Another Collection

Posted on March 26, 2015 by thewineraconteur

People tend to collect all sorts of things that fascinate them or because the items hold fond memories for them. I am sure that most people collect something. I maybe collect too many things and one of the items that I collect is wine. Collecting wine is a good hobby, because you can buy some great wines when they are first issued and if you have a good cellar, you can store the wine until they are at their peak of drinking pleasure; and for some wines that can be ten or twenty years later and the price will be too dear for most of us to purchase at that time.

The finished display

My Bride has the collecting bug as well, and one collection she started years before we ever met; she collects those small “airline” bottles of liquor. Some are from vacations that she took and tried some different drinks, some are from conventions and conferences that she attended and some just because they tickled her fancy. I bring this up, because I had to take down her collection when I painted the family room, and afterwards I had to rearrange them back in position after dusting and checking to see if there were duplicates that had been placed up there. The good thing is that most liquor can be enjoyed years after the purchase without the worries of the beverage going bad. Some of the bottles go back to the days when there were tax banderols over the closure which had to be broken when the bottle is opened, something you don’t see any more.

Sorting Miniature Bottles

As I was sorting them and checking for duplicates, I got a chance to admire these small bottles, which for the most part are actually miniatures of the actual bottles of the liquor. Some of them are in glass, some are in ceramic and of course nowadays some are in plastic. As I was looking at each bottle, I realized that over the course of years, some have even been opened and tried. Some of the bottles were very expensive, I mean after all, even an ounce of Johnny Walker Blue is dear, if you don’t think so, order a glass of it at your favorite restaurant. Some are very cute, like a miniature bottle of Chambord or a miniature bottle of Pinch. There was even a bottle of Monte Alban Mezcal con Gusano, which is Tequila with a worm in the bottle; still with the tax stamp seal (I guess no one tried that particular bottle). As I look at this collection, it makes me remember one of our vacations to Charleston, South Carolina and the quirky law that was on the books and it may still be in practice today. All the bars and restaurants used these individual small bottles to pour a drink or to make a cocktail. One could buy a fifth of liquor at a liquor store only for personal consumption. So even my Bride has a collecting passion, and this is only one of many, but it is close enough to merit mention by this Raconteur.

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I Can’t Believe That I Found One More Bottle of Wine

Posted on March 24, 2015 by thewineraconteur

I thought I was all done writing about errant bottles of wine that were waylaid over the years in the family room.  After pulling everything out of the family room, so that it could get a new coat of paint and a fresh new look. As I was emptying out the liquor cabinet in the family room, all of the bottles were boxed up, until I could go through them and make some “managerial” decisions; of course that meant consulting with my Bride as to whether some of the bottles should be kept. There were some bottles that I don’t even remember buying, and there were some that neither of us even remembers ever drinking, even in our youth. This new dilemma required that I restock my liquor cabinet in the dining room, to make sense of everything I have.

San Felipe La Rural Vino Tinto 1997

Not only did I have a mess of boxes from stuff that I dragged out of the family room, I also found that I had a mess of stuff that had been packed into the liquor cabinet in the dining room, so a thorough cleaning was called upon. We like to entertain, but I was amazed at the selection of whiskeys, whiskys, bourbons, white liquors and exotic liquors that we had amassed. Then there was the collection of liqueurs that we had acquired for cocktails or to use in special dinner recipes. There were some bottles that my Bride had forgotten about and I could see that she was thinking of some new recipes, and some she just made a face at.

San Felipe Gift Box
Lo and behold in the liquor cabinet in the dining room was a gift box of a wine, which was mistaken for a bottle of liquor. At a quick look at the box, it does appear to be more of a bottle of liquor, because it is shaped like a canteen, or maybe the “cantil” bottles of Portugal that one sometimes encounters for a bottle of Rose wine. This wine was produced by San Felipe Bodegas of Maipo, Mendoza and the name of the wine is San Felipe La Rural Vino Tinto 1997. I had to do some research on this wine, because when I saw that it said Vino Tinto I expected a light red wine, perhaps on the sweeter or fruity side, but instead this is actually a Bordeaux or Claret style of wine. When one thinks of Claret the varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carmenere do come to mind; and when one thinks of Mendoza in Argentina one can easily think of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Carmenere. This forgotten bottle of wine is another wine that I think I will open in the near future, just to discover what it is like, or lament that it was not stored properly. Time will tell.

