A Friend is coming to Visit

Posted on May 21, 2016 by thewineraconteur

A dear friend of ours will be in town soon and asked if we could put her up for a couple of days. In my usual hospitable way I told her that we do not take credit cards, but we also slide the bill under the door on her last day. Of course my Bride does not find that funny at all, but thankfully our friend does. As a hotel, we do not offer many amenities, but the wine is wonderful and so are the home cooked meals, but we normally eat out when she is here. I met her the same evening as I met my Bride, as they were great friends even before me. In fact, she was the one that got me started on Marilyn Merlot wines and she bought the bottle strictly for the label, but the wines have always been enjoyable.

Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

For years she would like to meet at The Capital Grille, a fine steak house, but also because it is located in the finest Mecca of shopping in the Greater Detroit Area. So the wallet gets damaged twice in one day, but that is fine, as my Bride does not get too extravagant. My only complaint about The Capital Grille is that I find it loud, but I surmise that it is in a shopping mall. I have never been to any of their other locations, basically because we have one at home, and when we are away, I like to try local places, which is getting harder and harder to find; everyone is a chain operation anymore. Putting that aside, the Dry Aged Steaks there are wonderful, and for a non-salad eater, I really enjoy their Hearts of Palm salad. One could feed a small village with the size of their sides, so sharing is the way to go.

MI The Capital Grille MB

One time we had a charming bottle of wine from Chile that we shared; the Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 from the Concha y Toro group. Concha y Toro is one of the oldest wineries in Chile from the 1800’s and they are situated in Maipo Valley which is called by some as the “Bordeaux of South America.” One of the first districts to be recognized in the Maipo Valley for their distinctive terroir is Alto Maipo and within this area is the Puente Alto where some of the most expensive and finest Cabernet Sauvignon wines in Chile come from. Everything about this wine is done properly, including eighteen months of aging in French Oak barrels. So I am looking forward to another visit by our friend and see what we may discover.

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A Student Memory

Posted on May 19, 2016 by thewineraconteur

Back when I was in college, I had a friend that attended another school, namely Michigan State University up in Lansing. Over the years the State of Michigan has witnessed plenty of school rivalries both within the state and beyond. The rivalries had no bearing on me, as my school was out of that realm. Any ways, my friend was enrolled in Hotel Management and he invited up for a conference that was being arranged by the students and that it would be catered and have drinks flowing. Not a bad invitation.

Bord 1

Michigan State University began as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan in 1855 and became the first Land-Grant Institution under the Morrill Act of 1862. The school slowly but surely grew in dominance, and one of the applied studies was Hospitality Services. Actually they were one of the pioneers in the study of Hospitality Business. One of the dormitories was actually converted into a hotel with a conference center and the students learned how to manage the different aspects of that industry. The Kellogg Center became a laboratory in Hotel Management under the blessings of the Michigan Hotel Association. The hotel is now a Four-Star Hotel in most listings and I believe still benefits the students as well as being an entity to itself.

MI MSU MB

I can’t remember what exactly the conference was for, since I entered it from the back door and met some of the students and enjoyed the benefits of their labors. I know that I was not the only person there that came in through the back door. There was plenty of food, as it was showcasing what the hotel, and of course the students could offer. I remember enjoying one bottle of wine very much, and somehow, I ended up acquiring one of the bottles to go; it was simpler times back then and so much fun. The bottle was Chateau Lafitte Gaujac 1971 and it carried the basic Appellation Bordeaux Controlee. I am sure that it was just the classic Medoc blend that is still in vogue to this day, and one has to realize that during that time, any French wine was considered the proper wine to serve. It was still prior to 1976 and California was known about, just like they knew that there were wineries in Michigan, but for most people they were not what wine was all about. I have to say that I never had an invite or an experience like that when visiting friends at that other school in Ann Arbor.

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Felix or Oscar?

Posted on May 17, 2016 by thewineraconteur

I was going to title this “Wine is like Mink,” but then I realized that wine reproduces as quickly as minks or rabbits, or maybe as quickly. There would have been other ways that I could have alluded to it, but this will suffice. I am always amazed when I speak to people and they claim that they cannot acquire a wine cellar, because they drink the wine too quickly. I am not sure if that is said in jest, or with tongue in cheek, because in this household wine is consumed quite regularly and we maintain a cellar.

Cases of Wine 1

Boy do we maintain a cellar. In the world of Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple” most people might think of me as Felix Ungar, because I come off rather fastidious, especially in my attire, but I call that an “occupational hazard.” When it comes to certain things like putting cases of wine away, then I become like Oscar Madison. I guess there is just a part of me that gets lazy and need some prodding to put stuff away. I mean I enjoy the concept of having the wine collection, but sometimes that I just get overwhelmed with the logistics of collecting. Then when I force myself to put everything away, I become like Felix again, as I get fussy about how and where to put wine for ease of finding; as if that ever happens.

