My Week of Hell

Posted on March 13, 2017 by thewineraconteur

I am just pleased that I occasionally get ahead of myself in writing, because this is not a week that I would wish on any one. When I got home last Friday night we had a mini-flood in the basement, thankfully it didn’t affect the wine cellar, but there was other areas that were affected and while I was moving boxes of storage goods, my Bride was trying to mop up the water. Eventually we were able to use the “wet-vacuum” and start getting the water under control or so we thought. It turns out that a pump that removes the extra water that is not used for the humidifier broke and that is where all the water came from. The next day we were able to get that unit replaced, but then we found out that the sanitary sewer was plugged from the water and whatever flotsam and jetsam that was washed down it. So for the next day, we were still using the “wet-vacuum” until we could get a plumber the clean out the traps. What a mess. Finally success and we installed fans in the basement to aid in the drying down there.


While I was cleaning the area, I started to notice the smell of gas, so first I poured some water and bleach down another sanitary trap thinking that it was sewer gas left over from the trap cleanings. No such luck. The flex hose that delivers the gas to the dryer in the laundry area had developed a small crack that was found by the utility company technician, and I might add that he showed up very quickly after I reported the problem. Of course, he shut down the gas, but he could not replace the flex hose, even though he told me that he carries them in the truck. So I had to remove the hose and it took a trip to two different hardware stores to find the right hose. By this time the wind was blowing so hard that as I was getting back in my car, the wind slammed the door into my leg as I was getting situated. I got home and was just going to install the gas line and the power went out. The Detroit area was struck with the largest blackout caused by natural circumstances, about 900,000 homes were out of power, including us.


With all of the nonsense that I encountered this week, it was a week of margaritas and drinking the wine that was left around the house. So there really is not any new wines for me to discuss, I will just show some of the wines that I was polishing off. The saddest part of the affair so far is that the houses across the street have power and the houses on the block behind me do not.

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Open That Bottle Night

Posted on March 11, 2017 by thewineraconteur

“Open That Bottle Night” has become a much-lauded evening among wine drinkers and especially those that write blogs. Actually, this is the first time that I have ventured into this “holiday.” The concept was created by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher who were wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal and they picked out a night in February, one of the darker and colder months, to go into one’s wine cellar and open up a bottle that one has been holding onto, just for the right moment. A very worthwhile idea, because we are all guilty of saving some bottles of wine for a special moment, that just never seems to occur. I think the main reason that I have never participated in it, is that I tend to be rather unorganized when it comes to such things. We tend to have a couple of bottles of wine open in the house most days, but they are our “go-to” basic wines that don’t require a lot of fan-fare or hoopla, but somehow, I have managed to write about most of them in the past five years.


“Open That Bottle Night” was on the same night as my Sister’s surprise birthday party, so I decided to go and grab something interesting and decided to keep it a secret from my Bride. I think that sometimes she gets embarrassed if we have indulged in too many fancy wines at any given time. The second surprise of the evening was when I opened up a bottle of Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc 2000 from Napa Valley. Lang & Reed Wine Company was founded by John and Tracey Skupay and they just enjoyed classic Cabernet Franc wines from France and thought that it could be achieved in Napa Valley as well in a single variety wine. The fruit came from the Wood Ranch and Mueller Vineyard both in Rutherford and from the Stanton Vineyard in Oakville. The wine is aged in French Oak for nine and a half months and this was their sixth vintage. I was amazed that this wine showed absolutely no signs of old age, it was so mellow and round, that I thought that my Bride might cut me off, so that she could enjoy more of it, it was that elegant, and I only wish that I had more.


The other thing that happened that evening that was unique, was that my one cousin who master-minded the surprise birthday party gave the other fellow co-conspirators a gift as well. We were each given a bottle of Ararat Five Star Brandy from the Yerevan Brandy Company of Armenia, which was a great gift, as it is no longer marketed in Michigan and I had emptied my last bottle years ago, to my dismay. All I could find out that the wine is made from small white Armenian grapes, but they were not identified. It is estimated that there are thirty to forty wine varieties that are indigenous to Armenia, perhaps some going back to that vineyard that Noah planted when the Ark landed at Mount Ararat in biblical times. The most notable white grapes from the area are Voskehat, Kangun, Muscat Vardabuyr, Garan Dmak and Chilar; so, I will presume that it is one or more of those used in production. Ararat Brandy is still marketed in the Russian speaking parts of the former Soviet States as Cognac, because the company won the Grand-Prix in competition in France in 1900, and they were legally allowed to call their product “Cognac,” but not with the Origen laws in place in Europe, that is not allowed. I might add that we all enjoyed a shot of this brandy during the evening in remembrance of my late Father who was named after the famous mountain and not for the brandy.

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My Sister’s Birthday

Posted on March 9, 2017 by thewineraconteur

We had a surprise birthday for my Sister, as she attained a milestone year, but we shall leave it at that, as it would not be gentlemanly of me to give out her age.  This surprise party went perfectly without a hitch and oh the mechanism that turned, creating it. It was all under the guise that she was going to meet one cousin and go to another cousin’s house, so that there would be a “dog-sitter” available and then another cousin was going to show up and then the cousins would all go out for a dinner and a show. There was texting galore going on to make everything work out perfectly. She was totally surprised with all her cousins and aunts there to help her celebrate. 

There were enough appetizers there, that everyone could have made a dinner just from that and we were munching on them, while waiting for the guest of honor to arrive.  There was a large platter of jumbo shrimp and cocktail sauce and no matter how much was wolfed down, it didn’t seem to make a dent in the array. There was the spicy Armenian Basturmah, a cured meat with a pungent scent and flavor, that I tend to avoid from working with the public, because the spices seem to stay for a couple of days after eating it. Of course, there was the accompanying Armenian String-cheese, falafels and some delightful stuffed mushrooms to snack on as well. There was a large dinner with two salads, one tossed and a Caesar Salad. There was Bourbon Salmon, Armenian Keftah, Armenian Pilaf and Armenian Macaroni and Cheese; can you tell that the menu tended to be leaning toward the Armenians. The Birthday cake was amazing and it was surrounded by matching cupcakes.

As for the libations, there was an ample selection for all tastes.  There was an assortment of liquors and beers for some. There was also a selection of wines arrayed and I thought I would mention two of the wines that evening. Sofia Blanc de Blancs 2015 is from Monterey County, and Sofia is the actress/ director/winemaker daughter of Francis Ford Coppola. This is a very easy drinking sparkling wine that most people can enjoy without any fussiness. It is a blend of Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Muscat that was aged in Stainless Steel and finished in the Charmat method, the more affordable bulk-method way of producing sparkling wine. The other wine that is always a crowd pleaser is Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico 2007. This is a wine that one usually sees on menus as Ruffino Gold Label (Oro) and it is not issued every year, only when it is a great vintage. This wine comes from the demarcated zone known as Chianti Classico and Ruffino uses their famed Gretole and Santedame Estates for the fruit in the sub-region of this area known as Castellina. Naturally with this wine eighty percent is made from the Sangiovese grape and the other twenty percent is rounded out with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The grapes are aged in an assortment of oak, Stainless Steel and concrete and aged for thirty-six months, twelve months longer than required by law for a Riserva from Chianti Classico and then it spends additional time in the bottle before it is released. I think that it is one of the best of the area and considering all that is involved in the production is quite affordable. All in all, the evening was perfect and from the guest of honor, on down, everyone had a great time.

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Chloe Pinot Noir

Posted on March 7, 2017 by thewineraconteur

It was time for my dinner club and we found ourselves at one of our usual haunts. One of the problems of most restaurants is that they don’t have a private room and we usually need seating for thirty to forty men, plus exhibit room; because of that need we seem to always go to the same places and some of them are anywhere from fine to excellent, not to mention that we need a bar. We found ourselves back at The Courthouse Grille, which over the years from when I first started going there it was The Hillside, then Ernesto’s and now in their present name. The restaurant has a quaint appearance and extra rooms and features have been cobbled on, over the years and I am sure that they are grandfathered in for certain exclusions, but that is part of the charm.

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Most of the restaurants allow us to have three different choices for the entrée dish, but at The Courthouse Grille they offer us a selection of seven. I have to say that normally I am not a fan of New York Strip steaks, but the last couple of times that we have been there, they have looked impressive, so maybe the next time I will. Though for the last meeting I started with their house salad and then had the Veal Marsala, pan seared with sliced mushrooms and Marsala wine, served with a baked potato and a side of mixed vegetables. I tend to order veal often when we go out, as it is a dish we have never tried making at home, and that way it feels special. For dessert, we have had for the last hundred years or so, a chocolate sundae.


We are also doing an experiment this year, as we had some members complain that they did not like paying the bar tab, since they don’t imbibe, so we are doing a “Dutch Treat” only on the bar. Because of this, a couple members, myself included ordered a bottle of wine that was not part of wines by the glass offered at the restaurant, and then we split the bill among ourselves. The bottle of wine that we had, was not that extravagant and I wonder why it was not offered by the glass. We enjoyed a bottle of Chloe Pinot Noir Monterey County 2014, but I was surprised to learn that some of the fruit also comes from the Russian River Valley which is not in Monterey County, but it still carries that designation. I ordered it because I have found that Pinot Noir tends to grow quite will in Monterey County, and there are nine sub-divisions in the county and several are excellent for that fussy growing grape. The Chloe Wines on their site states that they age this wine in French Oak, but they do not state for how long. The wine sharing by the bottle seems to work and maybe we may try looking at some other more interesting wines in the future, unless we go back to the traditional method of the host members picking up the entire tab as before.

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February Birthdays

Posted on March 5, 2017 by thewineraconteur

It seemed like it was just immediately after we came back from Las Vegas, it was time to celebrate the February birthdays and the one celebrant in March. It was a rather hectic week and we were back doing I guess what we do best. My Bride’s family is large enough that if we don’t celebrate multiple birthdays on one evening, we would be going to non-stop birthday parties. This way we can one large gathering and make a relaxing time of it.

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Perhaps the only one that gets a little wired is my Bride and she has finally decided to state that she is serving dinner at such and such time. There would be times where the meals would get over cooked or dry, because she would try to forestall serving until everyone shows up and then she would get upset about how the dinner would come out. Now she gives a time and if they are late, they can micro-wave leftovers and remember for the next time. She always prepares some appetizers before the dinner for those that want to get-together to catch up in person, which is so much better than doing it over the phone. She made a large tossed fields-green salad, and several side dishes as she is a firm believer in vegetables and starches. She also tries to make a couple of different entrée dishes to accommodate as many tastes as possible, and this time it was her Bourbon Salmon and Breaded Chicken. Then there are several desserts that are usually brought in, not to mention the birthday cake with all of the names written on it.

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There were hardly any wine drinkers there that day, and my Bride had opened up one of her new every day go-to wines to start off the festivities. Surprise, surprise, as she is into the Costco house wines for affordability and for easy drinking. The Kirkland Signature Pinot Grigio 2015 was from Friuli, Italy and was a very light wine with a touch of flint that was easily detected in this crisp white wine. Friuli-Venezia Giulia is a wine production region in the north-eastern corner of Italy and Pinot Grigio is by the largest in planting and production of the area. I on the other hand had a moment of nostalgia and wanted to try one of the wines I had in the cellar from one of the first wineries we ever visited in Napa Valley. The St. Supery Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 was simply wonderful and was showing no signs of age at all, and I probably was too impatient in opening this wine so soon. The wine is basically Cabernet Sauvignon with a bit of blending of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Merlot. Robert Skalli started production in 1989 in Rutherford, and he also had purchased the Dollarhide Estate in the north-east corner of Napa Valley, and in 2015 the winery was sold to the luxury brand corporation Chanel Inc. Another great time with family, food and wine.

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MWWC#29: Faith

Posted on March 3, 2017 by thewineraconteur

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there is a New Hope and that hope is Faith. On that tiny speck of dust that is called Earth, there is faith. Not a faith in a New World Order, but in the common conviction of trust, loyalty, confidence, reliance and belief; the meanings of faith. What does faith have to do with wine? That is what Allison of Okiewinegirl has proposed that we write about as the new theme for our Monthly Wine Writers Challenge.

wine-stain Monthly Wine Challenge
In the beginning, out of chaos “The Classification of 1855 for the Medoc” was created and that was the genesis of all modern wine writings. An ambitious and for the most part a classification of the Great Growths of the Medoc, which to this day is still holding up, with a few tweaks and a few questions. Trust was achieved by this list and it allowed the world to know that these country farmers had created wines that could be accepted as the best of the area. There may have been some complacency and then 1976 arrived. Trust was questioned and the and the world changed, and since then, new venues and new trusts have evolved.

Chateau Latour Pauillac 1961
Loyalty in the beginning was easy, there was France, Germany and Italy and a few other special wines that had years to develop a following. The Royal Loyalist Party could point to the Medoc, to Burgundy, to the Rhine and life was good. Then the Rebels appeared talking about Napa Valley and a lazy agriculture community blossomed and started creating wines which begat cults. Then in another far corner of the world an island by the name of Australia had been seriously making wines and they were discovered, and slowly other areas around the globe, stopped being laughed at, as they quietly made their wines in all earnestness. There was a new faith that change could be for the better. New loyalties were developing, some from a nationalistic pride and some because the wines were just true works of art.

Cain Five 1997
As these new outposts of rebellion arose and honed their crafts, a new confidence appeared on the horizon. There were experiments with different grapes and some of those grapes that were originally only grown in one region for blending purposes, became singular and brought acclaim not only to the grape, but to the region. It takes courage and confidence to try something new as in the group known as the Rhone Rangers in California. That fussy little grape from Burgundy, the Pinot Noir started to thrive in other parts of the world, when I first discovered Burgundy, little did I know that years later I would revel and tell others about some great Pinot wines from the Santa Lucia Highlands or from Oregon. The confidence was spreading and vineyards would be pulled out and replanted with these interlopers and there were great new wines. Fifty years ago, so few of even the students of wine knew what a Cabernet Franc grape was and now it is a singular and lauded grape and the Loire Valley no longer has the secret to themselves. Faith in all that is good with the confidence to look forward has propelled wine in many different directions.

Tudor Tondre Reserve Pinot Noir 2007
There is a new reliance to the wine drinkers around the world that they can still find charming wines without breaking the budget, or at times going for broke to enjoy the best that the word can offer. One can rely on South America to bring some full bodied and majestic red wines that can compete with the wonderful red meats that are grown there. I have come to realize that I can even rely on some great wines of assorted styles here in Michigan and in the old days, it wasn’t even thought of, except for some quirky sweet wines of questionable taste. The craftsmanship is abounding everywhere and there is a feeling of reliance on the new and on the old. There is a new faith that everyone is improving and working more diligently to offer more and better products.

1928 Chablis bottle with tax stamp
Dare I say that there is a belief that one can go and buy something new and find another wine that will please. I say yes, as more wineries turn up, there is a willingness to produce a new winner, a wine that will get noticed and discussed. This may be one of the most exciting times in wine for ages. There will always be jug wines, but I have a firm belief that there will be more wines to entice and to rave about, as no winery can rest on their laurels. I have that much faith. I also have faith that a bottle of 1928 Calvet Chablis from Beaune that I have as a curio in the cellar is way past its prime.

 

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A Gift from Vegas

Posted on March 1, 2017 by thewineraconteur

In case anyone gets nervous and thinks they are a long-lost relative I did not win at the casinos. Actually, this was the first time that I had ever been to Las Vegas where I did not go to The Strip or even Downtown. I don’t gamble, I tried years ago, and decided that they can build those wonderful palaces of greed on the wallets of other gamblers, though my Bride will try her luck at the one-armed bandits and now most of them have a button to press instead of a lever to pull down on. Yes, I am showing my age and now we really go there now for the children and grandchildren.

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I lament for the days when Las Vegas was glamorous, when it was a “family” run operation and all the emphasis was on the casino. Some of the famous places are now history like the Desert Inn, the Barbary Coast, the Sands and the Stardust. During those days, the casino and the gambling actually underwrote the drinks, the food and the shows and the hotel; nowadays each unit within the casino must be a profit center. I was never a fan of the smorgasbord restaurants, but I have to admit that all of the big named celebrity chefs have carved out greater reputations with their names on several eateries at different price points. The food is far superior, but it is not as much fun dining on prix-fixe dinners when the people at the next table are dressed in unkempt clothes, sneakers and baseball caps. I will take the era when the Rat Pack would all of a sudden surprise the gamblers and the guest dealers might be Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin and regardless of the outcome of the dice or the cards, the patrons won. This occurred at the Sands while they were filming the original Ocean’s Eleven.

NV Sands MB
As for the gift that I received, it was from my Son-in-Law who is a bartender at one of the celebrity eateries on The Strip. I will not mention the name of the restaurant or the hotel, because I have not had a chance to dine there. During one of the education classes that they held at the restaurant to help the staff understand wine better, one of the vendors brought in bottles of wine and they were blending the different varietals together on the spot, so as to let them understand how certain blends sometimes are better than just one grape. He found the lessons fascinating and afterwards they were given the small bottles of wine that were left over from the lesson and he put the bottle away, until our next trip. All the information on the label was Australian Shiraz NV, Red Wine and “limited production.” I don’t even know if the wine was made by a winery or a secondary resource using concentrated juice, when I open it, I may have a better opinion. I am so easy to give a gift to, I guess, and it will be a fun way to remember this last trip when the bottle is opened.

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The Cheesecake Factory

Posted on February 27, 2017 by thewineraconteur

The first time I ever ate at The Cheesecake Factory was in Las Vegas and since then we have eaten at other locations as well. First off, I was hesitant about going there, because I don’t like cheesecake and I am probably the only person in the world that is like that. The other reason is that the restaurant founders are originally from the Detroit area, and for some grudge they never opened a location here for decades, until only recently, and then not where it was expected to go. Be that as it may, from the first time that I tried the place, I have to admit that I like it. The menu is a book and there always seems to be extras on top of the huge selection that is there norm. There is something there for all likes, and if you plan on going there, make sure that you are hungry, because they are not afraid of generous portions. We have taken the families there and it is probably a nightmare for the servers, because with all of the kids, there were constant sharing orders.

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On this last trip while we were out walking and shopping, we decided to have a quick lunch and we chose The Cheesecake Factory to have a nosh, as one could even see our hotel from there. We made it short and quick and kind of went with a soup and sandwich idea, but we had the Onion Soup and we had some Chicken Quesadillas. I mean the menu is very diverse and we were just trying to slake our hunger until we had dinner with the families. We also passed on the cheesecake, though my Bride is a fan of that dessert.

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When we looked at the wine list, they have a very nice selection of popular labels and I am sure that they move quite a bit of wine without even trying. There were a couple of wines that caught my attention, not that they were so dear or special, but I am just a sucker when it comes to proprietary house wines. We had The Cheesecake Factory California Chardonnay 2014. I have found over the years that if an establishment goes to the point of having their own labeled wines that they are usually a step above the common bulk wines that are usually encountered. This was true again, and while it is a California Chardonnay, meaning that the fruit was harvested from anywhere in the state, it is made for them by the Robert Mondavi group. The wine was just what one would expect from a “California” Chardonnay for the masses, not a lot of nuance, but some nice buttery, oaky flavor and it was just perfect with our light lunch.

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“You Make Me Feel So Young”

Posted on February 25, 2017 by thewineraconteur

“Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.” Is one of the most famous lines ever uttered by a Mafia Caporegime in cinema history. That line of dialogue brought uneasy laughter after watching a gangland killing in a Cadillac. How can one not think of that line going to an Italian restaurant in Las Vegas called Capo’s Restaurant & Speakeasy? We had been there before, but my children and grandchildren wanted to go there again. From the moment, you walk into the restaurant foyer and it is a closed room with an old-fashioned pay-phone on the wall; all of a sudden, a small trapdoor opens and they ask you if you have a reservation. The part of the wall with the telephone on it all of sudden swings open, and you are led into a stylized nightclub of old school charm. They led us to our table of ten and the few times the grandchildren even got a bit fidgety is when they took turns going up to the lounge singer asking for requests. They have to be mine, all of the songs that they requested were hits by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Dean Martin, he even sang the song that was our wedding song “You Make Me Feel So Young.” In fact, the only song that was not in his repertoire that my Granddaughter asked for was “The Theme from Love Story.” The singer was not performing when we were escorted to our table and I had my back to band, and when he started his show, I thought I was listening to recordings, he was that wonderful.

EPSON MFP image
We were seated right next to the Chairman of the Board table, which featured a large famous mug-shot of Francis Albert, other framed photos featured legendary real criminals and cinematic criminals. The room itself had an ambience, because the lighting was so dim, the menus had an attached flashlight so that you could read it. The menu read like a classic Italian menu, but updated with a wink and a nod to the “gangsters” both real and fictional. The food was coming out in waves and even the grandchildren were troupers and when all of the assorted steaks and entrées arrived the whole table was hushed for a change as everyone was enjoying the dinners. In fact, one couple that were in a booth behind my Bride as they were leaving, stopped to compliment her, on how well her grandchildren behaved in public. I guess there is no denying that we must look the part of grandparents.

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Once again, it was only my Bride and I, among a table of heathens, as we were the only ones to have wine with dinner, cocktails and beer (including root beer) were the odds-on favorites for beverages that evening. I thought that we had the best of the affordable wines on the wine carte and it was the same wine that I had the last time, just a different vintage. We were enjoying Allegrini Palazzo Della Torre Veronese IGT 2012, that they were listing as a “Baby Amarone.” The Allegrini family has been making wine since about the Sixteenth Century and they only bottle estate grown wines. This wine carries the Veronese IGT because it is a blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Sangiovese, otherwise it would have been a Valpolicella if instead of Sangiovese they had used Molinara. The reason that this wine is referred to as a “Baby Amarone” is from the fact that it is produced using the Ripasso Method with whole partially sun-dried grapes. Even in the dimly lit room I could tell that the wine was a deep color and with way then enough character to stand up to the rich Italian dishes, even the Creamy Garlic Salad Dressing was put in its place. This was a bittersweet night, as it was the last night that we would all be together for some time. As I was leaving in a rather sadly, until the next time, all I could think of was the line from the other ill-fated Caporegime “Tell Mike it was only business. I always like him.”

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Abstract ’15 and Bavette

Posted on February 23, 2017 by thewineraconteur

The weather was starting to get more agreeable in Las Vegas and we had made plans to have an adult dinner one night, of course two of the adults were our children. Where to go? As if there are not enough places to dine in Las Vegas, but my Bride wanted to have dinner at Echo & Rig, so it was easy for us, as all we had to do was cross the road and it was just a short trip for our children to get there as well, and nobody had to fight the traffic that is on The Strip.

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It was also a chance for our children to have a night out in peace and to a restaurant that they would not normally go to, as raising families tends to reduce the amount of discretionary income that they have, and I have “been there and done that” as the saying goes. The menu at Echo & Rig is not massive and it is, as one would expect rather meat oriented, since they also have a butcher shop on the main floor. As to be expected, most of the dinners were filets and I would have ordered one myself, but I wanted to try something different. We also ordered several side dishes to be shared during dinner. There was Cauliflower with Chili de Arbol, crispy shallots and onions, Brussels Sprouts with pistachios and fresh lemon and we tried the Butcher’s Sausage. My Bride ordered Horseradish Crusted Butterfish with roasted root vegetable and a Tarragon Pinot Sauce. I on the other hand decided to try a meat that I had read about several times and felt that this would be the best place to try it. I had the Bavette with Béarnaise Sauce. The Bavette is the meat flap from the bottom of the Sirloin, it is thick and coarse if not cooked properly and full of flavor, it is considered one of the Butcher Cuts that are becoming more popular these days as restaurants are trying to use all the cuts from the animals. I was right, this was the perfect place to try this cut of meat. Of course, we ended up ordering a few desserts and we all just shared family style.

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While most of the table was enjoying cocktails or beer, there were two standouts that had wine. My Bride had Cantina Valdadige Vallagarina IGT Pinot Grigio 2015. Vallagarina IGT is the main IGT for the Trentino-Alto Adige area of Italy and because the wine was pure Pinot Grigio and not one of the classic grape varietals for the region. The grapes were aged in Stainless Steel and had the crispness that one associates with a good Pinot Grigio, just a good sipping wine. I on the other hand went for a fuller bodied wine for the evening with Orin Swift Cellars Abstract 2015. Orin Swift Cellars originally made a name for themselves with the Zinfandel based The Prisoner which they eventually sold off, after it became a cult favorite. Their Abstract wine is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Petite Sirah that was aged for ten months in a combination of new and old French Oak. The wine carries a California designation because the fruit came from Napa Valley and Sonoma, Mendocino, Amador and El Dorado Counties. This wine was just big enough to compliment the full beef taste of my meal and I feel that it really should have more years in the bottle to really shine.  It was a fine evening and not having to worry about keeping the grandchildren entertained, though their presence was missed.

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