Big Sur Reserve Pinot Noir

Posted on June 20, 2018 by thewineraconteur

I am now getting to the last of the wines in the shipment from “A Taste of Monterey.”  One of the finest decisions I think we have ever made, because we are not limited to only one winery, so the selection is unlimited even in the Reserve Wine Selections.  The brochure that came with the shipment also contained a recipe for Fettucine with Shiitakes and Asparagus, as well as two smaller articles about the varietal Tannat and the cheese Mahon from the Balearic Islands off Spain.

The last wine is from an area that we visited before this winery was really begun, as we had behaved as tourists once and visited Ventana and Big Sur.  Big Sur Vineyards originally began as an olive grove and they made artisan soaps, on the edge of the Ventana Wilderness.  Then they began planting Rhone varietals as a hobby to see what would happen.  They finally began production on their Big Sur Red.

All the winemaking came into fruition with their Big Sur Reserve Pinot Noir 2013.  It was amusing to me, that right after I opened the carton, I was reading one of the wine sites that I follow, and someone was touting the Big Sur Pinot Noir as being exceptional and that everyone should try to find it, if possible, which made me happy to read, and here I had their Reserve of the same wine, though I am not sure what the actual difference is, as there was not much information on their website.  This particular wine is from the Antle Vineyard in the Chalone AVA.  The wine created one-hundred-seventy cases and the aging potential is for five to six years.  I am sure that curiosity will make me try this wine sooner.  In a rather sad side note, they lost all of their buildings in probably the first two or three days of the Soberanes Fire of 2016 and are rebuilding, and I wish them well.

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Coastview Cuvée S.A. Andrée

Posted on June 18, 2018 by thewineraconteur

One of the joys of unpacking a carton from my wine club is to see all the goodies that I will find.  I have to admit that I am like a kid in a candy shop with some coins in my hand, and I remember penny candy.  “A Taste of Monterey” besides packing three bottles of wine to send me on a quarterly basis, also puts a brochure about the wines that I am receiving.  The brochure also had a nice article about terroir, or as I put it bluntly as dirt, that ethereal quality about the grounds that imparts flavor that other areas seem to be lacking.  It is terroir that helps to explain the mystery of the districts and sub-districts in Burgundy where the price can change astronomically in plots almost side by side.  It is also the reason that here in America we have our AVA designations, because some areas are just so unique for growing some grapes that become awesome wines.

Monterey is one such designation that has a known quality about the soil, or lack of soil.  Ground that might be terrible for some food stocks, is wonderful for grapes as they have to struggle to grow and to ripen.   Coastview Vineyard of Soledad, California has produced a wine that is from the mountain area of the Gabilan Mountains overlooking the Salinas Valley and the Monterey Bay.  The soil is decomposed granite with veins of limestone add to the makeup of the terroir and coupled with being a mountainous vineyard imbues the grapes with a taste that other acres will not have.

The Coastview Cuvée S.A. Andrée 2010 is a red wine blend, evoking the adventures of a Jules Verne novel as it depicts an old school hot-air balloon, and the cuvee is named for the Swedish balloonist Salomon August Andrée who attempted to pass over the North Pole with two companions, scientific equipment, homing pigeons and several crates of Champagne; a man ready for anything.  This wine is a Claret blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.  I couldn’t find any production notes for this wine, but the aging potential is for eight to ten years and they only produced one-hundred-twenty-five cases of this wine.  I would say this wine would be a perfect match for some steaks or a standing rib roast.  I will let you know.

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Scott Family Chardonnay

Posted on June 16, 2018 by thewineraconteur

I guess I should pay more attention to my emails, because I was working around the house when there was a knock on the door.   It was the UPS driver and he had a package that I had to sign for, so it was a very pleasant surprise.  Normally the express companies just leave packages on the front porch, but when a signature is required, it is either very valuable or it has alcohol, and sometimes it is the best of both worlds.  I recognized the carton and I knew it was a shipment from the only wine club that I belong to, which is “A Taste of Monterey.”

