A Blogger Cooks (Part Two)

Posted on December 17, 2013 by thewineraconteur

While still with our gracious hosts of Oliver and Nina, dinner was finished.   What would be considered the norm, when two wine Bloggers get together the conversation always returns to wine.  We were still discussing the “dirt” or terroir of the Tudor Pinot Noir that we had enjoyed with dinner, which led to the ladies discussing their enjoyment of full bodied red wines, my Bride being overly fond of Cabernet Franc and Nina mentioning Pinotage.  I had remarked that we had only tried one Pinotage wine and I was not enamored with it.  Oliver then remarked that it was only because most of the Pinotage wines that are seen in the states are poor examples of the wine, and not a true depiction of what the wine could be.  He went on to say that a true Pinotage has a taste that goes beyond terroir and has to be experienced, and then he smiled.

 Tukulu Pinotage 2007

He left the three of us and ventured over to another room and grabbed a bottle of Tukulu Pinotage 2007 and said that it was the last of his cache, but that I had to experience this unique wine.  The wine is from Darling, New South Africa and in particular from the Papkuilsfontein Vineyards, which is a joint venture of Distell, South Africa’s leading wine and spirits producer; a consortium of black entrepreneurs and a trust representing the local Groenekloof community.  Members of this community work the land.  Oliver warned me as he was opening the wine, that not only would I taste the dirt, but burned rubber, paint and petrol, not the descriptive verbiage that one thinks of, when one discusses wine.  I must say that he was right, and the first taste was overpowering, especially after the feminine mystique of the Pinot Noir; here we were being pummeled with a sledge hammer of tastes and noses.  Which is very hard to imagine from reading because Pinotage is a cross varietal of Pinot Noir and Cinsault (also known as Hermitage) and the wine shows no influence of these two European varietals.  After the initial shock to the senses of this very unique wine, it tended to grow on me, and the sledge hammer effect dissipated and we continued discussing wines, Blogging and some of the acquaintances that Oliver had made in his quest for more knowledge of wines.

 Piesporter Schubertslay Riesling Spatlese 2003

When Oliver and I were discussing wines for the dinner, I had offered to bring a desert wine as well, and Oliver said that he had something special for the evening and left it at that.  My natural curiosity was piqued to say the least, but I looked forward to it, as I was sure that it would be an aged Riesling that Oliver tends to wax poetic about on occasion, and he knew that my knowledge of the wines was lacking.  The final wine of the evening was a Vereinigte Hospitien Piesporter Schubertslay Riesling Spatlese 2003.  The Vereinigte Hospitien translates to Unified Hospitals, in the same context as the Hospices de Beaune that I recently discussed in a couple of articles.  Piesporter was a small village that has now annexed another large area of land across the river, and Oliver went and showed me some pictures from a book of the original village and of the area that is now part of this famed name.  Schubertslay is an important vineyard of the original Piesporter, while the Riesling is the name of the varietal, and Spatlese is a special term for late harvesting of some of the grapes which have more concentrated sugar content.  Outside of a few French Sauternes wines that I have had over the years, I am leery of older white wines as they tend to turn, just as a lot of red wines can turn as they age.  This golden colored wine had a wonderful nose to it, and a very rich caramel or toffee aftertaste that was not overpowering or cloying, but rich and noble.  It was a true pleasure enjoying this wine after the other three wines that we had for the evening.  While I have had some Spatlese and Auslese wines before, this aged bottle was a totally different taste and now I can truly understand why Oliver gets so emphatic about his favorite varietal.  It was a most enjoyable wine, and we were sorry to see the bottle finished as we knew the evening was coming to an end.  So as we left thanking our hosts, we wished them a fond goodbye and wishes that they enjoy their trip to Alaska, and I do look forward to reading about his adventures there.

