Relaxing in Vegas

Posted on March 18, 2016 by thewineraconteur

We are not gamblers, so Las Vegas is a strange destination for me to go to every year, except for the fact that we have children and grandchildren there. Over the years, of course we have visited all of the casinos and many that are no longer there, and others have been purchased and renamed. We have also gone to plenty of the tourist traps that are located there as well, sometimes with the grandchildren and sometimes just on our own. As the old Frank Sinatra joke goes “we went to the Grand Canyon, but it was closed.” We have seen and toured the Hoover Dam, the Springs Reserve, the Las Vegas History Museum, the Discovery Children’s Museum, Ethel M. Chocolate Factory & Botanical, the Freemont Street Experience and the Mob Museum.

Ch des Hautes Ribes Vacqueyras 2013

We went on a little excursion to The Neon Museum which is a massive collection of all the gaudy lighted signs that made the early days of Las Vegas so bright. Some have been restored and others are waiting to be restored and others are just curious reminders of days gone by, like signs that announce the Color Televisions are in the rooms. This museum is a guided tour and there was a lot to learn about Vegas and I found it interesting. I guess I have been going there for too many years, because at the end of the tour, they pointed out that the sign identifying the museum was an homage to the casinos and I identified all of the casinos that were on the signpost from the letters and images, including the structure of the post. Afterwards since we were just on the outskirts of the old Downtown, we went to check out the renamed casino The D, as in Detroit, and we went and had a quick bite at American Coney Island, which has an outpost now in the casino. Coneys are a quirky Detroit fast food item that is found all over the metropolitan area, and while it has been a while since I have had a Coney, I still prefer Lafayette Coney Island to American Coney Island. For those of you that are not aware Lafayette and American are located side by side in Downtown Detroit and were originally owned by two brothers and I can remember years ago, the friendly rivalry that existed among the waiters as they each tried to wave the customers into their respective shop.

Edna Valley Chardonnay 2013

Since we stay for a week normally in Vegas, to get as much visiting time as possible with the family, my Bride likes to go and get some groceries for our room, to nosh on, as if we don’t eat enough while we are there. While she was getting some fruit, cheese and crackers she also bought a bottle of wine from the market. She bought a bottle of Edna Valley Vineyard Chardonnay 2013 from the Central Coast of California. The Central Coast is about two hundred and eighty miles long and is probably the third most famous area in the state after Napa and Sonoma, and it contains many great AVA designations within its area. Edna Valley Vineyard has been in production for about thirty years and was once known as Paragon, and for several years that name was still on the Edna Valley label as well. It was just a great wine to relax in the room with, while having cheese and crackers, deciding what to do next. Of course I also went out and got a bottle of wine for the room. Chateau des Hautes Ribes Vacqueyras 2013 looked interesting to me, so I had to get it. Vacqueyras is a newer designation from the Rhone Valley, and was once part of the designation Cotes du Rhone Villages, and just like all of the wines this wine is a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah, the same blend that is also found in Gigondas and Chateauneuf-du-Pape, though Vacqueyras requires fifty percent of the wine to be Grenache. It was a very smooth wine, much better then a lot of the Cotes du Rhone wines that I enjoy and it made writing some of these articles even easier.

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Dom DeMarco’s Pizzeria & Bar

Posted on March 16, 2016 by thewineraconteur

Over the decades I have watched the changes in Las Vegas. It went from the very cool days of The Rat Pack when it was a “family city.” Then for a blink of an eye, it was a family-oriented city. It went from ultra cool to Pirates and Knights of the Round Table to a Circus. Now it is a city where I try to avoid to The Strip, because I don’t recognize what happened to it, the glamour is gone. We go there, because two of our children live there, as well as five of our grandchildren. So now we get to see the “other” Las Vegas, where all of the real people that work in the city live.

Petra Zingari Toscana IGT 2012

One night we went to Dom DeMarco’s Pizzeria & Bar, because kids are fussy these days and they will eat pizza. I have to admit that they will also eat sushi, but their Grandfather won’t, it is just so out of the realm of my comfort level. I think there were ten of us having dinner that night and they were all making decisions on the menu. The restaurant is a New York style pizzeria, and our waiter made it all the more better. I mean not only was he a great waiter, but that accent was a breath of fresh air and totally added to the ambience of the restaurant. There was an assortment of different dishes ordered, and they were very accommodating in making the dinner work, not only for the kids, but for the Grandfather as well. Here we were in a strip center location out in Summerlin with none of the pretense of The Strip and the pizzas were great. There is just something so heart warming as when you grab a slice of pie and the cheese is stringy and gooey, just like when I was a kid and they even offered anchovies.

