Some Fun Dinners at Home

Posted on November 27, 2013 by thewineraconteur

Given my preferences, I prefer Armenian cuisine, followed by Mediterranean style cuisine after that.  That is what I like, if not having something simple like a filet.  Of course my Bride gets bored with my requests and since we are getting the house ready for Thanksgiving, we have eaten in a bit more, so that we have more time to work around the house.

 Bowers Harbor Gewurztraminer 2008

One evening we had “General Tzu’s” chicken, or a loose adaptation of it, as I do not venture into that many Chinese restaurants as a rule, which does upset my Bride.  My concern is MSG, so she tends to make her versions of some of her favorite dishes and I try to abide.  To compliment the dinner we had a bottle of Bowers Harbor Vineyards Gewurztraminer 2008.  If you have not heard of Bowers Harbor Vineyards, you are excused, but they are a Michigan winery from Traverse City, on the Old Mission Peninsula.  This is an area that we enjoy going to for some fine dining and to try some of the wineries in the area.  The amount of wineries has grown since we first started going there.  I enjoy a Gewurztraminer wines with the spices in Chinese dishes, as this varietal has a spice to it as well, and seems to compliment the dishes.

 Cantina Zaccagnini Pinot Grigio 2012

Another evening, she made chicken in a Mole Sauce (I have no idea, how to get the proper diacritical accent markings, and I do not mean a mole that lives in the ground).  This is one of my favorite dishes when we go to a Mexican restaurant; in fact the restaurant looses points to me, if they do not offer this dish.  It is made using Mexican chocolate and though it sounds sweet, the dish is actually quite spicy with usually just a tinge of chocolate in the flavor.  For this dish we opened a bottle of Cantina Zaccagnini Pinot Grigio 2012.  This wine had a Colline Pescaresi IGT, which is one of several IGT designations for Abruzzo in Italy.  IGT is a designation for grape varietals that are not sanctioned by DOC rulings, with emphasis on a region and then the varietal.  “Super Tuscany” wines are IGT, as they are non-Italian varietals that have achieved great success in Tuscany.  I chose a Pinot Grigio as it is a very light white wine, which I felt would not fight the flavors of the Mole Sauce.

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Some More Early Wines That I Tried

Posted on November 25, 2013 by thewineraconteur

When one sees that you write a wine blog, they automatically presume that you are a wine snob and that you will tend to only write about the finest wines that are out on the market.  On the contrary, I do not consider myself a wine snob, though through the years I have developed a taste and appreciation for certain wines, over others.  One must learn by tasting and discovering.  In my early years I had the good fortune to have some great wines, and I had some table wines.  Table wines are some times shunned as having no character or nuance, but if you don’t try them, how will you be able to appreciate the finer wines for what they are.  If you have worn an inexpensive shoe and then tried a handcrafted shoe, your feet will tell you the difference.  I feel the same is true about wine, but you do have to start somewhere.

 Ch de Brasse 1972

I remember when I first started to seriously think about wine, France was the center of the universe at the time, there were whispers about California and other wine producing areas, but France was the place.  Naturally there were a lot of French wines that were offered in real wine shops, from the first growths to table wines.  I decided that I must try some of the table wines in my pursuit of knowledge and in the hopes of finding some wines that were affordable for a student, back in my teens and early twenties.  I had already learned about the Appellation Controlee markings on a label of wine, and that is was a good starting point, after all even Chateau Lafitte-Rothschild says Appellation Pauillac Controlee.  Then I saw a different designation and I had to try some wines with this designation.

“Appellation D’Origine Simple” was a new designation to me, but then back then, almost everything was new to me and it aided in my self-studies of wine.  One of the wines that I tried was Chateau de Brasse Estate Bottled 1972.  While the estate bottled meant that the wine was made on the grounds, the grounds were more disguised.  The proprietor of the estate lists Limoux, the Negociants is in the Gironde (Bordeaux), and Limoux is way Southeast of Bordeaux.  I recall this wine to be a very unexciting bottle of Claret, which is what I anticipated it to be.

