We finally were able to meet up with The Caller and his charming wife.  Once again, we met up at Arta’s Italian Restaurant in Brighton, Michigan as it is about halfway between our two houses.  The surprising thing is that Arta’s is not located in the downtown section, but in an Industrial park, but at least they have better signage from the road since the last time we were there.

We got there early, as we never know what to expect with road construction, so we thought we would have a drink at the bar, and just as we were going to order, we were joined by them, as they had the same idea, so we ended up getting our table early.  The three of them started with a cocktail, while we placed our order for food.  We were all going to start with a Wild Mushroom Soup, but I guess the early lunch crowd, must have fallen in love with the dish, as there were only two servings left, so we allowed the ladies to have the soup, and the men thought we were getting a side salad, but it was a dinner salad.  We are in the midst of a heat wave, so I had a glass of AVA Grace Vineyards Rosé California 2024.  After plenty of research, because their web site was basically advertising fluff, I discovered that it is part of The Wine Group, which started after Prohibition with Franciscan Brothers, Mogen David and Tribuno.  Acquired by Coca-Cola and then a leveraged buy out by the executives made it privately held; eventually becoming the third largest wine company in America.  In the 2010’s they launched AVA Grace and other labels, and in 2025 they acquired new brands from Constellation Brands, Inc. The wine that I had is a bulk-production wine, with unlisted grapes from across the span of California.  A salmon-pink colored wine that offered notes of apricots and roses.  On the palate this light-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of apricots and honeysuckle and ending with a short-count finish of subtle fruit.

We then proceeded with our lunch choices, and my Bride had the Insalata Caesar with house-made dressing, parmesan croutons and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano; while The Caller’s wife had Gnocchi Gorgonzola, butter poached and Ricotta stuffed gnocchi with Gorgonzola cream and Parmigiano-Reggiano.  The Caller and I had the Penne ala Vodka with Pancetta, Vodka Rosé and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano with Italian Sausage.  They pamper me and allow me to select the wine for our meal, and we had Travaglini Gattinara DOCG 2020 with its unique shaped bottle.  The bottle was created in 1958 by Giancarlo Travaglini, to allow the wine to be served without decanting, as the sediment is captured in the bottle, and the bottle is dark colored to prevent the wine from being damaged by excessive light.  The region was granted DOCG status in 1990.  The estate was founded in 1920 by Clemente Travaglini and has been in the family ever since.  The estate is forty-four hectares of volcanic subsoil with traces of carbonate, calcium and magnesium , and the only spot in the region where Nebbiolo is planted in this type of soil.  Locally the Nebbiolo grape is called Spanna. The alcohol level must reach 12.5 and the wine must be aged for thirty-six months, with at least twelve in oak barrels, followed by two years in the bottle before release.  A ruby red colored wine that offered notes of red fruits, violets and rose petals, and a touch of licorice and cocoa.  On the palate this medium-to-full bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of red fruit, especially pomegranates blending with crisp acidity and ripe tannins and ending with a long-count finish of fruit, balsam and minerals.

The three shared a house-made Tiramisu and I shared with them my glass of Blandy’s 5-Year-Old Medium Rich Bual Madeira, Portugal NV.  Blandy’s Madeira was founded by John Blandy in 1811. The family is one of the original founding families of the Madeira wine trade and the only family to still own and operate their original wine company on the island of Madeira.  In 1925, the export market demand was low, and all the houses formed the Madeira Wine Association, which the Blandy family headed.  In 1989, the Blandy’s offered the Symington family (Port producers) a partnership in the newly named Madeira Wine Company.  Bual or Boal is a category of fortified wine regulated by the DOC, and is typically sweeter than Sercial or Verdelho, but not as sweet as Malmsey.  The Bual grape and Madeira are almost used as synonyms, but the grape is also known as Malvasia Fina and many other variations.  The soil found for these wines is of volcanic nature with basalt, tufa and slag.  The grapes are destemmed and macerated with skins for twenty-four hours and naturally fermented in Stainless Steel tanks, and after about five days, the fermentation is arrested by the addition of local brandy until the desired sweetness is attained.  The wine is then aged in used American Oak barrels at room temperature and over the years the wine is blend and transferred to different heights in the warehouse, until it is stabilized in wooden vats for six months, before a final filtration and bottling.  A deep amber colored wine that offered notes of figs, peaches, and orange zest followed by cocoa, caramel, raisins and hazelnuts.   On the palate this medium-to-full bodied, well-balanced wine displayed rich tones of dried fruits, orange and lemon zest, and then blending with a touch of salinity before ending with long-count finish of dried fruits, creamy caramel, nuts and a soupcon of honey.