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A Blogger Cooks

Posted on December 15, 2013 by thewineraconteur

Fear not, I will not tell a tale of my cooking, rather I will discuss the culinary arts of a fellow wine blogger Oliver alias The Winegetter.  Oliver and I have gotten together twice already, once with our Brides and once just the two of us for lunch.  We bandied messages back and forth to set up a date, before he was off to Alaska, and he said that he we should go to their place for dinner.  This is the dinner I discussed in an earlier article about Boeuf Bourguignonne, and I said that I would bring the wine since he was doing the catering.  Oliver even liked my leather wine carrier, that I can usually get two bottles of wine and if necessary, I can also get a dessert wine in there as well, plus I have the necessary accoutrements for enjoying the wine, but I was not worried that Oliver would be lacking a corkscrew.

 Tudor Tondre Reserve Pinot Noir 2007

Oliver and Nina are gracious hosts and make their guests feel perfectly at home, and may I say that the home smelled wonderful that evening from the dinner that he spent most of the day preparing.  Of course, my Bride and I found out that we were being used as guinea pigs; as Oliver had to alter the recipe to accommodate the changes required for Nina and her new food regimen plan.  Whatever changes Oliver may have made to the recipe; I could notice no difference to the rich flavor of the dish.  The only difference that was discernable was that three of us enjoyed the dish served on mashed potatoes, while Nina had her’s on pureed cauliflower.

Oliver has discovered that he really enjoys being a blogger, and has made it a point to meet with other Bloggers that he follows and they in turn follow his articles.  This information came out, because I said that I was glad that John, The Food and Wine Hedonist did not destroy the building after the party he had there, while Oliver and Nina were in the Far East.  Then he went on to talk about Jeff, The Drunken Cyclist and a fine night of wine tasting that they shared.  Then Oliver looked at me and asked if the letter “J” was the proper letter for first names of Bloggers from Michigan.

 Saint Hilaire Blanquette de Limoux 2008

We started the evening off with a bottle of sparkling wine.  I had gone to my cellar to grab a bottle of something sparkling and realized that most of them were domestic and rather heavy, and I was thinking of something lighter.  Then I found a bottle of Saint-Hilaire Blanquette de Limoux Brut 2008.  This is a soft bottle made in the Methode Traditionelle and has its own Appellation Controlee of Blanquette de Limoux, which is for sparkling wines made in the Southern French region of the Languedoc-Rousillon.  This wine is also made from a varietal that may be new for most readers and Oliver can add another one to his list for the Century Club; the varietal is Mauzac, and is also known as Mauzac Blanc.  The wine had a very light nose, a dark straw color and very small bubbles.  Even though it said Brut, I thought it was more Demi-Sec as it was not the Brut that is usually encountered here domestically.  It was a simple wine that I thought worked well as an aperitif for the dinner that was coming.

 Carrier Leather

For our entrée, the Boeuf Bourguignonne, that had been cooking all day, I had originally thought of naturally a Red Burgundy.  Alas, I had no Burgundy wines left in my cellar, and I really have not been shopping for them, as I must confess they have become too dear in price.  I know that does not sound like a true wine lover, but one must be realistic.  So I went looking for a quality alternative, which led me to my section of Pinot Noir wines.  I decided to take a bottle of the Tudor Tondre Reserve 2007 that I had wrote about, that we received not as ordered, but we took delivery of.  This is a single vineyard Pinot Noir wine made by a firm that knows how finicky this varietal can be, and they have been very successful with it in the Santa Lucia Highlands.  I didn’t think that this wine needed decanted as it was still young, though we did uncork it at the same time that we opened the sparkling wine.  There was a good Pinot Noir nose; even traces of terroir could be appreciated just from the scent.  The color was good and firm, and the taste was what we all were hoping for in a good Pinot Noir, and the artistry of the winemaker was apparent as we could all taste the “dirt.”  There was a good aftertaste as well, and this was a perfect pairing for the entrée, as it was so evocative of a good Burgundy wine.

I will discuss the other wines in the next installment.

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A Christmas Dinner Party

Posted on December 13, 2013 by thewineraconteur

The month of December is always filled with business, corporate and association dinners.  I was recently invited to a dinner, which was affiliated with a board meeting.  This meeting was more of a fun setting and I got to tag along with my Bride.  Her industry and clients make a job seem more enjoyable when there are sessions like this to break up the usual business routine.

