A Fun Night

Posted on September 20, 2018 by thewineraconteur

Ms. Yoga is always a joy to be around, because not only does she like wine, but she is a good egg, as we used to say.  She has a great sense of humor, and things pop up that remind us of other events.  I remember that I wrote about a wine from Duckhorn and she remembered the time I had a special invite for some tastings, before they had a tasting room, and we were in the back of semi, sitting on and cracking open crates of wine to open and to try with one of the sons.  She also reminded me, which I had forgotten, that the son had given her son a Duckhorn Duck whistle, which he still has, and he was not even in pre-school then, and now he is attending a university.  Time goes on.  The last night that Ms. Yoga was visiting we went out to eat, and I know that is not hard to believe.  She lived near where we are now and she remembers places that are long gone, one of the places that I wrote about was De Palma’s where the waiters might break out in an aria when they were not serving.  We took her to another place that did not even exist when she lived in the area, and the restaurant is owned by the grandsons of De Palma’s.

We went to Nico & Vali, a charming little bistro that has already revamped the layout to accommodate more diners without making it feel cramped.  When Ms. Yoga is in attendance, dinners are a series of plates, sometimes with no rhyme or reason and she trumps most restaurants sequence of dishes.  We munch or nosh and then she creates doggie bags, as she wants to eat some, but not a full meal of anything.  We had Beef Tartare which they prepared with Piedmontese Beef Tenderloin with Castelvetrano olives, capers, roasted red and Fresno peppers and crostini.  We had Mussels Siciliano in a tomato broth with toast Ciabatta and almonds.   There was also Ceci Bean & Tomato Jar, a chickpea spread with roasted grape tomatoes, house Pesto, shredded Parmesan and crostini.  We had Piedmontese Beef Medallions with Sage Truffle Butter over Risotto tossed with Cremini mushrooms, asparagus and Black Truffle Shavings.  A Whitefish Filet that was pan-seared and topped with Cipollini onions, tomato and caper sauce served over a zucchini boat.  We also had Gnocchi Cinghiale, house made potato, ricotta and parmigiana dumplings tossed in a wild boar tomato ragu.  Of course, we also look and listen about dessert, but normally we don’t have room.

We started off with one of Ms. Yoga’s favorite wines, which in this case was a Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay 2017.  This is still a family owned and operated winery that was established in 1980, using some shared facilities and their garage and are now well into the third generation.  The winery was founded by Koerner and Joan Rombauer, and as a side note that isn’t germane to this article, Koerner’s great aunt was the author of a best-selling cookbook that is still seen today “Joy of Cooking.” This bottle of Chardonnay is from their estate as well as from a long-term growing partner vineyard also in Carneros.  The wine spent about nine months in a mix of American and French Oak, of which a third is new.  With that combination there is the tell-tale taste of vanilla, as well as peach and the mineral traces from the terroir that lifts this wine above most of the California Chardonnay wines.  We also had a bottle of Ghostrunner Ungrafted Red Lodi 2016, a proprietary red which is the only wine that they make and it is a blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah and Zinfandel.  There is not much to be found about this wine, but it was released in June 2017 and was aged in French Oak.  I keep getting impressed by the wines from Lodi, and this wine offered the deep color and the spices and the black pepper that I was looking for.  Just a great evening and we will look forward to her next visit.

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More Reflections on Virtual Tasting

Posted on September 18, 2018 by thewineraconteur

Now that I have a second virtual wine tasting under my belt courtesy of Snooth, I have to say that I felt more comfortable with the concept.  The first time I had trepidations about what could go wrong and just being in a new situation.  I have to say that I have had plenty of wine tastings over the last four decades or more, but the majority have been a one-on-one situation, and unfortunately many times the person pouring the wines was not well versed in the products that they were representing.  These virtual wine tastings did not suffer from that problem, at all, as I was actually trying to absorb all that was being said, while at the same time, trying to read the remarks and questions that were scrolling on the screen.  It was just fascinating to be a part of it, and I think that it may have seemed faster and more furious, because I have never had to “work” using a computer, so my multi-tasking skills are not really computer oriented.

