Just a Couple of Wines to Relax With

Posted on January 21, 2015 by thewineraconteur

Some people may think that one who writes about wine must have a glamorous life, if the others do, then I must be doing something wrong. There are occasions when the dinner is fabulous and the wines are stellar, but then there are nights (and a lot nights) where one sits home and relaxes after work. I am sure that my body and my physician are both happy that we do not go out and “wine and dine,” but then so is my wallet. I try to write about all the wines that I have had over the years, and I have been fortunate to have had some great wines, but normally the wines that we enjoy on a daily basis, are good basic wines. I can’t imagine a life of nothing but Latour and La Tache, though it would be a great dream sequence.

Tempra Tantrum Tempranillo Grenache 2009

I have to admit that my Bride is a wonderful cook and she makes everything look easy, as compared to me when I am in the kitchen, because all of the dishes and pots and pans seemed to be utilized even for a simple dish. On the days when we have a roast chicken or a roast turkey, I look forward to her way of making the leftovers come to life again in a pot pie. Some times she gets fancy and will make serve salmon or even crab cakes with a Remoulade Sauce. Listen I am not a little overweight because I eat bon-bons.

Kendall Jackson Avant Chardonnay 2010

We usually do not finish a bottle of wine, if we are dining at home, though it is funny that we do when we are out. It is not unusual to see a couple of bottles opened in the house at the same time, the whites may be in the refrigerator while the reds will be on a side board. We had a couple of wines open the past couple of days. We were enjoying a bottle of Kendall-Jackson Avant Chardonnay 2010 and it has a different taste and finish compared to the classic Kendall-Jackson Vintners Reserve that is everywhere. We have his wine every now and then and it is a crisp Chardonnay and not fussy. This wine is not “buttery” and that is fine and appreciated at times, since it is made in Stainless Steel and neutral oak barrels. There are times when a simple well made wine is just perfect. The other wine that we had opened was a surprise, and a well enjoyed surprise. It was a gift from one of the many ladies at my Bride’s annual Christmas party that I have written about. Tempra Tantrum 2009 is a blend of 60% Tempranillo and 40% Grenache, though from research I have found out that they make a couple of other blends with Tempranillo. The wine has the designation of Vino de la Tierra de Castilla, which is in La Mancha (as in Man of La Mancha) and is home of about two thirds of all the vineyards in Spain. I happen to like both of the varietals, so when I was opening the bottle which brought back days of my youth, as it was a twist off, but that had a totally different connotation back then. The firm of Bodegas Osborne should be very pleased with this product, as I know I was, and listening to my Bride go on about how tasty the wine was, was a plus. For a bargain priced wine there was a lot of body and tannins, and the two varietals were pleasant in the blending with just enough of the spiciness of the Grenache to compliment the smoothness of the Tempranillo. I think we shall have to get some more of this wine for the nights that we cocoon at home until the cold weather takes a break.

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Visitors on New Years Day

Posted on January 19, 2015 by thewineraconteur

I have a quirk or an idiosyncrasy that what ever you do on New Years Day, will be repeated through out the year, hence I try not to do anything that is not fun. I will not do projects or chores on that day, as I would rather find something amusing or interesting to do. This year it was very easy and pleasing, and I do hope that it is a harbinger of even more pleasant events. The evening that I met my Bride she was with two other of her friends, the one friend she has stayed in constant contact with. So much so, that we attended her wedding, and we even spent a week in Napa Valley one year, if you want to talk about some great memories. We visited her several times in Florida and even went to North Carolina when she moved there for business. My Bride has even met her in Louisville on a couple of occasions, and they are very close friends. It has been about two years since I have seen her, and since she was visiting her family here in town, she wanted to get together. We decided to have her come to our house for a visit, and of course some wine, and she brought over another one of her friends that we also know.

Marilyn Merlot 1993

She likes to laugh and enjoy herself and she can take some teasing, because she can dish it out as well. She goes back to the first wine project that I did at my old house, which was a panel of wine labels to cover the door to my first wine cellar. Since she knew that I liked wines and saved labels, she is always looking for a wine that not only sounds interesting, but looks unique as well. One year, because she knew that I was fond of the French wines of the Cotes du Rhone, she brought me a bottle of a South African bottle of wine with the name of Goats do Roam, which was a good bottle of wine to boot.

