Willkommen

Posted on March 23, 2014 by thewineraconteur

Willkommen is the opening song in the play Cabaret, and it is the theme of Frankenmuth, Michigan.  We are talking about a town that is a great place for everyone to visit at least once for the Bavarian charm and it can also cause panic in the hearts of most husbands at the same time.  My Bride has gone to many a business function in Frankenmuth and has returned with the trunk of the sedan filled with new Christmas decorations from the largest Christmas store in the world, which is BRONNER’S CHRISTmas STORE.  I feel that my Bride has shopped there so much, that I would not be surprised if Bronner’s has been painted on our rooftop for the air traffic to observe.  I don’t think that there is a holiday that my Bride doesn’t have some decorations for, at least as a centerpiece for our dining room table, but Christmas, she pulls out all of the stops.  You can hear me griping merrily as I lug all the cartons of decorations from the Christmas closet the Sunday after Thanksgiving so that she may decorate the home.

 Estancia Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

On one business trip I recall I got a chance to drive out there and have dinner with one of her groups.  We ate at the legendary Zehnders of Frankenmuth.  The dinner was a casual dining adventure as we were in one of the private dining rooms of the restaurant.  It was a family style dinner of soup, Cole slaw, chicken liver pate, cheese spread, their famed fried chicken, Wiener schnitzel, mashed potatoes and gravy, buttered egg noodles, vegetables and an assortment of desserts.  I have to admit that no one left the room hungry from the abundance of food.  The food was not Haute Cuisine but it was all comfort food and the servers could be relied upon to bring more of any of the items that were a big hit among the diners.

 MI Zehnders MB

In hindsight I wished that I had grabbed one of the many bottles of their proprietary house wines for a label, but I did not.  Several of the people were enjoying different beers which would be proper considering the setting and theme of the restaurant.  Then there was a group of us that were drinking Estancia Cabernet Sauvignon 1998.  At that time Estancia Cabernet Sauvignon wines were from the Alexander Valley District of Sonoma County and it was a good dependable wines.  Now they are located in the Monterey area and the wines are still very dependable, but with a different character.

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A Dinner I Tried to Forget

Posted on March 21, 2014 by thewineraconteur

If you haven’t noticed in my writings that we tend to go out for dinner quite often and most of the times we have a wonderful evening.  I try to avoid chain restaurants especially when we are on holidays.  Why go to a restaurant in some vacation spot, when one can eat at the same restaurant at home?  I guess that I am a “foodie” and I am more than my Bride, who is much more even keeled then I am.  I also am not fond of mediocre restaurants, because to me, I know that we can have a much finer meal at home.  One night we were invited out for dinner by some friends and they were very keen on this restaurant, and I will not mention the company as they are still in existence and I have never gone back there since.

 The Popes' Dry White Table Wine

We went to an Italian restaurant, which is fine, as that is one of my favorite types of food either at home or out for dinner.  This was not the case, this evening.  This restaurant is one of what I call ‘big bowl” restaurants, but I was not aware of it prior to when we got there and started to order the food.  The concept was that one would order a dish, and then there would be ample enough food to share with the other guests at the table and that is fine, if the food is worth sharing.  This restaurant was what I would call “Italian food for Americans,” and I could not find any redeeming quality in the preparations, other than there was a mass quantity of it.  The only exception was for the dish that I had ordered which was priced according to the other plates and that was a veal dish.  There was just barely enough veal on the plate to share four ways, other then the ability to let everyone have a taste.  My Bride was a little perturbed to say the least about my body language that evening, as even the ambience of the restaurant bothered me.  I know that I tried to be as genteel as possible to our hosts that evening, but I guess that I did not do that good of a job.  It is very hard to say to someone over a dinner, that their choices were not the best, even if one knows that there heart was pure and they wanted to share an experience with you.  I would never make it as a politician.