Cases of Wine 2

I had found some free time and was wondering what to do with it, when I forced myself to clear the floor path in the basement, where I tend to place wine for later storage. After moving ninety-nine bottles up, to make it easier to sort; right, I had to cut up some cheese and crackers and pour a glass of wine and decide what am I going to do. Oh the problems we mere mortals have to face and I am so glad that I am not planning on moving. So after lugging the wine around, eating the cheese and crackers, and then drinking the glass of wine, I decided that I needed to write about the experience, before I got back to actually doing what I had decided to do. I then thought how do these people claim, that they cannot amass wine, when to me, they just grow exponentially in the middle of the night. They reproduce not only in red and white, but they also mutate into sparkling and dessert wines as well. Well I must now say goodbye to Oscar and say hello to Felix. I will leave you the greatest line from that play “I can’t take it anymore, Felix, I’m cracking up. Everything you do irritates me. And when you’re not here, the things I know you’re gonna do when you come in irritate me. You leave me little notes on my pillow. Told you 158 times I can’t stand little notes on my pillow. “We’re all out of cornflakes. F.U.” Took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Ungar!”

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Celebrating Mother’s Day

Posted on May 15, 2016 by thewineraconteur

Mother’s Day is the perfect day to get the families together and to contact those that are not near. We were all set to have everyone over to our house for the celebration and of course set out the “Whirling Dervish” also known as my Bride into last minute preparations for the meal. Then it was decided that we were all going to have the dinner at my Mother-in-Laws home, and that changed the logistics of the day, but alls well that ends well.

Finca Sobreno Seleccion Especial 1999

We loaded up the car with gifts, as we were also celebrating a birthday in May as well as Mother’s Day, folding chairs and of course some wine. We were the designated team to go pick up the food from an Italian restaurant that the families enjoyed, namely Ferlito’s in Grosse Pointe Woods and not far from her house. I have written about another Mother’s Day, when we repeated the same excursion and had to pick up trays of Lasagna, Fettuccini Alfredo and of course an extra order of Gnocchi with meat sauce for that fussy and pain in the rear Raconteur, who is not a fan of Lasagna and requires some meat for his dinner. Thankfully by Bride puts up with me, most of the time.

Toro DO Label

When we were first discussing Mother’s Day and figuring that we were going to have dinner at our house, I thought of our standard offering of filets and went into the cellar for something interesting to try. I found the wine that I wanted, but the menu changed, but I figured that a Spanish wine would still work with the Italian cuisine with out being too sacrilegious. I had wanted to try Finca Sobrena Selleccion Especial 1999 from Bodegas Sobrena. The wine is from the larger Castilla y Leon district of Spain in the Northern half of the Central Iberian Plateau that borders both Rioja and Portugal. This area has some famous wine areas like Ribera Del Duero, Toro, Rueda and Bierzo; all known for their red wines and of course in this area Tempranillo is king. The wine that we were having was from the Toro district and locally Tempranillo is known as Tinta de Toro and the wine carries the Denominacion de Origen, the broadest of the classifications guaranteeing a geographic area and type of wine that is typical for the area. This wine was listed as Selleccion Especial and had been aged for fourteen months in American Oak, and if it had been from Rioja, it would have been labeled as a Crianza. I never get into fancy wordings for the flavor and taste of wines, but this wine did have what I really favor in wines and that is that ethereal quality of terroir, or as I casually call it “dirt.” I enjoy when a full bodied wine imparts some of the terrain into the wine, as I find that special and a bonus. So even with the Italian food, this red wine was choice for the occasion and of course I look forward to celebrating many, many more years of Mother’s Day holidays

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Depot Town

Posted on May 13, 2016 by thewineraconteur

Even the Wine Raconteur can have an off night. Lately I have had a schedule that has precluded going out that much and I hope that changes soon. We finally had a night to go out for dinner and the plans were scuttled, but we decided to go out anyways, just the two of us. It was an odd time for restaurants; it was after Cinco de Mayo and before Mother’s Day. We were going to go to one of our “stand-bys” and we decided to try something new instead. Ypsilanti is another college town near our home that of course is in the shadow of the much larger college town of Ann Arbor. There is a district known as Depot Town in Ypsilanti that has been a “watering hole” since my days in college, so off we went to discover what it was like currently. Depot Town has acquired the name from the section of railway tracks and was vital part of the city back in the early days. There is a building that may be utilized again, it is of historical value from the Civil War days, the old railway depot is now used for other purposes and there is even a caboose on a side track just for ambience. Another kind of unique item there is a museum dedicated to the Hudson Motor Car Company, housed in a former Hudson dealership, and I guess you have to be a Detroiter to really get excited to see all of the cars.