Thankfully my Bride was at the other end of the dining room table with her lap top, because there was two times when I lost the video and the audio portion of the tasting, but the scrolling discussions were visible.  My Bride had to bring her lap top closer to me, so that I could watch and listen, while still being able to type when necessary.  It was also funny to observe her as she was taking it all in, that she was developing a competitive drive, when she didn’t think that I was quick enough to add into the discussions.   She would also try to edit me, as she claimed that I should be terse, and that I took to long to type, but I am not a typist, and how does a Raconteur become terse?   The whole concept of a Raconteur is the ability at times to elongate and add superfluous asides.   I find that I am glibber in a natural setting, and this arrangement makes me more cautious, but it is getting better (I think).

Then there was the wine, as I wondered how my Bride would respond to the German wines, as we normally don’t have them, because they are currently scarce on the local restaurant horizons when it comes to wine selections.  I have had more German wines compared to her, and I think she was expecting sweeter wines, more akin to some of the white wines that we encounter on a local level here in Michigan.  I think that she was totally surprised and quite happy with these new wines to her.  While she was having trouble verbally describing the wines to me, so that I could add her into the discussion, she was thoroughly enjoying what she was tasting, especially after the wines warmed up a bit and revealed more layers of interest.   She originally wanted to order another four pack, just like we had for the tasting, then she said, lets double it, and finally she said, not lets just get a case.  While her descriptors might have failed her, her ability to decide on adding to the cellar was quick and decisive, and we have been enjoying the balance of the wines since the virtual tasting.  As we both get more comfortable with the process, we both are hoping for more opportunities and the ability to try new wines

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Two More German Whites

Posted on September 16, 2018 by thewineraconteur

The balance of the virtual wine tasting conducted by Snooth with the guest Matthew Kaner who was really into German wines.  Matthew is the wine director and partner in several wine bar in the Los Angeles area, and I imagine that it might be difficult trying to feature European wines in California.  We were half way though the event and we were having fun, especially after I had given myself a quick bit of research on the German wines.

The third wine of the evening was Weinreich Basisweiss Grauburgunder Trocken 2017.  Grauburgunder is the local name for Pinot Gris, which make sense if you break down the German name into two parts.  If you notice the first three wines all had the term trocken, which just means dry, as the wine has not been sweeten, which can be done.  This wine was another Qualitatswein and it is from the Rheinhessen.  The Rheinhessen starts where the Pfalz ends and between the two districts, it accounts for almost half of the vineyard acreage of Germany, mostly shipper’s blends as in Liebraumilch.  The winery is located in the village of Bechteim and they have fifteen hectares of vines.  I found the wine to have a soft straw color with a soft nose.  The wine as it warmed up a bit, it opened up with some layers of interest, with some good acidity and a nice long finish.  My Bride agreed with my observations, but she described the wine as crisp and refreshing.

The last wine of the evening was Weingut von Winning “Winnings” Riesling 2015 which was a Qualitatswein from the Rheinpfalz.  Weingut von Winning was established in 1849 and they are one of the founding members of the VDP (Verband Deutscher Pradikats -und Qualitatsweinguter or The Association of Germany Quality and Pradikat Wine Estates).  Weingut von Winning has sixty-four percent of their production in the Pfalz and sixty-six percent is in Riesling, so it is a grape that they know quite well.  As in the other wines of this tasting this wine was also a soft pale straw in color.  The nose on this wine showed a bit of the terroir or some influence as there was a trace of petrol, but not in a manner to turn away from.  I found this wine was very easy to drink with a nice finish that was enjoyable.  My Bride was just taken aback in a good way, as she is not partial to Michigan Riesling wines and she thoroughly enjoyed this wine.  She hadn’t expected such a big difference and she was quite happy.  There was some discussion that I found interesting that they felt that this wine could enjoy some extended time in the cellar, and I was of the opinion that only the Pradikat wines had long life.  All in all, we were very happy with the wines and the experience and we discovered an area that definitely enjoy some further exploration and I thank Snooth for the experience.