 The Popes' String Tag

Our host also ordered a bottle of white wine for us, that I can find scant information on, even on the web, so I cannot even tell you what the varietal(s) were that we were drinking.  I may have put this wine and the evening out of my mind, until as I was going through the labels that I have accumulated looking for an article to write about.  I even save the labels of wines that I did not enjoy, just perhaps as a reminder to me of what to avoid again.  I think that the embellishments on the bottle were more impressive then the wine.  The wine was The Popes’ Dry White Table Wine (NV) and it was a product of Italy.  There was even a string card attached to the bottle that had a numeric count of the bottle of this wine that was produced.  As I said, I searched for this wine and could find nothing on it, so perhaps it is no longer produced though it did have a very impressive “air” to it.  Sometimes the label or the marketing for a restaurant and/or a wine is more compelling then the product itself.

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“What Were You Expecting, Thunderbird?”

Posted on March 19, 2014 by thewineraconteur

I am a film buff, and I love a well written line as in “The stuff dreams are made of” and “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”  OK I will admit that I am more partial to certain genre of films and especially certain actors, but I enjoy a good story.  The other day I was doing a basic chore around the house, which allowed me the chance to watch a film.  I have not watched television for the last thirty years or so, but I do have quite the collection of films to watch at home when the mood hits.

Chateau Montelena Chardonnay Napa 2007

This winter has been hard on most people, and I wanted something to perk me up and to look at something verdant.  Since I would not be constantly looking at the screen I needed a film that had some fun dialogue to listen to.  I got to hear some gems like:

            “No offense, but I didn’t foresee the imminent cultivation of the Chicago vine.”

            “It wasn’t always like this, before Paris, people didn’t drink our wine.  I mean                       my friends did.  But you couldn’t hardly consider their palates discerning.”

            “Its oakey…oh, yeah and smoky.  I detect…bacon fat…laced with honey melon.”

            “If the French lose, they might bring back the guillotine.”

            “Wine is sun light, held together by water”

            “What were you expecting, Thunderbird?”

If these lines of dialogue sound familiar, then you have seen what I affectionately refer to as the “Rocky” of wine films.  I was watching Bottle Shock.  Now my Bride and I have watched this film many times, the first time was at an “Art Theater” as it was deemed a small picture.  Then she bought a copy of the film for me and we have watched enough times that I really do not have to watch the screen, but just listen to the dialogue to appreciate the film.  This is a rather loose adaptation of the story of how Chateau Montelena of Napa Valley, California won a blind taste test in France in 1976 for their Chardonnay wine.  I had already begun my early years of self-taught studies of wine and California was not really on the map for most wine shops at the time, so I can remember the natural bias of the era.  In fact, I can say that I never had a bottle of Chateau Montelena until thirty some years later, though I had enjoyed the other winner of that blind tasting test Stag’s Leap which had won for their Cabernet Sauvignon wine.  I even realize that the film took artistic license as most of the filming was done in Sonoma, because present day Napa is no longer sleepy and rustic as in the early Seventies.

 BottleShock

While I may have enjoyed Chateau Montelena and Stag’s Leap, there was one wine that was quite prominent in the film, at least in the dialogue that I am glad to say that I have never tried and that is Thunderbird.  Now in my youth during those days of guzzling beer and quaffing wine there were some pretty poor excuses for “wine” that were made simply for the appeal of getting drunk quickly.  Thunderbird wine is one of those screw-cap wines that are infamous for being drunk while the bottle is still wrapped in the brown paper bag that it was purchased in.  This is a fortified wine that is made by the E & J Gallo Winery and is still a large volume product, and is probably a major contributor to the company’s bottom line for profit.  Some wines I regret that I have never had, and probably never will, and then there are some wines that I could have and I hope never will.

“Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.”