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“It Don’t Mean a Thing”

Posted on March 22, 2015 by thewineraconteur

This will be the last of the finds of my clearing out the family room at the house so that it could get a new paint job and look fresh for Easter. While I was emptying out the entertainment center so that I could move it, I was unpacking a collection of vinyl records, yes, both myself and my Bride go back to that era, in fact we still have a turntable hooked up to the receiver in that room. As I was removing all of the albums, I found a menu from a restaurant that I have never been to, and I also knew that we have in our collection of matchbooks, something that I am said to have seen disappear from the landscape, because it is such a wonderful keepsake for a great memory. My Bride had a life before she met me; in fact she was much more cosmopolitan than I was at that time. I found a menu from The Rainbow Room of New York. The Rainbow Room is a designated Landmark found at 30 Rockefeller Plaza on the 65’Th floor of the building and for years was known as the highest restaurant in the world. It was truly the place where the elite met to eat.

NY The Rainbow Room

When I showed her the menu, she just smiled and said that it was a pleasure to dine there, as well as to have danced there. She was looking at the prices in the menu, and laughed at how they are the norm for most of the dishes today, but it goes to show you what the norm was in Manhattan in 1985. To give you some examples, the three dishes that were offered for two were Rack of Lamb, Chateaubriand and Cote de Boeuf au Poivre Vert and the were all priced at $45.00. When I asked her if she could remember what she had that evening, she looked at menu and said probably the “Filet of Sole, Cote d’Azur” at $21.00. As I looked at the menu, I also realized though she didn’t mention it, that she probably had the Grand Marnier Soufflé as well. When I asked her what she had to drink that evening, she responded that it was probably a Chardonnay, and that I am sure it was, because when we first met she always used to have Filet of Sole and Chardonnay.

NY The Rainbow Room Menu

After she finished looking at the menu, she looked at me, and said I also bought the album that the entertainer there was selling. So I went back to where I had put all of the albums and found the album, the album as well as the menu had been autographed by Panama Francis, and the album was Panama Francis & The Savoy Sultans “Everything Swings.” Panama Francis at one time toured with Cab Calloway and in 1979 reestablished his group the Savoy Sultans and were the resident entertainers at The Rainbow Room for six or seven years. As I looked at the album I realized that while my Bride always enjoyed the same dishes and wines over the years, she also enjoyed some of the same music that she still does today as in : “Stomping at the Savoy,” “Sentimental Journey,” “In the Mood,” “Take the A Train” and of course “It Don’t Mean a Thing.”

Panama Francis Back Album Cover

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Out of Sight, Out of Mind – Part Two

Posted on March 20, 2015 by thewineraconteur

After I posted my find of all the wine that had been misplaced, I also found a few bottles of beverages that were not wine, and we have been known to enjoy a glass of other drinks from time to time. So I shall wander a short way from wine for the moment.

Group 4

The first two bottles that I found were happy finds. I kept thinking that I had another bottle of Booker’s True Barrel Bourbon, but I could not locate it, now I have. The bottle was still in the original paper wrapper safely secured in the wooden box that it is purchased in. Every now I then I just enjoy a glass of sippin’ Bourbon neat in a Brandy snifter, just perfect after a dinner with friends. Another bottle that I found, can be linked to wine, as it is a distilled wine, actually this beverage is twice distilled. Distilled wines are called Brandy, and as the old saying goes all Cognacs are Brandy, but not all Brandy is Cognac. I found a bottle of Cour Imperial Grand Champagne by Courvoisier, with the emblem of Napoleon. Grand Champagne does not refer to the sparkling wine, but it refers to the two most famous Crus of Cognac; Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne. The curious thing is that Grande Champagne in area is actually less than half the size of Petite Champagne, but very important to be noted on the label. In the old days the varietals planted were Ugni Blanc, blended with Colombard and Folle Blanche, but now it is basically Ugni Blanc. The original wine made I have heard many times, is that it is nothing to write home about, but when it is distilled, and especially after the second distilling it becomes a wondrous beverage; of course it may take twenty to thirty years of aging on the premises to evolve which adds to the cost of the Cognac.

