We have survived the Y2K Scare and the end of the Mayan calendar. Hoping the future holds the best of love, luck, health and happiness to you all.
“I don’t drink any more…. I don’t drink any less” – Joe E. Lewis as portrayed by Frank Sinatra in “The Joker is Wild.”
“When Champagne is drunk, proper distance is diminished. The wine was created to throw respect out the door” – Napoleon
As we all prepare to enjoy some Champagne in a night or two , we must thank a Benedictine monk named Dom Perignon who was the cellar master at the Abbey of Hautvillers who noted that the white wines of Champagne developed a sparkle in the spring following the vintage. With an early winter all of the natural sugar had not been transformed into alcohol and when the warmer weather of spring came the wine started a second fermentation. As the remaining sugar fermented, there was a natural effervescence of the wine in the barrels. He then created a special cork for the bottles which sealed the wine into an airtight container. Dom Perignon is credited with creating the Champagne that we enjoy today. In actuality he created a method to ensure the retention of this natural phenomenon and the marketing of it.
Dom Perignon is also credited with the discovery that by blending different wines of the area together before this second fermentation he could create a more distinct taste of the wine. Hence the concept of cuvee or blend, and he was able to make a wine that tasted similar year after year. Not only were different wines blended, but so were different years of wine blended to create this consistent taste. Whereas most wines are valued because of being from one small area, Champagne is a marriage of many different parcels of land, each valued for its unique quality. It is the one wine that is more famous for the sum, then for each part of the blend. This is one of the reasons that the great Champagne house do not like to declare a vintage, because invariably this wine will not by nature have the “taste” that they are known for.
The whole involved process to make Champagne is very involved, as there are many steps and time involved. It is also one of the few wines where sugar is also added before bottling and this is why there are many types of Champagne from each house. Brut wines receive the least amount of this special sugar syrup and it is the driest and Demi-Sec is the sweetest rating that one usually finds here. The French believe that the world says they prefer Brut wine, when in fact most people prefer Extra Dry which naturally is a little sweeter.
One of the unique aspects of Champagne is that the majority of the grapes used are the Pinot Noir varietal and the very intense method that the great houses go to pressing the grapes in the field during harvest to maintain the pale white color of the wine. The other grape varietal that is used for Champagne is the Chardonnay grape. On occasion one will also see a wine listed as Blanc de Blancs and this is made only from the Chardonnay grape, but this is only true for Champagne wines made in the towns of Reims, Ay and Epernay. Another side note that I am sorry to state is that almost every country adds additional taxes on sparkling wine as opposed to still wines
When you are ready to toast the New Year, please refrain from using the low saucer type “Champagne” glass. Classic lore attributes this glass as being made to duplicate Marie Antoinette’s breast, as this made it even more of reason to celebrate. I have always thought that her poor husband was cheated, and this glass allows the bubbles to dissipate very quickly. Please use a Champagne flute; this is a tall narrow glass as it maintains the bubbles for a much longer period of time. So please enjoy your revelry.
We have a charming couple for dear friends, which are younger than we are, but delightful in their maturity, wisdom and their desire to keep growing in an acquisition of knowledge. They have a great interest in the arts, in culinary pursuits and a wonderful appreciation for wine. They also have a great deference for their parent’s generation and of a lifestyle that is different from today, but this is not to imply that they are not firmly a part of today’s generation; a graceful blending of two worlds.
We had dinner with them at their home and with some of best behaved children that you will ever encounter. My Bride brought her Caesar Salad and I brought them a wine for them to enjoy at their leisure. We were all in the kitchen enjoying a glass of Cava, a sparkling Spanish wine while final preparations were being made. We sat down and had the salad, and then we were presented with a wonderful dish of pasta and meatballs. After wards some homemade canolis and coffee cake with some wonderful coffee that would make any Barista envious.
We started out with a very mellow Chianti Classico Riserva from Monsanto, a 2007 vintage. This was a wonderful wine with a great follow through with a taste that was not in your face for such a young wine. Like I said it was very mellow even in its youth with the spice that is expected from classic Chianti. Monsanto is one of the big houses for Chianti and this is a remarkable wine for one of their opening offerings from this region. After dinner, two port glasses were brought out for our host and for me. I tried a sip, looked at the bottle and informed our host that he better bring out another glass as my Bride would insist on trying this wine, even though for the most part she does not usually drink dessert wines. The wine was from a Michigan winery Tabor Hill. It was a Port style wine made from the Cabernet Franc grape and I knew that this would be an aphrodisiac and a wine my Bride could not resist trying as this is her favorite varietal. She raved about it even on the way home. All in all, I have to say it was a wonderful evening with good friends.