I can’t even tell you, how long we have had a membership with them, but it has been a long and fruitful association.  As I have said before they have a couple of different club levels, but we opted for their Private Reserve Club as a way to receive wines that probably would never get to Michigan, because of small production and the unusual and restrictive and cavalier method that the wine importers and distributors employ in this state.  When we first signed on, we weren’t even sure if it would work, because Michigan was at one time a felony state for private shipments of wine.  Thankfully our Governor at one time was named in a historic legal battle and the outcome was great for wine drinkers here, and that particular Governor has long been vanquished for our shores.

The first wine that I found, I will describe, but I will have to rely on their notes as I have not uncorked the bottle, as I have to find the right moment for it, but it will happen.  The Scott Family Estates Arroyo Seco Chardonnay 2016 should be an excellent bottle of wine.  Scott Family Estates are actually located in St. Helena in Napa Valley and are under the larger umbrella of Rutherford Wine Company.  Arroyo Seco, which means Dry Creek is in the middle of the Salinas Valley which is located in Monterey County.  Arroyo Seco is known for having heavy fog cover which means that the vines are slow to ripen under the cooler temperatures and harvests have been know to take place in November.  While Arroyo Seco is well regarded and received its AVA in 1983, it is not seen that often, and the largest crop there is Chardonnay.  This particular wine is made entirely from Dijon Clones and was aged Sur Lies in a combination of Stainless Steel and French Oak.  There were seven-hundred-sixty cases produced and the aging potential for this wine is for five to six years, though truthfully most Chardonnay wines in this house do not last that long.  You know that I am not one for descriptors, but the notes for this wine indicate vibrant citrus notes, creamy with a long finish with an underlying taste of toasty oak.  Only time will tell, and I will be glad to let you know when the wine has been opened.

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A Day for Photos

Posted on June 14, 2018 by thewineraconteur

A lot has changed since I graduated from high school.  It seems to my memory, that we had graduation photos, ordered a class ring, ordered a year book and went to a prom.  I remember driving out to pick up my date, and going to the prom, of course my group only stayed a little while, as we had other plans and one day I might even write about that memory.  Nowadays, it seems like the kids rent a bus and go to some destination to have special photos taken before they attend the prom.  Back in the dark ages, who even thought about that, parents took some pictures of the kids in their finery and then out for the evening.   We ended driving out in rush hour traffic to a park that I wasn’t even aware of on a lake.  This was for my Bride’s Godson, so we were going out to meet the students and the boy’s family.  We eventually made it there in time for some photography and that made my Bride very happy, and I was amazed at the crowd of people that all amassed at the park with the same intentions.  Then the kids piled back on the rented bus and took off for their prom and we met with the boy’s parents and decided to go out for dinner.

We were out in an area that we normally don’t go to, but I put my thinking cap on and remembered a restaurant that I remembered people talking about, but I had never been to, though I have drove by it on occasion.  I called to see if they took reservations, but I was told that they do not take same day reservations, but they said that at the moment, it looked good.  So, we all got into our cars and drove over to the Uptown Grille in Commerce Township.  I guess the best way to describe it, would be to call it a roadhouse.  From the outside it is not that enticing, but I have never let a façade deceive me, and when we walked in, I was surprised how large it was, and we had no problem getting seated.  My Bride ended up having the Pecan Chicken with shallots and cranberries, sautéed in a Sherry sauce, topped with spiced candied pecans and green onions and mashed potatoes.  I had been in the mood for some ribs for a while, and here was my chance to sate that desire.  I just had the barbecued baby back ribs with a side of Cole Slaw and Macaroni and Cheese.

We were looking at the wine list and under “Interesting Reds” I found one that sounded interesting.  We had a bottle of Peirano Estate Vineyards Illusion 2016 from Lodi, California.  Peirano Estate Vineyards is going into their fifth generation in the business, and they were one of the original planters of Zinfandel in the area.  They even survived the Prohibition Era by bootlegging wine, because as their site claims, Zinfandel was not on the map for wine production back then for the government.  They really began making wine in earnest in 1992.  The Illusion is a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon which are all estate grown.  Each varietal was hand harvested and vinified separately and then they began the arduous effort of finding the proper blend, which they did.  They aged the wines in a mix of French and American Oak, and the entire process took almost a year from harvest.  It was a very nice wine and it really paired nicely with ribs, and I guess it worked well with the chicken, as the wine was not overly jammy as a Zinfandel can be, but I think it was tempered with the other grapes.