MI Maiz facade

Depot Town is several blocks of vintage buildings and several of them have been converted to restaurants and taverns. Most were geared to the population of students that attend, just up the road. It appeared that wine might not be an option, but as we wandered along the sidewalks and looked at the food that some others were enjoying outside, we decided to go into Maiz, a restaurant offering South of the Border dishes, and I do not mean Canada, if you are a native Detroiter. It was a unique restaurant from appearances and on the brick wall as we entered in we saw an old hand-painted billboard that had been rescued for Finck’s, a working man’s clothing line that I have mentioned a couple of times before. The restaurant was very busy, but we got a table very quickly.

MI Fincks Billboard

Our waitress was very attentive and let us knows that everything was “house-made” as she brought us a basket of tri-colored chips and salsa to munch on. Since we were not going to have wine and we were in a Mexican restaurant we decided to have Margaritas, as we both enjoy them and it probably our favorite cocktail when we are out. I have this “thing” about ordering the “house” Margarita, because I think that if they make a fine generic drink, the food will be better as well, and we were off in the right direction. My Bride had a frozen Margarita with no dusting on the glass and I went with the classic pour on the rocks with salt. We shared a delightful appetizer of three halves of Baked Avocado, one of their house specialties which was stuffed with Pico de Gallo, Muenster cheese and bread crumbs topped with Cilantro Aioli and fresh Cilantro. My Bride had the Mango Salad which was baby greens mix topped with smoked corn, tomatoes, mango salsa, grilled pineapples, tortilla strips and blackened Tilapia. I was kind of torn between a couple of dishes, but just the name of the dish won me over, I mean how can one resist “El Gordo Bastardo”? It was a giant Chimichanga stuffed with beef, pinto beans and rice deep fried, but then it was on steroids, because it was topped with Chorizo sausage, grilled peppers and onions, Muenster cheese, Salsa Verde, lettuce and tomatoes. By the time we finished our dinners and I had another Margarita we were sated and needed to walk around Depot Town again, before the drive home, and yes I will get back on track with more wine, very shortly.

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Fishbone’s

Posted on May 11, 2016 by thewineraconteur

I had gone to the original site of this restaurant once with a dinner club member for lunch, as we were looking for new venues for the club. Years later they opened up another restaurant much closer to our home and my Bride and I went there to check it out. As one would surmise the restaurant leaned favorably to fish and sea food, but they really had a New Orleans Creole/Cajun bent. As we have been to that fair city a couple of times on holidays, it was a good fit for us.

Merryvale Starmont Merlot 2000

We were going there for dinner, but the menu also had plenty of “Po-boy” types of sandwiches to offer as well. We started off with Bayou Caviar which was crayfish battered and fried, and we also tried some of their farm-bred alligator prepared in a similar method. We both went with New Orleans themed dishes for our entrée choices and of course we had to share and compare notes. One of the dishes was the Crawfish Etoufee which is a stew type dish loaded with sweet crawfish. The other dish we tried was their interpretation of Jambalaya, which is also a stew type dish with shrimp, Andouille sausage and rice. I have to say that both dishes were spicy and tasty, but it did make us yearn for another trip to the Big Easy. Of course for dessert we had to share an order of Bread Pudding with warm Bourbon sauce, but unfortunately, all Bourbon sauces will always take a backseat to the wonderful sauce made at Commander’s Quarters in the Garden District.

MI Fishbone's MB

Since we were having a spicy dinner we went and had a milder wine for dinner, and there was some decision pondering as to whether it should be white or red, since the dishes were seafood. I chose red wine because of the tomatoes and thought a softer red would work like Merlot, and I am glad that I did. We enjoyed a bottle of Merryvale Starmont Merlot 2000. Merryvale Winery is one of the old guard in Napa, as they were the first winery production facility to open up after the repeal of Prohibition. As I did more research, the wine back then showed that the fruit was from Napa Valley, and now most of the Starmont line from the winery leans heavily towards Carneros AVA, and of course Napa Valley, especially back then had more sway on the label than Carneros; and much more readily identifiable to the public.