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MWWC: Luck…Be a Lady Tonight

Posted on March 17, 2014 by thewineraconteur

The Monthly Wine Writing Challenge gauntlet has been dropped by SAHMmelier and the theme is “luck.”  I ponder several concepts for this, as I find that each theme has the potential to go off on many tangents.  Do I write about a great wine that I found?  Do I write about a wine that I thought was over the hill, but opened it up and it was wonderful?  Do I write about a wine that was opened with great anticipation and found that it was not (bad luck)?  These monthly challenges are just that, a challenge to make us write an essay, which is out of our norm.

 wine-stain Monthly Wine Challenge

As a dyed in the wool last remnant of the Rat Pack, I guess I was born one generation too late, when I hear the word “luck” I automatically think of” Luck, be a lady tonight” and all of the wonderful songs from Guys and Dolls. “A Fugue for Tin Horns”, while a great introduction to the play doesn’t lend itself to wine, the song Luck be a Lady tonight does.  I have to admit that ever since that fateful night that I met my Bride, she has been my luck, among several other complimentary words.  While I may not have been George Bailey and offered to lasso the moon, that first evening I wanted to howl at the moon.  My Bride is luck personified for me and my life with wine.

When we first met, she only drank white wine and preferred only fish for dinner.  I corrupted my lucky Muse, and now she is a carnivore and she adores red wines.  I think that Cabernet Franc is her favorite varietal, but she is always willing to have it in a Meritage as well.  That is not to say that she would turn down a Merlot, a Pinot Noir or Heaven forbid a Rioja Reserva.  We wish we could live a life of Nick and Nora, but alas we are not.

We have gone to Napa Valley for some serious wine tasting and buying; not to mention having some great dinners.  This has been repeated many times over in the likes of Carmel and the Monterey district, Traverse City and Northern Michigan, and the Niagara Falls district of Ontario, Canada.  We have had the chance to dine like royalty in some of the greatest restaurants in the North America.  Three, four and five star restaurants have been some of our stops while in Manhattan, California, Nevada, Illinois, the Carolinas, Ohio, Florida and in Michigan; not to mention when we have also encountered some grand times in Canada as well.   There have been many dinner parties, wine tasting affairs and numerous wine bars along the way.  How many men are that lucky to have a Bride that not only encourages this activity, but wants to be part of this insanity that wine has brought to us?

 Bridal Swing

Luck is even with me, when she tends to curb my insanities.  If we go to a stellar restaurant, she sometimes gently reins me in from ordering that First Growth that I know would be an excellent pairing for the dinner.  She can also be the one that will suggest that perhaps a “six pack” of a certain wine is more then adequate, so as not to cause the financial collapse of our domestic bliss.  Luck is even with me, when she comes home from a trip with a special wine that she had without me that she loved and she wanted me to have the chance to try it as well.  Then there are also the trips when she returns home with cases of wines that just kind of snuck up on her when she was out with the girls or on wine tasting tour as an adjunct to one of her business trips.

I smile when I think of how she would let me enjoy that extra glass of Latour or Mouton, though she would almost arm wrestle me for the last glass of Cain Five.  How she got so excited when she discovered the secondary wine Ovation, while tasting Opus One wine at the winery.  I think we may have bought a six to one ratio after that trip.  I remember how she refrained from trying even a sip of Screaming Eagle wine one night after a crazy interlude with the men at the next table, claiming that I had already dazzled her palette with all of the wines that she had tried since we were together.  I think of how I introduced her to sweet Champagne instead of always a Brut and how she learned to enjoy it as well.  Then when she thought I had lost it, because I found a Rose wine that I enjoyed and coaxed her into trying, but she was won over when she discovered it was made from Cabernet Franc.

I have sung the praises of how lucky I am that I have a Bride that enjoys a red wine with her salmon dishes, so that I can enjoy a meat selection at a restaurant.  Not to mention that she gets giddy if there is an appetizer of Foie Gras on the menu.  Did I also mention that we also enjoy the chance to “trip the light fantastic” especially if we are enjoying a bottle of wine while we are doing it.  If this sounds like bragging, it is about my Bride and how she has added to my enjoyment of wine that I started years before I met her, but she has made it all the better since.  That is luck, and I feel that I am the luckiest man to have her by my side.  So a toast is in order to my Bride.