Group 3

Of the other two bottles that I found one made my Bride very happy and the other was a bottle that I was not familiar with, and I believe it was bequeathed to us, since we tend to have the most parties with the family. One of the bottles was Seagram’s 83 Canadian Whisky which is no longer produced, by the third corporation to have the Seagram’s label. This was made when Seagram’s was still being made in Ontario, and now it is made in Quebec, and I am a fan of Seagram’s V.O. Canadian Whisky. It is a rye whisky, which most of the Canadian whisky brands are known for, in fact, here in the Detroit area, it was not uncommon to hear a patron at his local watering hole to request a “Rye” meaning a Canadian Whisky at the expense of the American Whiskey. The excise tax banderole is still unbroken and it carries the date of 1982, so it should still be totally drinkable and I am curious to try it. The bottle that made my Bride happy was originally created by James Pimm in the 1840’s, and I find it amusing that while she is not a Gin drinker per se, she so enjoys Pimm’s No. 1, which is a gin made with herbal botanicals, caramelized orange and some other delicate spices. Pimm’s No. 1 is fabled, but the company has actually created several other Pimm’s up to No. 6, I believe, though she has always requested a glass of the original Pimm’s Cup on our travels. This is just a good lesson for me, to maintain a stricter watch on my inventory.

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Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Posted on March 18, 2015 by thewineraconteur

Did you ever hear the expression “a place for everything and everything in its place?” Well I am getting ready to give the family room a new look, so I am moving everything out to make it easy to paint and whatever else may have to be done. I really like to paint and wallpaper, but getting my “arse” in gear can be another matter. Well as I started packing everything away in boxes, so that decisions can be made what is staying and what is no longer needed I found sixteen bottles of wine that were put aside and forgotten about, and some may have now gone to that great winery in the sky, but that will be for future stories.

Group 1

I divided the group of sixteen bottles of wine into two groups of eight and I will let you discover, as I did what I found and what my thoughts may be about their future. The first bottle is Barefoot Shiraz California NV, and I am sure that is was a gift, and there may be a fifty/fifty chance that it may still be drinkable. The next one comes from South Eastern Australia and it is Yellow Tail Chardonnay 2008 and just a visual inspection of the bottle tells me that it may have seen better days, because it looks like there is Pepsi in the bottle. Then there is a bottle that my Bride must have bought for someone that might not imbibe in wine or any alcoholic drinks. It is from J. Lohr of California and it is Ariel Brut Cuvee NV, but it is a dealcoholized sparkling wine; this is something I may just discard, if I can be so cavalier. Then there is a bottle of DeTierra Syrah 2002 from DeTierra Winery of Monterey and I am sure that it must have been from my wine club. This wine may be opened soon, just out of curiosity and I have hopes that it is still fine from this maker. Then I found a bottle that carries the famous name of Baron Philippe de Rothschild and it is the popular priced Mouton-Cadet Bordeaux Blanc Sec 1990, since this is a sweeter wine it is also a fifty/fifty odds on drinkability. The next wine is one that I hope is still in the positive side it is from Trione Vineyards & Winery of Alexander Valley AVA. It is a bottle of Trione Red Wine 2008 and is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec and this blend is in one of those heavy bottles, so I am hoping that it is still a strong contender. The last two wines are sparkling wines from Cook’s Champagne Cellars of Madera, California. The first is a Cook’s Spumante NV and the other is a Cook’s California Champagne NV and I am not sure if either of these will make the cut.