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A Night with Matthew Kaner

Posted on September 14, 2018 by thewineraconteur

My second adventure with a virtual wine tasting through the auspices of Snooth.  I would hardly say that I am an old hand at it, but it was another learning experience.  The guest speaker for the evening was Matthew Kaner who is a wine director and partner at several wine bars in the Los Angeles area.   We were going to taste and discuss four German wines, and I have to be honest, I went and did some basic reading on the wines of Germany, because I really don’t encounter them that often.

The first wine of the evening was from Weingut Borell Diehl Muller-Thurgau Trocken 2017.  This wine is a Qualitatswein from the Rheinpfalz.  Qualitatswein is the Second Tier of German Wine Classification and about seventy-five percent German wine falls under this designation and the wine must come from thirteen official Andaugebiete (wine regions).  The grape for this wine is Muller-Thurgau which is a cross between Riesling and Madeleine Royale, created in 1882 by Dr. Herman Muller of Thurgau, Switzerland.  Known for a peach aroma and low acidity, it has suffered the ups and downs of popularity, because there is more current interest in planting Riesling.  I found the wine to have a pretty soft straw color leaning towards a bit of gold.  As the wine began opening up, I found it to have some hints of peach and green apple, which was refreshing, especially as it was the first wine.  I also found it to be chewy, which may not be a current acceptable wine term, but one that was bandied around when I was being introduced to wines, and I found that the wine had more acidity than I had expected and it had a nice long finish.  My Bride described it as delicate and light and thought she would we enjoy it with Whitefish, the very popular dish here in Michigan.  She also remarked that the bottle looked bigger, which I didn’t think much of it, but it was pointed out that the bottle did actually contain one liter of wine, so it was a bonus serving.  She kept going back to it.

The second wine of the evening was Weingut Koehler-Ruprecht Weiser Burgunder Kabinet Trocken 2016.  The label was reminiscent of the old Germanic lettering from the last turn of the century, but only for the name of the winery.  This wine had the Pradikat of Kabinet which is the first tier in the pecking order for a finer wine designation and back in the day, it was felt that the winemaker thought that this wine had more to offer compared to the basic crop.   When I was a kid, first learning about wines the Rheinpfalz was the largest wine producing district in Germany and produced the bulk of current consumption wines in Germany.  Landwein (like Vin du Pay or IGP) and Deutscherwein (table wine) with sixty percent white wines and forty percent red wines.  Weiser Burgunder is the German name for the grape known as Pinot Blanc and genetically it is related to Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir.  I found the wine to have a pale straw color, with a light floral nose and a scent of lime.  As the wine opened up it kept getting more interesting with some layers of spice to make it a fun wine to pair with some dishes that would have some heat to them.    My Bride who is like me, has even more trouble using descriptors, but she thought it was fresh and crisp, and she thought it reminded her of tea.

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A Virtual Wine Tasting of Some German Wines

Posted on September 12, 2018 by thewineraconteur

I have another virtual wine tasting this evening under the good graces of the wine site Snooth.  This is the second virtual wine tasting that I have been invited to participate in, and I now have a much better idea of what to expect.  Even if you are not participating in the tasting, one can watch the event in real time by going to Snooth.com.  The event will begin at 8:30 EDT and the host this evening will be Matthew Kaner, a wine director and partner at several wine bar in the Los Angeles area.  Mr. Kaner will be discussing the wines in sequence and those of us involved in the virtual tasting will be responding and typing our notes during the tasting and they will appear on a side bar, so that all can read and appreciate the observations of the others.

