Urziger Wurzgarten Spatlese

Posted on October 12, 2012 by thewineraconteur

I am a member of private dinner club, and I have enjoyed this club for many years.  Part of the charm of this group is that you and two other members are the host for an evening and then you dine on someone else’s dime for the rest of the year.  Each group selects the restaurant and makes the decision regarding the menu for the evening.

 

 

For a couple of years, one of our members also had a membership in the Bavarian Club of Detroit.  I am not even sure, if that is the proper name, but it is how we would refer to it.  For two years running, I was able to enjoy the same type of wine from two different wineries.

 

The wines were from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer district of Germany.  They came from the town of Urzig, hence Urziger, just like someone from Detroit would be a Detroiter.  They both came from the vineyard Wurzgarten, and they both were Spatlese designations.  For the two years that we had dinner at the club, several of the members, me included found these wines to pair wonderfully with the cuisine of this club.  Even though the wines had the Pradikat of Spatlese, they were not overly sweet which may have fought the flavors of the food.

 

I don’t make a claim to be an authority on any wine, but my knowledge of German wines may be the weakest, but I still try to learn.  My own form of Continuing Education, where I am home schooled and I do appreciate the homework.

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Lambrusco

Posted on October 11, 2012 by thewineraconteur

Some days I write about wines that are legendary and some days I mention wines that are popular.  Lambrusco wines from Northern Italy have had peaks and valleys of popularity, and that is fine.  During the 1970’s Lambrusco wines were everywhere.  Television, radio, newspapers and periodicals all carried advertisements for Lambrusco wines.

 

We are not talking about great wines or artisan crafted wines, but wines that are produced in bulk, for the masses.  These are wines that are fun to drink or even to quaff (as I like to say).  The great thing about wines that have a day in the sun is that it introduces new people to wine, and that is wonderful.  The power of advertising is such, that it will induce someone to try a glass or bottle of wine with a dinner instead of a cocktail or a beer.  Lambrusco wines were perfect as an introductory wine for people.  There are no heavy tannins, no oakey nuances and no long lingering aftertaste.  A wine of this nature is a great starting point, to try other wines.

 

Lambrusco wines do not break the bank, price-wise.  It is an easy “foreign” word to pronounce and to remember.  These are both positive reasons, as far as I am concerned to get people to try wine.  I am always proselytizing about wines, and I always try to get someone to try a wine.  Lambrusco was safe, it was not dry, nor was it a sweet wine (OK sweet to me, but not cloying sweet or like a dessert wine).

 

I feel that once people venture out and try a wine with dinner, they find it a pleasant experience.  One pleasant experience leads to another and we have another budding wine aficionado.   That is why I never try to denigrate a person’s choice of wines (unless it is some wine left over from my teenage years that was created just to intoxicate).  I always try to suggest ways for people to expand on their tasting experiences.   I can say that I was lured to Lambrusco wines due to the power of advertising, and I feel that I have progressed to new vistas of wines.  Though as I write these words, I think that perhaps this coming summer, I shall look for a few Lambrusco wines that are not a bulk production and shall see what I think of them after all of these years.  After all, I have written about a couple of rose wines this year and a couple of years ago, I would not have even thought of buying any of that designation.

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A Visit to My Mother’s Favorite Restaurant

Posted on October 10, 2012 by thewineraconteur

Even though my last name is Armenian, my Mother was German and I remember as a child that my Father would once a year take my Mother to her favorite restaurant way on the east side of Detroit The Little Café.  There were several other German restaurants in Detroit, especially when I was a child, but she always wanted to go there.  That was always her Mother’s Day gift.  My Mother died when I was a freshman at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, so those memories have diminished.

A couple of years after I graduated from college I had a chance to dine there once again and I am glad that I did since they are no longer around.  Since my Mother did not cook German dishes at home, I had to wing it at the restaurant and go with safe sounding dishes and they were excellent as I remember.  I remember having Wiener schnitzel, and sausage and cabbage.  I also remember having a Black Forest Torte cake, but beyond that, I cannot recall the any other dishes.  I do remember that I and my friends all left fully sated and happy.

I have the two wine labels from that evening; they are both from the same district in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer area of Germany.  Actually they are both Bernkasteler Schlossberg wines, both with Pradikat from Riesling grapes.  One is a Spatlese, while the other is an Auslese designation, and that was the order that we drank them.  A Pradikat designation means that no sugar has been added to the wines.  Spatlese refers to a later harvesting of grapes, so that they may be even more concentrated with natural sugar.  Auslese can actually be harvested at the same time as the Spatlese but put in a separate container, because the grapes show an even more ripe condition.  My memory of the wines is a bit sketchy, though we all enjoyed the wines; the Auslese was sweeter and fuller but paired well with the dinner, as well as with the good fun with the friends.

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The Last Night at Joey’s Stables in Delray/Detroit

Posted on October 9, 2012 by thewineraconteur

Joey’s Stables was the restaurant in Delray, which was annexed to the city of Detroit in 1905.   Though most people thought of the Delray area as Hungarian, it was a melting pot of nationalities as they started on their quest of the American Dream.  Joey’s was where the elite met to dine in the area.  I am not sure when they opened their doors and there were always rumors that it was a “port of entry” during the Prohibition era.  All I know is that it was a man’s restaurant.

From the moment you walked in, and your eyes had to adjust to the dimness of the bar, it had the feeling of another era.  The bar had had a couple of booths that had beautiful horse heads carved that demarcated one booth from another.  The bar always had a few people standing around and most of them were regulars that only greeted the other regulars.