Group 2

The second batch of wines that I found for this sad tale will continue. A wine by Pierre Savoye of Beaujolais his Morgon “Climat Cote du Puy” 2005, if it was just Beaujolais and especially a Nouveau, I would have my concerns, but I think this wine may make it. The next wine would have been interesting to me, as I have not had too many wines from Austria, but I am not holding my breathe for this bottle of Kenessey Riesling 1983. The next wine I know is from my wine club and I must have brought it up for a party, did not open it and it ended up lost with these other bottles. It is Galante Cabernet Sauvignon Red Rose Hill 1998 from the Carmel Valley AVA by Galante Vineyards and I am betting that this wine makes the cut. The next wine I am sure will be fine, as it must have recently been purchased to regale some of our friends that say our wines are too dry; as it is an Italian Santo Moscato D’Asti DOG Vino Dolce 2011. Then there is another popular wine that is seen in a lot of restaurants around town as it is a safe wine and I am sure that it will be fine as well. Apothic Wines Apothic Red 2009 is a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah and Merlot and while it is not a stellar wine, it will work well with a casual dinner. The next wine is one that my Bride must have bought, as she gets into a taste for this wine, and she probably finished her cycle and forgot about this last bottle, so depending on how old it is, it may still be good; a bottle of Madria Sangria NV of Modesto, California. Then there is a bottle that I am sure was a gift, a bottle of Charles Shaw Merlot 2002 of California, you may know this wine by its nickname “Two Buck Chuck” and I will not give this wine any odds, because of its age and brand. The last bottle is from some table wine that I had bought a case of years ago, and it is Domaine de l’Espigouette 1996. It is a Vin de Pays de la Principaute d’Orange, a term that is no longer used as it has been changed to IGP Vaucluse, this change occurred in 2009. The indicative blend of varietals for this wine would be Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Grenache. I would venture to say because of the provenance of this wine and not in the best of storage it may have seen better days. So here is a modern tale to admonish everyone, especially me to make sure that all wines are stored properly, and in the coming articles, I may bring up the winners and losers of this group as I have them boxed separately in the cellar now.

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Main Street Grill & Tavern in Milford

Posted on March 16, 2015 by thewineraconteur

It was a night of surprises, all brought upon by social media. I ended up meeting an old friend of mine from the Armenian Youth Federation days. Through the course of years I have met many new friends and got reacquainted with old friends, as one’s life takes changes in directions. My friend was a musician in one of the Armenian bands of my youth and he played at many weddings, conferences and affairs that I attended through those years. I saw a notice that he had posted that he was entertaining with another friend at a location, about a half hour from where I live, so I asked my Bride if she would like to do something different, as I was sure that it was going to be popular music, and she and I both hoped that there was going to be a small dance floor. It was the first time that I had ever heard my friend play popular music and for the most part they were now considered standards from my generation, but what was even more surprising to me, was that my friend also played the saxophone, which I never knew. He told me that he only took up the sax about a year ago, but that he also played the clarinet, another instrument that I did not know he played. Life can be full of surprises.

Darcie Kent Gruner Veltliner Monterey 2010

Milford is a charming community, a little off the beaten path, even by way of the freeways. It has a very quaint downtown area, and for years it had the honor of having the oldest continuous men’s clothing store in the state, but alas they finally showed their last set of attire. The Main Street Grill & Tavern was a new place for my Bride and me, though we have been going to Milford for a couple of decades together. This tavern was a delight and reminded me of some of the great watering holes in my youth, with a beautiful old bar that one really doesn’t see that much of any more. I only had two complaints, the first being that there was no place to dance, which is common nowadays and the other was that there were too many televisions, but this has been a gripe of mine for almost anyplace that I venture into any more; since they were having live music the televisions could have been shut off, but I guess I am in a minority these days. The tavern had a nice menu, and not just a “bar menu” and we enjoyed some grilled shrimp while we were listening to the music. As is my custom these days, I went looking for a business card for the establishment to add to this article, as matchbooks have long disappeared from the horizon, but they did not have any. So I had to venture outside and take a picture of the façade of the building, and please forgive me, but I am hardly a photographer.