Montevina Pinot Grigio 2014

When I was growing up, I think beer was the proper pairing with pizza, or there was the straw covered flask or fiasco bottles of Chianti, that may have turned off people to wine, as the wicker-works probably cost as much as the wine that was in the bottle, but it is fun to still see the bottles as props, I even have one at the house with the mandatory candle mounted in the neck of the bottle with traces of wax dripped on the straw. My Bride was enjoying Montevina Glass Falls Pinot Grigio 2014, a California wine. This was a nice crisp white wine, where the fruit is harvested from several locations, hence the California AVA or designation. Pinot Grigio is a rather delicate grape and wine, and it is created very quickly and is usually done in Stainless Steel vats, instead of barrels, and is made for quick consumption. This is a type of wine that is not made for long storage, but is very refreshing especially with some of the spicier items that one can have with an Antipasto and with some of the toppings on pizza. I on the other hand tried the Petra Zingari Toscana IGT 2012 from Italy, as I am always game for a wine from Italy, especially from Tuscany. The Toscana IGT designation is for wines that are made using non-traditional grapes for the region and this particular wine was made from Petit Verdot that one usually finds as part of the blend in the Medoc. It had enough taste and body for the dishes that I was eating, so it was pleasurable, not as full bodied as some other wines that I have had with that designation, but also not priced as dear as some of those other wines as well. It was an evening with the family, but I was still able to get some wine in the mix, as my grandchildren I think equate their Grandfather both with his hat and sport coat, as well as with his wine.

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A Pleasant Afternoon

Posted on March 14, 2016 by thewineraconteur

One of the pleasurable pursuits that we enjoy while in Las Vegas is the chance to walk across the street from our hotel and go to Tivoli Village in Summerlin. For several years we watched this area being built, and then when it finally opened we discovered a wonderful wine bar there and it is a pleasure to keep visiting there when we have a chance.

Martin Codax Albarino 2013

View Wine Bar is located on the second floor of one of the buildings in this rather unique mall, as it has the feeling of being in a downtown of a small community, and without the glitz of Vegas. Over the years we have enjoyed trying some of their small plates and some fun wines. This visit was no different and we saw that there were others enjoying a late lunch. My Bride tried their Grilled Cheese which was a triple cream Brie, honey, walnuts on Brioche bread. I went with Prosciutto wrapped Tiger Prawns on a bed of seaweed. We shared our dishes, and I graciously gave up a prawn and plate of seaweed for half of a great grilled cheese sandwich.

Firesteed Pinot Gris 2014

We also tried a couple of wines while we were there. My Bride enjoyed Firesteed Cellars Pinot Gris 2014. Pinot Gris is also known as Pinot Grigio and this wine was from Oregon with fruit from two different areas, a blend of Rogue Valley and Willamette Valley and it was very refreshing and crisp with a different feel from Italian Pinot Grigio wines. I had Martin Codax Albarino 2013 from Rias Baixas in Spain. This delightful white wine from the wine co-operative Martin Codax in Galicia, and to have the designation of Rias Baixas the wine must be at least seventy percent Albarino, but this wine was one hundred percent and made in Stainless Steel vats and was totally enjoyable, in fact, it was agreed that it was the best of the two wines that we had. In fact the manager at View told us that he could sit and drink this wine all afternoon, as it was one of his favorites there. I am sure that we will visit here again in the future, as there is always something new to discover at Tivoli Village.

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The Grand Café

Posted on March 12, 2016 by thewineraconteur

Most people that go to Las Vegas stay on The Strip and then there are smaller groups that wish to stay in Old Las Vegas in the downtown area. In the old days I liked The Strip and if I was there for conventions I also stayed there, but nowadays I stay out in Summerlin. We go to see our two children and our five grandchildren that live in Vegas, so we may as well stay closer to them, as we can always drive down to The Strip if needed. Our first night there and we lucked out to have everyone together for our first dinner. We have been staying in the same hotel since our daughter got married in Vegas and so much has been built up since that first time.