I have to admit that I went back and did some studies about the wines of Germany, as I do not encounter them that often.  In the old days when I first started learning and teaching myself about wines; France, Germany and Italy were the three main players that one would encounter in wine shops and in restaurants.  In the 1960’s and the 70’s the three largest selling German wines were Liebfraumilch, Blue Nun and Zeller Schwarzer Katz.  The first two were from the Rhine regions and the latter was from the Moselle-Saar-Ruwer.  As I was unpacking the wines I was trying to find a common denominator as the wines were from different wineries, and the only commonality was that the four wines were from the Rhine region, three from the Rheinpfalz and one from the Rheinhessen.  The varietals were all different as well.  Three of the wines were Qualitatswein, which is the second tier of German wine classification and then the wines must come from thirteen official wine regions; this classification probably accounts for the bulk of wines that one finds routinely.   The fourth wine is a Qualitatswein mit Pradikat, or fine quality.

The wines will be tasted and discussed to reflect the weight of the grapes from light to heavy.  We will begin with Weingut Borell-Diehl Muller-Thurgau 2017.  The next wine will be Weingut Koehler-Ruprecht Weisser Burgunder (Pinot Blanc) Kabinett 2016.  The third wine will be Weinreich Basisweiss Pinot Gris 2017 and then followed by Weingut Von Winning “Winnings” Riesling 2015.  I am looking forward to the evening and the following hashtag #TasteTheNew will be used on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Ms. Yoga in Chartreuse

Posted on September 10, 2018 by thewineraconteur

I have to admit that for all of the years that I have known Ms. Yoga, Chartreuse is not her color.  She has gone through the shades of purple, pink and teal, but not Chartreuse, but we got her into Chartreuse for dinner after we left the Detroit Institute of Arts.  The restaurant is in the historic Park Shelton hotel the next block over, so it was the perfect venue for dinner.  We arrived a little early, but that gave the ladies an excuse to go shopping, as if they need an excuse and I went to get our reserved table.  The ladies came back, but by this time I had already started some wine, it had been a little over two hours since we had a glass at the DIA.   Naturally the woman did not approve of our table and wanted a location more in the thick of it all, and they said that they probably put all the “mature” (my words) people in the back, and leave the front tables for the so called “hipsters.”  Since they were moving us to a new table, I had to find the original waitress and give her a special gratuity, since her sanity was saved by not having to wait on us.

We were explaining to Ms. Yoga that Chartreuse was a very unique little bistro with a very limited menu and a very limited wine carte, and both were not the run of the mill.  We started off with maybe the most prosaic dish, but it is Michigan, so we went with it, and that is the Smoked Whitefish Pate; just remember that I am with women that like to nosh.  The ladies eventually found their dish of choice.  Ms. Yoga went with Lobster Fried Rice with Rock Shrimp, peas, Thai Basil, Lobster-Soy, egg and spicy peanuts.  My Bride went with an order of Scallops with Sweet Corn Ravioli, tomato, roasted summer onions in a Corn Cob Bisque.  I almost went with the Crispy Duck Confit, but at the last moment I decided to go with the Wagyu Sirloin, with Corn Bread, Oyster Mushrooms, grilled scallions pickled tomato and a Romesco Sauce, which is a blend of red pepper, garlic and nuts.  It was funny, but Ms. Yoga wanted to try their Corn Bread, since she has become quite a maven living down South, and our waitress brought her one and she was happy with their version.