 Liberty Creek Merlot

There was a large group that met one evening at Genitti’s Hole-In-The-Wall in Northville, Michigan.  This is catering/restaurant/dinner theater site that started off as a small specialized food market and slowly morphed and grew into the present complex that it is.  There are several rooms of different sizes for groups to meet in.  They can do weddings, showers, service organizations and business meetings.  Genitti’s also makes it fun and casual, with the exposed brickwork walls that have graffiti written on the walls, a mélange of pictures, posters and you name it.  They specialize in a seven course family style dinner of smaller table settings, where nothing matches, just think of a big get-together in someone’s basement, and you have the setting, and they have been doing this for decades.  The waitresses bring bowls and platters of food to the tables, and then it is served family style by the diners.  The food while not gourmet is excellent comfort food and the casual setting always seems to be conducive for conversations, and a good time.  Afterwards there is a stage and theater area that can handle the diners from several of the dining rooms all at one time.  The shows have an Andy Hardy “let’s put on a play” feel to them filled with jokes, songs, puns and groans, as well as audience participation.  When the guests leave Genitti’s they are sated and happy from an evening that is not the usual night out.

 MI Genittis BC

Genitti’s may not be a gourmet house, but fear not, as they use the same concept for the bar and wine service as well.  They have an antique bar that can be “bellied up to” as soon as you enter the facility.  They can make mixed drinks, draught beers and wine.  When I walked in that evening Laura Genitti was surprised to see me, and I told her that I was actually with one of the parties that evening and she went back to the bar and poured me a glass of wine, and said “here, this is good” as she smiled and handed me a juice jar glass of wine poured almost to the brim.  There are no fancy glasses or stemware.  All drinks are served in an assortment of glasses that one could find in the back cabinets at most houses.  With the calculated casualness to the setting, the wines served are equally casual.  The wine drinkers were served glasses of wine from Liberty Creek of California and there was a choice of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  All of the Liberty Creek wines were non-vintage and I am sure that the blending of the wines from year to year offers a chance to continue a simple consistency of taste.  This was just a fun evening, and there are times and dates when one can go and experience this evening, when they have public attendance, as not all evenings are solid business bookings.

Genitti's Wine Glass

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Bordeaux and the Red Cross

Posted on December 11, 2013 by thewineraconteur

The noble organization known generically as the Red Cross was aided by some of the greatest chateaus of Bordeaux during the War to End All Wars, also known as World War One.  The human carnage that was rampant during the war, led to all means of raising funds for a multitude of quasi-military and nationalistic organizations.  The Red Cross was a major fund raiser and a major service organization during the war.

France Red Cross Pane Mos 25

 One of the ways that the Red Cross in France raised funds was by selling “stamps” similar to Christmas Seals.   There were a myriad of these stamps designed and sold by the Red Cross in France, but I wish to mention one booklet of twenty stamps that relate to wines.  My last couple of essays has lead me to a tangent of wine and charity.  This may be the esoteric of my essays that pertain to this tangent, so please humor or indulge me.

Of the twenty stamps in the booklet, ten of the stamps that I will discuss and display deal with some of the greatest chateaus of the Bordeaux.  These great chateaus allowed an image to be used in the service of raising funds.  From the commune of Pauillac three chateaus are represented: Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild and Chateau Latour.  From Pessac (Graves) we find Chateau du Pape-Clement and Chateau Haut-Brion.  Saint-Emilion is represented by Chateau Ausone and Chateau Pavie.  The final grouping is from Sauternes and depicted are Chateau Guiraud, Chateau de Rayne-Vigneau and Chateau d’Yquem.

 France Red Cross Booklet Mos 25xx

I debated with my self on the best way to display these items, as I was going to show a “stamp” and a label from the winery, but alas I have only enjoyed the wines from seven of the ten chateaus that are shown by work of the engraver.  If one is curious to see wine labels, please use the search box on this page to see the label of the wine that I enjoyed.  The only three wines that I have not had the pleasure of are Chateau Haut-Brion, Chateau Pavie and Chateau de Rayne-Vigneau.  If any of the readers have extra bottles of these wines and have no desire to try them, you may be generous and ship them off to me, to be included in a future article and a correction to this one.  As they say in Social Media LOL.

