A Two-Hour Cruise

Posted on July 10, 2018 by thewineraconteur

While “a two-hour cruise” may remind some of a long-ago television show, we actually went on a river cruise.  We went aboard the Huron Lady II for a cruise on the St. Clair River which connects Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair.  We went with another couple who have done this excursion before, so we drove to the city of Port Huron to spend the day.  On any normal outing when we go to Port Huron, it is because we are going to use the Blue Water Bridge to leave the states and go to Canada for a holiday trip.  For those of you that are not aware, the Great Lakes are so huge, that the water would cover the entire map of the United States of America nine feet deep.  The river is also one of the busiest waterways and conveys more shipments than the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal combined.

It was an enjoyable trip, but the boat is rather spartan in creature comforts.  The seats are like park benches, but one does get some beautiful views along the river, along both of the country’s shorelines.  Since we were not stopping at all during the excursion, there was no need to have our passport.  The weather was wonderful with a nice cool breeze, so we sat up on the top deck, while the lower deck did have an enclosed area with air conditioning.  The captain of the boat was a lady and I think she maintained a continuous narration of what we were seeing along the trip.  The captain also explained a few of the courtesies that the ships and boats display and the rules of “right of way,” especially since there was a sailboat race going on while we were on the cruise.  While we did see many sailboats, we also saw a large assortment of personal pleasure boats, which is a major hobby or sport in Michigan, but we also got a chance to see some cutters and ocean liners that ply the Great Lakes from the St. Lawrence Seaway.

They did announce just as we were leaving port, that there was a concession stand on the lower deck.  I have been in agony for a couple of weeks, but the pain has increased exponentially, almost to the point of not wanting to do anything, because a tooth that I had a root canal done years ago, cracked vertically and the soonest that I could get scheduled for an oral surgeon to remove the tooth and begin an implant procedure was over a month, and the pain that was just a dull throb has grown and as I sit to write this I have another eight days of blissed pain to endure.  I was all set to go and get some adult beverage, though I was the only one of the group that wanted some, and I was hoping to drown the pain for a little while.  They were selling small individual serving bottles of Barefoot Cellars California Chardonnay NV, I only mention this because some of the Chardonnay comes from South Australia.  The winery began in 1986 and is considered the second best selling brand in the United States and the largest wine brand in the world with current annual production around eighteen-million cases.  In 2005 Barefoot Cellars were purchased by E. & J. Gallo Winery.  Suffice it to say that this wine is produced in bulk with no concerns for extended aging, and even worse it was not even cold when pulled from the refrigerator and I was asked if I wanted ice cubes.  The offer of ice, may have helped, because it is perhaps the sweetest Chardonnay wine that I have ever had, but I really only wanted it for the alcohol, in hopes of numbing the tooth and gum area.  To be quite candid, outside of the wine and pain, it was a pleasurable afternoon.

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Samples

Posted on July 8, 2018 by thewineraconteur

Samples of wine sounds so enticing.  I think that every wine blogger when they begin writing, that they will come under an avalanche of wines sent to them, so that they can write about the wines.  For the past fifty years I have had the pleasure of tasting and drinking wines, and for the last six years I have even started rambling about the wines that I have tried.  I have never had to worry about offending anyone or a winery, because the price of admission was always from my own wallet, save for the few times that I have been to affairs where the wine was part of the evening.

Of course, when I did begin in earnest to learn about wines, it was kind of a rare item.  Cocktails and beer were the drink of the day and people that had wine cellars were far and few between.  Where I grew up, home-made “Dago Red” fined with egg whites was the usual wine one would encounter.  Houses had entertainment centers that were pieces of furniture with a record player with built-in speakers and a cabinet that had room for fifths of liquor, or the liquor was sequestered in the lower cabinets of dining room china cabinet.  Wine was really an after-thought, unless there was something to celebrate and then maybe there would be some “French” Champagne and I remember the first time drinking that, I must have been about seven or eight and I remember the puckering up sensation that I had, because the wine was so “dry,” and I had no words to describe it back then.  Which leads me to that eternal problem that I have about writing about wines, in that I have no real training in the appreciation of wine, it was all self-taught and when I would find a mentor in my youth, the wine was described as “this is what a fine Medoc tastes like” or “this is not what you should expect from a good Chablis.”  The charming descriptors that are bandied about these days, I have only seemed to have noticed for the last twenty or so years, and it seems that some go out of their way to embellish their descriptions as if they are tweaking the nose of the others at a tasting to let everyone know that the others are not as sophisticated as the embellisher.

Why do I bother even mentioning samples?  I think it is become a marketing tool for wineries and distributors to get the word out about the wines.  Historically I went to tastings or to wineries to try a myriad of different wines, because there were always some wines that I was not interested enough in, to buy a bottle of wine for my dinner, and for years that was the only way one could have wine in restaurants unless one wanted some mystery wine that arrived in a carafe.  I have only been to one restaurant in my life where the Sommelier actually had a tastevin hanging around his neck as part of his tuxedo.  The Sword of Damocles is now hanging precariously above me, as I have been contacted to try some samples.  While others would jump at the chance, and I am sure that some even court the powers to be for samples, I come from an era and a mind-set that one never asked, as it just was not the proper thing to do.  In the past, there have been plenty of wines that I have tried that I have never written about and I am sure that this will still occur in the future.  Since I know that the Sword is dangling overhead, all I can say is that I will always be honest and one will have to read between the lines.  If I am enthusiastic about a wine, I will say so, and if I am not, there will be very little to mention, as I realize that there are people that make a living in the production of wine and it would bother me if they lost their livelihood because of what I wrote.  This was a lesson that was burned into my memory, because I used to have a customer whose wife was a famed restaurant critic for one of the daily papers, and she told me that she would anguish over an article if the restaurant did not fulfil her criteria for a proper meal.  Whether I have another set of samples sent to me, is in God’s hands, but I can only do what I think is proper, and I will always mention that the wines are samples, because the odds are that I will still be writing more about wines that have been purchased.

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Another Graduation

Posted on July 6, 2018 by thewineraconteur

High School graduates have permeated my psyche these days.  A couple more and I think the season will draw to an end for this year.  It has been an interesting time and a very happy time to see all of these relatives getting ready for the next stage of their lives.  While I have attended plenty of graduation parties from way back in my teens, I have to say that the parties are getting much more organized and structured, but I guess the party concept is the same.

We had another nephew graduate and the party was at the parent’s home.  They had a large tent set up in the valley of their backyard with plenty of tables for all of the revelers.  One nice addition, because of the extreme heat that we have had, was a couple of large commercial fans to keep a breeze going.   There were also some tables set up in the house, for those that may have found the heat unbearable.  The food was all catered in, and the theme once again was of Mexican food.  They had about sixteen linear feet of assorted items to make hard and soft tortillas and assorted side dishes as well.  The table of food culminated with a couple of cooks who were making “to order” quesadillas and individual bags of tortilla chips for the dips.  I would be remiss not to mention the big cake and all the other pastries and sweets for after dinner indulgences.

There were plenty of beverages available for the teens and the adults.   There were a couple of large vessels with signage that read “Adult Sangria.”  There was a keg of beer which reminded me of my youth.  There was also an assortment of wines, both red and white and a rosé.  I started with Chateau Miraval Cotes de Provence 2017 the wine that has become popular, because of its owner Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.  The winery originally made Vin de Pays until it was modernized and the celebrity owners have partnered with the Perrin family to produce the wines.  The Cotes de Provence originally carried a VDQS designation until 1977 when it became an AOC designation; eighty percent of the Cote de Provence is Rosé.  This particular wine is a blend of Cinsaut, Grenache, Syrah and Rolle with ninety percent of the juice aged in Stainless Steel and the balance in barrels.  Of all of the wines that I had at the party, the last wine was a pleasant surprise.  I am sure that they must have found this bottle and I am not sure how it was stored, as they are not really wine drinkers, but what ever they did, it worked.  Towards the end of the party they opened a bottle of Louis Jadot Macon-Village Chardonnay 1996.  Louis Jadot began with his first vineyard Clos de Ursules in the 1820’s and became a negocient in 1859 based in Beaune, one of the centers of the Burgundy region of France.  The Louis Jadot firm has a portfolio of wines from the basic regional wines to some of the most lauded vineyards in the region.  This particular wine falls somewhere in the middle, but I was just amazed that the wine was absolutely fine, I mean I was ready to casually pour it down a sink, but it wasn’t necessary at all, it was delightful without any foxing or darkening of the wine.  A great way to end the party for us, before the long set of goodbyes when ever we leave a family function.