Trinity Oaks Pinot Grigio 2014

The logistics of finding restaurants that will work for us and at the same time keep the grandchildren happy requires more work. I left the options to our children, since they know what their children will and will not eat. They suggested the Grand Café at the Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa. This resort was not even there, when we first started staying in Summerlin and it is beautiful. We all met at the restaurant and it was a charming venue, and it did not feel like it was a second thought for the resort; and they easily arranged for a table for eleven for us. We arrived early and saw that they had some cakes on display, so we ordered one, and had it decorated for the birthdays that we also celebrated that evening and handed out presents as well. There were enough choices for the grandchildren to choose from and also for the adults. My Bride ordered the Teriyaki Chicken Bowl, while I ordered Port Medallions.

NV Red Rock MB

The grandchildren were having soft drinks and our children were enjoying cocktails and beers, but of course we were having wine. My Bride started off having a split of Korbel Brut California Champagne NV. Now some people would make faces and deride us for this wine, my Bride likes to start out with something sparkly and festive without breaking the bank. This wine is a blend of Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, French Colombard and Pinot Noir and is just very easy to drink. I went with a nice light easy going wine for the evening. Trinity Oaks Pinot Grigio 2014 is a soft easy crisp California wine and they advertise that there is no oak aging and no malolactic fermentation, and they also have a “one bottle/one tree” promotion, where they plant a tree for every bottle of wine that they sell, a very laudable endeavor. It was a great time and a great way to start the week.

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What Happens in Vegas

Posted on March 10, 2016 by thewineraconteur

It is getting to be that time for another trip out to Las Vegas, or as some call it Lost Wages. It is now the Grandfatherly attitude that I have when I go there, since two of our children are there, not to mention five grandchildren. The city has certainly changed since I first started going there back in the Seventies. The glamour is gone, at least in my eyes of the way the city used to be. Some people may prefer the new Vegas, but I enjoyed going out every night in a suit and tie and enjoy a different world.

Mumms Caesar's Palace

Even the hotels are different, while some are foolish to me; others are so opulent, that they would have been perfect back in the day. The only thing is that back in the day, everything was geared around the tables, and everything else was just a “gimme.” Even the flight to Vegas was high energy, but a lot of them were junkets back then, with everyone getting into the spirit before they even landed. Food, liquor and tobacco back in the days were all “gimmees.” Perhaps at certain levels of play, they still are, but back then it was the norm.

Tiny Bubbles

As I get ready to start packing the suitcases and yes I still take sport coats and even some ties and cufflinks to make it through the week, because for me Las Vegas still has that allure. Even the entertainment back in the day was a “gimme” and that included “line passes” which was the term that allowed you to walk past all the people that were waiting in line to get into the theater to have dinner, drinks and the show. The “line pass” put you immediately to the front of the line and naturally a great table for dinner. On night at Caesar’s Palace going to see Tom Jones besides dinner, management also sent over a bottle of G.H. Mumm Cuvee Rene Lalou. Another time and another show Don Ho was performing at a dinner show and I ended up with a bottle of his personal “champagne” that he gave out called “Tiny Bubbles.” I would venture to say that what happens now in Vegas for me tends to be quite calm and usually centered around grandchildren, but I can guarantee that there will still be wine.

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Charlatan?

Posted on March 8, 2016 by thewineraconteur

Sometimes when I am discussing wines, I get the sense from some that I have no idea of what I am talking about. They question me on my credentials and on my designations. I normally just nod and agree that I do not have any credentials or designations about wine. I tell them that I have experience in the field, hands on experience.

Elixir of Opium

There seems to be a sense of disbelief if one is not capable of showing diplomas and membership. There is an abundance of Sommeliers today, and I find it fascinating that someone has the drive and desire to attain the title. It is quite rigorous to achieve and those that have the title; are and should be a fount of knowledge regarding wine. If I was younger, perhaps it would have been a lofty goal for me. Years ago when I began my interest in wines, there may have only been a couple of Sommeliers in the Detroit area. Most were called Wine Stewards and only the few restaurants that really had the desire to carry a fine selection of wines even worried about having an additional person on the floor. The wine buying was either done by the owner, the chef and often by the head bartender. The selection of wines in restaurants and even in wine stores was not the selection that one finds today.

