WWC#29: Winestory

Posted on December 3, 2016 by thewineraconteur

The word “winestory” though technically not a real word, is our theme for this challenge and the it is meant for us to discuss how we began our life as a blogger. John of “Pairs with Life” was the last winner of the Wine Writers Challenge and that is his choice of a theme. This was another unique theme to ponder and required some thought and time.
I remember the time that I began thinking of a blog was right after I had quit a well- paying job, but the work conditions and environment were not as originally painted. I was in the doldrums trying to decide if I wanted to continue in the type of employment that I had always been in. Several people had suggested that I try blogging about wines as I would always discuss the wines or the selection over dinner and tried to keep them entertained as we would wait for the next course to be served. Those table discussions were the genesis of The Wine Raconteur, and only because I had always liked the word raconteur, which is just a twenty-dollar word for a story teller and I can ramble.
I mean on a one-to-one scenario, I would have a rather captive audience at the table to regale my stories and memories, but I was concerned that no one would even find what I was writing about or like my writing. I took everyone’s suggestions to heart and started researching what a wine blog should be like. I was amazed at all the different styles, postures and tones that were out there and so many were so forceful and direct, and that was not me. I was also amazed at how so many were over-utilizing their Thesaurus to come up with descriptors for the taste and nose of the wine that they were discussing. I realized that when I started my education in wine, the climate of discussion was much more sedate.

wine-stain Monthly Wine Challenge
I also was concerned that I had no wine credentials at all, I mean I can remember when Detroit got their first accredited Sommelier, every other person was a “wine steward” who knew how to decant a wine, if necessary and could make a suggestion of a wine from their individual wine carte. I came from a beer and Canadian whisky background. The only people that I knew as a youth that like wine was an uncle that circled the globe several times in the Merchant Marines during the Second World War and the others were the glamorous people in movies that could order great wines easily.
I guess my saving grace was that I was a collector of all the labels of the wines that I had tried and had created a scrap book. I had also saved menus and matchbooks from restaurants over the years and the curious thing was that my Bride had also saved matchbooks, so I knew that I had items that I could show and tell. Writing was another challenge, I had written often in High School and in College, but that writing was long ago and a different style of prose.
I had to find my voice or conceit of style that felt natural and then there was the gnawing fear that I would not be accepted. I must have written twenty different articles, just to get a feel and some of my original articles never saw the light of day and when I go back and look at my earliest writings I was kind of all across the board and then I finally felt that I was best pretending that I was having a dinner and wine with a friend and relating another time that I had wine.
I guess the conceit of my writing centers on the fact that I not only enjoy wine, but how it adds to the moment. I find that the pleasure of the situation is what kindles my brain and imagination. There are times like when my children were born and I had wine at the hospital celebrating the day like the cigars that used to be passed out for that rite of passage. There were the great restaurants and the not so great ones that I have been to. There have been the great wines and then there are a lot of table wines that I have had over the years. Some may feel that bury the lead, a journalistic phrase, because I always leave the wine for the end, but it was the setting that selected the wine, as opposed to the wine selecting the event.

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Since I had never been or still haven’t been in the wine industry, I pondered if I could find enough different wines to write about, and would people only expect to read about the premier wines. To this day, I have not had to worry about writing about wine samples, because the world is not breaking down my door to hand me any. I had plenty of self-doubt about my knowledge and to this day, I still do, but the School of Hard Knocks that I attended about wine has done me well, as far as I am concerned. I feel that I made the right choice, though I am sure that no one will ever tout a wine, because of The Wine Raconteur, but they may find a wine that will evoke some curiosity.

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At the Hotel

Posted on December 1, 2016 by thewineraconteur

With the long holiday weekend, the Louisville family came for Thanksgiving. They almost need a bus with all of the family members, luggage, electronics, gifts, assorted items and wine they utilize every square inch of their vehicle. They stay at a nearby hotel to us, because it is a great location for both sides of the family that they see when they are in town. The hotel is adjacent to a shopping mall that also has restaurants and a Cineplex for their down time. They always get a suite with an additional adjoining room and sometimes they still need more space, ah the joys of traveling. And if they already don’t have enough people of their own, they usually have our Granddaughter stay with them as well, to keep their daughter company. We usually stop by the hotel the night they arrive and help them unwind. We actually got to enjoy their company twice for dinner at the hotel while they were in town.