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Hospices de Beaune

Posted on December 9, 2013 by thewineraconteur

In the center of the Burgundy district is Beaune, and in Beaune is its famous Hospice.  I just barely touched upon the Hospices de Beaune, and now I shall go forward.   Traditionally the third Sunday of November is when buyers the world over converge on Beaune to bid on the wines of the Hospices de Beaune.  It was a three day affair, but by now it may be a grander affair then it was back in the day.

 Hospices de Beaune Cuvee Nicolas Rolin 1972

The Hospices de Beaune is a charitable hospital that originated in the fifteenth century by Nicolas Rollin and his wife Guigone de Salins.   Through the years (centuries) that followed assorted parcels of land in some of the finest plots in Burgundy were bequeathed to the hospice.  They probably own about 125 acres or more of land through out several villages in the Cotes de Beaune.  This land produces more than fifteen thousand cases of wine each year, and it is during the auction that the wine is sold, and consequently the price of most of the wines of Burgundy are determined from this sale.  It is always been felt that the wines of the Hospices de Beaune are overpriced, but there the demand is still there.

  Hospices de Beaune Cuvee Dames Hospitalieres 1972

One cannot just refer to a bottle of Hospices de Beaune for any vintage, because there are thirty or more specific parcels of land or cuvees that make up the Hospice’s holdings.  There are both red and wine wines from these holdings, and they are not only from Beaune, but from Corton, Pommard and Mersault.  One year in my youth, when I was so young and perhaps unappreciative, but an avid learner I acquired two different bottles in the same year.  I am sure that it was a King’s ransom back then, when I was working and going to school, but well worth the expenditure.  I was able to enjoy a bottle of Hospices de Beaune (Beaune) Cuvee Nicolas-Rolin 1972 and a bottle of Hospices de Beaune (Beaune) Cuvee Dames-Hospitalieres 1972.  I did not splurge and enjoy these two wines at the same time, but during the same year, and it added to my enjoyment of Pinot Noir wines to which I still maintain.

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Charity in Burgundy

Posted on December 7, 2013 by thewineraconteur

The great vineyards of Burgundy are divided into the Cotes de Nuits and the Cotes de Beaune.  From all of the readings and discussions I have had about the Burgundy region, there are no vast estates similar to what is found in the Medoc.  That a famed Grand Cru vineyard may have several owners of small tracts of land within the delineated area, hence a vintner may only be able to produce one barrel of wine from the land that he owns.  People can wait years to get a small additional tract for their winery.  Then add to this situation, that some of the tracts of land end up being donated to charities.

 Hospices de Beaune Cuvee Clos des Avaux 1970

There is a Hospice de Nuits and a Hospice de Beaune.  These are charity hospitals that have survived for centuries aiding the poor and the needy.  The land that has been bequeathed to these hospices is grown, and wine is made.  The wines are considered by many to be overpriced, but that is because they are sold at auction, and though they are considered overpriced, the auctions seem to be the leading indicator each year of what the other wineries will charge for their own versions of the wine.  In fact you have to look at the labels to ascertain what wine you have, as there are multiple properties.

 Hospices de Nuits Cuvee Grangier 1969

I have had only one bottle of the Hospice de Nuits 1er Cru Cuvee Grainger 1969, and from the vintage you can see that I had it very early in my learning career.  I have had a couple different Hospices de Beaune wines; they were also from the same period.  I am showing a bottle of Hospices de Beaune Cuvee Clos de Avaux 1970, which is a Premier Cru of Beaune.

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Stream of Consciousness

Posted on December 5, 2013 by thewineraconteur

The term “stream of consciousness” is a literary term that I learned back in the early days of my education.  It was at Wilson Junior High School in Detroit, that I first discovered this device that is used by authors.  I lead my poor reader into this essay, because I had a brief message that we are being invited to a dinner, and the hosts have not decided whether to make Boeuf Bourguignon of Boeuf a la Carotte, both dishes are rather similar in structure.