Vinegar Bitters

Nowadays I find talking to Sommeliers very interesting and I find that I can monopolize their time. I enjoy finding a recommendation of an interesting little wine, because back in the days of yore, I think that their main job was to get the person to invest in a pricier bottle of wine, just because they said so. When I meet someone that has the credentials I immediately think of all the different aspects of the wine industry that they could be in, and how fascinating that industry can be. My observations and writings are not because I am trained, but from having had the chance to try many thousands of wines (I would say) over the years and just learning what I think pairs with a meal, or what would be a wonderful wine to drink with friends. So if I am a charlatan, just group me with the man behind the curtain, who really meant to do the best for all he met.

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MWWC#23: New

Posted on March 6, 2016 by thewineraconteur

“It’s time to make the doughnuts.”

Chad of (Un)Common Grape was the winner of the last Wine Writers Challenge and he had the honor of selecting the theme of this challenge and the word is “new.” I immediately thought of the quote that I opened up with, which was the tagline for a doughnut company’s television advertisement back in the 1980’s and the song lyrics “everything old is new again.”

wine-stain Monthly Wine Challenge

“New” is rather unique for the theme and as always I tend to ponder these challenges for some time, as they flow differently then my usual writings. I tend to write these articles, as I self-proclaim is a non-technical report. To me, new is the deadline that I think of as I write these articles. It is finding something that I think will be interesting as to why I was enjoying the glass of wine. Almost anything can be the catalyst for the genesis of an article; a matchbook (and how I lament that they are no longer used for advertising), a business card, a menu, a show bill and even the wine label.

The conceit of my writing is that I am picturing someone across the table from me, as we share some glasses of wine and I relate the story that I am thinking about. After all what is all a raconteur is, but a story teller, and when I grew up during the glorious days of black and white television sets, I was allowed to watch some of the greatest raconteurs of the last century. Some were authors, some were actors and the majority of them were comedians; and I wish that I had that ability to tell these stories with humor. What these great raconteurs never did, was be condescending and I tried to emulate them. For every majestic wine that the whole world knows, there are thousands of wines that are not known and I try to cover both categories. I try to never discuss the price of a wine and even though the aspect of wine making is fascinating to me, I don’t want to drive my imaginary friend on the other side of the table in to binge drinking as I discuss long tables of data.

The deadline is “new” for every article. Once I decide on the topic of the day, I try to find two pictures for the article, as I tend to publicize my writings two days in a row on Social Media. Once the topic is chosen, how to make it flow into an easy to grasp chat with the concept that wine should be one of the reasons for the merriment and enjoyment of the moment, can be the real challenge. The challenge that I don’t want to face is trying to come up with new descriptors for the color, the nose, the taste and the after taste moment. The Thesaurus that I keep on one of the bookcases would have to be held together with rubber bands if I tried to be creative with “new” descriptive words. I think that it is easier to say that a Chardonnay wine is crisp or it is buttery, as I feel that even the average wine drinker like me can make a determination on the wine from those two words. Then after writing the article, I proof the article three times, one for content, one for grammar (which the old Board of Education prided themselves on) and once to make sure that it sounds like me. I tend to write in Word and then I copy and paste my article into WordPress and add key words for searches and then the pictures. I then save the article to my publisher and then I preview it, just to see if I didn’t miss any mistakes from the last three times that I read the article. Finally I enter the date and time that I wish to have the article published, which is every other day at the same time every evening. So when I add in all the additional time that I may do for research for the venue, the wine, the grape, the district etc.; I am always amazed when I see that some Bloggers may have several articles published on the same day, considering the time that I spend, even if it doesn’t seem that way.

WineCratesMargaux&VosneRomanee

Some other slants that I had were “new” wines, new AVA designations, Beaujolais Nouveau and the “new” me since I have become a Blogger. I don’t feel that with a Blog that one really needs the deadline, but since I can procrastinate, it is better that I maintain deadlines. I am just like the baker that wakes up and decides that it is time to make more doughnuts, right after I take a serious wine break.