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Our Last Dinner with Ms. Yoga

Posted on June 12, 2018 by thewineraconteur

Even though Casa Raconteur was the official residence of Ms. Yoga during her week, she did leave us and spend some time in Grand Rapids during this business trip.  For some odd reason, she just ignores the invoice that is slid under the door on her last day.  She wanted to go to Fleming’s Steak House, but we wanted her to see this little bistro that we have gone to a couple of times, especially if on her next trip, she attempts to have another family get-together brunch, because this establishment does such a great job, and with a group that size, she will get a reservation.  French Toast in Plymouth is in the middle of nowhere in a rather non-descript strip mall.  Their Cajun influenced meals belie the outward appearance of the restaurant.

Ms. Yoga also invited her brother for dinner, but he basically didn’t eat anything, as he said that he had a late lunch, but he wanted to spend some more time with her, before she left.  Ms. Yoga and I got there together first to get a table, as French Toast fills up rapidly, and they are only open two evenings of the week.  She immediately ordered the Baked Brie Board to nosh on and it came with fresh berries, strawberry jam and crackers; the Brie was so creamy and rich, we thought it was French, but it was Danish.  Then her brother showed up and so did my Bride and Ms. Yoga immediately ordered a platter of Prince Edward Island Mussels that were done in the classic versions of herbed buttered white wine sauce with garlic, shallots and accompanied with garlic toast.  Ms. Yoga then ordered for her entrée the Maple Mustard Glazed Salmon with Quinoa, wild mushrooms, grape tomatoes and Bourbon onions.  My Bride had the Shrimp and Grits, which came with Andouille sausage and grape tomatoes.  I ordered the Black Garlic Braised Short Rib which came with White Cheddar Grits, Brussel Sprouts and Crispy Shallots.  For dessert we had Beignets with a Banana Foster Sauce.

They have a limited wine list, but a rather complete bar.  They use, along with most other places we have been to for brunch William Wycliff Winery “California Champagne” Brut  NV with the convenient screw cap.  This wine is made using the Charmat Method, and hence it is very affordable and easy for most restaurants.  The winery is under the umbrella of the Gallo Winery Group, which probably explains how they were grandfathered in with “California Champagne.”  I digressed a bit, but we tried to order two different bottles for the table and they were sold out, so we opted for a third try with success, and the restaurant comped us on our dessert, because of this problem.  We had an old favorite negocient and a region of mine that evening.  We had Barton and Gestier Cotes du Rhone Les Galets 2016.  B & G as they are usually referred to is the oldest wine house in Bordeaux and they oversee and bottle wines from most regions of France.  This particular wine was a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan and aged in French Oak.  While B & G is not stellar, they have been dependable and reliable since I started drinking wines several decades ago.  It was a wonderful dinner, the wine worked well, the company excellent and I might add that Ms. Yoga skipped town the next day and ignored the invoice again.  Until her next appearance.

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What Women Enjoy

Posted on June 10, 2018 by thewineraconteur

While we had the pleasure of Ms. Yoga’s company she was here on a business trip.  She also found some time to see her family and friends.  One of the days that she was able to blend everything together, she found some time to go shopping with her friends, and I think that is one of the most pleasurable pastimes that women enjoy.  I spent my entire career selling Men’s Couture, so the concept of shopping is beyond my realm of understanding as pleasure.  Most men from my era, do not shop, they go out and buy and it tends to be a singular pursuit, while women like to shop together; and they do it well.  Ms. Yoga and my Bride were going to meet another friend and go shopping one morning and they asked if I wanted to join them, which I politely declined, but they did invite me out for lunch when they were going to be finished and that I did agree upon.  You may have noticed by now, that I am quite partial to being fed, especially if the venue is decent, so that removes most popular priced chains.

We established a time to meet, that would enable the women to get some “quality” time shopping, as well as working up an appetite for lunch.  We also picked a suitable establishment that would be near where they were shopping, so I drove there separately and if I got there first, I would secure a table, since it was lunch time.  They decided upon one of the chains that I had not been to for awhile called J Alexander’s and surprisingly I did get there first and waited for the ladies to make their purchases, as at least they were out of the fitting rooms.  My Bride ordered the Carolina Crab Cakes, which were made from jumbo lump crab, chili mayonnaise and a mustard sauce with a side of fries.  I went with their Steak Burger, which was a blend of ground tenderloin and rib-eye, Tillamook Cheddar, grilled onions and Kiawah Island Dressing.

Since it was an unseasonably hot morning and I was waiting for the ladies to show up, I went with a manly drink and ordered a glass of Rosé, which even made me look even more questionable when the women ordered cocktails.  It is OK though, because I like a glass of Rosé and I had Chateau Val-Joanis Tradition Luberon 2017.  Luberon got its own designation in 1988 and to old guys like me, it was known as Cotes du Luberon and is located between the Rhone Valley and Provence but comes under the Rhone umbrella of districts.  This was a very easy and drinkable wine, that I will presume was done quickly in Stainless Steel due to the vintage, and it was Estate Bottled and a blend of Syrah and Grenache.  With my burger I went to a heavier red wine and California beckoned to me.  The Newton Vineyard Skyside Claret 2016 was from the North Coast.  The Skyside label is new, as they had originally called it the Red Label.  The Claret was a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.  Newton Vineyard was established in 1977 and they were the first winery in Napa Valley to create an un-filtered Chardonnay, and they were so successful, that in 2001 they were bought by the luxury group LVMH.  Newton Vineyard owns six-hundred-forty acres of land in Napa and nearby, and the land has been formed into one-hundred-twelve parcels, and each parcel only grows one varietal.  They also vinify each parcel separately, so that they have plenty of blending opportunities as well as bottling single vineyard wines.  They only use French Oak for aging, and they tunneled and built a marble cave for aging in the side of a hill.  Pairing with the burger, it was an excellent choice, though I am sure that most of the time, people would order this wine with a steak.

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Dinner with Ms. Yoga

Posted on June 8, 2018 by thewineraconteur

It was a wonderful relaxing Sunday afternoon, we had gone to the cinema and had started to enjoy some wine and appetizers.  When Ms. Yoga is in town, it tends to be an event, and of course she is instrumental in all of the planning.  While ostensibly in town to do business and make more business contacts, she also wants to see as many friends and family that she can squeeze in during a trip.  The Casa Raconteur is her home base on this trip and we were having as much fun as she was.  Her friends that she had invited for dinner finally showed up, and we enjoy their company immensely.

There was now six of us, sitting in the breakfast nook at the moment, and everyone was catching up since the last time we had gotten together.  The last couple also came with some wine and a big tray of jumbo shrimp with cocktail sauce, so we sat and munched some more.  I have to admit that I have been a fan of shrimp since I was a toddler, since it was always something that was at the house growing up.  My Bride had to maneuver herself away from the breakfast nook to begin making the dinner and it was my job to make sure that the wine in the glasses didn’t evaporate from a lack of interest.  My Bride was making filets for dinner and everyone seemed to agree on Medium Rare, so the cooking time was made a bit easier on her.  She was also making a roaster of sliced potatoes covered in Parmesan and she was at the sauté pan preparing fresh asparagus.  For dessert she was serving Angel Food Cake with sugared strawberries and whipped cream, which everyone knows is very low-cal.  For dinner we actually moved into the dining room, since it was already set up for the dinner earlier.