Marilyn Merlot Capsule Top

As my Bride was putting out plates of cheeses and other assorted munchies, I went and got a bottle of wine to enjoy for that afternoon. I knew exactly what I wanted to bring up, as our dear friend had bought us the first of many of these wines, and she had bought it for me, strictly for that door panel on the old wine cellar. She had bought us one of the original bottles of Marilyn Merlot. Now there are some wine drinkers that would probably shun the wine, just on principal, but I remember having that first bottle of wine and being impressed with the quality of the wine. It is not Cheval Blanc, but it is not a bulk wine Merlot either, and through the years we have had many different vintages of this wine that has a great marketing strategy. A fine bottle of Merlot and the chance to look at a fine picture of Marilyn Monroe while enjoying a drink. I wish that I had a complete set of the wines, just for the great labels, but I missed a few years, but I can still admire the labels of the wines that we have had. Nova Wines of St. Helena produce the wines, and I opened up a bottle of Marilyn Merlot 1993, and if it had been a poor made wine, it would not have weathered the aging, even when stored properly. We all marveled at how well this bottle of Merlot satisfied, and when I went to do some research, I really enjoyed their statement about this particular vintage “moderately full in body (and dare we say voluptuous), it is at once both mouth filling and slightly tough.” After the years in the cellar, the toughness was gone, but it was still “voluptuous.” What a great way to start the New Year off, with good friends and a great bottle of wine to create even more memories of our friendship.

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

And Some Bubbles for New Years Eve

Posted on January 17, 2015 by thewineraconteur

Dinner was completed and so were all the desserts and we were getting ready to bring in the New Year. There were hats and tiaras for the younger ones and we were getting all of the flutes lined up for those that wanted to toast the moment.

Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut NV

For the minors that were there, they were not forgotten. We had some bubbly for them as well. We had some bottles of Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider. This is a non-alcoholic version of the founder of Martinelli’s Champagne Cider. This is a beverage made from pure apple juice and made near the Monterey Bay in Watsonville, California. Every year this drink has been popular with the younger set, as they stay up and celebrate with their adult relatives.

Martinelli's Sparkling Cider

For the adults who wanted some bubbly, this year we had some French Champagne from Epernay. We were pouring Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut NV. This is their iconic house Champagne originally created in 1869 and is a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Moet & Chandon advertises that they blend over a hundred different wines of which twenty to thirty percent are reserve wines to maintain the taste that they want year after year. A little historical side note is that originally the non-vintage wine was called White Star and the vintage line was Brut Imperial, in case you ever see some old labels and wonder what happened. It was a wonderful way to bring in the New Year, wishing everyone love, luck, health and happiness.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Red Wines of New Years Eve

Posted on January 15, 2015 by thewineraconteur

We had quite the crowd over for New Years Eve, and people were still coming in after all the appetizers and munchies had been put out and finished. There was more hectic work in the kitchen getting all of the food ready for the next step of the evening. My Bride as always was in the center of the maelstrom and enjoying every minute of the chaos. Some dishes were brought in by some of the guests and she was orchestrating the arrangement. The main part of the dinner was two of the largest tenderloins that I had seen, and we were attempting to cook them to the proper moment, to be brought out and carved. We have found over the years, that tenderloin tends to feed everyone properly and there are cuts of the meat, because of the size to accommodate all the desires of the diners from rare to medium well done. It was my job for the moment to chase everyone out, so that I could sharpen my blade and carve the two tenderloins; of course the best part of this job, is the ability to take a nibble out of each area, to make sure that they were done properly and I realize that this is a terrible position to be in (which is why I never seem to have much appetite by the time the food is all arrayed).

Penfolds Grange Shiraz 1995

With the entire crowd in attendance, there was only a handful that wanted red wine, which is fine, to each their own. My Brother-in-Law brought from his grand cellar a bottle of Penfolds Grange Shiraz 1995 to enjoy. Penfolds is one of the fabled wines of South Australia and tends to always perk up people’s ears when they hear it mentioned. The “grange” of Penfolds Grange is what really gets them excited. The quantity of this wine varies from year to year, because it is selected from the multi-region and multi-vineyards blending of Penfolds and it is an art. It has also been mentioned that though this wine is a Shiraz, there is some Cabernet Sauvignon blended in as well. This wine can spend up to eighteen months of maturation in new American oak barrels, but this wine only spent about a year before bottling. The average years of cellaring for Penfolds Grange is twelve to fifteen years and we were enjoying one that had been cellared for about nineteen years, so we decanted it, to let it breathe a bit prior to dinner, while we were still enjoying our white wines. It has been written and opined that the ’95 vintage was considered to be developing quicker, perhaps because it was bottled so soon, but this wine was just as lovely as any other bottle of Penfolds Grange that we have had and there was no sign of being over the hill.