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A Tale of Two Chards

Posted on March 4, 2016 by thewineraconteur

We had a chance to meet with some dear friends for a night of “dining and dancing” as the old saying goes. We were meeting up for a night of dinner, dancing and of course wine at a restaurant that we have often met at before as it is rather centrally located for al of us. My Bride and I both love to dance, but there are very few venues anymore that offer both of these options today, at least for the music and dancing that we enjoy. I still believe that dancing involves holding the partner as one cuts the rug.

Laguna Chardonnay 2013

As we studied the menu, it looked like some enjoyable meals for all of us. The other couple was starting off with Calamari and then house salads. She ordered Hazelnut Crusted Scottish Salmon and he ordered Arcadian Red Fish. My Bride and I both decided to get something that we do not make at home. So first we tried some Duck Fat Seared Sea Scallop and then progressed to both of us ordering the Canadian Lobster Tail. Then we were all going to have dessert afterwards. Now in all the years that I have been dining out, one of the rituals for the table in better restaurants is having some sort of tower brought out just before the meal with the melted butter with a candle to keep the butter warm. It is just a nice romantic touch as far as I am concerned. When the entrée dishes were served, there was no tower of butter, and our two plates with the Lobster Tail presented beautifully in the cracked shell arrived without any butter at all. Our waitress, who was doing a fine job, said that the manager was bringing out the butter for our dishes. We waited and waited and waited, until our waitress discovered that we were still waiting for the butter, and then two shallow pans of melted butter were brought out; with out any device to keep the butter warm for the dinner. The manager came by and seemed to be  annoyed that we were not happy with how our dinners arrived, and decided to comp us for the cocktails we had prior to ordering dinner. Normally in an article like this I mention the restaurant that we were dining at, but I shall refrain, as one can understand. The band I might add was wonderful and they sounded great, so the dancing after dinner saved the evening.

Ferrari Carano Chardonnay 2013

We ended up having two different bottles of Chardonnay on the table and they were both from the Sonoma County district of California. Our one friend basically only drinks Chardonnay and she likes the oakey and buttery style and she ordered a very good and consisted brand of Ferrari Carano Chardonnay 2013. This is one of her favorite wines and it is made from fruits gathered from the Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley and Carneros; all designations from Sonoma County. We could have very easily ordered the same wine, but as I mentioned to them, I have to try different wines all the time, other wise my articles would be perhaps even more monotonous than they can be, if I only wrote about the same wines all the time. I selected Laguna Chardonnay Russian River 2013. This was a crisp Chardonnay made more like the French make the wines and the fruit was all from the Laguna Ranch Vineyard in Sonoma County. This wine is made by the much larger group of E&J Gallo Winery that was for years known more for jug wines, but the children are working hard to create other wines as well. This Chardonnay was very enjoyable with the Lobster as I feel that if I had another buttery wine there would be too much of the same and not any contrast with the dinner. In spite of the problem with dinner, the evening was still enjoyable and I am sure that we will try the restaurant again, as we have many times before.

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Surprise Party

Posted on March 2, 2016 by thewineraconteur

It is not often that a surprise party is successfully pulled off, considering all the Byzantine maneuvers that must be achieved. My dear friend The Wine Raconteur Jr. along with his family pulled such a stunt on his Mother and we had the privilege to be in attendance. I have had the pleasure of knowing the family for over twenty years and while I was not one of the planners, it was a true gift to see it come to fruition.

Zenato Pinot Grigio delle Venezie IGT 2013

The venue that was chosen for the event and I might add that it was Standing Room only for all of the guests that evening was at Roman Village restaurant, in my old neighborhood where I grew up. While the restaurant is in Dearborn and I grew up in Southwest Detroit, the restaurant was considered part of our neighborhood, because it was across the street from the main park for our area. I have written about this restaurant and one of their other locations, and they now have four restaurants, but they all grew from the original. While the guest of honor was at the restaurant for supposedly a party, all the guests were in the hall on the back side of the restaurant waiting for the moment. I must add that though the restaurant is in an older section, it is still packing them in, to the point that one can barely find a parking spot in all of the lots. While the guests were waiting they availed themselves to a large table that was filled with Antipasto trays of cold cuts, cheeses, peppers and bread, and the trays kept magically refilling themselves. After the Guest of Honor was truly surprised by her sons and she regained her composure, she reveled in the acclaim and even chided her family, thinking that they had forgotten to treat her properly for her milestone birthday. The moment was magnificent and so was the rest of the evening. Then the food arrived. Chaffing dishes filled with Squash Ravioli, Meatballs and Sausage, roasted vegetables, an assortment of different pizzas (which the restaurant was famous for when I was a kid) and even chicken wings. It was fun and I am sure that no one left hungry that night. There was also a sweet table with piles of homemade and decorated goodies for the event, and then cake and Spumoni for everyone as well.