 Ch la Francaise 1971

The other bottle that I tried with back then with the same designation, which translates to “Controlled Designation of Origin”, was Chateau La Francaise 1971.  The proprietor was in Coursan, which is in the Languedoc-Rousillon district, while the Negociants was in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, which is not close by.  I remember buying this wine thinking that I had found an affordable Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but instead I had another light Claret.  I tried researching both of these wines on the internet with out success to find out the varietals used, but to no avail.  I have to admit, that I have not had any wines since, with this designation, and I am not sure if I have seen this designation for years.

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Some Early Affordable Wines That I Tried

Posted on November 23, 2013 by thewineraconteur

I noticed that on my last trip to Louisville, there were a few popular priced wines that I tried, and some made me rethink about some of the wines that I tried when I was still a student.  Back then I was a real student, but I still feel that I am a student of wines.  Neither of the two bottles that I will mention has a vintage, whether they were on a neck band or were just non-vintage I cannot recall with certainty, though I would say that I tried them around 1970 or so.  I do remember that I could not always afford a fine wine, and to this day, that statement still holds true.  I was experimenting with all types of wines and especially French wines, because at that time, France was where it was at, for wines.  I remember being curious about the different regions and if there were hidden gems that I could unearth for myself and save three to then dollars a bottle.  I would make a pest of myself asking questions from wine merchants and hope that they did not realize that I was at that time, an underage consumer.  I used to bring a couple of wines to family gatherings, as I could not contribute any culinary skills for the occasions.  The two bottles of wine that I will mention were under the Mirebeau label, and were bottled and shipped by Paul Milhau of France.  I did a Google search for these two names without any luck, so I must surmise that neither name is still being used in the wine trade.

 Mirebeau Blannc de Blancs Reserve des Amiraux

The first wine that I will discuss was a white wine; Mirebeau Blanc de Blancs Reserve des Amiraux.  One of the earliest discoveries I had about wines that were not rated wines as in the famed wines of the Medoc, was that they would have sometimes have fancy names.  Reserve des Amiraux loosely translates for me as Reserve of the Admirals (or Admiralty) which has no real meaning for wines, but it does sound very impressive.  This wine was a Blanc de Blanc which I understood to be a white wine, and it also listed Ugni Blanc as the grape varietal.  Ugni Blanc is more commonly known as Trebbiano, and may be one of the most widely planted grapes in the world and used for local or table wines everywhere.  It is not a stellar varietal compared to some of the other grapes that are touted on wine labels, but it is usually fresh and fruity, especially if it is drank young.  I remember that this wine was not so popular at the family gathering, but then anytime I brought a white wine, my brain was questioned, as red wine was the norm at these occasions.

 Mirebeau Coteaux du Languedoc Reserve des Chevaliers

The other wine that I took to the party was a Coteaux du Languedoc Reserve des Chevaliers.  Reserve des Chevaliers is also a fancy name invoking a French Order of Chivalry; Knights of the Round Table and such, but also having no real meaning for wines.  This wine is from the Coteaux du Languedoc which is one of the largest wine producing areas of France and is a legitimate Appelation Controlee, in fact it is such a large area that today there are eight sub-divisions with their own Appelation Controlee.   The most common grape varietals of the Coteaux du Languedoc are Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre and then there is to a lesser extent Carignan and Cinsault.  If you look at the label, you will also see a small postage stamp emblem of a hand holding a wine glass with V.D.Q.S – Vins Delimites de Qualite Superieure or Delimited Wines of Superior Quality, which is step below the ranking of an Appelation Controlee and is found on some better bottles of “table wines.”  I do remember this bottle being more roundly accepted, though there were some that asked “what happened to those good wines that you brought the last time?”

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Another Call from “The Caller”

Posted on November 21, 2013 by thewineraconteur

I have written a couple of times about a good friend that has been given the nom de plume of “The Caller” by another blogger that I now consider a good friend as well.  There are some days when I get text messages about which wine, I would choose from a list that I am supplied with, as well as the meals that are about to be ordered.  “The Caller” enjoys his beverages, and since we have met, he has experimented and enjoyed more wines, then he used to.  He was more of a cocktail drinker, and while he still enjoys them, he and his wife have been drinking more wines when they go out for dinner.  He sent me some photographs that he took with his phone on two different nights and relayed them to me, and both of these wines were new to me, and I did some research and I thought I would share what I found about these wines.

 LaPola Ribeira Sacra 2010

The first wine was a bottle of LaPola Ribiera Sacra 2010.  From the label, I could determine that it was a Spanish white wine, and I have only had a couple of white wines from Spain.  Ribiera Sacra is in the Galicia region of Spain and it translate to the Sacred Shore, because historically there is an abundance of monasteries in the area.  This wine is a blend of Godello (Verdelho), Treixadura, Torrentes and Dona Blanca varietals.  Verdelho is the more known name of this varietal and is found grown in several areas of the world and is appreciated for its lush flavor for a white wine.  His description was “OK, but bity (sic).”

 Amalaya 2012

The other wine that he shared with me was Amalaya 2012, which did not register with me at all.  I found that it is from the Hess Family Estates, whose wines I have enjoyed ever since we first visited them in Napa Valley.  The Amalaya collection is from the Calchaqui Valley in Argentina, and they specialized in using the signature varietals of Argentina; for the red wines they start with Malbec and with the whites they start with Torrontes.  The wine that he was enjoying was a white wine that was 90% Torrontes and 10% Riesling.   His description of the wine was “fresh, little tart, but creamy finish!”  I would have to presume that he enjoyed this wine very much, and I can appreciate it, since I enjoy the Hess wines that I have had.  As always, I look forward to a call or a text from “The Caller” and look forward to sharing his adventures.

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A Brunch in Louisville

Posted on November 19, 2013 by thewineraconteur

The last morning in Louisville, Kentucky we had originally planned on leaving early in the morning in hopes of beating any Holiday traffic on our return trip.  Instead there was a brunch for us, so as they say “the best laid plans of mice and men…”  My Sister-in-Law made us a fine breakfast and it was quite a spread.  She had invited one of her friends to show up as well, as we had seen her at the Friday night affair, but could not attend the birthday party at the restaurant that we went to on Saturday.  She is such a good friend of theirs, that she had attended my Sister-In-Law’s fortieth birthday party, that I had written about and mentioned a couple of times.

Chateau Lamy Millesime 2011

She brought some wine that she was excited about for everyone to try.  She claimed it was her new table red that she was enjoying and that it was so affordable, that it could be an everyday wine.  Naturally everyone’s ears perked up when that was mentioned.  The wine was Chateau Lamy Millesime Corbieres 2011.  It is a red “Rhone” blend, which is usually a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre or Cinsaut, and may have other lesser varietals as well.  The wine has the Apellation Controlee of Corbieres which covers just less then fifty percent of the Languedoc Rousillon area of France, and this area quenches a large percentage of the French tables.  I am not sure if it would be my everyday “go to” wine, as it was a bit sweeter than I prefer, but it was a nicely balance wine and went well with our brunch.  As I was drinking it, I even thought that it might not be a bad wine for Thanksgiving to pair with a turkey dinner.  As we finished up with coffee and bid adieu to Louisville, we looked forward to the five to six hour drive home.

JAT JATT Louisville 2013

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Z’s Oyster Bar & Steakhouse

Posted on November 17, 2013 by thewineraconteur

While in Louisville, Kentucky we and our in-laws were invited to join another couple that we know for the gentleman’s sixtieth birthday celebration along with a fourth couple; and we all agreed that it would be a fine evening.  I had not seen either couple for a few years, though my Bride has and kept touch, as she tends to get to Louisville more often then I do.  The eight of us got together at Z’s Oyster Bar & Steakhouse “East,” as there is another restaurant in the downtown area.   As we entered I noticed that they had several Wine Spectator awards mounted on the wall near the entrance, and that is always a good sign for me.

 Bourgogne Domaine David Clark 2008

We were told to expect the typical large plates of food that seems to be the norm at most steakhouses these days, so my Bride and I decided to share our courses, as there would also be several side dishes that were being ordered as well, and the sides each, could feed a small community.  We started off with a special appetizer that day a Lobster Strudel and it was very rich and well prepared and more then ample for the two of us.  We then shared a plate of Maple Leaf Farm’s Duck Breasts with Shitake mushrooms and a cherry-balsamic reduction sauce.  That entrée plus all of the sides were more then enough to finish us off, and some readers may realize by now that given a chance I will always order a duck dinner.

 Sequana Pinot Noir 2009

The guest of honor ordered the first bottle of wine and it was Bourgogne Au Pelson Domaine David Clark 2008.  This was a wonderful bottle of Pinot Noir from a new winery in the Burgundy area, by a young man David Clark who started with a small vineyard and has since bought several other small properties throughout the Burgundy region, though because the plots are so small, he must list his hand crafted wines by the simple generic name of Bourgogne.  He started in Morey-Saint-Denis, and now has plots in Chambole-Musigny, Brochon, and Flagey-Eschezeaux.  This was a delightful wine, but alas it was the only bottle left.  We all went and studied the wine list again to find another bottle of Pinot Noir wine to order and settled on Sequana Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands 2009 as I am partial to this area for these wines and I had just turned my Brother-in-Law to these wines as well; in fact on this trip I had transported a case of wines that he had me order for him from my wine club.  This was another fine bottle of wine, displaying more of a Californian take on the varietal as compared to the French style, but then we discovered that we had selected the last bottle of this wine as well.  For the third bottle of wine, to finish off the evening we chose a bottle of La Crema Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2012 which was a much lighter wine, but the dinner was almost over and we were all just socializing, so it was fine for the pick.

 La Crema Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2012

 The guest of honor surprised all of his guests and insisted that he would treat all of us for his dinner, even though the three other couples were all set to split the restaurant tab three ways in his honor.  The guest of honor was and is still a gentleman of the Old School and would not hear of any discussion on the matter.

KY Zs Oyster Bar & Steakhouse BC

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Rivue at the Galt House

Posted on November 15, 2013 by thewineraconteur

The Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky is one of grand old hotels of the city, located right in the downtown area.  It is probably one of the toughest hotels to book for the Kentucky Derby as it is steeped in the lore and history of the city.  While we were in town visiting, our in-laws decided that we should go and have appetizers and drinks.  There is a restaurant on the twenty-fifth floor called Rivue and part of the restaurant revolves ever so slowly so that one can see a panoramic view of the downtown and the river.  The restaurant without the revolving floor is beautiful in its own right.

 La Crema Pinot Noir 2011

My Bride decided on having Dungeness Crab Cakes and they were very well done and moist, so often this dish ends up on the dry side, so that pleased us both.  I decided to try the “Kentucky Antipasto” plate and I am glad that I did.  The plate consisted of a Duck Rillette, Pate a la Maison, Father’s Country Ham, Stone-ground Mustard, Cornichons and assorted crackers.  Between the two appetizer plates, my Bride and I were sated and happy.

