine that offered notes of blackberry and black cherry along with spices and graphite.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine display tones of cherry, plum, with some coffee and mocha blending with velvety tannins and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit, spices and graphite.  A decent chewy wine to accompany my burger.