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A Night in Petoskey

Posted on March 15, 2014 by thewineraconteur

As I reflect on all the snow around me, I am trying to think of better thoughts.  One of the thoughts I settled on was being in Petoskey, Michigan in the summer.  It is a very quaint resort town if you have never been there, with some boutiques and an array of assorted restaurants.  Sometimes I get the best of being a spouse on a business trip, because I can take leisurely walks and enjoy myself while my Bride is stuck in the affairs of business.  She only gets to enjoy some of the resorts in the evening, unless there is a day trip planned.  After a fine afternoon of enjoying a cigar and aimlessly walking about, we met up to have dinner with some other associates of hers.

 Celeste Tempranillo 2006

We met at a restaurant called the City Park Grill, which is aptly named as there is a park across the street.  The restaurant is in an older building that has had a storied life, including a brush with Prohibition.  Over the years there have been a few restaurants in this location and the City Park Grill while not a glamorous name is a well appointed eatery in Petoskey.  Originally when I first looked at the menu, there seemed to be an influence of an Asian Rim with some of the flavors and sauces, not my first choice, but I was only one of a group.  I started to relax when I saw some dishes that I could relate to and I felt a little easier.  We started with some grilled Balsamic/herb marinated chicken skewers, but I passed on the hummus plate, with all of the Middle Eastern restaurants in the Detroit area, I didn’t feel like having hummus up North.  My Bride is very easy to please in a restaurant, unlike her husband, and she quickly ordered an entrée of salmon, which is always one of her go to dishes.  I was getting concerned that I was just going to have to order a filet, when I spotted a pasta dish that was filled with the tastes of New Orleans, so I opted for that.  I enjoyed it, and so did everyone that sampled some of it when it came out.

 MI City Park Grill MB

Trying to pick out a wine with an assortment of dishes on the table can be tricky, but I saw a bottle of wine that I thought would work out with the dinner.  We had Celeste 2006, a Tempranillo wine from the Ribera Del Duero district in Spain.  This wine is a selection from the larger Torres Winery of Spain.  It is always fun to try a different bottle made from the Tempranillo varietal, as there is such a wide range of tastes that one encounters.  It can be quite mellow and at times I have had some very large mature wines that sometimes over power the dinner.  This particular wine was in the middle of the range and it worked well even with my Cajun/Creole concoction that evening.

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Wine Egalitarianism

Posted on March 13, 2014 by thewineraconteur

One thing about writing articles pertaining to wines is the chance to mention some great wines, and some very esoteric wines and varietals as well.  I was getting ready to put some wine bottles in our recycling tub, and each time I do, I wonder if the workers that empty these tubs think that the people living in our house are winos or just major party animals.  About once a month, the entire tub is filling with the empty bottles of wine, without the labels, as I end up soaking them off for a keepsake or a memory.  While I was filling the tub, I had to laugh at some of the bottles that were going in for recycling.

 Cavit Pinot Grigio 2012

My Bride likes to buy what I call jug or bulk wine, in very small bottles.  She claims that she likes to use them for cooking rather then raid our cellar for an expensive bottle of wine.  I guess there is a method to her madness, as none of her preparations have been ghastly because of her cooking trick.  I would probably get mad, if she was using a forty or fifty dollar bottle of wine for cooking, I am sure that there would be more nuance to the dish, but at a major cost.  I also think that she likes these little bottles, for the occasion when she wants to sip a glass of wine, while she is working or even watching television and she doesn’t want to raid the cellar.

 Gallo

Most of the wine bottles that I saw are as I said jug or bulk wine.  The major brand that I saw was Gallo Family Vineyards of California.  I remember in my youth seeing this brand in gallon bottles, and I am sure that one could still buy these wines in the same manner.  The Gallo Family has been making California wines for years, and they were one of the first branded wines that I recall.  I guess what I applaud of a winery like this, is that they offer safe reliable wines for the masses, and perhaps they are a stepping stone or the first rung on the ladder of people discovering wine to enjoy with their dinner.  I was looking at these small bottles and there was Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio.  These are all grape varietals that are written about in both wine magazines and the newspapers, so these wine names are recognizable.

