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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Open That Bottle Night

Posted on February 27, 2016 by thewineraconteur

I am positive that there will be some spectacular bottles of wine being bandied about on Twitter the last Saturday night of February. That evening has become known as “Open That Bottle Night” and was created by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher from their “Tastings” wine column in the Wall Street Journal. The concept is quite simple and really refreshing; why wait for a special night that we are all claiming to have to open a special bottle of wine.

Ch Mouton Rothschild 1964

 

 

Some writers who may have very deep pockets can go and buy something wonderful. Alas I am not of that group and most of the writers that I know are not, but we all have those great bottles that are collecting dust in our cellars. I will say that I have plenty of dust collectors and that is fine as it adds a mystique to the bottles in the oversized closet that I call a cellar. I have had the good fortune to have bought plenty of bottles over the years, and some even back then were quite dear, especially since I was working to pay for school. Even though we have prior plans to go out “wining, dining and dancing” as it was called back in the day, the venue we are going to would preclude the two bottles that I will show from my collection. I also think that we would need at least another couple to join us to savor these wines.

Ch Cheval Blanc 1992

I went and looked in the section of the rack where I have my Bordeaux wines stored, and I do mix Medoc, Pomerol and Saint-Emilion together, as they are all similar in style. My new world Meritage wines are kept in another area of the racking system, at least I think that I know what I am doing. There really is not much to say about either of the two wines, especially since I will not be reporting on them immediately, but in case I have to defend my honor, here are the two that I would have really thought about opening. The first bottle is Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1964 from Pauillac featuring the artwork of Henry Moore. Besides the artwork, one of the unique aspects of the label is that no where is it mentioned that it is part of the Classification of 1855 for the Medoc. There was long animosity for them about the Classification as the were listed as the top of the Second Growth and they rightfully felt that they should have been considered a First Growth from day one, and this has been rectified, but it did take over a century to correct. The other wine is a First Growth and was always considered a First Growth, Chateau Cheval Blanc Saint-Emilion 1992. Chateau Cheval Blanc is the famous Merlot wine that was featured in the movie Sideways that swayed susceptible people away from Merlot wines for some time, and I do promise that when I open it, it will not be with fast food and a Styrofoam or waxed-coated cup. So while the gauntlet will be tossed, I will only be able to do it in the Cyber World and not in the Real World this year.

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The February Birthdays

Posted on February 25, 2016 by thewineraconteur

Once a month I write about the curious way we celebrate birthdays. Since there are so many in the family, it would become rather onerous on everyone to have several different parties to attend each month, so we combine them all into one evening. We tend to have them at our house as my Bride enjoys cooking, especially for crowds and family.

Sodaro Estate Blend 2007

Our dinner parties tend to be arranged as buffets rather than sit down dinners, just because of the crowds and sometimes even table space is at a premium depending on the revelers. The parties tend to be more laid back and not fussy affairs, because we have so many of them. The appetizers tend to be cheeses and crackers and other munchies that are just easy to put out on the tables. There will be some dishes brought over by the family, usually side dishes and that helps out immensely. My Bride was going to try something different that she had learned of, from some of her friends, a dish called “unstuffed cabbage rolls.” It is more like a casserole that has all the ingredients that one uses to make stuffed cabbage with out the actual rolling. My Sister-in-Law from Louisville and her family were up, because of the special birthday party for my Mother-in-Law and she brought with her a couple of magnificent tenderloins that we marinated and cooked that afternoon. Then after all was cleared, it was time for the birthday cakes and pies and all the other sweet things that follow dinner.