While the food was esoteric so was the wine carte and about the most recognizable wine was Bruno Paillard Extra Brut Blanc De Blancs Grand Cru NV.  While I was keeping myself entertained while the ladies shopped, I started with Domaine de la Bongram Domaine de Roally Viré-Clessé 2015.  Here was a new winery started in 2002 that has four hectares of Chardonnay growing in one of the newest appellations (1999) for the Maconnais region, and the rules are that the wine must be Chardonnay and it must the driest of the dry by measurement or it must be labeled either Macon or Macon-Villages.  The taste of minerals from the terroir was totally appreciated and totally refreshing.  Keeping with the theme of a White Burgundy without breaking the bank we then went to a wine by Domaine Jean-Noel Gagnard Caroline Lestime Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Beaune “Sous Equisons” 2015.  Here was another Chardonnay with a little different terroir, from an appellation where only twenty percent of the wine is white.  The wine is named for the “cliff above the vineyard” and a very enjoyable bottle of wine from a well-respected house and there were only three-hundred cases made of this wine.  We did need a red to finish off the evening, especially with my Wagyu Sirloin, and I might add that even though Sirloin is not that special of a cut, this steak was very rich and tender.  I went with something a bit quirky, instead of the expected.  We had the Quinta do Tedo 2012 from the Douro region of Portugal.  This wine was a blend of Tinta Roriz, or known locally as Aragonez and known internationally as Tempranillo and both Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca.   The winery gives a very mythic accounting of the founding of the winery and the area with no attest.  This wine was a mixture of wines that were aged from ten to twelve months both in Stainless Steel and French Oak (both new and old).  They produced about eleven-thousand bottles of this wine and I found it to have balanced and mellow tannins and some good spice, so I was a happy camper.  We had no room for dessert, or any room for some unique Chartreuse, but we were all very happy and I am sure that Ms. Yoga would not object to going back to this restaurant.

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Leia to Raquel

Posted on September 8, 2018 by thewineraconteur

We toured “Star Wars and the Power of Costume” at the Detroit Institute of Arts.  We weren’t sure if Ms. Yoga would be interested in seeing the exhibit, but when she said yes, we went ahead and booked the tickets for the special event.  The Detroit Institute of Arts is one of the crowning jewels in the city, and a few years back, when the city was in dire peril, the vultures were close to circling over this national treasure, but when it was discovered that it could not be touched, the city, the state, the country and dare I say the world, all breathed a sigh of relief.  I have been going to the DIA since I was in elementary school and I haven’t stopped since.  There were a couple of times that I can even remember skipping school with friends to spend the day there, and did I really admit to that?  Actually, my Bride and I have attended many museums on our travels, and I can rightfully claim that the DIA is a world-class museum, even if it tucked away in Detroit.

We arrived at the DIA in time for our scheduled tour, and it was a self-directed tour with a personal hand-held apparatus that acted as your personal docent.  I have to admit that my appreciation for the films are for the first three films, or episodes four, five and six.  I was there for the initial game changer known as “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.”  I would venture to say that the real interest for the three of us, was in the costumes from the first three movies, but it was interesting to see, how as the films became bigger and bigger, the costumes became much more detailed and intricate.  One of the interesting trivia facts that I took away from the exhibit, was that even from day one, there was a mandate by George Lucas that closures were to be hidden and unseen.  There were plenty of costumes seen, and not just for the humans, but there were uniforms, alien outfits, creatures and droids or robots.  One could really appreciate how tall Darth Vader, C3-P0 and Chewbacca were and how short in height were R2-D2, Ewoks and Yoda.  There were even some side references like Han Solo was costumed to evoke Gary Cooper from “High Noon.”

After the special exhibit we decided to go have a snack at the Kresge Court at the DIA and then look at some of the other halls.  When I was younger, the Kresge Court was actually an open-air court that was built in the near the center of the museum, it was where people could go and have coffee and a smoke, which people used to do back in the day.  My Bride always likes to remind me that she used to go there for the Breakfast with Bach events.  Now the Kresge Court is covered and safe from the elements.  There are two locations to have a quick bite in DIA, but this one is definitely the better of the two for the ambience, though some complain that it is much more expensive.  It was perfect for us, with just small plate offerings and a glass of wine.  I went and secured us a place to eat, as this room is always popular and the ladies went to place the order, they came back with drinks and sign holder with a numeral, so that the servers could bring our food to the right destination.  We ended up having glasses of Storypoint Chardonnay 2015 from California.  This was an easy to wine to drink, and when there is an offering of big production, very popular price wines offered, I usually suggest the Chardonnay, as a chilled wine is easy.  This wine was actually good, in that it tasted like a Chardonnay, the fruit had been sourced from Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake Counties, and each lot was fermented separately in a mix of Stainless Steel and French Oak.  There may not been a lot of finesse, in the production, but it hit the spot.