Burgess Cabernet Sauvignon Library Release 1989

Then it was my turn to bring a bottle up from the cellar and that always requires a few minutes of pondering when I get there. When I brought up a bottle, my Brother-in-Law told me that his wife and he both love the winery that I had selected. I had selected a bottle of Burgess Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1989 from their “Library Release.” There is no real set of rules as to what designated a reserve wine or a “Library Wine” in the United States, as compared to Italy and Germany and some of the other wine producing countries. This wine had been cellared at the winery in St. Helena for ten years before being introduced, and I have seen mention where this wine has been called their Tenth Anniversary wine, but to me the years don’t truly match up, but who am I to argue with other writers. While this wine is listed as Cabernet Sauvignon, I would tend to call it more of a Meritage as it is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot and it was very mellow after it had also been decanted. Even though Burgess Cellars is in St. Helena they were one of the first wineries to have vineyards on Howell Mountain, which is one of the more known locations in Napa Valley. So we had a couple of wonderful bottles of red wine, and were getting ready for all of the desserts and later waiting for the ball to drop at Midnight.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The White Wines of New Years Eve

Posted on January 13, 2015 by thewineraconteur

We had quite the crowd over for New Years Eve and of course the kitchen area was hectic as always. Appetizers were all over and everyone seemed to enjoy them. There must have been about eight cheeses set out, with different drizzles and honey, and a big assortment of different crackers. There was candy and potato chips and munchies like that as well. What really caught my attention early on in the evening were the Smoked Salmon and a wonderful Duck Liver Pate; need I say more I was in heaven, but I had to refrain from devouring both of these items to the chagrin of the guests. I guess next year, we may have to double the serving size.

Silvestri Bella Sandra Chardonnay 2011

The white wines were a hit as well; in fact this category was consumed all the way through the evening, even through the dinner course. All of the white wines that evening were Chardonnay. There were a couple of tried and true whites, that are more common and they advertise so that they are a recognizable brand. La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2012 was very popular, and they have a sizable advertising budget, because everyone seemed to know that brand. For a popular wine it delivers a good product with out any complaints. The other wine that was recognizable was Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay 2012 from Columbia Valley, Washington. Columbia Valley is large, and the winery points out that the fruit for this wine is a mix of Yakima Valley, Horse Heaven Hills and Wahluke Slope. Once again this was a popular choice, especially among the occasional wine drinkers.

Landmark Vineyards Overlook Chardonnay 2012

The other two wines were the ones that I was more interested in. The first that I will mention is one that I recently received and wrote about from my wine club. Silvestri Bella Sandra Chardonnay 2011 from the Carmel Valley in California was the one I wanted to open up and try. It was the longest aged of all the white wines being served and using strictly Robert Young clone grapes; and I thought the most interesting, though I might have been biased. I also know that my Sister-in-Law and her husband enjoyed it. They also brought a Chardonnay to the festivities, one that I did not know, but is one of his favorites at home. He brought Landmark Vineyards Overlook Chardonnay 2012 for us to try and to enjoy. This wine was a mix of fruits from Sonoma, Monterey and Santa Barbara Counties. With all of these white wines and the munchies that were served, I could have been a happy camper, but there was still more to enjoy for the evening.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Couple of Sweet Wines on New Years Eve

Posted on January 11, 2015 by thewineraconteur

Traditionally New Years Eve is celebrated at our home, and we invite all the family to attend, if they desire. It is not as glamorous as a nightclub, nor is it as expensive. No one has to buy a new outfit to ring in the New Year at our house. There is always plenty to eat and to drink, but after the party as I was laying the empty bottles into the garage, I discovered that I need to step up to the plate for a couple of individuals who brought their own wine to the house. There were no sweet wines on the beverage table, and I guess we are at fault for not picking up a couple of bottles for our guests that don’t enjoy the wines that we had that evening. I noticed that there were two empty bottles of Moscato along with all the other empty bottles, and I know that we did not have these bottles in stock.

Stella Mia Moscato D Asti NV

Of the two bottles of Moscato that I found, the first one sounded more interesting. It was a bottle of Stella Mia Moscato D’Asti NV. Of course Asti is from the Piedmonte and there is a Piedmonte DOCG for the area, and most people think of Asti Spumante, that sparkling wine from Italy, which is found used in Mimosas quite a bit, and enjoyed on its own merits as well. This wine is made from the varietal Moscato Bianco and the finished wine is what the Italians refer to as “Vino frizzante” or slightly effervescent. I did not see this wine, or I would have sampled it, but I will venture to say that it had a bit more nuance as compared to the other Moscato wine that was poured that evening.