Talbott Case Pinot Noir 2004

Then there are the beverages; an open bar, beer and of course some wine. The afternoon started off with some Chardonnay, one of our many daily choices. Most people think that because I write a Wine Blog that all we do is drink stellar wines. I wish that was the case, but there are always some interesting wines without breaking the budget or totally depleting the cellar. My Brother-in-Law brought Talbott Case Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Vineyard 2004. I just adore the wines from Talbott, especially since for years as a clothier I would recommend their neckwear and other clothing that the family makes, and the original factory is in the Carmel Valley, and the son who now runs the clothing company started off with his winery in the same area. Sleepy Hollow Vineyard is one of the great vineyards that Talbott uses and it carries the Monterey County AVA, they also make some great Chardonnay from this vineyard as well. The fruit comes from low yielding vines that are had picked and sorted for the wines and the resulting wine has more of a Burgundy flavor, instead of the heavier fruit-forward Pinot Noir wines that one can encounter from California. I also opened up a bottle of Sodaro Estate Winery Estate Blend 2007 from Napa Valley. This wine we bought through a silent auction at a charity event that we went to a couple of years back. Sodaro Estate Winery uses a ten acre vineyard to grow several grape varieties and this particular wine only produced 487 cases. Their “Estate Blend” is composed of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot and it was a fine wine and really complimented the tenderloins we had for dinner. We have a brief hiatus until the March birthday get-together.

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National Margarita Day

Posted on February 23, 2016 by thewineraconteur

I grew up in Southwest Detroit which is now referred to as Mexican Town, but it wasn’t always that way. Yes, I know that I write about wines, but when I am enjoying Mexican cuisine, I tend to drink Margaritas. I have had some Mexican wines, but they tend to be far and few between, which I find odd, but I can always find a great Margarita. I have even tried Mexican beers, but since this Armenian kid from the neighborhood grew up on Molson’s Canadian, I will stick to Margaritas. Let it not be said that I don’t still try a new Mexican beer or wine, but the beverage from the agave plant, which is a succulent plant and not a cactus or a relation to an Aloe Vera plant as is common attributed keeps me smiling.

Mexican_Village_Detroit

Back in my youth, when one wanted Mexican food, the oldest and still going strong restaurant is still in the original Mexican Town, not far from the Ambassador Bridge, the grounds where the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Lions used to play, near the Irish Cork Town district and the melting pot known as Delray, and I might also mention not far from downtown Detroit. I was introduced to Mexican Village by one of the kids that I grew up with, back then a whole bunch of us would go there for dinner. He also introduced me to Ribs and Mole (and yes I cannot for the life of me, figure out how to get an accent over the e). Mole Sauce for the uninitiated may sound odd, because it is made with Mexican Chocolate and it is spicy, not sweet and I love the dish. I can no longer get it the Mole Sauce with ribs, but I can find it with Chicken and that works too. In fact, I kind of get an attitude when we try a different Mexican restaurant and they don’t offer any dishes with that sauce. Another of my favorite restaurants that was near to Mexican Village and also close to the gas station where I had my first job was Fuentes de Elena, and it may have been too classy for its day as it was a white table cloth Mexican restaurant and I always thought the food was stellar, but it was not what the public wanted in Mexican food, I guess.

Agave Restaurant

Getting back to Margaritas, I will tell you that I always ask for the basic well-drink from the restaurant that I am at. If the Margarita still has personality and style, I rightfully presume that the food will be the same way. When they skimp on the Margarita, they skimp on the quality of the food. Some of the best hole-in-the-wall joints that I have eaten at, have great Margaritas and great food. I like the traditional Margarita on the rocks with the rim salted, now my Bride always wants a Frozen Margarita and no salt, which is an anathema to me, but it keeps her happy, and at least she likes Chicken and Mole. To this day, I really never give much thought to the tequila that is being used, as I trust the establishment to give me something decent, but I remember the first time we went to a “hot” new place called Agave, which is no longer open, but they were a trail blazer, because they were located in the “no man’s land” of Detroit, which is now the hottest area for housing and restaurants. Agave proudly proclaimed that they had every brand of tequila available, and the array of bottles was impressive, in fact the other liquors were kept out of sight, they were there, but tequila was king. I am still not a maven on tequila, but if the Margarita is made with some artistry, I am a happy man with some great memories that normally are not germane to this Blog, but I do beg your indulgence, in letting me go off on a tangent on occasions.

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