MI Main Stree Grill & Tavern facade

The other surprise that I had for the evening was the wine list, not extensive, but also not the usual assortment that one finds everywhere. My eyes focused on a Gruner Veltliner and the wine carte mentioned that this was a famous Austrian varietal, and since I have had a few of them, I was all set to order another bottle. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Darcie Kent Vineyards Gruner Veltliner 2010 was from Monterey. As you may recall I really enjoy the wines that I have had from Monterey, as I even belong to a wine club from the region. This was a wonderful bottle of single vineyard wine from the Rava Ranch of the Blackjack Vineyards. It was a most enjoyable bottle of wine and the setting made it even that much more. I had great company, good music and a chance to see an old friend to boot; it really doesn’t get better then that.

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A Sunday Dinner

Posted on March 14, 2015 by thewineraconteur

Some friends stay friends forever. This is a dinner party of such friends. My Bride has stayed in touch with some of her friends from elementary school right through high school. A couple of them have moved over a couple hours away from each other, but they still get together and that is what friends do. This time everyone was meeting at our house for dinner and my Bride could not be happier. I mean she agonizes over the dishes and making sure everything is arranged properly, but that I think is when she is the happiest. She is aware of all the dietary requirements of her friends and she arranged the dinner preparations according to these needs. Actually she is getting quite good at making dinners Gluten-free when the occasion arises.

Marilyn Merlot 1994

She had several different appetizers ready for when the guest arrived, and considering the distance a couple of them traveled, they all arrived on time, and not “fashionably late.” For the cheeses she even got a couple of different Gluten-free types of crackers, just in case one was not as good as the other. When she was making her Caesar Salad, after tossing it in the dressing, she put a good healthy size plate of it on the side, before she tossed the rest of the salad with her sautéed breadcrumbs, she has decided that she likes the breadcrumbs over croutons for this salad. For the main course she was so happy with a dinner entrée that she had made before, she repeated it again; so she made Salmon with a Bourbon Sauce. There were several sides, and one of her girl friends, who is almost a vegetarian, brought a wonderful tray of vegetables with a Balsamic drizzle, she is a great cook in her own right, and her brother happens to be the chef overseeing several restaurants that grew from the original one that he started at. For dessert we had that great New Orleans treat Bananas Foster, which allowed me to bring up a story or two about this fabled dish, not that I need much coaxing.

Heredad Segura Viudas Brut Cava NV

When the guests arrived and their outerwear was put in a proper location, it was my job to find out what they would like in the way of beverages. I was going to start out with some white wine, and I offered everyone a choice of still or sparkling. I was surprised, but everyone opted for sparkling, but it did make the afternoon seem more festive. I opened up some Heredad Segura Viudas Brut Cava NV, and it is owned and distributed by the Cava House Freixenet. Cava was originally called Champana, until the French Champagne association fought to keep their product “Champagne.” Cava is now an appellation in Catalonia, though it is also made in other parts of Spain as well. The name Cava derives from the caves that the wine is stored in for at least nine months according to their rules, and they also produce Cava Reserva or Vintage Wine as well. This wine is made from Macabeu, Parellada and Xarel-lo varietals, but some are also blended with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and then there are also Rosado wines. The Brut designation for this wine is the third from the driest rating with some residual sugar. For our salmon dinner and to keep my Bride happy I went with one of our favorite wines, and though some may shudder when I mention it, to date we have not had a bad bottle of wine. We poured Marilyn Merlot 1994 from Nova Wines in Napa, and this was there Tenth Vintage. They just make a great bottle of Merlot wine, though I was a bit concerned because the cork crumbled and I had to decant the wine for dinner, but it was perfect, with no sign of being over the hill. All in all it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

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Seeing a Good Friend in Trenton

Posted on March 12, 2015 by thewineraconteur

Every once in a while one finds themselves going out to an area, that is off the beaten track and that is what happened the other day. Since we were going to be in Trenton, Michigan a good friend of ours was called and we arranged to have dinner with her. We anticipated that we should suggest one restaurant and she suggested another, and the funny thing is that it was the same a restaurant another friend of mine had suggested if we ever get down to Trenton, so off we went. Now I have to tell you, that our friend is a dear friend of my Bride, in fact, right after I had met my Bride, her friend called me and gave me a “Third Degree” interrogation over the phone to make sure that my intentions were honorable, not to mention that my Bride and her friend meet other former co-workers once a month for dinner just to keep in touch. The funny thing is that after we had ordered a couple were seated at the table next to us, and I heard my name uttered, and it was a vendor that I used to deal with when I was a buyer, who was out with his wife for dinner, and I would venture that we were both surprised to run into each other, even though I knew that he lived close by the restaurant. My Bride started telling her friend that this happens often, because I have met so many people through the years, and she related a couple of other incidents where this had happened, once even in Napa Valley.