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They have stayed so many times there, that they accrue extra perks, like bundles of dining chits and the restaurant there has excellent food. The restaurant also can make special allowances for their one son that has a very specialized dietary regimen that he has been on since he was an infant. They can use the chits both for room service or in the restaurant and they always invite us to join them. It is more convenient to eat in the dining room when there is a crowd and many of the staff will even come by, as they are recognized as regulars to the hotel, which shows great customer service. There is always an assortment of different dishes being ordered from Calamari, salads, pastas, seafood, steaks and sometimes even burgers. We have never had a bad meal from them, and I remember the original free standing restaurant that started them off, which is still functioning in a Northern Suburb, when I was in college, so I would say that they have been successful and I written often about our meals there.


Of course, after a long drive and the unpacking, the adults can appreciate the calming nature of a glass of wine, after all it is so civilized. One night we were enjoying Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay 2014 from Sonoma County in California. This is just a safe and always pleasant bottle of wine with just enough butter to please, without being over-bearing. Chateau St. Jean was founded in 1973 and have stood the test of time with their wines, even with such a popular grape as the Chardonnay. The winery is now part of Treasury Wine Estates and they have some very famous holdings to their name. Normally, I do not challenge by Brother-in-Law when he is ordering the wine, but I made a suggestion to him and he was quite willing to try it, in fact he ordered a second bottle of it and took the wine with him, back to the suite. The wine I suggested was Ramon Bilbao Crianza 2012. This is a Rioja wine from Spain made entirely from Tempranillo and the fruit is harvested from the Rioja Alta region. The Crianza designation is that extra step and expense from the winery for a finer wine, as the wine must be aged a minimum of twelve months in oak and then another year in the bottle before it can even be released. The Ramon Bilbao wines are also part of the larger Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits. We always look forward to their visits and the wine just adds to the moment.

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Thanksgiving Dinner

Posted on November 29, 2016 by thewineraconteur

It was a Thanksgiving of note, on many levels. While I was carving the turkey, there was an eruption that could have caused tremors on the Richter Scale, the Detroit Lions won and were in first place for their league. There were only a handful of people in the house that are old enough to remember another occasion like that. The two television sets on the main floor were both tuned to that particular game.


As more and more of the family were arriving, some were bringing assorted side dishes and desserts for the dinner. With thirty-six people, space was becoming rare both for the food and for the guests. My Sister-in-Law from Louisville had come over in the morning to help get her dish ready, she had brought a beautiful Standing Rib Roast that her butcher had cradled for her and she had applied the rub and seasoning for the dish, and she was also making some side dishes on the spot and her daughter was doing some fancy baking of her own. My Bride had gotten the largest turkey that would fit into our roaster and that was cooking in the library, she had stuffed it, prepped it and put it into a roasting bag and just let it gently cook all by itself. Even with two grand dishes, she also decided to make a huge slab of Salmon in a Bourbon Sauce, that is becoming one of her other signature dishes. While all of this was going on, she was making the Armenian Pilaf, mashed potatoes, roasted and drizzled sweet potatoes, and she even had time to make her famous Caesar Salad dressing. The turkey was planned on being done first and then I had to chase some of the people out of the kitchen, because I was slinging my butcher knife, we were not going to have a Norman Rockwell table setting because there were too many people and all of the food would be on platters on the island in the kitchen and they could help themselves, buffet style. Carving the turkey takes time and can’t be rushed, though my one Grandson had requested a leg, so that saved some carving time; by the time I had finished carving all of the pieces and of course sampling all of the different cuts, my appetite was almost sated. I finished the turkey and plated it and it was time to carve the Standing Rib Roast. I re-honed my blade and began making the proper thickness slabs of the meat. We had used an internal meat thermometer with a radio-controlled reader and went with the suggested temperature settings, alas we should have pulled it out a few degrees earlier, but there were still enough slices of perfect rare meat, but there was a bit more medium-rare slices then I would have prefered; next time we will make adjustments. Somehow everything finished at the right time and all the platters and chaffing dishes were ready to go and the crowd didn’t even need to be prodded. After everyone had eaten, even second and third helpings, the island was cleared of all the dinner dishes. Then we celebrated the November birthday people and then the island was filled with all of the desserts. They all looked wonderful, but I didn’t even have any dessert, as I just had no room left in my stomach, oh to have the appetite of my youth.