After having a couple of bottles of white wine, I guess it was time to have some red wine, especially with the filets.  We started of with some wine from Paoletti Winery in Calistoga, Napa Valley.   Paoletti Winery has thirty-six acres in Calistoga and their first release was in 1994, so the wine we were enjoying was from their Twentieth Anniversary.  Their Piccolo Cru 2014 was all fruit from their own estate and it was a Bordeaux blend with half of the wine being Cabernet Sauvignon and then Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.  The total time for the production of this wine was about sixteen months and it was delightful, with all the qualities that I expect from a Claret.  The second wine was from across the pond from Frecciarossa in the Lombardy region of Italy.  This winery has been in production since 1919 and they were one of the earliest wineries to ship to the United States after Prohibition, as their Export Permit is #19.  The Giorgio Odero Oltrepo Pavese DOC Pinot Noir 2010 was excellent.  The Oltrepo Pavese region borders on the Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna and Pinot Noir is considered the King of this region.  The wine begins with two weeks in Stainless Steel for the maceration process after being hand-harvested, then twelve months in once-used barrels, then an additional six months in Stainless Steel and finally twelve months in the bottle before being released.  This was a great bottle of wine and hopefully I can get some more.  On to next adventure with Ms. Yoga.

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A Chick Flick

Posted on June 6, 2018 by thewineraconteur

Now I am not trying to be demeaning, but it today’s parlance a chick flick is for a film that the main audience is geared towards the woman.  There are times when we both agree on a film.  Then there are times when one or the other wants to see something and the other spouse goes along with anticipation of a latter quid pro quo.   Well the other day, I was outvoted, as Ms. Yoga and my Bride had already decided on seeing a film, and I was going along, but at least I had to hope that the caliber of the writing would be worthy of the stars of the film.  I mean there are some films that are totally sophomoric and I have no idea who the target audience is.  There are times when we can appreciate a film that is basically computer generated with the scenes, but the writing has to be aimed for adults with a capacity of thinking, otherwise that is what television is for.  To me television was called the Great Wasteland and I think it wears that title quite well, so for almost forty years I have not watched it, unless I have put a DVD movie on to play.  I know that I am old fashioned, but they stopped making Beta format tapes years ago.

As you may have surmised, we went to see the Book Club with a cast of actresses and actors that can no longer play ingénue roles.  We all went to see the film, even though one of the leads lost favor with my generation years ago, because we all lost friends to the Viet Nam war, and a plastic enhanced actress dismayed many of my era.  The film was cute, and the theater was completely sold out, so I guess the marketers did a good job.  I found it amusing that both my Bride and Ms. Yoga did not recognize Andy Garcia, and I chuckled to think that he was the romantic interest for the daughter in Godfather III, and here he was the romantic lead for the mother from that film in this film.  It was a feel-good movie and it was written for adults, even Ms. Yoga’s brother who went with us, had to admit that he enjoyed the film, but I guess it was a while since he went to the cinema, as he was more amazed at the prices that were demanded.

After the movie, we headed back to our house, as another couple were coming over to have dinner with the group, they couldn’t attend the film, as they had a prior commitment, but they did want to see Ms. Yoga.  While we were waiting for them to arrive, to start the dinner, my Bride set out a series of plates of just good appetizers to nosh on.  We even had some wine at this time and it was a chance to compare two different Chardonnay wines from California, both in the popular price realm.  The first wine, was one that surprised me, because it was from Costco, which is now America’s leading wine purveyor.  We had one of their house brands that I did not know that they were offering.  The Kirkland Signature Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2016 was a solid dependable wine.  I have had their California Chardonnay, and we always seem to have their Sonoma Chardonnay here, but this was the first time that I had seen the sub-region of Sonoma offered by Costco.  It was very easy and for the price, I thought it was delightful and I wouldn’t mind having again in the future.  The other wine was also new to me and was part of Wagner Family of Wine and was from there Mer Soleil Vineyard.  The Mer Soleil Silver Chardonnay 2015 was in a silver gray “ceramic” finished bottle and carried the Monterey County AVA.  While I was doing some additional research, the vineyard is in the Santa Lucia Highlands, and several sources I checked list that as the AVA for the wine.  This wine is totally unoaked and was fermented in both Stainless Steel and Concrete tanks, hence the silver gray of the bottle.  The wine still had a lush full taste with distinct citrus, and I guess that is not surprising as the vineyard is surrounded by a Meyer Lemon orchard that the Wagner family also grows and I guess that has added something to the terroir of the soil over time.  We were just enjoying the food and munchies and waiting for the additional guests to arrive for dinner.