 KY Rivue MB

Our in-laws have been enjoying Pinot Noir wines for the last couple of years; after all of the years that they have enjoyed Cabernet Sauvignon blend wines, either from the great chateaus of the Medoc or the Meritage wines of California.  Pinot Noir wines have always been fine for me, as I have enjoyed the great wines of Burgundy, but I am always willing to try a wine from any where else in the world as well.  We settled on La Crema Pinot Noir 2011 from the Monterey district of California, and I think that the Monterey area produces some excellent wines from this varietal.  La Crema is a popular wine both in their Chardonnay and their Pinot Noir, and it is always a safe selection both in price and quality.  The ambience of the setting and the camaraderie of our companions enhanced the wine so much more.

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C.E.O. Chief Entertaining Officer

Posted on November 13, 2013 by thewineraconteur

I would be remiss, not to mention another aspect of “Exceptional Chefs Celebrating Exceptional Education” and the Carriage House Educational Services.  One of the program sponsors of the evening was the firm of Brown-Forman Corporation, one of the largest American-owned companies in the wine and spirits business, located in Louisville, Kentucky.  The Master of Ceremony for the event to raise money for the education of Autistic children and other children with special requirements was Mr. Tim Laird, the C.E.O. of Brown-Forman, but his title is “Chief Entertaining Officer.”  He also has a local television show in Louisville about wine, food and entertaining as well as an author of two books, the proceeds of which went to Carriage House as well.  Since we already had the first book, we had to purchase the new book “That’s Entertaining,” which Tim placed a dedication and an autograph within.

 That's Entertaining

He also created a special cocktail that evening that he was serving to the guests the “Carriage House Cooler” which was one ounce of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Whiskey, three ounces Lemonade, a squeeze of Lemon and a dash of Bitters.  It had a very unique flavor and the table was very busy serving up the drink.  They were also very busy passing out tastes of their premier sipping Bourbon Larrot & Graham Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select.  I think as a Northerner, I was greeted with open arms as I had requested the Bourbon neat, as that is my usual preference for sipping Bourbon, as I do not think a piece of ice is beneficial to the smooth taste of the drink.  As I had several chances to talk with Tim Laird, I thought this man has the job, which would be the envy of a lot of people that I know.  He gets to regale people on the aspect of entertaining and enjoying fine drinks with them.

 Woodford Reserve

Before I leave this fine charity event, I have to mention the unique desserts that one of the businesses The Comfy Cow was serving.  They had six different ice creams or sorbets that they were offering, and not the typical flavors that one usually encounters.  They had the Policeman’s Special (which had pieces of donuts mixed in), Pumpkin Spice, Bonjour Toast (with French toast, cinnamon and syrup), Aww Shucks (which had roasted corn), Just Beet It (roasted beets) and a Fudgesicle Sorbet.  I would venture to say that it is needless to say that they were very busy for the evening as well.

 Ca'Martini Pinot Grigio

To finish the article, I do need to mention wine, somewhere on this page, so let me mention that the fine restaurant Vincenzo’s had a magnum or larger bottle of Ca’Martini Pinot Grigio at their station, but alas it was merely a prop and they were not serving any of the wine that evening.

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Exceptional Chefs Celebrating Exceptional Education

Posted on November 11, 2013 by thewineraconteur

The Carriage House Educational Services began as the Louisville School for Autistic Children in 1969.  It was one of the first schools in the United States providing services to individuals with autism.  In 2003, Carriage House collaborated with Families for Effective Autism Treatment (FEAT) of Louisville to extend the traditional preschool program.  “Exceptional Chefs Celebrating Exceptional Education” was a night of fundraising and fun.  There was a silent auction, a live auction, beer, bourbon and wine.  There were also stations set up by different food vendors of Louisville, offering tempting tidbits of food in a strolling dinner set up.

 Chateau de Campuget 2011

This was a natural night of enjoyment for us.  One of the first tables of food that I had to stop at was Vincenzo’s, a favorite restaurant of ours, as well as our family in Louisville.  They were serving Veal Meatballs in a Rustic Tomato Sauce, and to be truthful, while I normally shy away from meatballs, I had to go back there several times, just to enjoy the flavor of this dish.  I also had to make a couple of trips over at another station that was representing Selena’s “seafood, pasta, steaks, Creole and home cooking.”  I was talking to the principal and the chef and they explained how they had decided on a special gumbo for the evening, which would exclude seafood, in case of people’s allergies.  The chicken and Andouille sausage gumbo that they served over rice was a delightful taste, and I made notes that I must try this restaurant on one of our future trips back to Louisville.  Ditto’s Grill was offering their version of chicken wings and they were good enough to go back for seconds.  The Anchorage Café was a very busy station as they were serving Marksbury Farm Burger Sliders on Klaus’ Pretzel Buns, as well as Gary Farm Turkey and Swiss with Onion Jam on a Baguette, Café Pimento Spread and Benton’s Bacon Jam on Crostinis.   I just listed some of the entrée dishes that were being featured at the affair, and my next article I will discuss some of the other items that were offered as well.

      Bogle Chardonnay 2012

There was a choice of three different wines that evening that were being poured at the bar station.  The first wine was Bogle Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2012, a very light crisp wine that I felt, just got the taste buds ready for the evening.  The second wine also from the same vineyard was a Bogle Chardonnay 2012 that had more body and some creaminess that I thought worked better with some of the opening dishes of food.  The final wine that was being offered was Chateau de Campuget Costieres de Nimes 2011; which is a Rhone wine.  The Costieres de Nimes was originally called Costieres du Gard and is a delta region where the Cotes du Rhone and the Languedoc meet.  The wines are more similar to a Rhone wine; hence they may be called a Rhone wine on the label.  The red wines are a combination of Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache, Carignan and Cinsaut varietal grapes and there are legal maximums of each grape that can be used in the blending.  I found this wine to be a lighter Rhone wine, and after some further research, I can understand why I found this to be true.

Bogle Sauvignon Blanc 2012

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A Unique Inquiry

Posted on November 9, 2013 by thewineraconteur

I must say that routinely I get emails, texts, calls and messages asking for a suggestion about wine.  Sometimes it occurs while they are at a restaurant and they are daunted by the selections on the Wine Carte; and sometimes they are a wine shop searching for the perfect gift, that there wallet can afford.  I try to be as helpful and informative as I can be, because I appreciate that they think highly enough of me to seek my knowledge as limited as it can be.

 Ch. Mouton Rothschild 1881

I received a very unique request from someone that I did not know, the other day.  I am not sure how the gentleman found me, as he was searching for a wine label, and I do pride myself that I try to depict the actual label from the wines that I have enjoyed.  Sometimes I must use a photograph of the whole wine bottle to expedite an article, because I have not had the time to soak the label off of the bottle, or because I am traveling and I do not desire to travel with an empty wine bottle in my luggage.

 Ch Mouton-Rothschild 1961 Pauillac

The gentleman was in an acting class and he was going to be portraying Nathaniel de Rothschild and he was asking if I had a label from Chateau Mouton Rothschild from the late 1800’s.  I was flattered that anyone would think that I would have had a storied wine from that era.  I wrote to him that since after the last World War, Chateau Mouton Rothschild has been commissioning artist to design a different label for them each year.  I have had the good fortune to have tried several different vintages of this great house, but none from that period.  In fact, I am sorry to say that I have never had the good fortune to try any wines from the great vintage of 1945, but I have once tried a wine from the other great vintage of 1921.  My curiosity was piqued and I went off to see if I could find a label to help him with his request.  I did a Google search of images and found a label from Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1881, which I downloaded and sent the gentleman.  The picture had the provenance of the site that it came from in the picture and it was from majorcacellar.com and since it was on Google, I do hope that they don’t mind if I share it with everyone else, as I am sure that the majority of the readers, like myself have never seen a wine label from that era.  The gentleman wrote me back thanking me for the service and gave me the complimentary salutation that I was “a gentleman and a scholar” and I will humbly accept that accolade.

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