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Refreshments After a Drive

Posted on July 4, 2018 by thewineraconteur

The day of my Bride’s Godson’s graduation party, we were expecting to have company stay overnight at our house, but first they were expected to attend the party.  It really didn’t work out that way.  Our guests were going to drive from Louisville to Interlochen, Michigan and then down to the party in the Detroit area.  Two of their children were accepted to Interlochen for a summer theatrical camp, and if you have not heard of Interlochen, it is the Julliard of the Midwest and it is in the northwest corner of the lower peninsula of Michigan and trust me, there is no easy and direct route to get to any of the picturesque parts of the state.

They were beat, by the time they came to our house, and they never made it to the party, by the time they had unloaded the van with the assorted luggage of their children who were staying in Interlochen for the next month or so and go through whatever registration was required.  In fact, the same day that all of the students arrived, they all had to do auditions for the summer production of The Music Man, and it was one of my favorite musicals of the latter half of the last century.  We are looking forward to going up there to see the performance on one of the nights.  Our weary travelers arrived and we put out some assorted plates of food and noshes, even though they had stopped to eat.

What they were really interested in was some liquid nourishment to feed their soul after the long journey that they had.  The four of us were on the same wave-length I guess.  I pulled out a bottle that I had hoped that they hadn’t tried yet, but they told me that they just had it the week before.  I had chilled a bottle of Belle Glos Pinot Blanc “Oeil de Perdrix” 2017.  This Rosé wine is made intermittently by Joe Wagner, the son of Chuck Wagner, and the winery is named after his grandmother Lorna Belle Glos Wagner one of the co-founders of Caymus Vineyard.  When made, the fruit is harvested from the Taylor Lane Vineyard in the Sonoma Coast, and the fruit is carefully pressed to achieve the pinkish-coppery color of “the eye of the partridge.”  It was a delightful wine, in fact, it must have been absorbed into the atmosphere, because it seemed to disappear immediately.  My Brother-in-Law was not concerned, because in his car refrigerator he produced a bottle of Domaine Loubjac Rosé 2017 from the Willamette Valley.  The winery was named after a town in Provence that sits on the 45’th Parallel as does the winery in Oregon.  With a quick glance, one would almost think that the wine from it’s label was from France.  It is a curiosity that it is one of the few modern wines that I have encountered that does not indicate what the wine is made from, while Pinot Noir is the King of the Willamette Valley, the classic blend in Provence is Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre.  I have to admit that after a day of eating and drinking, I could not tell you, but it certainly went down easily enough and I think that is what one should expect from a good Rosé wine.  The next morning, they had to leave to get back home, after one more visit and I am sure that from that trip they were glad to be home.

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A Godson’s Graduation

Posted on July 2, 2018 by thewineraconteur

We have had quite a few graduation parties to attend this year, that is one of the benefits of getting older.  Most of them have been nephews or nieces and some are the children of cousins, that is what happens when you belong to a large family on both sides.  In the normal course of celebrations, one tries to maintain a certain fairness and a form of aloofness, because one doesn’t want to show favoritism.  There are always exceptions to the rules and my Bride tries to be fair, but this was her Godson and I guess that takes precedence over some of the others (did I say that?).  Well, we helped out as much as possible, after all we can be considered an amateur caterer at times.  We sent over three conference tables, a couple of card tables and a load of folding chairs.

My Bride also did some cooking and so did some of her sisters as well.  There was plenty of food being brought over and I kind of wondered why we didn’t take our electric chaffing dishes as well.   Along with all of the food that was brought over by the families, the parents at the request of the man of the hour wanted food from a chain known as Chipotles, and then there were additional sterno lit chaffing dishes from that company, along with all of the different foods and extras so that one could make soft and hard tacos, tamales and other personal creations.  We also brought along some coolers to help out with the beverages and ice cream treats.  It was quite a display of tents in the front yard and the back, as well as in the house to keep the guests comfortable.  I have to say that I even ate to my heart’s content and that is sometimes a rarity for me at functions of this nature, as my Bride thinks that I am a pain in the arse when it comes to party food.