The other brand of wine that I saw as I was discarding some of these bottles was Cavit Collection Pinot Grigio 2012 from Italy.  This is also a jug wine from a company that does some major advertising and is available from grocery stores, party stores and wine shops, which gives them added weight in the mind of the buying public.  I look at it, as the buyer of these wines, just out of curiosity may branch out and say, this wine is good, I wonder what a more a few dollars more will taste like.  This is the start of a wine lover and perhaps a lifelong appreciation of what a master vintner can offer.

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Reunion Plans and Roman Village

Posted on March 11, 2014 by thewineraconteur

I wrote about Wilson Junior High School in Detroit, and how we had our third year “non-year” reunion last summer.  The Gods must have been pleased, because a new planning committee is afoot for the fourth reunion.  There has been a grand time at each reunion, because after Junior High, all of the kids from the neighborhood were splintered off into at least four different high schools, so a lot of childhood friendships were severed by the school structure.  With the advent of social media, a lot of the friendships have been rekindled and the numbers are swelling.

 Ique Malbec Mendoza 2012

The other day a group of about thirty interested alumni got together for a second meeting to further the goal of this fourth reunion.  The restaurant chosen was one that I have written about in the past, as well as about one of the other restaurants in their chain.  The original restaurant that started this chain of Italian restaurants is Roman Village, and though it is in Dearborn, it became part of the old neighborhood by being located across from General George S. Patton Park which was “the” park for the neighborhood.  I am sure that the dinner party created some headaches for the waiter, as there were a lot of separate checks for this group, but he handled it with apparent ease.  There was a vast assortment of dishes being ordered, and by far the pizzas outnumbered every other order, as the alumni was reliving memories.  I being the radical that I am, ordered a plate of Gnocchi with Rita Sauce, a Pancetta and Mushroom Blush Sauce.  Think of it as a Palomino Sauce with smoked bacon and mushrooms, and it was delicious.  My entrée began with fresh Italian rolls and a fine tossed salad.

 MI Antonio's BC

Since I had ordered a bottle of wine for dinner first, and then looked at the menu, because I guess I wanted to get the festivities going, my wine was a little overpowering for the dinner, but that was fine.  I ordered a bottle of Ique Malbec 2012.  This wine is from the vineyards of Lujan de Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina and produced by Enrique Foster, hence the rather unique brand name.  As I said this wine would have been better with a meat dish, as it was full bodied, and fruit forward.  If I had selected my entrée first, I would have ordered a lighter wine, or perhaps even a white wine, but it was still enjoyable and that is the beauty of having wine with dinner.

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Three Wines from Santa Lucia Highlands

Posted on March 9, 2014 by thewineraconteur

I just received another shipment from my wine club “A Taste of Monterey.”  This shipment from the “Private Reserve Club” had three bottles of wine all from the Santa Lucia Highlands which is an AVA in the Monterey area.  This is a great club to belong to, especially the membership that we have, as they send us the best featured wines, and wines that I would probably not see here because of the limited production and the vagaries of the wine industry.  The brochure that was packed with the wines had an article about terroir, which seems to be a popular topic these days.  There was also a recipe for Dungeness Crab Cakes, which always make me smile when a restaurant has them on their menu.

 Pelerin Pelio Pinot Noir 2009

The first wine is Pelerin Pelio Pinot Noir 2009.  I have had a Pelerin Chardonnay that I have written about in the past, so I am looking forward to trying this wine as well.  The grapes are from the Pelio Vineyard and they only produced 122 cases of this wine.  That is what I mean about not seeing this wine available where I live, and I get a chance to try it.  I have found that the Monterey area is a fine producer of not only Chardonnay, but of Pinot Noir as well.  The notes on this wine suggest short to medium term cellaring to bring out all the best of the wine.  I hope I can be strong and hold out on this wine.