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Zorba Meets Menopause

Posted on May 9, 2016 by thewineraconteur

The Great White Way is most fortunate for losing a potential thespian, when I was in college, one of the plays that I performed in was Zorba, and they were wise to cast me as the villain and I only sang and danced with the chorus. My Bride to maintain her sanity abandons me at time to spend time with her lady friends. On one of her adventures they were going to see a production of Menopause the Musical at the Historic Gem Theatre. I had read about the play when it first came out in Detroit and one of the leads in the play was an actress that I had appeared with in Zorba and she played the Leader and  even then she had considerable talents and abilities. Unbeknownst to me, at the end of the play, they invite the women in the audience to join the leads up on the stage, and my Bride who is no wall flower, immediately made a bee-line to the actress that I spoke of. The actress acknowledged that she had been in the play and asked my Bride to come back with me for another show. I went, and I was one of the few males in the intimate theater and of course my Bride after the show went up on stage again and told the actress that I was in the audience. After the show was over, we sat and finished our drinks and the actress came back on the stage and sang the theme song from Zorba and then we spent a few minutes chatting, and it was fun.

McWilliams Hanwood Estate Shiraz 2002

The Historic Gem Theatre has that name as it has had a storied past from the beginning. It was a venue for productions of all types, at one time it became a cinema and during the dark days of Downtown Detroit, ended up, a very classy place to watch pornography as it had fallen on hard times. Then the stadiums came to the downtown and a new owner bought the building and another building and the Gem Theatre is now in the Guinness Book for being the largest and heaviest building ever moved to another location five blocks away. Not only is it a venue for small intimate theatrical productions, but it is also a grand setting for weddings and other private festivities. When there is a theatrical production, the on-site restaurant is also open for dining and it is called the Century Club.

Zorba

Of course we had dinner at the Century Club prior to seeing Menopause the Musical. We started off our meal sharing an order of Crab Cakes with Chipotle spice.  My Bride had the Grilled Colorado Lamb Chops done in a Greek style with Dauphonois potatoes, while I had the Beef Wellington with a Mushroom Pate and mashed potatoes.  We finished off the meal with some coffee and Chocolate Mousse.  Of course we had wine and we were allowed to finish the wine in the theatre and that is so civilized. The wine carte was simple and complimented the choices, and I am sure also worked well for the private events as well. We had a bottle of McWilliam’s Hanwood Estate Shiraz 2002 from South Eastern Australia. This is a good work horse Shiraz and it became popular around town as the Shiraz grape took off and of course every restaurant had to have a Shiraz from Australia; and there is nothing wrong with it. I enjoy watching wines as they become popular, because it means that people are paying attention and they can actually try something new and expand their wine knowledge. The great thing is that now Shiraz in some form is usually found on most wine lists even today. So as I leave today I will mention a most fitting line from Zorba for this article: “I sniff at a woman, you can’t imagine how often, I sniff at a woman, but each time is the first time.”

Menopause The Musical

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A Flight of Rioja Wines

Posted on May 7, 2016 by thewineraconteur

While still in the bar area at Fleming’s Steakhouse to accompany our Bacon Cheeseburgers we were trying to decide on the next wines to try. I looked at the bar menu and saw that there was a special wine flight of Rioja wines offered during the later round of specials. I asked our server if it was available earlier and she said that the manager agreed to let us have the wines early at the stated price, so it felt like a bonus. Rioja is one of the first red wines that I introduced to my Bride, back in the early days, when she was strictly into white wines, and I thought that Rioja would make a wonderful introduction to the world of red wines.

Bodegas Izadi Rioja Riserva 2011

The first wine in the flight was Navardia Rioja 2013 from Bagordi Navardia Joven Ecologico and they state that the wine is made with organic grapes. I have discussed my thoughts on organic winemaking before, but I realize that it is a hot buzzword and topic today. This Rioja wine is made of a blend of Garnacha, Graciano and Tempranillo; and it is the first tier in the levels of Rioja wines. Thankfully it was the first wine served of the flight, as it was fine, but not really what I would look for in a Rioja.

Torres Altos Ibericos Crianza 2012

The next wine that we had I thought was very interesting and it even offered that ethereal quality of terroir. The Altos Ibericos Crianza 2012 from Miguel Torres was most enjoyable. This wine is from the Northern part of the Iberian Peninsula, hence the name and was entirely made from the Tempranillo grape. The term Crianza is the second tier of Rioja wines and requires twelve months in oak and then another year in the bottle before it can be sold, and here was what I would call a Rioja wine.

Navardia Rioja 2013

The last wine from the flight was Bodegas Izadi Rioja Riserva 2011. Rioja Riserva is the third tier of Rioja wines and the top tier is Gran Reserva. This wine also had great terroir and was a blend of Tempranillo, Graciano and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Rioja Reserva wines must have a minimum of fourteen months in oak and a required two years additional aging in the bottle before release. The last two glasses of wine were great representatives for what Rioja wines should be, and they made our cheeseburgers all that much fancier.