Even though this was a graduation party, and there was plenty of soft drinks available, the adults were not forgotten about.  I mean there is nothing worse for this Raconteur than to attend a “dry” party or wedding, after all I thought that ended with Prohibition and a few odd counties in across this country.  The adults were thought about and there was a collection of assorted beers and then there was wine.  We brought some wines with us as well, some tried and true Chardonnay wines to keep my Bride happy, some sweeter wines to keep some of the other women happy, and I even brought along something different for the heat of the day and could count on our host to have something to try as well.  One of the wines that I had during the course of the day, into the evening was a red wine that was furnished by the hosts.  The Hope Family Wines established a winery in Paso Robles in 1978 and named it after a one-room school house from the area.  The Liberty School Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 was a very easy and moderate bodied Cabernet Sauvignon.  The wine was a blend of over fifty different farmers and vineyards from the area, and I am sure that they can maintain a consistent taste value year after year with the assorted fruits that are harvested.  It also was an easy wine to pair with the “Mexican” food from the chain restaurant.   I wanted to bring a wine that was a little different from the Chardonnay wines that my Bride so enjoys on a hot day, and I brought a wine that is not as popular or as often seen here.  The Les Costieres de Pomerols Hugues Beaulieu Picpoul de Pinet AOP 2016 brought some minerality to the glass.  Les Costieres de Pomerols is a group affair that was started in 1932 and there are now about three-hundred-fifty growers in the concern, and the town is Pomerols, not to be confused with Pomerol from the Bordeaux.  Picpoul de Pinet AOP is a sub region of the Languedoc, that was originally known as the Coteaux du Languedoc, part of the much larger Languedoc-Roussillon.  Picpoul de Pinet can only be made from the Picpoul grape, which kind of translates to “sting the lips” from the highly acidic nature of the wine.  I could not find much about the actual winemaking notes about this wine other than it spent forty-eight hours on the fine lees, but I am sure that it was not aged long, as the wine is favored in France for its floral, fruity and mineral taste.  I found it to be rather refreshing on a very hot day of the party, but the great news was that it didn’t rain, which was the concern of the hosts and the attendees.

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Retreat Day Two

Posted on June 30, 2018 by thewineraconteur

There we were up at Crystal Mountain this beautiful all-season resort.  I was up there as a guest while my Bride had the luxury of working.  We started the day off with a big breakfast, where there was not only a buffet of choices, but a custom omelet station as well.  While she was working in the morning I got a chance to try to catch up on Social Media and I also got a chance to walk some of the grounds and enjoy the idyllic setting.  We met up for lunch for another buffet style arrangement and originally, we thought we would take a couple hours and visit some wineries and maybe do some shopping.  With the advent of “smart phones” and computers, our plans did not make it passed the planning stages, as she had to take care of business, even in this setting, but the suite was more than adequate to get the job done.  Though while we were there we did take advantage of going up one of the ski lifts that was operating to get to the top of grounds, which was much better than attempting to try to hike up.  In the photo I took with my phone, one can see part of the main lodge and parts of some of the other facilities, but it is only a small part of what is there, especially for the families that came.  At the top of the grounds there was a musician who was giving a concert while we were there, but I am sure that plenty of the audience had no idea who Harry Chapin was, or if they even really listened to the words of that troubadour.

Everyone met up again for dinner, some were fortunate to do some sight-seeing and I think some even played some golf, while my Bride was busy on the computer and the phone.  The dinner was set up in another even larger pavilion style tent in another location on the grounds, and I noticed that there were a couple of other groups that had tents for their enjoyment as well.  That night for dinner there was another table of appetizers with a large spread of choices.  They had also set up two duplicate tables of dining choices in a buffet style, to keep the lines down to a minimum.  The tables were offering salads, vegetables and assorted starches (as my Bride calls them) and then there was some chaffing dishes filled with salmon, chicken and strip steaks.  There was also another large sweet table full of tempting desserts.  One thing is for certain at these retreats, no one leaves hungry.