My Bride did a yeoman’s job preparing a feast for anyone that stopped by for dinner, even though she was under the weather and medicated. We expected between twenty and thirty people to come and enjoy the evening. Most of the crowd that arrived are not devoted wine drinkers. Also with the snow, everybody was taking it easy, as they should.
One of our guests brought a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that he was happy about and wanted me to try. He said that there was no heavy stuff as he put it. He also told me he went to the winery. I asked if he had gone to the Traverse City area, and he told me no, he was outside of Port Huron. So I told him that it must be made from concentrate juice. Not that I am an authority on wine making, but I explained how these store fronts are taking wine juice and creating “wine.”
The wine was a bottle of Vinomondo Winery of Fort Gratiot, Michigan. The label states Lodi Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. It also had a “For sale in Michigan only” statement on the back label. I have never seen that before, but perhaps because the wine juice came from California, maybe it is a legal technicality. I must say that the wine was better than what I had anticipated, as I have had these types of wines before, and this wine had a much better taste.
The more I thought about it, the more I was happy with the thought. While it may not be wine in the classic mode or what most people think how wine should be made, it never the less gets people to try some wine. If they enjoy it, it may lead them to try another bottle of wine, and perhaps the next wine will be a more classic structured wine. I am not lambasting this whole other wine industry as they have a niche market, and I know some do it better than others. I also think of all of the neat place seat gifts we have received at weddings where they give a bottle of wine with the happy couple’s information, a classier modern version of a book of wedding matches.
My Bride and her girlfriend after we left Fleming’s went to a trendy new concept that they had booked about a month earlier for. It is called “Painting with a Twist.” And I am not sure what the twist is; I did asked my Bride about it and she just said that it was the name of the business.
When they arrived they were given a stretched canvas and some acrylic paints and brushes. There was a theme for the evening, they had a two part picture of some wine glasses, and the fledgling artists were either to paint the top half or the bottom half of the theme pictures a best as they could. That was how the session began and everyone began being artists. In a sense, I wish I could have been there to here some of the conversations, suggestions and I am sure that a good time was had by all that attended.
The other aspect of the session was that one could bring wine to enjoy while the painting was going on. This, perhaps is the twist? Since my Bride went with her friend that liked to give me wines with unique labels, I sent them off with a wine carrier, two glasses, foil cutter, cork screw and a vacuum pump, in case they did not have that big of a thirst and were really dedicated to the arts. Since our friend started us drinking Marilyn Merlot wines, I put in the carrier a Norma Jean Merlot 2006 from Napa Valley. For the uninitiated Norma Jean was Marilyn Monroe’s name before she acquired her stage name. So when the winery issues a younger wine that now call it Norma Jean and use a younger photo of Marilyn for the labels. I must admit that I do enjoy the wines from this winery, thought the first bottle that I was given, I thought it to be a joke. I was surprised, but this winery deserves a story all of its own.
One of my Bride’s dear friends just arrived from the Carolinas to visit her family and old friends. We have been to assorted restaurants and wineries in Detroit, Traverse City, Napa Valley, Venice and Charlotte with her, and wine has always flowed when we are together. We have done wine tastings, wine dinners and sometimes just wine when we are together. We laugh and have a good time; in fact one of her Christmas gifts is her renewal to the periodical The Wine Spectator.
Well while she is in town she made sure to at least carve out one day to spend with my Bride. Of course they started off going shopping, which I think is mandatory when they are together. They just have a grand time, and they did make a short period for me to join them and it was for dinner, before they culminated their evening plans.
We planned on a quick dinner at Fleming’s, which is a steakhouse with a location near to our home. Fleming’s has garnered a ranking in The Wine Spectator for being very wine oriented, in fact that proudly proclaim that they have one hundred wines by the glass for your dining pleasure. This particular evening we sat in the bar and took advantage of a great promotion that they have been running for some time now. My Bride and I always go to Fleming’s it seems before we see a new movie. The promotion is called “5 for $6 ‘til 7” and is only in the bar area. It runs from five in the afternoon to seven in the evening. They offer five different cocktails, five different glasses of wine, five appetizers plus a great burger all for six dollars. What a value and a great way to try some wines, which you might not know.
From the offered dishes we order calamari, roasted mushroom ravioli, and the burger for me, and off the menu we also ordered a plate of baked brie. We tried some of the wines which included a Pinot Noir by Angeline Winery and a Cabernet Sauvignon from Paripaso Winery both of which were form California and a Shiraz from Morse Code Winery of Australia. The Pinot Noir and the Cabernet Sauvignon were the big winners of the evening as they were repeated.