 Gevrey-Chambertin CCT 1969

This is where the stream of consciousness comes into play.  As I am thinking of Boeuf Bourguignon, I automatically think of Beef Burgundy which is the English translation.  Beef Burgundy makes me think of the Burgundy wine district of France, where this dish is historically from.  From Burgundy, I think of one of the first red Burgundy wines that I tried from the village of Gevrey-Chambertin in the Cotes de Nuits.  The wine was one of the selected wines from the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, a lofty sounding name of a group that promotes the wines of Burgundy.  This was a great introduction to me, what a wine made from the Pinot Noir varietal should taste like, even though this was not a graded wine.

 Chambertin Restaurant

The other avenue that my mind went from this word play is to a restaurant that alas is no longer in existence.  The Chambertin Restaurant originally was a stand alone building of a restaurant in one end of Dearborn, Michigan and then they moved to the other end of Dearborn and went into a new Holiday Inn Hotel complex, half of the complex was a standard hotel, and the other half was for extended business stays, mainly used by an automotive corporation that is also based in Dearborn.  The Chambertin Restaurant was fine dining, and probably the finest restaurant that could be found in the entire chain of the hotel.  There was a coffee shop/diner, a tavern and a full blown white table cloth restaurant all under one roof, along with a couple of catering halls as well.  To this day, I still long for and can remember some of the great dishes that I was first introduced to because of the Chambertin.  Which finally leads me to the last ponderance, and that is what bottle of wine should I chose for this dinner, and that my friends will be for another day.

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A Couple of More Wines over the Weekend

Posted on December 3, 2013 by thewineraconteur

There are times when we are surrounded by family and friends that do not have the same appreciation for wines that a wine drinker has.   That does not mean that they should be shamed and actually they should be encouraged to try some different wines,  one should accept that fact and go forward.  Some people prefer cocktails and others prefer beer, and then some will drink wine, but they claim that the wines being served are too dry or too heavy.  So as a host or a hostess, one must try to make the guests comfortable.

 Duckhorn Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

As always since we have a large cache of our basic go to wines, we tend to serve two wines from Sterling; their Meritage 2010 and the Chardonnay 2011.  I have written about these wines before, not to mention the great price that we have bought them at, and our local store continues to run these at a great promotion, almost as a loss leader for the store.  Either of the two wines are a delight to offer our guests without feeling that they are being slighted in the least, as I feel that both work well with foods or just by themselves.

My Bride also bought another wine for some of the family, who were looking for a sweeter wine.   While neither of us prefers a sweeter wine just for social drinking, we can understand that this can be a potential introduction for non-wine drinkers.  I have enjoyed plenty of dessert wines in my day, but I prefer them after a meal, not prior or during, but that is my preference.  She had selected for some of these drinkers a bottle from a winery that we like to visit in the Traverse City area of Michigan.  It was a bottle of Leelanau Cellars Winter White Peach Chill NV.  This wine is from their “Season Wine” collection and they refer to it as a Piesporter wine in style with a fruit infusion.  It comes in a dark blue bottle and it was popular with the company that prefers something sweeter then what we usually serve.

 Leelanau Cellars Winter White Peach Chill NV

The other wine that was served over the weekend was from Duckhorn Vineyards, a winery that we have enjoyed for years and have even visited the winery even before they had a tasting room.  The winery is in Napa Valley, but the wine that was enjoyed was from their Decoy Collection out of Sonoma County.  It was Duckhorn Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon 2011.   This is a well made wine, more in a popular price and made for more current usage as opposed to cellaring, which some of the classic Duckhorn wines are made for.  All in all there was a diverse selection of wines that were poured for the pleasure of the company.