There were several more wines being poured, but I will only discuss two of the bottles and they were basically enjoyed by the Kentucky couple and my Bride and I. My Sister-in-Law and her husband were celebrating their thirtieth anniversary so he brought a thirty-year-old wine for the occasion. This was not just any old wine, this was a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe “A” wine, and from the original classification of 1955 there were only four wineries that had that designation. We enjoyed their celebration with Cheval Blanc 1986 that famed wine that is made so atypical for a wine from the Bordeaux region. This wine is usually 49% Cabernet Franc, 47% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon and despite Miles in Sideways there was not a Styrofoam cup in sight. This is a wine that should not even be opened for the first ten years after bottling and often ages well for fifty years, so I think it was at its peak. The fruit had totally softened, the color was still vibrant and so was the nose. The other notable achievement that I have to mention is that the cork was fully intact after the thirty years, but we decanted the wine, right after I was done carving and allowed it some further breathing. After that wine, I went into my cellar to find something interesting and I saw I wine that I thought merited the moment, though I had mixed emotions. On our trip to Napa Valley that almost broke the bank, because of all the wine that we purchased, we had only one bad experience at a winery, that I had wanted to visit, and we had planned on getting a six pack and only ended up with one bottle because of the poor treatment we received. I never even wrote about going there, as I was so upset, but any ways I opened up my only bottle of Joseph Phelps Insignia 1996. This wine screams “cult wine” status, they are just outside of St. Helena and they have other vineyards in Stags Leap, Oak Knoll, Rutherford and Oakville and they were established in 1973. This particular wine is a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Merlot and spent twenty-six months in new French Oak before bottling. My Brother-in-Law got excited as soon as he saw the bottle I had in my hand. The cork on this bottle crumbled, but I figure that I was going to decant it as well, even before I tried to open it. There was plenty of sediment as well as the cork that I filtered out. In spite of how they treated us at the winery, I have to admit that this was a wonderful wine and twenty years later there was still an abundance of fruit and a deep color and nose, just what I would expect from a wine of this caliber. Who knows, perhaps we will try getting another bottle, though my Bride has a long memory for slights. So, we may not have had the most popular Thanksgiving wines that most people cite for that day, they still made for a wonderful meal and time.

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Thanksgiving Morning

Posted on November 27, 2016 by thewineraconteur

If it is the morning of Thanksgiving, I can tell you assuredly, that all the gifts have been wrapped and bundled by families, the Christmas Cards and newsletters have been posted and so have any parcels of Christmas gifts. The house has also seen a sudden burst of extra attention and cleaning, because a new adventure is underfoot; the Thanksgiving meal. I think that this may have been our all-time record for attendance as we were expecting thirty-six for dinner and the logistics of setting up extra tables and chairs where ever there was room.

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My Bride excels at this and she gets all pumped up. I mean, I still have to read the paper first and get all of the shopping ads in one location for the Black Friday shoppers to study and to make notes,  and dispose of the paper after I had read it. She on the other hand had already started at eight in the morning getting everything going. She was getting new storage places ready in the refrigerators, getting beverages cooling and doing as much prep work for dishes that had to be done closer to dinner time. She also started arranging the appetizers on the table in the breakfast room of assorted cheeses and crackers, vegetables and dips until it was time for dinner. When I wasn’t needed, I tried to stay out of harm’s way, though I did get my hand on my butcher knife and put a new sharp edge on it, in anticipation of all the carving that lay in store for me.

