Charleston, South Carolina

Posted on February 17, 2013 by thewineraconteur

This was a city that we had to visit.  One of the most famous characters in literature hailed from this hallowed city of the South; Rhett Butler, one of the most famous men of print and cinema, and a man, that most men admire, not to mention the ladies.  My Bride was eager to start making plans for this trip, on one of our holidays.

GWTW

 

We were going to stay at the legendary Charleston Inn, but just before we booked the hotel, we discovered a smaller hotel that offered a loft apartment in the downtown of Charleston.  It sounded so quaint, that we had to book it.  Our room had parlor and the bedroom was up a flight of stairs over looking the parlor.  The Ansonborough Inn was where we ended up staying and they had breakfast in the morning, wine and cheese in the afternoon.  They had a little English pub, and then they had a terrace on the roof which looked out onto downtown Charleston.

SC Ansonborough Inn Flyer

 

As we wandered around, on a self guided walking tour of the downtown, three things stick out in my mind to this day.  As you walked down the streets and looked at these stately homes, with some of the most beautiful doors you have ever seen.  What is even stranger is that these doors are actually entrances to the front porch of most of the homes, as they were built perpendicular to the street to handle the sea storms better.  The second most unique thing that I noticed was there were house painters everywhere.  Between the high humidity and the salted winds off of the ocean, the houses were in constant need of fresh paint to maintain the proper look.  The third thing that I remember most was that all of the bars had the little airline bottles of liquor on the shelves.  I was told that it was the state law, which the bars had to pour from individual bottles for every drink ordered.  If you walked into a package liquor store, then you could purchase a fifth of your favorite libation.

SC Charleston Walking Tour Book

 

I mentioned the humidity; well it reminded me of New Orleans.  As soon as you stepped out the door, you just walked into a standing wall of water.  It was so humid; it was even difficult to enjoy my cigar, while my Bride did her shopping strolls through the town.  Not that she or we needed anything, but she just likes to shop.  Of course we would stop at a little sidewalk café and we needed something to fight the heat, like this split of Calera Chardonnay 1998 from the Central Coast of California.  That day it just hit the spot, and I am sure that it would again.

Calera Chardonnay Central Coast 1998

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Belly Dancers and Wine

Posted on February 16, 2013 by thewineraconteur

For years, one of the popular niche types of entertainment in the Metro Detroit area was Middle Eastern Music with “Belly Dancing.”  This type of entertainment seems to have vanished from the landscape and has been replaced with over sized television monitors which I do not find entertaining.  Be that as it may, one of the last of this venue was Mitch Housey’s restaurant.

MI Mitch Housey's MB

During the period that Mitch Housey’s was in business, ethnic food was not as popular or a staple of the restaurant business as it now.  This restaurant catered more to business people and couples looking for a nice dinner and a get-away.  Consequently that did offer quite a few dishes from the grill, like steaks and fresh fish, and a few Middle Eastern dishes.  As a rule, because I have enjoyed a lot of these dishes growing up, made by members of my family, I tend to shy away from commercial variations of the dishes that I know.  This was a great place to enjoy a steak dinner and to watch the entertainers dance for the pleasure of the audience.

Tommasi Valpolicella Classico Superiore 1993

The wine list for the red wines tended to be skewed towards Italian wines, which work well with beef dishes.  One night I opted for a Tommasi Valpolicella Classico Superiore 1993.  I have discussed my favorable bias towards Valpolicella wines many times.  The term Classico refers to the fact that the grapes come from the original controlled designated area for this varietal and the Superiore means that the wine has been aged for at least a year and that the alcohol content is at least 12% by law.  I have found that when one orders a varietal that has extra “words” like these, that the wine is fuller and richer, which adds to the enjoyment of the wine.

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An Art Fair and Portofino in Wyandotte, Michigan

Posted on February 15, 2013 by thewineraconteur

My Bride and I like to attend some of the art fairs that are very popular around the state and seem to be always held on the hottest days of the year, when we attend.  It also seems that we are always going right after work, so we always have business attire, which makes attending these shows even warmer.