Sutter Home Moscato NV

The other Moscato wine is from one of the twenty some labels from the Trinchero Family Estates and is from their Sutter Home Winery. This winery can be traced back to 1874 in St. Helena in Napa Valley, was shuttered during Prohibition and resurrected by the Trinchero Family. According to their website Sutter Home Moscato NV is the first wine that was made at the newly restored winery in the Fifties. The label on the bottle actually shows it to be “sweet” and since they have been making it all of these years, I guess that must have a strong following for this particular wine. So Happy New Year to my guests that have a sweet tooth and brought their own wine to celebrate with, and I shall try to find something for them to try next year.

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Some Esoteric Wine Themed Gifts We Received

Posted on January 9, 2015 by thewineraconteur

When people know that you like wine, a lot of them will try to get you something as a gift, to show that they thought about you, and this is laudable. These gifts have some whimsy and they will be used.

Wine Bottle Candle

First let me say that my Bride loves candles, in fact I joke that we have enough candles in the house that if the Vatican City ever has a shortage, we could cover it. We have tapers, votives, scented both with wine and with other fragrances, multi-wick inventions and all the rest. There is even a wicker wrapped fiascha Chianti bottle that we are trying to have with dripping wax cover, but so many candles nowadays are drip-less, probably as a safety measure. We received a gift of a small glass hurricane top to place on a wine bottle that will be filled with liquid wax, and there is a wick that dangles into the bottle, and it becomes a candle. Now we just have to find the proper bottle to use, probably one that has a decorative painted bottle, instead of one with a paper label.

Wine Ice

We also received a package of “Wine Ice” though we may have to wait until the summer to try this one. The concept is to make a red wine “slurpee” for the lack of a better term. I will have to think about what type of red wine will be best enjoyed in slurry of ice. With the cold weather that just hit our area, I think that I have time to ponder this question. Of course I am not big on adulterating wine, as I am not a fan of mulled wine either.

Wine Napkins

The last item is some cocktail napkins, which can always come in handy, as there are plenty of times to avail ourselves of these. Most of our friends will also appreciate the sentiment on these napkins “Live Life one glass of wine at a time.” In our house all things can be tied in to wine, and why not; in fact I think it is time to have a glass of wine myself.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Feather Bowling

Posted on January 7, 2015 by thewineraconteur

If there ever was a city that has survived itself like a Phoenix, it may be Mt. Clemens, Michigan. When I was a kid, I used to hear tales of my Grandfather walking across the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan and catching an interurban line to Mt. Clemens. Back in the day Mt. Clements was known for their mineral baths and at one time there were eleven bathhouses and several hotels to cater to this industry. Not only my Grandfather, but celebrities from Burlesque, the Silver Screen and the Sports world traveled there for the therapeutic values of the waters. I have read, never having been there, that even today there are villages in Europe that still draw people for the spas. Of course back in the day, the city was also known in whispers for the card games that went on, and of course there was even mention of ladies of easy virtue that plied their trade as well. Through the years this part of Mt. Clemens has all but disappeared, and there is only one bathhouse left and it is a private concern and it may even close or be closed. The city has been rediscovered and has a life of its own with a strong night life.

William Hill Chardonnay 2013

As they used to say in Journalism class, I may have dropped the “lead,” because what is Feather Bowling? Feather Bowling is this unique “sport” that is kind of a cross between Bocce Ball and Shuffleboard, with wobbly wooden wheels that look like a cheese wheel or a malformed disc in Curling that is rolled down a long valley of dirt and at each end is a feather and the goal is to get the ball closest to the feather. This game originated in the Flanders area of Belgium and for years the only place one could go to play it was at the Cadieux Café in Detroit. We had a group of forty-two getting together during the holiday week, and this venue would not be able to handle our crowd plus their usual crowd and that is how we ended up in Mt. Clemens as there is now another venue that is huge and has three carpeted alleys for Feather Bowling.

Llama Malbec Old Vine 2013

We ended up at the Bath City Bistro and had rented an alley for three hours with this crowd. While this building was not originally a bathhouse it had many pictures of Mt. Clemens in the heyday of the bathhouses. There were numerous tables to handle all of our group, and I know that just at our table we had dishes of steak bites, chicken tenders, botanas, burgers, salmon, perch, ribs, pizza and of course an obligatory tub of mussels that should be the “official” food for playing Feather Bowling. The food was excellent for this type of party, and all of it went. I can only speak of the table that I was at, but there were some enjoying beer and cocktails, but at our table there were a couple of bottles of wine as well. We had a bottle of William Hill Estate Winery Chardonnay Central Coast 2013. The label said everything about this California wine, and I have had some of their “library” collection wines in the past as well. We also had a bottle of Llama Old Vine Malbec 2013. This wine is a blend of grapes from Alto Agrelo Valley and Lujan de Cuyo and the winery is in Mendoza, Argentina. These were two better than average wines to be found, and were enjoyed by the wine drinkers at our table as we watched the bowlers, and by the end of the night, some of them were getting quite good at the sport.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Couple of More Christmas Gifts