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A Surprise Guest for Thanksgiving

Posted on December 1, 2013 by thewineraconteur

The usual crowd was coming to the house to celebrate Thanksgiving, as well as the birthdays in the month of November.  Not to mention that the family from Louisville were also in town for the holiday.  Can you say full house and not as in a poker term.  My Bride was a whirling-dervish with all of the preparations for the day.  She was roasting a turkey and a leg of lamb, plus all of the side dishes, and then there were more sides, appetizers and desserts being brought by some of the guests.  My Bride even got artistic, and who knows where she got the time to do it, but she saw a picture from one of her friends of a vegetable appetizer tray where the items were arranged to look like a turkey.  She was so excited that she had done it.  The funny thing was that everyone admired it so much, that no one really would take any of the vegetables off of the plate for fear of destroying the image.  Other than that, the menu was a huge success and no one went hungry.

 Colgin IX Estate 2005

I was going to discuss the wines that we were serving, and I had even found a new Meritage that I was going to open for dinner, but my Brother-in-Law stole all of my thunder.  He brought a special guest for us to enjoy, after he and his family had stopped at his family for dinner and came to our house for dessert and the birthday celebrations, especially for the children.  His surprise guest was Ann Colgin, alright not her, but her celebrated wine Colgin IX Estate 2005, a Napa Valley Red Wine.  Just the thought of calling this a Napa Valley Red Wine, is like saying Chateau Latour 1945 is just a Bordeaux wine.  This is a legendary cult wine, which can only be purchased if you are lucky enough to be included in the subscription list.  This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

 Colgin 2005 Cork

My Brother-in-Law and I were the main recipients of his largesse; of course his wife and my Bride also had some.  I was surprised that my Bride tried some, as she usually tries to avoid tasting famous wines, as she feels that it will make not appreciate the wines we have on a usual basis.  Needless to say this wine was near perfect, the only fault, if one could call it a fault, was the nose was not as over powering as some other wines.  The color was perfect, the legs on the crystal was perfect.  There was fruit and tannins in perfect balance.  This was a wine that could easily withstand another ten to twenty years in a cellar.  All I can say is he was impatient and he wanted to try this wine, as he had another bottle in his cellar, and he felt that I would be the perfect one to drink it with him.  I was honored.  We sat at the end of the dining table away from the maddening crowds and kept tasting and chewing this wine, knowing that at some point in time, the bottle would be empty.  This experience was so fine, that neither one of us, even realized that we had missed having any desserts.

Thanksgiving Appetizer Plate 2013

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An Impromptu Night and a Tesla

Posted on November 29, 2013 by thewineraconteur

We were getting the house ready for Thanksgiving, and prepping meals, when we got a phone call.  Our family from Louisville arrived early at the hotel, and invited us to join them for dinner.  The hotel that they stay at has a wonderful restaurant that we go to periodically even when we have no family staying at the hotel.  Sweet Lorraine’s is a fun place, and I have been enjoying their food since they first opened the initial spot in another suburb.

 Mark West Pinot Noir 2011

Even though we had only seen the family only a couple of weeks earlier, there was much to catch up on.  There was some discussion about wines and the Thanksgiving dinner, but my Brother-in-Law was most enthused to discuss his new car.  He had just taken delivery of the big new Tesla (sorry I am not big on the new nomenclature that cars have, so I can not recall the letters or numbers of the car, but I know the brand).  Prior to his becoming a radiologist, he had achieved a doctorate in Electronical Engineering, so this car had completely captured his fancy.  He called it the first car of the Twenty-first Century and was he excited to discuss the car, how it handled and the quality of the engineering.  Tesla Motors should hire him to be the spokesman for the company.  Of all the fun toys that he has had, this one really has captured his interest.  He had pictures and movies on his phone already about this car and driving it.

 MI Sweet Lorraines MB

We were having a bottle of Mark West Pinot Noir 2011, which was the finest Pinot Noir on the wine list.  They could have found a better Pinot Noir for their best pick, I am sorry to say, as this wine had an Apellation California, which is quite a wide expanse of land for a designation.   It was a very slight bottle of wine, with a bit of fruit, but no after taste at all.  There are many Pinot Noir wines that could have been selected by the restaurant, and I do not usually pan a wine, but for the quality of the food from this establishment, the wine did leave a bit to be desired.  I guarantee that the wine that will be poured on Thanksgiving will atone for this lighter wine that we had.

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