Chloe Chardonnay 2012

We arrived at Café West early, but that did not keep us from going in and studying the menu and the wine list. My Bride decided that she was going to try a Key Lime Martini, because it sounded interesting, I decided to forgo a cocktail as I had to do some studying for our selections. We ordered a couple of appetizers so we could all share some of the dishes; we ordered Duck Egg Rolls and an order of Escargot and Crevettes to get started and by then the conversation was flowing. For dinner our friend ordered Chicken Marsala, my Bride ordered Crab Cakes and I went with the Seafood Mac and Cheese which came with Scallops and Jumbo Shrimp (which were true for a change, even if it is an oxymoron). We finished the meal by sharing one order of dessert, a plate of chocolate tubes filled with Bailey’s Irish Crème and chocolate cream filling the two ends of the tubes. While the ladies were breaking up the tubes to eat, I just took one of the tubes and dropped right into my cup of coffee and made my own after dinner concoction.

MI Cafe West BC

Since we were all having lighter meals, I decided to go with a white wine, even though I did have a duck dish as an appetizer. My first choice and only because I thought it sounded interesting was a Chardonnay from Spain, but alas they were out of that wine, and our waiter brought over two other Chardonnay wines to choose from, and one of the wines we had already tried, so I opted for a new wine. Half of the fun of writing this Blog is for the chance to try some wines that are new, it would be oh so boring to keep writing about the same wines over and over, even though it seems that I do, perhaps because both my Bride and I can be creatures of habit. I selected a bottle of Chloe Chardonnay 2012 from the Sonoma County in California. A lot of people would groan at a bottle of Chardonnay, but I like to try them, even though they can be a hit or a miss. I thought that this wine was a hit, as it was not overly buttery, as half of it is aged in stainless and the other half in oak and then blended together. There was enough acidity to be pleasant with all of the dishes and a great compliment to the evening. I may have passed on this wine in a wine shop, but in a restaurant, one can find a wine at times that surprises you, and we were happy with the choice.

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Some New Wines for Future Articles

Posted on March 10, 2015 by thewineraconteur

I just received some new wines from my wine club The Taste of Monterey. It is always interesting to see what wines are being featured and to be truthful I am appreciating the wines more and more from Monterey, which is a good thing, since I am paying for these wines. The brochure that came with this shipment has a fine article about one of the nine AVA (American Viticultural Area) in the Monterey County AVA. The nine AVA in Monterey County are: Santa Lucia Highlands, Arroyo Seco, Carmel Valley, Chalone, San Antonio Valley, Hames Valley, San Lucas and San Bernarbe, as well as the general appellation. The article mainly dealt with the Santa Lucia Highlands, and I have mentioned this area many times, as I have had some excellent wines from this sub-zone.

Boete Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

The first wine that I will discuss is Boete Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2007. I have had a couple of wines already from Boete Winery and they have always been their Cabernet Sauvignon and this will be the first time for their reserve wine and I will look forward to trying this one. This wine is from the Carmel Valley. The notes with this wine say the wine was aged for twenty months in sixty percent new French Oak barrels, and it was racked twice prior to bottling. There were 233 cases produced of this wine and the aging potential is estimated at six to ten years, so I can wait awhile for this one.

Scott Family Estate Chardonnay 2013

The second wine that I received is a bottle of Scott Family Estate Chardonnay 2013 from the Arroyo Seco AVA which in inland from Big Sur. This is considered one of the coolest coastal regions and they normally have an extended growing period, sometimes even a month longer than Napa Valley. This wine enjoyed fifty percent barrel fermentation, but there were no notes on the amount produced, so I would venture to say that this wine has a large production, and the aging potential is suggested of four to five years. As I tend to read between the lines, I may drink this wine sooner, as I find that most Chardonnay wines are better young.