We started of with the same white wines that we enjoyed the night before at the Cocktail Reception, which did help with the heat of the day.   The weather was even cooperating, because everyone’s phone and all of the bureaus were calling for rain and or thunderstorms.  I must say that the big man for the event, graciously accepted praise for his controls on the weather as he was telling everyone with a twinkle in his eye.  With the emphasis on the meat, we switched over and had red wine with our dinner.  We were drinking Tom Gore Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 with a California AVA.  While Tom Gore is a second-generation Sonoma winemaker, the fruit for this wine came from the Central Coast and the North Coast vineyards.  The wine was actually ninety percent Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance was a blend of Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Petite Sirah.  The wine was also not your typical California Cabernet as it had aged for sixteen months in a mix of French and American Oak, so it was not a wine that was made quickly and expeditiously.  It was a very nice wine to have with dinner and afterwards, just to relax.  While I went back to the suite to make my notes, my Bride finally had a chance to have a little fun, as she with some others, always make it a point to play Euchre after the dinner, and I might add that she may have been the one that initially instigated this time-honored tradition.

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Summer Retreat

Posted on June 28, 2018 by thewineraconteur

We found ourselves up at Crystal Mountain in the northwestern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan.  Crystal Mountain is now a year-round resort, but originally it was known more for skiing, but they have parlayed the grounds for all seasons.  Some of the lodgings are actually owned by individuals and the management of Crystal Mountain handles the rentals for the owners and one will find locked cabinets in the rooms and chalets for the property of the owners that don’t want to keep hauling goods back and forth.  We found ourselves up there for the annual Sumer Retreat Board Meeting that my Bride attended and I went up, as the wall-flower spouse; I guess business and pleasure can intermingle and for me it was all pleasure.  We were in the main lodge, but the suites were more than generous, in fact in the living room there was a Murphy Bed, while the bedroom had a king size bed.  There was an extra large jacuzzi bath, and an efficiency style kitchen as well, which we didn’t need, but how can you not enjoy a suite that has wine glasses and a corkscrew waiting for you.

It would have been a more leisurely drive up, except that my Bride scheduled five client stops along the way, so we really couldn’t relax a bit when we got there.  We basically unpacked and went to the cocktail reception the night before all of the meetings.  I am looking more and more out of place when we go to a resort, because I still like resort wear and I like wearing summer color sport coats, which I think shows respect to our hosts, but somehow resort wear can have almost the appearance of gardening attire, but I am old school for sure.   The reception was held under a very large tent with tables set up for different foods and it was a casual strolling buffet set up.  There was a large table devoted to appetizers, including White Fish Pate, which is the fish for the State of Michigan.  There were chafing dishes of assorted foods, including Gluten-free, which has become rather normal for affairs of this nature.  There were also two carving tables set up, one for turkey and one for ham and each had assorted relishes and sides for the meats.  There was also a very large sweet table just for desserts.  I noticed that all the tables were quite busy and the culinary skills of the resort was very capable.

Just off from the main tent was a bar which was very well stocked.  There was a large selection of beers, including some of the popular craft-beers that are becoming well received.  The actual bar of liquors was quite impressive with some very well-known brands with the proper mixes available.  There was a nice selection of wines, probably about twelve different types and not the usual catering hall quality.  Since the day was rather sunny, my Bride and I both went with some chilled white wines.  My Bride went with Monkey Bay Wines Sauvignon Blanc 2017 from the Marlborough district of New Zealand.  Legend has it that Monkey Bay was named, because monkeys were sited on the grounds, even though they are not indigenous to the country.  Marlborough is the largest wine district in New Zealand, and the lion’s share of the grapes grown and made into wine is Sauvignon Blanc.  This wine was pleasant enough, though I noticed that it was not as fragrant or as citrusy as most of the wines that I have had from the region.  I decided that I wanted an easy going white wine that would work with all of the food that was on the tables so I went with Bowers Harbor Vineyards Pinot Grigio 2017 and a Michigan wine to boot.  We have been to the winery several times and they now are part of the Old Mission Peninsula AVA which was granted in 1987.  Bowers Harbor was established in 1991, originally it was a horse ranch and they grow most of the basic grapes that are found in the area like Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Cabernet Franc, as well as some Cold Hardy grapes like Chambourcin and Vignoles.  The wine was not the best example of Pinot Grigio, but it was far from the worst that I have had over the years and on a nice hot, sunny day it was perfect.