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Two for the Heart

Posted on May 5, 2016 by thewineraconteur

As much as I like to try different restaurants, there are times when we just need to go have a quick meal. There are plenty of places that I guess can fulfill this need, but how can one go wrong at a steakhouse? One of our sure-fire ideas for fast food with wine is Fleming’s Steakhouse, especially when one can sit in the bar area and take advantage of their special bar prices. We went in and split an order of the Baked Brie, nothing out of the ordinary, but not an item, one usually encounters in a more generic family style restaurant, and couple that with house made potato chips that are served in the bar. We also went with two orders of their great Bacon Cheeseburger, of course I miss the hand battered onion rings, because now it is served with French fries, and I am not a fan of those.

Colby Red 2014

The two wines that we had while enjoying the Baked Brie both evoked the heart, in different ways. The Benvolio Pinot Grigio 2014 that I had is from Friuli-Grave and is just a light white wine that is pleasant enough, especially on an early warm spring day. You may ask what does Pinot Grigio have to do with the heart. I guess you have to be a true romantic to realize that Benvolio was the attempted peace maker between the Capulet and the Montague’s in the famed story Romeo and Juliet.

Benvolio Pinot Grigio 2014

The other wine is straight to the heart; Colby Red 2014 is a California red blended wine made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Shiraz, Merlot and Petite Sirah. It is an interesting popular priced red wine, but the real interest is behind the wine. Colby is the son of Daryl Groom, the winemaker, and his son underwent heart surgeries as a child. Every bottle of wine helps support charities that promote heart health. Colby is almost an adult now, and is a seasoned volunteer with the American Heart Association and is the national spokesperson for the Children’s Heart Foundation. They have already raised $750,000 from sales of the wine and their goal is to raise one million dollars. So having an appetizer can be good for the heart in many ways.

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Four Years of Writing

Posted on May 3, 2016 by thewineraconteur

I have to announce that on the Fourth of May, this Raconteur has been penning some unusual remembrances. Ever since I was young and first discovered the word “raconteur,” I embraced the word. Of course I am just old enough to have enjoyed seeing films and the old television shows when raconteurs were lauded. There were such greats as Myron Cohen, Henry Morgan, Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Noel Coward, William Saroyan, and Buddy Hackett and though I never heard his discussions, they say that Harpo Marx, who was famous for being silent, was one of the great raconteurs of his time. Some of them were famous for being part of what was referred to as the Algonquin Round Table, and to pay homage to that questionable group, I once went to the Algonquin Hotel just to see the table.

2 Bloggers and 2 Brides

What is a raconteur? Basically one who is a story teller, some utilize great wit, and I wish I could say that I belong to that subset, but I do not. Though I realize that I am a storyteller, not in the league of Aesop, as most of my stories do not have morals, but I try to talk about the joys and pleasures that I associate with having wine. Some wine writers are very erudite and rate wines by numeric ratings, some with great wordings of the color, the nose, the taste; and some are extremely knowledgeable about the production. Some of the writers have had training and are very serious about the craft and to relay their knowledge. I guess that I learned about wines from the School of Hard Knocks, as we used to say. I have had the pleasure of meeting some fine mentors over the years, but my learning about wine, has been normally one at a time, and sometimes in a concerted method.

CC Champagne Flutes

As for me, I guess I shall continue to write my non-scholarly articles, because it is fun, and wine is so enjoyable. I have had wines, that I may wish never to encounter again and I have had wines that I wish that I could meet again, but alas, they are too dear to try again. I have also over these past four years had the pleasure, sometimes in person, but mostly through Social Media many others that enjoy wines as well. I also lament that I have seen many Blogs wither and die away, during these four years, and I am sure that there are myriad of reasons why this could occur and it is not mine, to even offer an opinion. In the vast spectrum of horticulture, viniculture is but one small aspect, but it is what draws our attention. While I speak of wine to my imaginary friend that sits across the table, in my mind’s conceit as I write, I just wish to impart the fun times and the enjoyment of wine. As I look at the huge assortment of wine labels that I have soaked off, that I still have not wrote about, I realize that I can write for years, longer than most people would be interested in. For every Chateau Latour or Domaine de la Romanee- Conti wine, there are perchance thousands of affordable wines that I have enjoyed. The same can be said for the restaurants that I have had the good graces to have dined at as well, and I do like to vary the mix. So, with that in mind I shall leave you with one of my favorite quotes about plants by Dorothy Parker; “you can lead a horticulture, but you can’t make her learn.”

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