As we were getting ready to view some of the other halls, a lady that works for the DIA told us that it was raining very hard outside at the moment, a fact that we could not tell while in the Kresge Court, and she suggested that we go see a free movie that was getting ready to screen at the Detroit Film Theatre which is part of the museum.  I have to admit that for all of the years that I have been going there, I had never been to the DFT and was I amazed at the beauty of the room, the grandeur of the room is actually hidden by the fact that there is a very drab and unassuming hall and assembly area that one sees first.   There was a balcony and some private viewing boxes on both sides of the stage and with all the gilt-work, it made me remember the glory days of attending first-run theaters in Downtown Detroit as a kid.  We saw another Sci-Fi type of movie that had cheesier sets more reminiscent of the original Star Trek television show, and one of the funniest scenes that probably could not be shot today, was that of all the men trying to remove white corpuscles off of the jumpsuit that Raquel Welch is in.  The movie was “Fantastic Voyage” and yes, I did see this movie in Downtown Detroit as a kid in 1966.

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Ms. Yoga Holds Court

Posted on September 6, 2018 by thewineraconteur

As I have stated that when Ms. Yoga is in town, there is a schedule to follow.  It is understandable that she sees family, friends and even business appointments.  She likes gatherings and she had planned a gathering one night, that was on one of the few days that I actually work, as I am semi-retired for a lack of a better term.  So, I was going to meet them after I got off of work and my long commute.  She was going to hold court that evening at Fleming’s Steak House and she enjoys her steakhouses.  The only difference was that she was meeting everyone in the bar side, as opposed to the restaurant side, and that is always a fun side to be at.  By the time that I arrived, everyone was gone, save for Ms. Yoga and my Bride.

Since the last time that I had been to the bar at Fleming’s they had changed the menu from their “5 for 6 til 7” and created a complete mini-menu for the bar side, and you could order from the main menu in the bar as well.  I am not sure exactly what was ordered, but since the women are dyed in the wool noshers, there was a collection of small plates on the table and I was the designated vacuum cleaner.  There were a couple of half sandwiches like a filet, a prime-cheeseburger and a French-Dip.  There were also sides of veggies and even Candied-bacon.  I just grazed on what wasn’t touched that was either destined for me or for a “doggie-bag.”

While I was looking for a glass of wine to have with my smorgasbord of small plates, I saw that they were even offering a cocktail made using Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc, but I passed and chose something that I was sure would pair with an assortment of carnivore dishes.  Of course, my dates for the evening had neglected to record the wines that they were having before I arrived and I really don’t like stock photos found on the internet, so I will only discuss my wine which was by Taken Wine Company of Napa Valley at it was their Red Blend 2014.   Taken Wine Company is a joint effort by two individuals that have Napa juice going through their veins, notably Josh Phelps and Carlo Trinchero and their first release was the 2010 vintage.  Here is a wine that is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot and Petit Sirah and aged in French Oak.   I found it to be big, and not overly jammy, because the Zinfandel was not domineering in the nose, taste or finish, but just blended perfectly and paired with my hodge-podge of small plates.  Flemings should use Ms. Yoga for an advertisement as she always has at least one session here each time she is in town.

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Almost a Dry Lunch

Posted on September 4, 2018 by thewineraconteur

With Ms. Yoga in town, the week is all about scheduling, as she is in here for business.  The good news is that during the week that she is visiting, I actually have two readers of my blog that I can account for under one roof.   Ms. Yoga and my Bride are both in the same industry and that is how they originally met, and now they somehow include the fifth wheel (me) into some of their plans.  I was going to join them for lunch, and then they were going to do business stuff and I could do some wine stuff, and my stuff sounded so much better.