MI Roman Village Glass

Prior to the party, I had made an inquiry regarding beverages, because I was concerned about the large expenditure that this party was costing the conspirators, and I did not want to add to the cost, any more than I had to. While soft beverages were included for the evening, other beverages went through a “cash bar” and it made perfect sense to me. Since it is Lent and my Bride is very observant and this was a Friday night, I looked at the wine list in search of a white wine, as I knew that she would not be eating any meat that evening. I settled on a bottle of Zenato Pinot Grigio delle Venezie IGT 2013. The Delle Venezie IGT is one of the largest IGT designations in Italy and it does not refer to the Venice that one thinks of with the canals, this designation actually refers to the Three Venice’s; Venezie Euganea, Venezia Giulia and Venezia Tridententina. Another curious fact about the Della Venezie IGT is that about seventy percent of the production of this area is Pinot Grigio, and the balance is other white wines and even some red wines. The Zenato family began production in 1960, and while this wine only spends twenty days in Stainless Steel tanks, it was very enjoyable and did not taste like some other mass produced wines, even though the family produces over two million bottles of wine per year. This was, I thought, a perfect wine to accompany the food at the party and it added to the festive note. We were both so happy to have been a part of the festivities and had a chance to catch up with the Guest of Honor, her family and her friends.

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Malbec with Veal

Posted on February 29, 2016 by thewineraconteur

I had another session with my dinner club and we went to one of our favorite haunts. We went to The Courthouse Grille in Plymouth, and I have given the history of this restaurant before. My dinner club has by charter only forty-four members, so finding a venue that will allow us the privacy can be challenging. Most restaurants don’t have private rooms any more, and The Courthouse Grille has several besides the main dining room and the tavern. We have checked into some other establishments and some want to charge us an additional fee for the room above and beyond the price of all of the dinners and perhaps eighty drinks for the evening, which I think is poor business.

Tilia Malbec 2014

The Courthouse Grille appreciates our business and they always do a stellar job. They begin with an offering of a garden salad that is more than just some leaf lettuce and they have some excellent in house baked rolls, and I am not a bread eater. While most establishments try to keep the selection to three or four different entrée choices for dinner, here we are offered seven choices. Our choices this evening were Veal Marsala, Shrimp Scampi Roma, Grilled Salmon, Sautéed Perch, Chicken Piccata, Lasagna and a New York Strip Steak; and I might add that the sides with each plate is different, so they are not just dumping food on our plates. Afterwards we have a chocolate sundae, which is a tradition that was insisted upon by the Club Secretary several times removed.

MI The Courthouse Grille Logo

We always have a cocktail hour before the dinner and meeting, just to catch up with each other and for some good times. I like to enjoy a Whiskey Sour during this time, as it is not too heavy of a cocktail and of course the cherries are extra nourishment. I had decided on the Veal Marsala and I asked to see the wine list, to see what they were offering by the glass. When one looks at most wine lists by the glass, the usual suspects are usually there, but I like to find something new to write about. Of course, by now the wait staff has gotten used to my request to bring along the bottle, so that I may photograph it. I had a glass of Bodegas Esmeralda Tilia Malbec 2014. The Malbec grape is originally from France and holds sway in Cahoors and is part of what is known as the Bordeaux Blend as well. The Malbec grape has become the king of Argentina and was originally planted there in the mid Sixteenth Century. This particular wine comes from a plateau near the Andes Mountains in the Mendoza region of Argentina and is a major producer of wine. I took a gamble with this selection, because Malbec can be a very heavy wine which would have overpowered my veal, but this wine was softer and mellow and actually went quite well with the dish, and I was a happy man.

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