I took the liberty to announce on Facebook that the wine was opened and the holiday had officially begun around twelve in the afternoon. It was at this time that her one sister from Louisville and her daughter came over and began making some desserts and to help with the dinner. I on the other hand began opening wine. We started off with a couple of bottles from Costco for some easy drinking and these went through the evening as well. There was our go-to Kirkland Signature Sonoma County Chardonnay 2014 which I have mentioned several times. There was also the Kirkland Signature Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG NV that I have also mentioned before, made in the proper area with all of the ratings required and having the Prosecco/Glera grape. As the early guests came in we opened more wines for the women, as the men were going for beer and watching the Detroit Lions, so the early wines of the day were more easy drinking and sweeter wines. I really did not have a chance to try some of them, but I have to presume from the empty bottles that they were a hit by the end of the evening. There was a popular price bottle of Chardonnay that my Brother-in-Law had discovered in Louisville that he thought had merit, not craftsmanship per se, but nothing objectionable. The Cardiff Vineyards Chardonnay 2015 was a California wine, so the fruit came from across the state and I am sure that it was done in Stainless Steel. There was Johan Klauss Liebfraumilch 2014, a Qualitatswein from the Rheinhessen in Germany. Liebfraumilch is one of the most popular wines and one of the most recognizable as well. The last of the early wines that was opened was Bartenura Wines Moscato Provincia di Pavia IGT 2014 from Italy. Since Moscato is such a hot and popular grape varietal, it is grown in other areas of Italy and hence the IGT designation as this grape is not a designated grape for Pavia, but it still sells and that is very important to the wineries. This is just a run-down of some of the early wines of the day, and when I return I will actually discuss the menu and some wines of note for the Thanksgiving dinner.

                                Kirkland Sonoma County Chardonnay 2014

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U of M vs. Iowa

Posted on November 25, 2016 by thewineraconteur

While I was attending my cousin’s son’s wedding, I received a message from my wayward friend The Caller. I never know when he is going to send me text messages, but it usually is interesting, non-the less. He and his wife were at someone’s home and they were going to have dinner and watch the University of Michigan play Iowa in a football game.

I am sure that they were enjoying cocktails and munchies while the dinner was being prepared. They were having a pot roast with root vegetables and a deep green salad was all that he relayed to me, and I realize that, that particular dish requires some cooking time, so they might have gotten a bit potted that afternoon and prompted the call. I know that he reads these articles, so he knows that I have to rib him a little bit, as he taunts me with his photographs of what he was enjoying that day.

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The first wine that he sent me was from a Kirkland Signature Medoc 2013, which is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot with his admonishment that I should not discount Costco. The Medoc in France is quite lofty and in the pecking order of Clarets, it is above basic Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superior appellation, but below the Haute Medoc and the individual communes. Costco is now the largest wine merchant in the United States, though because of certain state laws they cannot sell everywhere. They have gotten so big into wines that their Kirkland Signature is readily seen with a variety of different grapes and regions and I am sure that they are a bonus to the vineyards in several countries these days. While they are not premier wines, they are doing their best at several levels to keep people happy and at affordable prices, as I have mentioned several of the wines over the years. The second wine and I am sure it is what they had with dinner was The Inaugural R. Collection by Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 of the Raymond Vineyard & Cellar. This winery is now part of the Jean-Charles Boisset group of wineries. While Raymond Vineyard & Cellar have many estate wines, this wine carries the appellation of California, so the grapes can be harvested from across the state and is more affordable. The final label that he sent me and it is not surprising since he seems to have acquired a true taste for after dinner wines was Dow’s Vintage Porto 2000, which should have been cellared for at least another ten years, but I am sure that he wanted to taste it. Vintage Ports are not declared every year, and even the different Port houses cannot agree all the time when to declare a vintage. Dow’s in the last century only declared twenty-eight years to be a vintage year. The Douro region of Portugal where Porto (Port) is made, has some rather unique rulings of what constitutes the wine as there are eighty varietals that can be used and through the years, some of the vines have grown with some of the others, so there can be no exact listing, perhaps the winemaker only knows for sure. The most popular varietals for Port are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz and Tinto Cao; and then these are a couple more that are prevalent such as Sousao, Tinta Amarela and Mourisco Tinto. A Vintage Port is aged for a couple of years and then it is bottled, and it is one of the longest-lived wines to be found and after years of aging it requires the fine art of decanting as there is plenty of sediment that amasses in the bottle. I would venture to say that The Caller and the others enjoyed a fine meal and some good wines, in spite of a very close game, that alas Michigan lost with a score of 14-13.