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A Traditional Father’s Day

Posted on June 26, 2018 by thewineraconteur

Another Father’s Day has passed and I did not receive a tie and I also didn’t barbecue.  For years, when I was in the men’s apparel business, ties were always a go-to item for the day, but since I was a buyer in the industry and a fashion consultant, that was a gift that no one would bother trying to buy for me.  I also really don’t barbecue, because back in the day when I was growing up, I was the son of Depression raised parents and meat was always done “well done” in case someone needed a new sole for their shoes, because cobblers were also an integral part of that era, because everything was repairable.  By the time that I discovered how a steak should be prepared, I was no longer really in the kitchen or at the grill.  Father’s Day for many is not as joyful as it once was, because families do not all live in the same area anymore, as I received calls from my children in Las Vegas and they were doing Father’s Day with their families.

All was not lost as our son that still lives in the area took us out for the day, even though we had originally planned on taking him and his family out for brunch.  Since that had been our plan, we had chosen The Root Restaurant & Bar in White Lake, Michigan, both for their culinary skills and that it was geographically close for our son.  The Root was selected as the Restaurant of the Year in 2012 by the Detroit Free Press and the following year in Hour Magazine they also claimed the Best Chef of the Year.  We have dined there in the past, but this was the first time for brunch.  Our son, his wife and one of his children had breakfast choices, going for the sweet and savory type meals that are very popular.  My Bride and I are the traditionalists, at least we were that day.  My Bride had the Quiche Lorraine with Fingerling Potatoes and I went with the classic interpretation of Eggs Benedict, though they did up the dish a little with the addition of Creamed Leeks.

I was in the mood for some Mimosas, but I was the only one that was indulgent and the restaurant offered two styles, the traditional with orange juice or one made with grapefruit juice, so we went with the traditional again.  I was anticipating that they would be using one of the bulk Charmat Methode California sparkling wines, but they surprised me and were using a Metodo Tradiccional Cava from Spain by J. Garcia Carrion.  The sparkling wines of Spain have been made in the proper way since the earliest years of the last century and was marketed as Champana, until France flexed their muscles and declared that they were the only country to produce Champagne.  The Spaniards came up with a novel new name, not a geographic location, but from the method that the wines are stored and that is in caves, hence Cava, and while they are a bit looser with the designation, ninety percent of the Cava is still produced in the Catalonia region.  I was enjoying the Jaume Serra Cristalino Extra Dry Cava NV and while it sounds like it should be close to a “Brut” Extra Dry is in the center of the sweetness table and it is really easy to drink.  Originally the varietals for Cava were Macabeo, Xarel-Lo and Parellado, since 1986 Chardonnay was approved and since then so has White Malvasia, Pinot Noir, Garnacha, Monastrell and Trepat.  I think that I will go out on a limb and claim that the three traditional grapes were used in this wine.  It was kind of a traditional day.

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One More for the Road

Posted on June 24, 2018 by thewineraconteur

Bob Anderson, maybe you recognize his name and maybe you don’t.  I first saw Bob entertain at the London Chop House, the old legendary restaurant in Detroit; back then the owner also had the Caucus Club across the street where an unknown Barbra Striesand performed.  I then saw him as a lounge act at the Sands in Las Vegas, so you know that was a while ago.  Now he is performing a magnificent act at the Palazzo in Las Vegas and he is a star.  He recently had a one-night show at the Detroit Opera House, which is a magnificent venue, that was the old Broadway-Capital theater when movie houses were works of art with multiple balconies, chandeliers and plaster-work that is unavailable today.   The tickets were my Father’s Day present, even though my Bride had never heard of Bob, she took my advice that it would be a great show.