 Cima Collina Tondre Chardonnay 2012

The second bottle of wine is Cima Collina Tondre Chardonnay 2012.  This is a new winery to me, though I have had wine from other wineries that avail themselves of the harvest from the Tondre Grapefield.  I was surprised to read that they suggest an aging potential of 5-7 years for this wine, and there was 191 cases produced.  What I find interesting is that all of the wine that I have had from the Tondre Reserve has been Pinot Noir, so it is just the opposite of what I have had from the Pelerin Winery.

 Travieso Amaranta Syrah 2008

The third bottle in the shipment is Travieso Amaranta Syrah 2008.  This is also a new winery for me, but I have had one other bottle of Syrah from the Santa Lucia Highlands, but normally I have found this varietal as part of a blend in other wines from the area.  According to the notes, all the attention was in the initial growing of the plants and that there was minimal of “UC-Davisized” techniques at the final end of production.  There were 300 cases of this wine produced and the aging potential is for 6-10 years.

If you have a desire to check out the wines offered by this club go to www.tastemonterey.com.  If you do join, you may mention my name John, as that is how the wines arrive to me, as they do not know me as The Wine Raconteur.  I do believe that you will find the club to be as good as I have written about in several prior articles.

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El Barzon and The Detroit Institute of Arts

Posted on March 7, 2014 by thewineraconteur

Detroit has a world class museum known as the Detroit Institute of Arts, and I am well aware of it.  There were times when I used to skip school (did I just say that?) to spend the day there.  It unfortunately is in the midst of a possible earthshaking decision in the courts due to the financial ineptitude of the past regimes of the City of Detroit, and I do hope that the museum survives in its whole, but that is not a discussion for this topic.  If you are a regular reader, you are aware that I have a great friend that has been given the sobriquet of “the caller” by another Blogger and I do like that name for him.  He and his wife were planning a day trip to the DIA and they called our house to see if we could meet them for dinner afterwards.  They were not planning on spending the day all dressed up and were asking for a venue that would accommodate their casual attire, but had fine food and wine.  I had a prior commitment for the day, but my Bride arranged to have them pick her up and go with them for the day trip and then I would meet them later for dinner, over dressed for the occasion, as is my norm.

 Corte alla Flora Riserva VNDM 2008

I pondered several locations that would be suitable and then decided on El Barzon which is just North of my old neighborhood in Detroit, but some of the locals have ceded that area to be part of it as well.  El Barzon is a unique restaurant that has won over many diners of the tri-county area of Michigan for their culinary arts.  The owner/chef is from Mexico, but he used to be one of the chefs at a fine Italian restaurant called Il Posto, which is no longer in business.  He decided to open up his own restaurant a little off the beaten path, but it was not long for diners to find him, and they have continued to go there.  In fact, we had to laugh, because on Monday my Bride found out that her boss had dinner reservations for the restaurant that same night, but after we had already left.  The restaurant serves both Mexican and Italian cuisine, showcasing the culinary ability of the chef and the two types of food that he favors and excels in.  In fact “the caller’s” eyes lit up when he saw that they served a couple of entrée dishes that had Mole Sauce, a spicy sauce that utilizes Mexican Chocolate.  He is a big fan of it, and asked if he could sample some of the sauce ahead of time to decide on his selection.  The sauce was brought out, and we were informed that it is made from scratch at the restaurant and requires two days of preparation just for the sauce.  I had already had enjoyed their sauce in a prior trip, so I knew that he would appreciate it.