We were meeting at Meriwether’s which I have wrote about often and they do a very good job and have survived the trials and tribulations of the restaurant industry for ages.  They are a part of a small local chain where each restaurant is a separate unit with its own identity, so they are not cookie-cutter repeats.  The restaurant has the feel of an English Inn and they are known for their fresh seafood and steaks.  They are also known for their Teacup Bread and the accompanying Honey-Cinnamon Butter and as I look back, they have never offered a second helping on this wonderful side.  Alas, we were not having fresh seafood per se, because we were meeting for a not-so-fast lunch.  Ms. Yoga had the Charley’s Chowder and a Shrimp Caesar Salad.  I looked at the menu and decided that I wanted a Spinach Salad done in the classic way, with the warm Bacon dressing, and to my surprise, my Bride wanted that as well, and we shared a protein topping, or as I would call it a breast of chicken.

My two road warriors that I was with, refrained from having a glass of wine or a cocktail, because they were on the clock, I on the other hand was not on the clock and I decided on a glass of wine as there was no need to order a bottle just for one person.  I decided on a glass of Marqués de Caceres Rosado Rioja DOCa 2016.  The estate was founded in 1970 by Enrique Forner, whose family has been in the wine business for almost the entire Twentieth Century with vineyards in Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Cenicero and they basically are all planted with either Tempranillo for red wine and Viura for white wine.  They are also known for the use of American and French Oak for aging. This Rosado was basically Tempranillo with four percent Garnacha Tinta, hand harvested and aged in Stainless Steel to maintain the freshness of the fruit, in fact the wine was actually bottled in January after the fall harvest.  The wine had a very pretty coral pink color, with a floral nose, very refreshing and easy drinking and would have worked with almost any savory dish.  At least I had a chance to enjoy a glass of wine or there would have been no article, as who wants to read about a dry lunch?

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Ms. Yoga is Back

Posted on September 2, 2018 by thewineraconteur

One of my delightful cast of characters returned to Michigan and our home became her base of operations.  We have been on the go the entire month of August and then we even had more fun with her presence.  Ms. Yoga and my Bride go way back, BTWR or Before the Wine Raconteur, and sometimes I am just the fifth wheel, but what the hell.  We prepared to have her favorite guest suite ready, and some things were planned and some other moments were just going to be done on the fly, but there would be some wine encountered and why not, she would not have it any other way.

Ms. Yoga is a nibbler and I really think she prefers an evening of appetizers over a standard meal, though she does enjoy her steakhouses, and if that sounds like a bit of contradictions, so be it, but the outcome is always good and plenty of laughing and good times.  When she finally arrived and had a chance to somewhat unpack, we ended up in the breakfast nook and just started noshing.  My Bride was just pulling out all sorts of small plates with no rhyme or reason, but it was all done in the anticipation of her arrival.  Even the final course was more an appetizer dish, but I think we were running out of steam, not to mention room in the waist by the time the Crab Cakes were served.

As for wines, we went through several and all were standards for us here and they worked.  We had opened a bottle of JaM Cellars Butter Chardonnay 2015, as this has become one of my Bride’s go-to wines these days and if fact I think we had it on one of the nights that Ms. Yoga was here the last time, as it is an easy to drink Chardonnay for the price. The wine carries a California AVA designation as the fruit comes from Mendocino County, Santa Barbara County and Clarksburg. It is a commercial bulk wine that has some appeal, and since it is not done in oak barrels for aging, they use oak chips to impart the taste of the oak and the butter taste and texture that one gets from small batch Chardonnay wines.  The other wine was Ruta 22 Malbec Mendoza 2016 of Argentina.  Ruta 22 is the name of the major route in Mendoza, and the winery was established in 2010, so it is new, but the fruit for this wine came from three different areas of Mendoza, namely Uco Valley, Agrelo and Eastern Mendoza and the winery ages the wine up to two years in a mix of French and American Oak depending on the vintage. The wine had some excellent body and flavor and paired very well with our dinner, in fact the wine must have evaporated as it seemed to disappear.  The winery is part of the much larger umbrella company of Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits.  Malbec, Mendoza and Argentina are almost synonymous with each other, as Malbec is the leading grape of the area and it has been planted there from the mid-Sixteenth-Century by the Jesuit priest that initially came to the area.  The good thing is that we could relax and enjoy plenty of wine, because we were not going to be leaving the house.

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