Bob Anderson is a great singer, but his niche is in impersonations, not just the voice, but in the mannerisms and movements.  I have seen him do Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, but it is his Frank Sinatra that is truly stellar.  His current show that he performed in Detroit, is the show he does at the Palazzo and it is basically a recreation of a Vegas show that Frank would have put on, with the actual music scores and arrangements.  Bob, just like Frank was accompanied by a thirty-two-piece orchestra with strings and all.  I was mesmerized, it was like going back in time to see The Chairman of the Board again.  The selection of the songs was a great mix, not just the great standards, but some of the lesser known ones as well, and I knew them as well; after all I grew up my entire life listening to his music.  Maybe it was nostalgia, or wanting to see Frank perform one more time, but I was enthralled and I did find myself brushing away a few tears as I listened to the music, remembering moments when those songs were apropos and just swaying in my seat like everyone else in the sold-out auditorium, which may be bigger than the auditorium at the Palazzo.  The music was just perfect, and I had to control myself that I didn’t try to sing aloud and disturb the others around me.

We went to the Detroit Opera House early, because our tickets were at the will-call window.  Instead of staying around there, we walked across the street for some wine at Vertical, a wonderful restaurant and wine bar that I have mentioned before.  It was a hot day and of course we were dressed for the occasion which was a Vegas show, so a sport coat was de rigueur, so we had some Rosé wine.  The wine was from the Domaine des Annibals from the Provence region of France, where Rosé is King.  We had Chateau des Annibals 2017 which still carried the old Coteaux Varois en Provence, but now is Coteaux Varois.  This wine is a blend of Cinsaut and Grenache and it was a very pretty color, with a delicate nose, and a finish that made you want to have another sip.  I am sure that it was done in Stainless Steel for a short aging period, because the wine was so fresh.  In fact, if Downtown Detroit wasn’t so packed that evening because of a music festival, we may have went back to Vertical for another glass.  I mean I would have, even though it is not politically correct, and then again most young people have never heard the expression “One for the Road.”

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An Afternoon Graduation Party

Posted on June 22, 2018 by thewineraconteur

It is that time of the year for high school graduations and I guess if you live long enough, you end up attending many assorted generations of these parties.  They are getting to be quite elaborate these days.  We just attended a party and I learned that some of the high schools have forums for the parents, where different vendors go and show what they can do.   From tent, tables and chair rentals to actual food preparations and catering.  One stop shopping, if one can find the proper accommodations and budget.

We pulled up to this party and they had a tent set up across the three lane wide parking spaces in front of their garage, as well as onto to their grass.  They also had tables set up in other parts of their yard, as well as in the house.  The food was catered by one of the companies that they encountered at the forum and they made an excellent selection.   The meal was a big barbeque with briskets, chicken, and pulled pork and all the sides.  They even offered several different sauces to add to the flavors.  There were several salads, and several vegetables and fresh baked rolls and corn bread.  The desserts were also great, there were cakes and chocolate covered everythings and one of the biggest collections of really fancy cupcakes, in fact, some of the cupcakes that people were raving about, where alas gone, by the time I went for dessert, but there were others that were equally impressive.  I was a happy camper, as I never know what to expect at these affairs.

I suggested to my Bride that we should take some wine, and she said that there would probably be drinks there.   There were coolers of beer, domestic and lights, and craft IPA types.  There was water and pop and juices and there was even Sangria.  There was boxed wine and I get that, not everyone gets into wine like we do.  There was a box of White Zinfandel and a box of Moscato, both by Franzia Brothers Winery.  Franzia began in 1906 and survived to this day.  They were one of the first to get into the box wine decanters in the late 1970’s and have made a good name for themselves and they definitely cater to a market segment and have created a good niche for their wines.  Unfortunately, my Bride and I are not partial to the two grape wines that were being offered, so I jumped into my car and went looking for a party store to find something that was chilled and with a screw cap closure, as I did not have a corkscrew and I thought it would be in poor taste to ask our hosts if they had one.  I found one of the most popular wines on the market, in fact it is the most popular wine sold in the United States from New Zealand.  Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2017 from the Marlborough region was just perfect for the moment.  The chilled crisp acidic citrus flavor paired well with the tang of the barbeque dishes.  Kim Crawford began in Auckland in 1996 and moved to a state of the art facility in Marlborough in 2000.  They were so successful that they were bought by Vincor in 2003 and then acquired by Constellation Brands in 2004.  It was a perfect afternoon.

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