Paraiso Faite Pinot Noir 2010

The last wine that I unpacked was a new wine from an old favorite of mine; Paraiso Vineyards Faite Pinot Noir 2010 from the Santa Lucia Highlands. The Smith family of Paraiso Vineyards is one of the pioneering viticulturalists of Santa Lucia Highlands and they have named this wine Faite, which in Burgundy suggests a summit or mountain top, and this wine is the pinnacle of their four decades of growing the finicky Pinot Noir. There was an overload of technical data about the blocks of grapes grown for this wine, which tends to be a bit “Greek” to me. Suffice it to say that each block of a different clone of this grape was fermented in separate tanks and then the wine was blended into six French Oak barrels. There were 148 cases of this wine produced, and each bottle of wine was numbered and the aging potential of this wine is estimated for five to seven years, which I thought was short, but then again, they are probably better at these estimates than I am.

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MWWC #15: Success

Posted on March 8, 2015 by thewineraconteur

The latest of the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge themes has been proffered. The theme is to be “success.” I have been pondering this theme for several days trying to come up with a suitable way to tackle it. It is a real poser when it comes to wine and how to apply. I have even taken a sabbatical from my usual reading of other Wine Blogs, until I could come up with something that I am happy about, and I am not happy about not reading everyone’s writings, but I did not want to be influenced by someone else’s take on the subject. I will be back to reading shortly, I promise.

wine-stain Monthly Wine Challenge

Success in wine, the obvious is to write about the winners of the Classification of 1855 for the Medoc, which by and large is still true to this day. Then one could append this with the success of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and their triumphant day in 1970, when they were no longer a Deuxiemes Cru, but a Premiers Cru; and I might add long overdue. Another easy road would be to write about the story of Chateau Montelena from Napa and how they beat the French in 1976, and the great wine themed film “Bottle Shock.” Of course that story has been told often. Then there are the many cult wines that have become legendary to wine lovers and those that like to write about wines. I have to admit that I have really only had one true cult wine, because they are really out of the realm of my wallet. Any of these concepts would merit a worthy article about success in wine.

Then it dawned upon me, a story of a bittersweet success, to me. Let me add that it is a success story and the winery should be proud of what they have accomplished, but it just makes the wine, all that more dear and more difficult for me to acquire and that is what I mean by bittersweet.

Cain Five 1994

The first bottle of wine that I ever had from Cain Vineyard & Winery was at a restaurant with a friend, who was rather full of himself and his “vast” knowledge of wine. When I saw this particular wine on the list, I strongly suggested it, because I had heard of it, but had never tried it; it was a major selling job for me that evening because he did not want to drink a “fake Bordeaux” wine. The wine was great and it became the focal point of the rest of the evening’s discussions. I still remember that Cain Five ’94.

I believe two years later, after my friend had married, and so had my Bride and I, the four of us went on a lovely trip to Napa Valley for a week. I had taken on the responsibility of selecting some wineries that we had to go to, and to book them ahead of time. I also selected a couple of restaurants and got reservations for them months in advance as well.
One of the wineries that I had booked for a tour and tasting was Cain Vineyards & Winery and it was a lovely visit and it was quite a story in its own right. Of course this Raconteur always likes to embellish and related this story as it was worthy of an article. One of the most telling moments of this trip was that I was only allowed to purchase two bottles of Cain Five ’95, as this was the allotment that we were allowed. I suggested that my Bride also then buy two bottles on a separate invoice, but they would not allow that either. I was a bit surprised at their rather cavalier attitude, but there was nothing I could do about.

Cain Five 1995

All of this exposition and a bit of a circuitous route, now comes to why I consider this story to be about a “bittersweet” success. This winery which I feel that I have proselytized over the years now sells this great wine by subscription. A success for them and their ability to maintain such a recognized high standard of quality, but it makes it all that more difficult to acquire the wine for my own cellar. For their vigilance and pursuit of making a fine wine, I salute them.

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