We exchanged some our Christmas presents while at the restaurant and I received a bottle of Project Happiness Syrah 2011 from Oreana Winery of Lodi, California. Ever since she learned of my label project that I started on the walls of my cellar, she has always shopped for intriguing labels for me. In fact she introduced us to the Marilyn Merlot line of wines which we continue to drink because of her, but that is for other another story or two in the future.
Here is an example of another restaurant that named the business after a wine. Le Bordeaux replaced one of my favorite restaurants, and I think that they tried to emulate the former establishment. They had good food and service, but they could not capture the sparkle of the last business, which was a shame.
They listed the restaurant as having French and Italian cuisine, though I always felt that it was more of a flavoring of the cuisines, than actual dishes of classic interpretation. There are not a lot of restaurants that can do French cuisine properly, and if they do, that is there sole concentration, which as far as I am concerned is how it should be.
One of the main reasons that we went there, was because they had dancing with a little lounge combo. There is something about a dance floor and live music that can be just as strong of an aphrodisiac as great food to us. When you can dance, the entire evening improves as far as we are concerned, and we are no Fred and Ginger, though we try.
The wine list was not as well thought out as the prior restaurant, so we would go and enjoy some good wines, as opposed to great wines. This was also fine as it helped our wallet. One of the wines that I had saved from our trips to Le Bordeaux was Domaine De La Morderee from the Cotes du Rhone district. This is always a go-to wine, as I have found that the wine always delivers, without having to worry about the vintner, negociants, or for that matter, I usually don’t even worry about the vintage year from this area.
When you are in Naples, Florida during the season even with all of the additional traffic and crowds it is a pleasure to be there. The beautiful rose or pink Ritz Carleton Hotel is a landmark for years and a delight to visit. Somehow when you are in Naples it is always fun and relaxing.
We went out one night for dining at Bayside which is at Venetian Village and Bay in Naples, which was a short drive from the hotel. The restaurant is a little complex of identities. They have a delightful bar on the street level looking out on the bay, the Grill is on the second floor with a beautiful view of the area, and there is also an upper deck bar in an open air terrace with a much more casual setting. We opted to enjoy ourselves in the Grill as we are always dressed for dinner.
The restaurant has a mix of different offerings from oak grilled steaks, a Mediterranean mix of pasta dishes and a great selection of fresh fish offerings. We had Crab Spring Rolls and an order of Crab Cakes to begin with. My Bride had a grouper that was encrusted with pistachio and macadamia nuts, while I enjoyed a roasted duck dinner that was glazed with Chambord.
We tried a wine that I have not seen since, so I am glad that the label came off so well. It was a Roussette de Savoie from the French Alps region. Les Rocailles by Pierre Boniface is one of the largest producers from this area. Some of the wines from the Savoy region are made from Chardonnay grapes, but when it has the Appellation Roussette de Savoie Controlee designation the wines are made from the Roussette or Altesse grape and the Chardonnay grape. The wine has a more floral nose with a bit of honey, so it is not like a typical Chardonnay wine. It paired very well with the nut encrusted grouper, and I really thought it was harmonious with the Chambord glaze of the duck.
Here is a restaurant that has become a fixture in the Detroit area, I remember going to the original one when I was in college, and that was a few years ago. The restaurant is known for serving fresh quality food with a little twist or zing, even if they are offering classic comfort food dishes. They always offer many appetizers, several types of salads, a varied selection of entrée choices, and some wonderful desserts. Sweet Lorraine’s also is very pro-Michigan in that it always indicates that a lot of the dishes are sourced from local farms and companies.
One of the restaurants is located in a hotel near us, and our in-laws tend to use the hotel as their residence when they come to visit all of the families. They get a large suite and sometimes even another adjacent room to make everyone comfortable. They also have pool parties there, inviting especially all the nieces and nephews for a day of frolic.
My Bride and I have met them many times at the hotel and there are times when we just meet at Sweet Lorraine’s for dinner, as it is very convenient and the food is always good. This is what one wants from a hotel and restaurant when living out of a suitcase, especially with children. The wine list is not extensive, but it has been created to pair with the foods being offered. On one of the many dinners that we have enjoyed there, we enjoyed a couple of bottles of Folie a Deux Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. Every time we have had a bottle of this wine, it has been a good choice, as it offers a true Cabernet Sauvignon taste with a little nuance which makes it that much more enjoyable.
The Wine Raconteur 