Posted on January 5, 2015 by thewineraconteur

I think my Bride got more gifts of wine, than I did this past season, which is a bit amusing. When we first met, she would drink some white wine, but usually drank Dewar’s, which she still enjoys. After meeting me, she branched out and really started enjoying red wines, as well as discovering all types of varietals, which she may have passed on, in her earlier years. I am just going to mention a couple of the wines that she received.

L Mawby Blanc de Blancs Brut NV

One of the wines is from a very popular firm, that started out as a boutique winery in 1981 by two wine loving psychiatrists and they named their company Folie a Deux, and their popular wine group is called Ménage a Trois, which is quite racy, but a great name for marketing. The first time we had some of their wines was in Napa on the Napa Wine Train, at a tasting after our dinner. Since then we have had some of their wines periodically, as it can be found in a lot of restaurants. She received a bottle of Ménage a Trois Merlot 2012, and this wine carries a California designation. This broad designation is because the fruit is harvested from a couple of locations and blended together, in this case from the Coastal Region and from Lodi. I am sure that we will enjoy this with a dinner soon.

Menage a Trois Merlot 2012

The other bottle of wine is actually a bottle of sparkling wine from Michigan. We have been to the winery a couple of times, and my Bride has been there a couple of more times without me, funny how that works out. From the picture you can tell that she received it from one of her girlfriends, as the bottle is dressed in a nice outfit as well. The bottle of L Mawby Blanc de Blancs Brut NV is from the Leelanau Peninsula near Traverse City. Besides being at the winery, the winery is also the house bubbly at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, and they take their Methode Champenoise quite seriously, and the particular bottle of wine that my Bride received is made entirely from Chardonnay. This will be a nice bottle of wine to celebrate one of those moments that just pop up from time to time, and after all, there is never a wrong time for some sparkling wine.

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Couple of Wines That I Received For Christmas

Posted on January 3, 2015 by thewineraconteur

How can someone not like the Christmas season? I still enjoy getting gifts, as I guess I am still a kid at heart. I always hear from people that they are intimidated to buy me a gift, and I find it amusing, because I am always appreciative of anything I get. Granted that I was always in the clothing profession, very few people buy me clothes and that is fine, but other people think of me and wine, and they are intimidated to try to buy me wine. I think wine is always safe, because there is always an occasion to have a bottle of wine and wine does not have to be in the upper stratosphere of pricing to be enjoyed. Three of the bottles that I received can be grouped together as they are of a similar area. The first bottle that I received is that classic wine that I affectionately refer to as “Dago Red.” All my life I knew people that made wine at home, of course they were from the old country of Italy, and the grapes that were used were Primitivo or Zinfandel, and the grape varietals are first cousins as far as I am concerned. It is a wine for quick consumption and not for cellaring, but that is fine. The other two wines that I will discuss that I received are both from Italy, and that is why I feel that I can list the three wines together.

Mazzoni Rosso di Toscana IGT 2011

The first wine that I will discuss is Mazzoni Rosso di Toscana IGT 2011. This is a joint venture by Frenceschi of Italy and Terato of the U.S.A. It is a blend of Sangiovese and Merlot and it is aged for twelve months in French Oak. Since this wine is not totally Sangiovese, the wine laws or rules for Tuscany require this wine to have an IGT designation, instead of a DOC rating. Since they have been growing these non-local varietals in Tuscany, the rules have been all up in the air, with the introduction of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Merlot. There were some wines that the term “Super Tuscany” really applies to, but if you look at most restaurants, any IGT wine from Tuscany is now referred to as a “Super Tuscany.”

Cusumano Nero D'Avola IGT 2011

The other wine that I received is from an area that I am still learning about. The oft conquered island of Sicily and Sicily is famous for the Mafia, because of all the great gangster movies of cinema. Sicily basically has one wine designation for the entire island and it is Terre Siciliane IGT. The last bottle that I received was Cusumano Nero D’Avola IGT 2011. The Cusumano Brothers use the Nero D’Avola varietal for this wine, which is the most common and widely planted grape on the island, and it is also known as Calabrese. This is another wine that I think will be enjoyed early, as I do not think that cellaring will enhance this wine, which was made to be consumed young.

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments