Café Felix

Posted on July 9, 2017 by thewineraconteur

In this very busy lifestyle that has become the norm, one is always heading from one destination to the next without taking the time to just admire the location. That is usually the case when we go to Ann Arbor in Michigan. It is a bustling community with many little shops downtown and quite a few restaurants and watering holes, not to mention that it is a college town. I would say normally we meet friends have dinner and leave, or my Bride will have business there and then she leaves, so we really do not wander around, except for the art fair and then we are looking at other things.


After a nice leisurely stroll looking at shops and people watching, we started to get hungry. Alas this was on a Monday and most of the restaurants were either closed or were going to open up later in the day and we were looking for lunch; and of course, a glass of wine or two wouldn’t hurt either. I was hoping to try someplace new, but that wasn’t appearing on the horizon, so we went to a place that we have enjoyed several times before. We went to Café Felix and because of the heat of the day, we were not going to be brave and dine out on the sidewalk, we wanted to enjoy some air conditioning and listen to the great mix of music that they play in the background. We were looking for something light and some dishes to share and we found a few to hold us over until later. We ordered a plate of Deviled Eggs, this seemingly passé dish that has been rediscovered and it was made with Dijon mustard, chives and each was served on a thin slice of watermelon radish, both for color and for taste. We also shared a small round of Baked Brie that was drizzled with Honey-Sriracha and a small French baguette. We were going to also have some Smoked Salmon Pate, but the kitchen was out, but they offered us a substitution of a Smoked Whitefish Pate and it was excellent. So, there we were having a little picnic in the midst of downtown Ann Arbor.


We were both looking to having some white wine to cool off with and my Bride had a glass of Domaine Felines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet 2015. This wine carried the marking of Appellation d’Originene Protegee, which showed that it was a sub-region of note of the much larger Languedoc-Roussillon of France. This wine was entirely made from the Picpoul (Piquepoul) grape, which kind of translates to “stings the lip,” because of the high natural acidity of the grapes when made into wine. The wine showed the acidity as well as a marked feature of minerals, which I would call flint-like. I went with something bubbly, because we were having a good time and I felt like having a different wine as well. I had the Poulet & Fils Clairette de Die Tradition Methode Dioise Ancestrale NV. Here is one of the lesser grapes of the Rhone Valley, but it shines in the village of Die. While Clairette de Die would indicate that Clairette is the leading grape for this wine, with the addition Tradition Methode Dioise Ancestrale, Clairette is only twenty-five percent of the mix, and the balance is Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains, which is one of the oldest recognized varietals known. The other unique aspect of this wine is that while it is bubbly, the method that creates it, predates how Champagne is made. The wine is only fermented once in either oak or Stainless Steel and then is bottled without the addition of yeast or sugar and there is no Disgorgement step involved. I found the wine to have some enjoyable sweetness to it, without being overpowering and a set of continuous flowing small bubbles which was a delight to the eye as well. After our little lunch, we walked a little more and then casually, or as casually as one can drive in Ann Arbor, drove home.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dinner at the Dotte

Posted on July 7, 2017 by thewineraconteur

After our river cruise, the four of us went to have dinner at the Wine Dotte Bistro. I have had many lunches there, but it was the first time to have dinner there. I really enjoy the name of the establishment as it is a great play on the name of the city of Wyandotte. The restaurant is on the back side of the main street and it has a view of the waterfront and they have some outdoor seating as well, but after being out on the water, the creature comforts of air-conditioning was too inviting not to ignore.


The menu offers several different dishes and a couple of specials were also offered that day. Our friend had the “Baseball Cut” Sirloin, which is a center cut topped with a Zip Sauce and vegetables, preceded by a house salad. His wife ordered one of the daily specials, the Jerk-spiced salmon and she had the soup of the day. My Bride was not hungry so she ordered an appetizer and a bowl of soup. She had the Steak Bites, which were done in a Zip Sauce with mushrooms, onions, green peppers, garlic and pita bread along with the soup, which was Tomato-Basil; and between the two sides, she had ample food. I went with the other special of the day, a version of Surf & Turf, it was three marinated lamb chops done with Chimichurri and a lobster tail with drawn butter.


My Bride commandeered the wine list and immediately ordered a bottle of wine, even before we knew what everyone was ordering, but her selection was fine as it had been a hot and summery day. She ordered the Chateau de Sancerre 2014 from the hamlet of Sancerre in the Upper Loire region of the Loire Valley. Sancerre is famed for their white wines, which is Sauvignon Blanc and the varietal has a distinct tang there, that most Sauvignon Blanc wines do not have, and there is a bit more body and I attribute to the region. This wine is aged on the lees for six months in Stainless Steel before bottling and offers a nuance all its own. The winery was founded in 1919 by Louis-Alexander Marnier Lapostolle, whose family back in 1827 discovered liquid gold when they created Grand Marnier. The Lapostolle family has also found more accolades for their own Lapostolle wines in Chile. This is a Sancerre wine that is a little easier to find and well worth trying a different take on Sauvignon Blanc.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Oh, Canada

Posted on July 5, 2017 by thewineraconteur

We had a peaceful and serene way to celebrate Canada Day, while technically staying in the United States. We took a two-hour river tour on the Detroit River with another couple. The Diamond Jack’s company has a couple of boats that ply the river from a couple of different locations. One of their ports is in Detroit and the other is in Wyandotte, and we took the Wyandotte-Detroit Tour.


We travelled up river from Wyandotte along the Michigan coast line and saw some of the different parks, industries and marinas that naturally congregate on waterfronts. As we got into the Detroit area we saw the industry on Zug Island, the desolation of Delray, which is where they will be the site of the Gordie Howe Bridge from Detroit to Windsor. We also saw historic Fort Wayne which sits up overlooking the southern border of the United States protecting us from an assault from Canada; and yes, you did read that right Detroit is the only point where Canada is south of the border. We also went past the famed JW Westcott Mailboat, the only floating Zip Code in the country, and they make sure that the boats all get their mail in a timely manner. Our tour boat slowly started turning around as we were under the Ambassador Bridge and I can recall how I have always heard that my Grandfather as soon as he got back on the Canadian side of the bridge would exclaim how fresh the air smelled after leaving Detroit. On the return trip back to Wyandotte we saw the Canadian shoreline with its industries and the already to go area for the new bridge.


Once the boat left the dock, we could get some refreshments during our tour. It was quite sunny and the temperatures were in the eighties with a nice breeze, so we decided to have something chilled; and of course, that meant some wine. The wine selection was very limited and we opted for the safest choice, a few glasses of Pinot Grigio. The first wine was Belle Ambiance Pinot Grigio 2015 with a California AVA. Belle Ambiance Family Vineyards produce this wine that is geared for the bulk wine users, namely catering companies and restaurants. The wine is very inexpensive, no nuance or craftsmanship, but it did deliver a Pinot Grigio taste though a bit on the sweeter side. They ran out of this wine and the other wine that we ended up having was Coastal Vines Pinot Grigio 2016, also with a California AVA. This wine was blended with some French Colombard and it was much sweeter than the Belle Ambience. This was another wine that was made for bulk consumption and is under the auspices of the very large Bronco Wine Company. One observation that I noticed, is that after the initial tasting of a sweeter wine both times, perhaps it was the heat of the sun, but they both did go down rather easily. All in all, it was a most pleasurable way to spend a couple of hours doing something different without the expenditure of owning a boat.

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Retirement Party

Posted on July 3, 2017 by thewineraconteur

Lately there have been plenty of retirement parties, so I guess I am getting to the age when I am aware of more of these. When one starts out on a career, no matter how many curves there may be in the road, retirement seems so far in the distance. I only knew of one fellow that spent his entire career plotting out his retirement and more power to him, for the rest of us, it is something we think of, make some investments and hope for the best. I was recently invited to another retirement party for a woman that my Bride has worked with, off and on, longer than either would really like to admit.


The party was held after a meeting that they were attending and then the party was going to be after the meeting and on company time, not a bad gig, if it can happen. The party was being held at Beans & Cornbread, a restaurant that has a private dining room on the side, and the menu would work for a myriad of people that have different food restrictions. When the partiers got there, they immediately began rearranging the tables and chairs, as the set-up was much too confining with no elbow room, and then it was much more comfortable. The meal was a buffet style with an assortment of foods. There was salads, vegetables, macaroni and cheese, corn bread, salmon croquettes and fried chicken. Afterwards there was a large sheet cake with the appropriate verbiage extolling the well-wishes of everyone there.


I probably would not have mentioned this party, except that I misjudged traffic and I got to the restaurant with plenty of time to spare, as they were all at their meeting. Since most of the people were going back to work, it would have been a “dry” party. I decided to go the bar of the restaurant and wait and I ordered a glass of wine. The wine list was short and sweet, as I expect that this venue does more in the way of beer and mixed drinks. After I ascertained that I could take my glass to the other room, I ordered, and immediately asked for my tab, as I did not want to charge the price of a drink to the party, since the others were not drinking, and that would have been rude and obnoxious on my part. I had a glass of Philip Schell PSH Malbec 2015 from Mendoza, Argentina. I had never seen this wine before and figured that it would be the safest of the wines offered and how bad can a Malbec from Argentina be? It was a good basic wine and after it opened up a bit more in the glass it was fine, perhaps a bit overpowering for the food, but I did not know the menu before-hand. Mendoza produces about seventy percent of all the wine in Argentina and Malbec accounts for almost a half of all of Mendoza, so the varietal is very important to the area. As most of the participants went back to work, I had a chance to drive home and ponder the closeness of our own retirements, as it is getting closer.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Boyne Highlands

Posted on July 1, 2017 by thewineraconteur

We arrived at Boyne Highlands which is near the top of mitten, if you look at the Lower Peninsula of Michigan that way. Boyne Highlands is a year-round resort, with skiing in the winter and golf in the summer. We were up there for a board meeting and conference, well at least my Bride was. I was going to relax and enjoy the grounds, except that the day for that it was a continuous rain, though not as bad as other parts of the state had. The resort was under some construction as they had a fire in the main lodge where we were staying, and while you could still smell smoke in the front halls, you could not detect it in the rooms and suites. The only bad thing was that the hall that connected the wing where our rooms were to the main lobby was closed for reconstruction, and I am glad that at the last minute as we were leaving our house I decided to grab an umbrella. “Be prepared” was the Boy Scout motto and we were.


The breakfasts and lunches that we had were in the main dining room and they were all buffet style with extra islands set up for some special requests, and there was a theme to the meals. The dinner was going to be under a large pavilion on the grounds and then there was going to be Zip Line rides afterwards, but the weather was not conducive, and we ended up in another room for dinner and it was set up as a buffet as well, but it was only for the group. First, they set up an appetizer table of hot and cold choices. Then the main buffet was set up with an assortment of salads, potatoes and vegetables, fish and chicken. Afterwards they set up an island for sundaes and nobody went hungry.


The bar that was set up had an assortment of beers and soft drinks. There was also a large assortment of liquors for mixed drinks with some fine labels that I saw. The wines were all from Canyon Road Winery of Modesto, California. They were serving Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc all with the vintage year of 2015. Canyon Road Winery uses the California AVA designation as the fruit is harvested across the state and they make decent popular priced wines that are not intended for cellaring, but to be drank immediately, and there is a major market for wines of this nature. It is the type of wine that many places use as their “house” wines and catering companies use it, as it is dependable and safe, and there will be no complaints. The meetings and the meals were considered a success and everyone left quite happy for the little get-away. The meetings and the meals were considered a success and everyone left quite happy for the little get-away.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Cold Creek Inn

Posted on June 29, 2017 by thewineraconteur

It is amazing the people that one meets through Social Media, even people that I should have known, but didn’t. I talk of my beloved Woodrow Wilson Junior High School in Detroit often and I have met old and new acquaintances from that site. One of them is a chef, who through the years has worked at some of the finest restaurants in the Detroit area. My first inclination of his culinary ability is when I wrote an article about an off the beaten path called The Rhinoceros which was one of the first “foodie” places before there were foodies, and I was contacted by one of my “friends” to let me know that he worked there. Over the years I have found out that he has worked at The Golden Mushroom, The London Chop House (the original), The Common Grill and Volare, all of which I have been to and wrote about with my memories of different wines. We were going to a resort for a board meeting in the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan, and I thought that I should truly meet this gentleman, so I made my Bride agree to make a detour to go have dinner at The Cold Creek Inn in Beulah, Michigan, because the first night of the board meeting would only be a cocktail party and appetizers.


Beulah, Michigan is one of those charming towns found along Lake Michigan just on the outskirts of the wine country known as the Leelanau Peninsula AVA and the whole coast line of Lake Michigan has been discovered by Chicago as a very attractive and affordable playground for them. They have by osmosis one can say, created a desire for culinary delights all along the coast and Beulah is another town that has been discovered. While we were making our drive up, I called the restaurant to make sure that the chef would be working and he answered the phone call, and I think that he was just as amazed to see my name on the caller ID as I was that he had picked up the phone. We were off for a dinner and we were expecting a wonderful Michigan Whitefish dinner, but we were surprised by the evening’s specials. My Bride had the Seared Ono with Honey-Soy Glaze and Pineapple Salsa. The Ono was served on a bed of the salsa with a side of rice pilaf, and it was the first time that we had seen Ono offered since our trip to Maui. I went with the other special of the evening the Whisky Bacon New York Butt Steak. This was the end-cut of a New York Strip Steak pan fried with a Whisky Bacon Sauce, served with freshly prepared mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. It may sound like I am prejudiced, but each dish came out prepared perfectly.


We started off with a local wine from the Leelanau Peninsula AVA from Chateau Fontaine Wines. The Chateau Fontaine Chardonnay 2015 was a pleasant wine that was a blend of juice that was aged for eight months in Stainless Steel and oak for a very crisp and subtle Chardonnay. The winery was started in the Seventies on a deserted potato farm as well as a former cattle pasture and is thirty acres in size and they grow several different varietals for their estate wines. The white was followed up with a red wine, namely Trapiche Oak Cask Malbec 2015 from Mendoza, Argentina.  In doing some additional research, it appears that the Oak Cask is a designation for a Reserve wine, but I can not totally verify it.  Trapiche began life in 1883 as El Trapiche and they are now one of the largest wine producers in Argentina. Mendoza is one of the leading areas in Argentina and Malbec is the leading grape for the area. One word of note, if you are traveling to this part of Michigan, what looks like a short drive from one destination to another is not, and it took about two hours to get to our final destination. The dinner was well worth the delay and we have already discussed potentially going there again in the near future is possible.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Two More Reds

Posted on June 27, 2017 by thewineraconteur

When one is at a wine tasting, I always look forward to the last two wines of the evening, as the wine selection usually builds up to a crescendo in full body and taste. Wines start with the lightest and work their way up, as the taste buds can appreciate the gradual change. This particular evening at D.Vine Fine Wines was no different.


The penultimate wine selected for the tasting was Paoletti “Bella Novello” Cabernet Sauvignon 2013. Paoletti was established in 1994 and their first release was in 1989. This wine was eighty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance was Malbec; and the grapes were harvested from twenty-year-old vines. The fruit was harvested from two sites, the Oak Knoll District and the Silverado Trail in Calistoga. The wine was aged for eighteen months in a mix of forty percent new oak and the balance was neutral. It was an enjoyable wine in the affordable price range.


The last wine for the evening is becoming one of the darlings from Napa Valley and I have written about the winery and their wines a couple of times before. The Tank Garage Winery “All or Nothing” Red Blend 2015 and they have a catchy slogan of “Never Dream Alone” as well as one of the most unique tasting rooms, a restored Art Deco gas station in Calistoga. The wine is a blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Malbec and Mixed Black grapes. The “mixed black grapes” of Napa are a kind of well-kept secret of Napa Valley of indigenous native grapes of unknown lineage and are usually lumped in with other grapes. This wine was aged for fourteen months in forty percent new oak, which is a blend of 70/30 French/American Oak. Another Zinfandel wine that I found totally interesting and worth looking for.

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Pinot and a Zin

Posted on June 25, 2017 by thewineraconteur

I would say that I have been enjoying the organized wine tastings at D.vine Fine Wines and I find them to be an attractive offer at twenty dollars for the six tastings and some cheese and crackers; and yes, I pay for the tastings, just to make it clear that I am not a shill for anyone. I have been there twice now, when the room is extra busy because of a Social Media group that has also attended. I am sure that I must look rather strange, as I create a little photo-booth to take the pictures, so that I can also show the color of the wine. Even though the tasting is conducted by a moderator, I have had some ask me for my opinions, as if I am a maven, but I answer as honestly as I can.


The third wine of the evening was an old friend of mine, at least I like to think that, as we purchased a mixed case from the winery, after doing a tasting there, we also walked the grounds of the estate, the spa-resort and then we had dinner there as well, with some extra special memories. The Bernardus Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands 2013 was a wonderful wine and well worth the price of the admission for the evening. The estate wines are labeled Marinus, the middle name of the owner, and also the name of his restaurant on the grounds and his other wines are under the Bernardus label. The winery is located in the Carmel Valley, but this wine’s fruit comes from the Santa Lucia Highlands and comes from Rosella’s Vineyards, Pisoni Vineyards, Gary’s Vineyards, Sierra-Mar Vineyards and the Tondre Vineyards; all of which I have had the pleasure of enjoying wines from these growing fields. The wine is entirely Pinot Noir and it has been aged for twelve months in neutral oak barrels. The wine featured long legs, deep color, a good nose and was very reasonably priced for a Pinot Noir of such heritage.


The fourth wine of the evening is a varietal that I am gaining more respect for, as I tended to eschew it for years, and that is Zinfandel. Klinker Brick Winery of Lodi, California is in its sixth generation of wine growers and makers. Their wine TranZind Red Blend 2013 was another Zinfandel wine that I found to be most agreeable and it has the Lodi-Mokelumne River AVA. From the name, one can tell that Zinfandel is the main grape and it is eighty percent old vine Zinfandel and the balance is Petite Sirah, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine has been aged for sixteen months in American Oak and it had a mellow flavor and not the Zin-bomb that I am always wary of. Though Lodi seems to be the initial home for Zinfandel and there are some wineries that take real pride in making the best that they can.

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Gris and a Chard

Posted on June 23, 2017 by thewineraconteur

I had another chance to go to a wine tasting near my house at D.vine Fine Wines. It is all predicated on our schedules at home. I am still working a bit in my semi-retirement phase doing whatever I can to help and my schedule is not totally up to me. Then there is my Bride who works and does volunteer duties as well, so we are not always in sync for time. If this happens, I am trying to go to do some wine tastings to see what I may not otherwise try.


The first wine that I tried for the evening was a WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Gris 2016 from the Yamhill-Carlton Appellation in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. WillaKenzie Estate was created by Bernard Lacroute when he bought a four-hundred-twenty-acre cattle ranch in 1991. He began planting in 1992 and his first wines were produced in 1995. He planted Pinot Gris in 1992, 1993 and 1996 on 14.2 acres on his estate. The winery is now Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine, but the winery was sold to Jackson Family Wines in 2016. This wine was a very soft gold in color, very balanced and what I look for in a Pinot Gris (Grigio).


The second wine of the evening was Mira Winery Chardonnay 2015 from Napa Valley. Mira Winery is quite unique as the have bi-coastal wine tasting rooms. Of course, the first is in Napa Valley, and the second room is in Charleston, South Carolina; as a side note, I must say that we had a wonderful time there, but there were no tasting rooms when we were there. The fruit for this wine came from the Oak Knoll district in Napa Valley. The wine had a nice golden color and I could discern a touch of pineapple that I found appealing, and you know how much I dislike using descriptors for taste.

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Father’s Day 2017

Posted on June 21, 2017 by thewineraconteur

Another Father’s Day has passed and the traditional day is celebrated where the honoree goes out into the backyard and displays his culinary technique on the barbeque. As you may have ascertained, I am not one of those fathers, though I laud and appreciate those that do. I could probably get lost on the way to my backyard. We had no plans for the day, though I did hope that it would include some wine, after all why should this day be different from all other days? My Bride gave me some wonderful gifts including some heavy reading for some time to come, as she got me a copy of Raymond Kevorkian’s The Armenian Genocide, a very impressive tome with almost two-hundred pages of notes to the over one thousand pages of scholarly writing, and as she told me, there are not photographs.


On a lighter side, I asked if there was anything that she wanted to do, as she had been hinting around that she would like to go to the cinema. I have to admit that I am not a fan of most of what is available, but then I guess they are not marketing films towards me, so we went to see Wonder Woman. The period settings were well done, but most of these “blue-screen” films do not excite me, and I longed for my youth and Lynda Carter and many of you may have to Google that reference. After the film, we went to the city of Northville and had dinner at The Garage Grill & Fuel Bar that we have been to several times. Upon arrival, we were told that the dinner menu would not be available until four o’clock three different times, which kind of irked me, because I figured that by the time we ordered something to drink, it would be time; I can be a real curmudgeon at times. My Bride wanted something light so she had the “Pacer Salmon Salad Bowl” which was herb crusted Norwegian cedar roasted on a bed of Kale and other greens with shaved Brussels Sprouts, toasted pumpkin seeds, dried fruit, onions and a Pomegranate Vinaigrette. I had the “Big Block Boneless Short Ribs” which were classically prepared braised short ribs on a potato puree with sugar snaps, cremini mushroom and water chestnuts.


The wine that was poured was Summers Andriana’s Cuvee 2014 from Summers Estate Winery. The wine was a mix of fifty-nine percent Sonoma County and forty-one percent Napa Valley. The wine was Cabernet Sauvignon, at least eighty-one percent of it was, the balance being Merlot, Petite Verdot, Shiraz and Petite Sirah. The wine was aged for sixteen months in French Oak of which half were new barrels. Summers Estate Winery is part of the much larger Bronco Wine Company and it was a very pleasant wine. The day was enjoyable and I heard from our children and even from some of the grandchildren, which is a way to make me smile even more.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment