I mean a trip to the west coast of Michigan, as part of my Bride’s constant reminders of my birthday gifts. The chronology has been long lost, as it is always at this time of the year, but that is alright, it is a pleasure to have a backlog of articles.
We were spending some time in Holland, Michigan which is known for their elaborate Tulip Festival, touristy wooden shoes, a spectacular collection of statues evoking small town life and Americana, and a downtown that went out of their way to invite tourists with heated sidewalks in the winter, because off of Lake Michigan the snowstorms can be brutal. I suggest one idea of where to stay, but the Royal Exchequer decided that she had found an extended stay suite hotel, which was an abomination. One would think of a junior suite with a kitchen area with dishes, an array of table and kitchen utensils, some pots and pans and glasses. Old Mother Hubbard the cupboard was bare, we cut short our stay and only bivouacked for a night, as we were one step away from camping out in the wilds., but we only discovered this after our day in Holland.
We were looking forward to our time in Holland, and unbeknownst to us, the merchants were having a big sidewalk sale, so a lot of the streets were closed off and we had to navigate rather blindly to find parking, but the Heavens look down upon us, and we found a free parking lot, right behind the restaurant we were planning to dine at, for dinner and their were no time constraints posted. My Bride found many bargains for herself, as well as birthday gifts for others, and as always there were potential Christmas gifts to buy as well, thankfully we always buy cars with big trunks. You will notice, that when I was a clothier I would tell my customers “that linen is guaranteed to wrinkle, or your money back,” especially on a hot, humid Michigan afternoon. I also thinks that she waits until I stop smiling. When we developed a bit of a thirst and a few hunger pangs we decided to venture back to the Waverly Stone Gastropub.
The menu had changed, and even the warm pretzels had changed, but we were able to take care of our thirst, and we were sure that we would have a great appetite for dinner that evening. We shared a bottle of Tsililis Winery Theopetra Estate Malagousia-Assyrtiko PGI Meteora 2025 from Thessalia, Greece with some assorted munchies. In 1989 the Tsililis distillery and winery was founded on a fifteen-hectare estate on the hilly slopes surrounding the Cave of Theopetra. In 1996, the Tsililis family created the Theopetra Estate, an iconic winery with organically grown vineyards and to revive rare Greek grape varieties. Another reason for this estate was to revive the vineyard of Meteora that was lost to phylloxera in the early 20th century. The soil has a varied composition due to the rare formation of Meteora Rocks, with the presence of slate which makes for shallow plots and excellent drainage. In other areas there is a high presence of limestone composed of marine fossils, and some of the vineyards on a clay-sand composition with a high presence of iron. Malagousia was rescued from near extinction in 1983 and is now grown in Central Greece and Greek Macedonia. Assyrtiko is the iconic wine grape of Greece and famed on the volcanic island of Santorini. The fruit is hand-harvested, destemmed and then the berries are selected by hand. The wine first undergoes pre-fermentative maceration and then is fermented in Inox Steel (In oxidable or Stainless Steel) and oak tanks with temperature control at low temperature. A soft golden colored wine that offered notes of tropical fruits, lime, bergamot and a whiff of mint. On the palate this light-to-medium bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of passion fruit and limes blending with high acidity and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit, citrus and minerality. A very easy drinking wine on a hot summer day.