We started off the evening with cocktails.  “The caller” had some of the house Sangria, while I had a classic Margarita, while our two Brides had a Cucumber and Cilantro Margarita, which had a very unique and dry flavor to it.  We also had plates of the homemade chips and salsa, while we were pondering the menu and the wine list.  We decided to order a couple of different appetizers, one being battered and fried soft shell crabs and the other being Fristo Misto (battered and fried shrimp and calamari).  We all shared the dishes and marveled at how delicate the calamari and the crab were.  “The caller” and my Bride ordered the Enchiladas de Mole Poblano, while his Bride ordered Cavatelli alla Bosciala (an Italian dish of Cavatelli pasta with a cream sauce and Porcini mushrooms) while I also enjoyed an Italian dish of Scaloppine al Barola e Porcini (Veal Scaloppine in a Barolo sauce with Porcini mushrooms).  We all sampled each other’s plates and had a wonderful dinner.  We finished off with some coffee and watched a slide show presented on an I-pad of the desserts for the day.  We ordered a plate of Limoncello Cake and a Chocolate Mousse cake, which we all shared.

 MI El Barzon BC2

El Barzon has a very well thought out wine list to accommodate the varied dishes that they offer.  After studying the list I decided to order an Italian wine, though some of the Spanish wines were also sounded that they would work.  We enjoyed Corte alla Flora Riserva 2008 which is a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano from the Tuscan region.  This is one of the wines that gets people confused, because there is a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo which sounds similar from the village that is made from the Montepulciano varietal, where as Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is made from the classic Italian varietal Sangiovese, and this wine also had some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blended in (ten percent each of the last two).  We had a wonderful dinner and it was a shame when it ended, but all good things have a conclusion and we look forward to our next dinner date with our good friends.

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Two Different Cabs

Posted on March 5, 2014 by thewineraconteur

After enjoying the impromptu wine tasting, I discovered that my friend had bought some wines for his shop to share with his customers.  Not only did he buy a group of all of the wines that we had tasted, but he also bought two more Cabernet Sauvignon wines that were not part of the original tasting.  These were two more wines from the Don Sebestiani & Sons group of wines, and I wish to state that other then tasting and discussing these wines, I have not gained any financial interest or even any free wines from this distributor, so all of my discussions are the same as if I had encountered these wines in a different venue.  I am still a Blogger with no advertising revenue or complimentary wines coming my way.

 Aquinas Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

The first wine that I tasted as I was pouring some for customers of my friend’s shop is Aquinas Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 from Napa Valley, California.  I was surprised at the name as I immediately thought of St. Thomas Aquinas and his studies.  This is the very inspiration for this wine.  The idea of combining the idea of taking something fine and making it available for the masses is the idea.  What they are attempting is making a more affordable Cab wine from Napa, that is one with out a hefty price tag and I do think this is a noble concept.  I found this wine to be enjoyable, not stellar, but very drinkable without being in the “heady” group of Cabs that I can think of when I can discuss these wines from the valley.

 Pepperwoodgrove Cabernet Sauvignon NV

The other wine is an import from the Valle Central of Chile, where a lot of delightful and very affordable wine is coming from these days.  I was pouring some of this wine to some customers that like wine, but tend to ‘quaff” as I like to term it.  I was pouring them some Pepperwoodgrove Cabernet Sauvignon NV.  The wine is a Cab that also blended with 15% Merlot that is fruit forward and made for immediate consumption and with this in mind, they have achieved the goal.  The wine has won 17 “Best Buy” designations from Wine Enthusiast and 21 “Best Value” from Wine Spectator.   It was a fun wine and some wines should be just that, with just being good value.  I remember that it was the first wine I had encountered that had a plastic self peeling wine foil that coiled off the bottle once you started the procedure and it was sealed with a “zork,” a plastic cap with a small cork on the bottom of the cap, similar to some bottles of fortified wines that I have opened in the past.  It is funny that I would be so impressed with this simple but fun way to open a bottle with out the aid of a cork screw and that it also was not a screw cap closure.  I also understand that this wine is sold in bulk boxes of wine as well, so they should become a popular wine and a good introduction to new wine drinkers as well.   Two different Cabs with two distinct tastes and philosophies from the same parent company and it was fun to try them side by side with different people.

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