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An Extravagant Cameo

Posted on November 23, 2016 by thewineraconteur

We went to the cinema the other day. Let us suffice to say that there is a fan extraordinaire of the Harry Potter books and films in this house. I even went so far as to think about a magician’s wand from Ollivander’s that can control the television controls in the house. My only concern is that it may get damaged quite quickly because all of the kids would think that it was a toy and not a piece of electronics. We went to see the newest film, that from what I understand will be the first of four films. We went to the Cineplex that is becoming our favorite haunt, because every chair is like a Barco-lounger and I must confess that the major fan, did take a cat-nap, which is in her DNA when she reclines to watch television here in the house. I think that she works too hard. I guess all the movie critics have taken a vow not to mention who the new villain is, but he makes about a one minute appearance in this movie I guess, so that it can be said that he will appear in all four films.  I guess that I will not announce who the new villain is either, but it will eventually become old news.

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Adjacent to the Cineplex is a mall, so we went and had a quick dinner as we had some gift cards to the restaurant to use.  We had a quick dinner at California Pizza Kitchen.  My Bride went for her usual Thai Crunch Salad of veggies, cilantro and chicken with peanuts, wontons and rice sticks tossed in a peanut dressing. I decided to try something different so I went with a Carne Asada Pizza which was an individual size thin crusted pizza with marinated steak, Poblanos, Cilantro Pesto, yellow onions, Mozzarella and Monterey Jack cheese with a side of Salsa Verde.

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As we were looking at the wine list, my Bride was going to skip the wine and just have water, but I found a wine that I thought would be interesting for her dish, that she had forgotten that she had tried before, and to be truthful so had I.  She had a glass of M. Chapoutier Belleruche Rosé 2015 from the Cotes du Rhone on the right bank. The wine was basically Grenache with some Cinsault and Syrah blended in. The grapes were pressed without maceration and had twenty days of cold fermentation and aged in vats for the winter and then bottled in the Spring. I liked the color and the flavor of the wine and I could have even had with it for my pizza, but I chose a more robust wine and I think it overpowered by dish. I went with Bodega Tamari Reserva Malbec 2014 from the Mendoza region of Argentina. The Mendoza region is the largest wine production area in Argentina and the French grape Malbec has become the king of the region. The wine was fine, but there really wasn’t enough steak and the dish was more delicate in flavor than I expected. All in all, it was a nice time out and I know that she has some new books and films to look forward to.

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Changes at my Club

Posted on November 21, 2016 by thewineraconteur

Almost every month I write about my dinner club and a wine that I find interesting to go with dinner. There are some months that I don’t mention the club, usually because the restaurant that the hosts pick have nothing in the way of wines, or as once a year, I do not even attend as a tacit protest to what I perceive to be a lack of quality overall. The club is close to one-hundred-thirty years in existence and the meetings were originally held at a member’s home, I don’t know anyone that can have a sit- down dinner for thirty plus men in their home. During the Great Depression, the club survived by changing and adapting to meeting at one of the hotels in downtown Detroit, which was centrally located for all the membership. Years later, they changed again to having the meetings at assorted restaurants and they recently just changed again to a cash bar and each member is responsible for his own drink tab, and the hosts now just pick up the dinners.

We met at one of our tried and true locations, that I have written about a few times, The Courthouse Grille in Plymouth, Michigan. Most of the venues that we go to allow us to have three entrée choices; beef, chicken and fish. At the Courthouse Grille they encourage us to have a larger choice and so we have seven choices and they are all equally popular. After our cocktail hour, we started our meeting and we all had a garden salad and then our entrée of choice. I like to order something on the menu that we do not make at home, so I had the Veal Marsala, veal is just an item that we have never tried making at home, so I always look forward to a dish of it with mushrooms and the Marsala wine sauce. As is customary for dessert, we always seem to have an ice cream sundae, in homage to our longest reigning secretary who kind of insisted on it for dessert.