MI Portofino MB

 

One of the art fairs we do like attending is the one in the city of Wyandotte, and it is also one of the largest of this genre.  After walking around the many blocks of the show and looking at the different types of art and crafts, we work up an appetite and a thirst.  Since these shows are held in the summer, with the extra heat, our thirst increases.

 

 

Most of the time, these fairs are so dense with people, that we look for better venues for dining, as some of the restaurants have lines of people standing outside.  We walked a little farther away from the crowds and decided to have dinner at Portofino, which is right on the water, in fact they have docking facilities for boaters, which guarantees them more action (one would presume, and here it was most prevalent).  The restaurant also has very large areas of glass to look out onto the Detroit River, which is very pleasant to have as a background during dinner.   We both ordered some fresh water fish dishes, which this restaurant prides itself on, and we were not disappointed.

Yalumba Viognier S Australia 2005

 

Since this was such a warm day and evening, and we were ordering fresh fish, we enjoyed a bottle of Viognier wine.  We have always found this type of wine to be refreshing in the summer months and enjoy the floral nose that this varietal always seems to deliver.  This particular evening we had a Viognier from South Australia made by Yalumba Winery.  They proudly proclaim that that are Australia’s oldest family owned winery.  The afternoon and evening was a day of enjoyment, further enhanced by our choice of wine that day.

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Peppina’s in Lincoln Park, Michigan

Posted on February 14, 2013 by thewineraconteur

I guess that I am getting a little nostalgic and have been thinking of some of the old restaurants and watering holes from my youth, and the early days of discovering different wines back then.  One of the places that I remember was Peppina’s in Lincoln Park; they had a drive-in service on the side with carhops and a neighborhood Italian restaurant as well.

 

 

In those days I would go there with a large group of the guys from the old neighborhood and we would venture into the suburbs to eat and drink.  Some days we would end up with a table of twenty brash young guys all wanting to have a good time and Peppina’s would serve our insatiable appetites at the time.

 

 

They had a big room, and in the back there was a special room called the Amethyst Room.  As I recall the walls and displays were covered with large rough amethyst stones and geodes.  I also seem to recall that they had some amethyst jewelry that they sold near the cashier stand, probably made by a local artisan.

 

 

We would all go there for some of the best pizza, and they also had homemade pasta.  There would be little squabbles over what was better the spaghetti or the gnocchi, and the debate would never be decided.  It was the type of food that all of us would just chow down and eat with a fevered relish.

Lambrusco Fratelli

 

It was a time of beer and some wine.  We would just order bottles of wine to put on the table and drink at our leisure.  Of course the few of us, that did prefer the wine would get some remarks questioning our manhood, as beer was the preferred drink at the time.  What can I say, we were all young, rowdy and there for a good time.  We would get bottles of Lambrusco wine, which was very popular at the time.  This wine is from the Emilia-Romagna area near Bologna.  The wine is made from the Lambrusco varietal, which tends to have a “grapey” taste as opposed to the nuanced tastes that can be found in other varietal wines.  At that time in my life I was still discovering wines, so each wine was an adventure and a memory.

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A Pleasant Surprise

Posted on February 13, 2013 by thewineraconteur

We were celebrating our monthly birthdays, and the venue this time was not at our house.  My Bride though, was doing the catering.  We loaded up our car with the assorted dishes and a birthday cake that she had prepared, as well as some wine and beer for the guests.

 

When we arrived at our destination, we started unloading the car and my Bride commandeered the kitchen to finish preparing the food for the party.  I was getting the wines ready to open, when my Brother-in-law, who’s house we were at, suggested that we drink some of his “swill.”  He then proceeded to go into the dining room and grab a bottle from a rack.  He proceeded to then rinse the bottle and clean it of its patina of dust.  He said I don’t know if it is still good, and I told him, there is only one way to find out.

 

The bottle was a magnum of Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon 1999.  The Woodbridge line is a very good set of blended wines under the Robert Mondavi umbrella of wines.  I was so impressed with the Woodbridge line, that when my Bride and I got married, we served an assortment of different varietals from this group at our reception.  Though, I knew the pedigree of the wine, I was not sure that a thirteen year old bottle that was stored in a dining room was going to be palatable, as this was not an ideal place to store wine.

Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

 

We proceeded to open up the bottle, and the cork came out in one piece, which was a good omen, as I was afraid that it may crumble from lack of proper storage.  When I opened the bottle, I poured some into a glass to see, if we could serve it.  The color was still amazingly dark as one would expect a Cabernet Sauvignon to be, if it had been younger.  The initial nose was a bit “dusty” from being bottled up, but as I swirled it in the glass, the nose began to open up and it had a positive aroma.  The final test, was the taste, and as I “chewed” the wine, I was happy to report that the wine was indeed, very drinkable.  The guests that wanted some wine were very happy with the results.  Just goes to show you, that you can never presume or pre-judge a bottle of wine, no matter the age or the ranking of the wine.  This was a very good showing, I felt for the popular priced line from the Mondavi family.

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La Trattoria Restaurant in Dearborn, Michigan

Posted on February 12, 2013 by thewineraconteur

This was a delightful little restaurant right across the street from the City Hall of Dearborn, in what is referred to as East Dearborn.  It was always a busy place of good homemade pastas and a small, but nice menu of classic Italian cuisine.  It was the kind of restaurant, one would think of as a good neighborhood eatery.

 

 

At lunch time, it was always packed, because of the local government and all of the businessmen that frequented Dearborn.  We used to go there in the evening, when it was much calmer and you could enjoy a serene, leisurely dinner.  It was a place where you would start out with an antipasto salad, a rich soup, a side plate of pasta and then one of several different dishes for your entrée.  They had a couple of good veal dishes, that were always prepared properly, and then you would finish off with a cannoli and some good coffee.

Bolla Valpolicella 1992

 

The wine list, of course was heavily weighted towards Italian choices, which made perfect sense as that is what paired with the cuisine.  The restaurant carried good basic wines, which were well known.  A typical selection for dinner would be a Bolla Valpolicella 1992.  Bolla is a very big Italian shipper and blender of wines; they have become a brand unto themselves.  In fact Bolla is one of the largest shippers of Valpolicella wines for the valley just north of Verona.  This a very deep colored and full flavored wine made from the Corvina Veronese, Rondinella, and Molinara grape varietals.  The wine that I am showing is the base Valpolicella wine, as there are other classifications of it offered as well.

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The Cruise Inn in Detroit

Posted on February 11, 2013 by thewineraconteur

In my old neighborhood, the main drag was called “The Highway.”  On the Highway was a very popular fancy restaurant and lounge called The Cruise Inn.  The restaurant was done in dark woods with a nautical theme.  There was a beautiful sailfish mounted over the center of the bar, which was caught by the proprietor.  On one half of the Cruise was the bar section and the other side was a very nice restaurant.  It was one of the premier restaurants in the old neighborhood.

 

 

It was also a haven for all of the Armenian men who grew up together.  If you ever saw the movie “Goodfellas” it had that same feel, as the lounges of that era all were of that genre.  There was always a crowd at the bar, and the tables were filled with other regulars that were there for the steaks and other basic grille dishes.  Also periodically there would be Armenian food offered, which upped the attendance.  As I said there were many regulars that hung out there for extended periods, as this was the norm for that period of time.  I think you could find a card game or two at some of the back tables to keep the men there a little longer.

 

 

It was all good fun, and I remember that at one time, they all started sported a baseball cap, way before that was a normal piece of headgear with TAC embroidered on the crown of the cap.  TAC was for “Thursday Afternoon Club which one of the wags of the group came up with, as a secondary alibi for where all the men would be.  It probably even sounded too good to the bosses at some of the local business that would have their employees go to their “club.”

Mouton-Cadet Boredeaux 1973

 

This period of time from the 1950’s to the 1970’s or so, was the period of cocktails and beers.  What would any man order to go with a porterhouse or rib-eye steak?  The cocktails were even manly back then, with no “frou-frou” type drinks, even for the women that were escorted into the Cruise.  There would also be a handful of assorted wines that could be ordered.  A few red wines and a few white wines were on hand, a few of them would be, whatever the current “hot” label was and the rest were basic wines that were just constantly ordered by the regulars.  One of the regular wines that I recall was Mouton-Cadet, a Bordeaux blend that was from Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild fame.  This wine was a far removed relative of that classic wine, but it was a fine dependable red wine that suited the clientele and the cuisine of The Cruise Inn.

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Al’s Lounge in Delray

Posted on February 10, 2013 by thewineraconteur

I used to refer to Al’s Lounge as the classiest greasy spoon in America.  I know that it doesn’t sound nice, but Al’s was a great place for a quick dinner.  They had a nice interior, but what made me refer to it as this, was that the menu was a chalk board.  It was quite a gathering spot for the locals of this area, plus a lot of business men and people who worked in the area, when it was a bustling area.

There were always people dining there, and as I said, there were a lot of locals and regulars.  It was the type of restaurant where you would always run into people that you knew.  The menu had a lot of Hungarian dishes, as well as popular diner type food with a Hungarian twist or flavor to it.

I think of it, every now and then because my children would always want to go there.  They would inevitably order the same dish, as if it was an addiction.  I can still hear them say, that they wanted to have roast beef on an open sandwich covered with paprikash gravy.  If Al’s was still open they would still want to go there, just for that meal.

Al’s Lounge mostly dealt in beer and mixed drinks which was very common for the area and the times.  I would just get order a Bordeaux wine, normally as the wine selection was very limited and that would be the type of wine, they would have by the bottle.  Most of the wines were more of a jug type that would come out in a carafe.  Typically I would enjoy a bottle like a B&G (Barton & Guestier) Pontet- Latour which was a generic Bordeaux blend.  This was a good safe wine and would work very well with the dishes that we would enjoy at Al’s.

B&G Pontet-Latour Bordeaux 1972

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An Evening of Two Wine Bloggers and Their Brides

Posted on February 9, 2013 by thewineraconteur

As I started this blog, I had no idea what to expect, nor did I have any belief that anyone would read my recollections, other then perhaps my Bride.  Soon after I had begun, I had a gentleman that started to “follow” my blog and I in turn returned the favor.  We soon had a correspondence between the two of us, not only on our respected blogs, but also we became friends elsewhere as well.

2 Bloggers and 2 Brides

My fellow blogger’s name is Oliver  and I have developed a strong admiration for his writing and his knowledge.  I also have to mention that his blog is called The Winegetter, a play on the Anglicized pronunciation of Oliver’s surname (http://thewinegetter.wordpress.com//).  I have found him to be very Continental in the classic sense of a well educated individual from the Continent, narrowing it down to Germany.  Oliver has a passion for the Riesling wines, especially from his Homeland and is very knowledgeable and words just flow from him about those wine, as well as all of the other wines that he has enjoyed.  I do believe it was Oliver that suggested originally that we get together to meet, as he is living in Ann Arbor at the moment, and I am in Livonia.

Nina and Oliver

As we started to communicate about possible restaurants that the four of us could meet at, I suggested a couple of ideas, because one always has to check if there are food allergies or potential problems, so as not to have any problems during the evening.  We settled on a fine little café called Amadeus in Ann Arbor, where my Bride and I have dined before.  I would say that the restaurant is more of an Austro-Hungarian themed eatery as there is an Eastern European flavor of the cuisine.  Oliver told me that the menu reminded him of comfort food, so we made plans to finally meet.

MI Amadeus BC

The restaurant is an old retail establishment and they have tables in the part of the building that would have been windows displaying the wares of the establishment in days gone by.  We all met and had a table in one of the windows, which was perfect as we could enjoy our conversations away from the other diners.  What wonderful conversations we had, talking of past trips and about wines, of course.

Lan Rioja Crianza 2008

We enjoyed appetizers and salads.  The dinner plates were very filling, plates of pork, salmon and beef with potato pancakes and more.  The food this evening was secondary to the conversation, as it was if we were two old friends that had found each other after years of separation.  From our writings, we were friends before we had even met.  The wine list contained about three to four dozen choices of wines to choose from, and it was a very eclectic mix of wines.  One would surmise that with the choices of the menu, that it would lean more towards French, German and Hungarian wines.  While all three countries had offerings, there were also wines from other parts of Europe as well as from the New World.  I was curious to see what wine Oliver would select, as I saw a couple of wines that I would have chosen.  He had selected a Rioja wine, and then we had to decide between two different Rioja wines, and our waitress said that the Lan Rioja was the proprietor’s favorite wine, so that made the selection for us.  The wine Lan Rioja Crianza 2008 was made exclusively from the Tempranillo varietal and it was subtle enough that it worked with the assortment of entrée plates that we were enjoying.

Tokaji Aszu 4 Puttonyos 2001

After dinner we also enjoyed a nice dessert wine a Tokay Aszu 2001 with 4 Puttonys which indicates the level of sweetness with 5 Puttonys being the sweetest.  It was a fine way to end the evening’s camaraderie, and we look forward to meeting with them again, and until then, we shall read each other’s blog.

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The Atheneum in Detroit

Posted on February 8, 2013 by thewineraconteur

There is something about the glamour and mystique of old Las Vegas and any of the old casinos of yore.  Unfortunately the modern edifices of Lady Luck may have the glitz and the bells and whistles, the aura is different.  Now I have been known in my youth to have made a wager or two, now a days I prefer to wander the casinos and people watch.  My Bride and I go to Las Vegas at least once a year these days, but it is to visit our immediate family rather then to wager the mortgage payment.

MI The Atheneum MB

 

Closer to home, there are now three casinos in downtown Detroit and they appear to be relatives of Las Vegas, but once or twice removed.  One of the casinos is located in the area know as Greektown, and this was an area that I frequented years ago, when it was “Greektown” and not a tourist trap, but that is another tirade.

Beaulieu Vineyard Chardonnay Reserve Carneros 1998

 

My dear Bride attends different board meetings and occasionally I get to tag along for dinner and some of the perks.  Once we went to the Atheneum Hotel and Conference Center which is the hotel part of the Greektown casino.  It is a hotel with the trappings of Las Vegas Detroit style.  It is very nice and I am glad to see that there is a renewed interest in people going downtown.

Beaulieu Vineyard Merlot Napa 1998

 

The meeting was held in a banquet room, as opposed to a sequestered room in one of the restaurants in the casino.  It was a very nice affair with an appetizer, salad and a derivation of a “surf and turf” entrée, followed by a dessert and coffee.  It was a very pleasant way to spend an evening and to renew acquaintances.

Beaulieu Vieyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 1998

 

The planning committee perhaps working with the hotel banquet facility offered a choice of three wines for the evening and they were all from Beaulieu Vineyard of Napa Valley, California.  The winery is referred to as BV by a lot of people as a form of shorthand, which works.  The wines offered that evening were Chardonnay, Merlot and a Cabernet Sauvignon.  These are all good picks of the basic wines of Beaulieu Vineyard and I am sure that if I had been asked, I would have chosen the same three types of wine to offer as a variety.  After the dinner meeting, the majority of attendants decided to try their luck and I guess that I cannot blame them.  As the old saying goes “the casinos are not built off of the winners.”

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