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Ms. Yoga is Returning

Posted on June 4, 2018 by thewineraconteur

Ms. Yoga is one of my revolving cast of characters that appear on these pages.  If I were to liken her to a cinematic character it may be Rosalind Russel as Auntie Mame, someone bigger than life and hardly a shrinking violet.  While I have known her for years, she and my Bride go back even further and they could be Thelma and Louise or perhaps Lucy and Ethel.  She used to live here in Michigan and she has moved a couple of times, because of that vile four-letter word – work, but we have maintained a steady correspondence and we have visited her at her other realms.

Sometimes I bring her up, because of the text messages that I receive from her.  I think originally, she was like my Bride and only drank white wines and then they were usually a Chardonnay.  That all changed especially when we all went to Napa Valley for a holiday and I had booked plenty of wine tastings, not to mention restaurant reservations.  When we get together, one never knows exactly what we will be drinking, though there will still be a Chardonnay somewhere in the mix.  She also likes to find me an occasional unique looking wine and label, from the early days when I was decoupaging the door to my first wine cellar that predates our current address.  In fact, it was her that introduced me to Marilyn Merlot, just because of the label and I have had a love affair with that wine ever since.

During the course of her latest texting announcements that she would be coming to Detroit, she sent me not only a wine cartoon, but a photo of a wine bottle that she really enjoyed and thought that I should know about it.  She was in Florida on business and wrote that she had found a Key Lime Vodka that she was enjoying in some Key Lime Martinis.   While she was in the Tampa area, she also discovered a wine from one of the assorted collections produced by Oak Ridge Winery of Lodi, California.  Oak Ridge Winery began as a cooperative in 1934 and is the oldest winery in Lodi.  It was bought by the Maggio and Reynolds families in 2001 and then joined by the Dondero family in 2010.  They have over 500 acres and the winery is known for its unique tasting room, which is in a converted 50,000-gallon Redwood tank.  The wine she texted me about was their Silk Oak Chardonnay 2014, and as I have told you, she is still very partial to that grape.

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EL Ixsir White

Posted on June 2, 2018 by thewineraconteur

I was getting a chance to taste a couple more wines from Ixsir Winery.   I was still feeling rather sheepish for getting my dates mixed up for the tasting and I was a week late at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia.  They must have thought that I was senile or just crazy and I had missed the chance to talk with their representative.  The wine shop was very generous though to let me try some of the wine that was left over from the actual tasting, and since they use the Coravin system, I can say whole-heartedly that the wines that they poured were still fresh and didn’t show any signs of being over the hill after being in the chiller for a week.

I can understand that they were out of the red wines for a tasting, and I would not expect them to open fresh bottles for me to try, since I was so late.  Ixsir Winery offers three collections of wines; Altitudes, Grande Reserve and EL.  The Altitude collections I did not try and there was a red, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Caladoc and Tempranillo, a rosé which was a blend of Syrah, Caladoc and Cinsault and a white which was a blend of Obeidy, Muscat and Viognier.  While I had a chance to try the Grande Reserve White, I missed out on the Grande Reserve Red which was a blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The EL collection is their supreme cuvee at Ixsir Winery and it best exemplifies the terroir of the estate in the Batroun.  It is a labor of love by the winemaker Gabriel Rivero and his close advisor Hubert de Bouard a co-owner of Chateau Angelus in Saint Emilion.  If you were aware of it, France and Lebanon had a long history in the Twentieth Century and Beirut was called the Paris of the Middle East.  The EL Red was a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  Which leads us to the two wines that I had a chance to try.  The EL White was at blend of seventy percent Viognier and thirty percent Chardonnay.  The wine is aged for twelve months in French Oak, of which a third was new, a third was used once and a third was used twice.  I tried both the EL White 2012 and the EL White 2014.  It was really interesting to see, because I normally if I had a chance to buy the wine untasted I would have chosen the later vintage, because of my wariness of buying older white wines.  The 2012 vintage was pure bliss and a real eye opener to me, as the two wines were blended so well and mellowed that I would not have thought that it was such a large degree of Viognier.  I could have easily drunk a bottle of it with a dinner and be totally happy with its smoothness.  Going by the quality of the three white wines, I am sure that the red wines would be equally wonderful in the glass.

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