Since we were picking up our drink tabs, I guess the rule of only ordering wine by the glass was moot and I looked at the wines by the bottle and a couple of us could share a bottle without any major cost overruns to our hosts. A bottle of Villa Erbice Monte Tombole Valpolicella Superiore 2008 called out to me. An Italian meal and an Italian wine seemed to go together perfectly. I have been a fan of the wines of the Veneto for ages and I always have been happy with most of the Valpolicella wines that I have had. Villa Erbice was established in 1870 and they have been making these delightful wines since then, so they know exactly how to blend the Corvina, Molinara and Rondinella grapes to get the taste that they want year after year. The wine is aged for eighteen months in French Oak and then is aged for another six months in the bottle before it is released. Yes, I was a very happy camper, but we shall see, after one year, if the members want to go back to having the hosts pick up the beverage tab as well.

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A Reception

Posted on November 19, 2016 by thewineraconteur

There I was at a reception at the Detroit Athletic Club surrounded by a sea of ladies in evening wear and the men in tuxedoes. We all looked like grooms, there were only a few that missed the invitation instructions of “Black Tie” which means tuxedoes, if it had stated “White Tie” that would have required Tails, and only an old clothier like me, would have picked up on that. The ladies were all in dresses, except for my Bride, who had found a Navy and Black Tuxedo for herself and it was fun, if I do say so myself. The Detroit Athletic Club was designed by the famous architect Albert Kahn in a style called Renaissance Revival architecture. Albert Kahn was the lead architect in the glory days of Detroit, not only designing the Detroit Athletic Club and other famed social structures, but the Fisher Building, Cadillac Place, but also industrial plants, a hospital, a synagogue, and an aquarium; and that doesn’t even cover it all. The Detroit Athletic Club was actually designed for the magnates of industry in Detroit as a safe haven during inclement weather as there are several floors of apartments that the members could use and hence stay downtown to be close to their business. While we were milling about in the two rooms designated for the cocktail hour, we heard chimes and we were directed to go up the central staircase to the Grand Ballroom for dinner.

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With our response card, we also had an option for three choices for our dinner entrée; Beef, Fish or Vegetarian. We started off with the Monterey County Salad of Spinach, Bibb and Radicchio lettuces with Mandarin Oranges, Strawberries, Golden Raisins, Candied Glazed Pecans and a Poppy Seed Vinaigrette ladled out by the staff. This was followed by a sorbet to cleanse the palate and lead into the “Beef” and had a Filet Mignon also with the potatoes and asparagus. My Bride and I split our meals, so that we had a “Surf and Turf” dinner. This was followed by a slice of the wedding cake that we had seen during the Cocktail Hour, and then there was a Sweet Table set up in the adjacent room where the bar was also standing.

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The choice of French wines for dinner were by the same house of Les Vignobles Foncalieu, but under a different label. The offerings once again were Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay. We both had La Petite Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 with the IGP Pays D’Oc, the same appellation that we had during the Cocktail Hour, so I will not go into the details again of this large area in the South of France. I would also be remiss if I did not mention the wine that was placed at each place setting for the toasts, I did not get a chance to photograph the label, but it was Domaine Chandon Blanc de Noirs NV from Napa Valley. This sparkling wine is made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and there was a good pour to get everyone through all of the toasts before dinner. It was a memorable evening for us.

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A Recent Wedding

Posted on November 17, 2016 by thewineraconteur

My cousin’s son just got married and it was quite the event. His Best Man called him a “walking encyclopedia” and I think that probably is as good of a description as there could be. He attended the Honors College at the University of Michigan, did a private study in China to learn the language, graduated as an attorney from Harvard School of Law, then was hired by a firm in Manhattan and now resides on Long Island. That is quite a list of accomplishments for one so young and his new Bride also has a litany of similar accomplishments.

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The wedding was held at St. Hugo’s of the Hills, a very stately and celebrated church. The wedding was held at the original church which is now called the Chapel and it is one of those architectural gems that I enjoy, because it is old school in design. While it is not a grand cathedral, it is still configured so that the main room is in the shape of a cross and not one large room, that is the preferred modern concept for houses of worship. The pipe organ was magnificent and the singing abilities of both the Monsignor and the soloist were, as we used to say, worth the price of admission. The weather obliged and it was wonderful to see the church full of everyone in their finery, as the couple wanted a “Black Tie” wedding. After the wedding, there were formal pictures taken of both sides of the family and the photographer worked to get all of our side to fit into one picture.

MI DAC MB
After the wedding, everyone had to drive towards the reception, which was being held at the Detroit Athletic Club in Downtown Detroit. The DAC is a seven-story edifice that is now located in the center of all that is on the upswing of what is happening in the City of Detroit. The reception began in two rooms of the main floor for a cocktail hour. The first room was actually for everyone to mingle and meet, and the second room showcased the wedding cake and a fully stocked bar. The waiters were working overtime to make sure that everyone had their fill of all the assorted hot and cold appetizers and there were so many that I could not keep track, but the Jumbo Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce garnered the most raves. My Bride started out with a “Dirty Martini” while I took advantage of having one of my favorites a “Vermouth Cocktail.” We then switched over to wine and in the reception area they were serving three different wines from Les Vignobles Foncalieu, their Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Les Vignobles Foncalieu Reserve Saint Marc Chardonnay 2014 is from the IGP Pays d’Oc which is roughly the entire southern part of France, known as Languedoc-Roussillon except for the areas that actually have an Appellation Controlee. The original terminology was Vin de Pays d’Oc, but to accommodate the European Union they know use IGP as the geographic protection, which really works out, because they can label the wines by the grape and is a great marketing tool in today’s approach to wine. The wine is not spectacular, but it delivers to me what a Chardonnay should taste like, especially compared to many wines that I have had that are Chardonnay in name only.

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Some New York Wines

Posted on November 15, 2016 by thewineraconteur

I can’t believe that I have not really had any wines from New York state except the one time that I had some Great Western Extra Dry New York State Champagne. In terms of production New York is the third largest state in the production of wine and they started wine production in the Seventeenth Century. In fact, Cornell University of Ithaca, New York is famed for their Viticulture and Enology department and they are known for their creation of hybrid grapes like Chardonel, Traminette and Cayuga. Some friends of ours took a vacation and roamed around the Finger Lakes region of New York in pursuit of scenery, dining, shopping and wine. I mentioned that if they found any interesting wines to pick me up a couple of bottles.

shaw-vineyards-cabernet-sauvignon-2008-reserve

The first bottle that I will discuss is the Shaw Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2008. If you are used to having wines from the West Coast or from the Continent, the idea of Cabernet Sauvignon from the colder climates like New York, seem strange, but since I am from Michigan and have had wines of this nature from here, Ohio and Ontario, Canada, I know that it can be done quite successfully. This particular Finger Lakes wine is aged in oak for four years before it is bottled and I am sure that when I open it, it will show the winemakers craft. As I did some research because I am blissfully unaware of wine making in the State of New York, I discovered that the major grapes used there are Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc, but one can also find Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and an Easter European grape Rkatsiteli, not to mention the American hybrids Niagara, Cayuga and Vidal.

manitou-5-grape-blend-2013

The other bottle that I will mention is Manitou 5 Grape Blend 2013 from Belhurst Estate Winery which pays homage to the five lakes of the region and the five tribes of the Iroquois Nation and of course five different grapes in this particular wine. This wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The fruit was harvested in 2008 and spent three years in oak and two years in the bottle, but it carries a vintage date of 2013. With all of the reference to the Finger Lakes, this wine actually carries a New York appellation, so I just ponder about the rules, but it is beyond my knowledge. All I know is that I look forward to trying these wines in the future and then I can say that I have had wines from seven states out of the fifty, and I guess I have to up my game.

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