 

 

Starting with the appetizer plate that came out almost as soon as you were seated, that had a bean salad, and herring in sour cream with crackers and bread; you started to eat, before you knew you were hungry.

 

 

I had an uncle that held “court” there a couple times a week.  On certain days, you knew he was going to be there dining and drinking with customers and friends.    It was that kind of place, where you felt at home.  You could always get perch or a steak, and great Road House style frog legs piled high on the plate, which I enjoyed for the last time.

 

 

Joey’s had survived everything that had hit it, until the City, applied the nails to the coffin.  I have heard several different stories and variations of the machinations that caused this institution to go into the annals of history.  As I said, I remember the last night of Joey’s and it was packed, the bar area must have been five deep.  It was a sad day for the regulars, and for others that regarded it as their once or twice a year bit night on the town.   I remember that at the next table was the family that maintained a funeral home in Delray, and I kidded the table, that they were just doing what came naturally.

 

I remember splurging that evening and buying a bottle of Amarone Della Valpolicella by Bolla.  It was one of the top wines on their menu.  I wanted to close my memories with a good wine.  I just talked about Amarone wines a couple of posts ago, but as I said then, if you get a chance to try one, do it.

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Majors in Southwest Detroit

Posted on October 8, 2012 by thewineraconteur

One of the greatest hidden secrets for dining was Majors in Southwest Detroit.  It was, perhaps the most unique restaurant that I have ever been to.  On one end was a full blown bar that shared the menu of the restaurant on the other end.  The bar was completely filled with logos and signage from trucking and logistical companies, plus most of the car companies.  You could tell the type of business men that frequented that end of the restaurant.  The other end was a table clothed full blown restaurant that featured steaks, veal and seafood with an Italian bias.

 

It was one of the most affordable restaurants in the tri-county area of greater Detroit.  There was soup, salad, pasta, entrée, dessert and coffee and you might not even cross the twelve dollar mark, not to mention great bread on the sides, and you could splurge for an appetizer.

 

Majors was such a deal that I used to use it for dinners after baptisms and first communions, because it would work out to be about the same price as to do it at home, with the preparation or the clean-up.  There was always a back room that could be set up for a party.  Now that I think about it, there was one back room that was always busy, but that is another story.   Everybody would just order off of the menu, and the staff would bring out plates that were ordered, plus more plates of extra, that weren’t (and at no additional charge, how could you beat that).

 

As for the wines, it was always basic red Italian wines that I remember plus bottles of Asti Spumante for celebrating.  I don’t remember any white wines, but if there were they would have been the popular ones of the day like a Zeller Schwarze Katz, Blue Nun etc.  Some places the wine shone, others the food did the yeoman work.

 

 

Unfortunately, the restaurant was robbed one day, and the owner just decided that was it.  It was a sad day for all of the regulars.

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Ernesto’s and a Cetamura Chianti

Posted on October 7, 2012 by thewineraconteur

Ernesto’s billed themselves as “An Italian Country Inn” with a more casual side called Ernie’s in the back.  When I first went to this location it was known as the Hillside and the owner/chef was a big game hunter and he used to offer some very exotic entrees from his hunts.  That was years ago, and then it changed hands to Ernesto’s.  The restaurant has had ups and downs about reviews, but was always considered a fancy family style restaurant with linens, and there used to be a strolling violinist on certain days, not to mention that in the Ernie’s section one could be entertained by live music and an ad-hoc dance floor.  The restaurant’s name has changed once and is now know as the Courthouse Grille with a revamped menu, but still maintaining some of the stand-by dishes.

 

 

The food was of a classic Italian eatery, nothing out of the ordinary, but always a place where one could get a fine meal.  There were all the classic dishes of pasta, that one would expect, plus some fine veal, beef and seafood offerings.   There was not one dish that appealed to more than another, but we knew that we could go there and be happy with our selection.  It was the type of restaurant that a large group could go to and everybody would be happy and sated when we left.

 

The wine list was not large and tended to lean of course to Italian wines, which is as it should be.   One evening we enjoyed a couple of bottles of 1990 Cetamura Chianti from Coltibuono with friends.  This was just a classic example of a well made Chianti wine, not even a Classico designation, but it fulfilled the requirements of the evening.   There is something about a Chianti wine that makes Italian food become even more of “comfort food” then it already is.   This Cetamura had that deep color that looks like Chianti, and it did not have the nose that I sometimes find in Chianti wines of egg whites, which sometimes turns me off.  I always think of egg whites from the old home-made wines that I would taste that we would receive as gifts from family friends in the old neighborhood.  I am not sure, but I once heard that some of the older men would use egg whites as a filter as they were getting ready to bottle their creations.  That may or may not be true, but I do find that occasionally with some bottles of Chianti to this day.  Of course I may be predisposed to anticipate it with a wine that I may presume ahead of time, not to be of the caliber of quality that I expect.  Though I do try to be open minded on each bottle of wine, I think past memories tend to be hard to change.

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Old Greektown and Wine in Detroit

Posted on October 6, 2012 by thewineraconteur

A couple days ago, on one of the pages of Facebook that I belong to; there was a mention of Greektown and the casino.  I typed a message that I preferred Greektown in the old days before it became commercial.  The reference made me think back to my high school days and the joys that old Greektown held for me.  Even before I got there, Greektown was part of the Detroit lore.  The old Grecian Gardens restaurant and the police raid on the premises, just a block or two from Old Precinct Number One of the Detroit Police Department.  There were restaurants like the Laikon, Pegasus and the New Hellas.  There was a bakery, where for years my family would order paklava for the holidays at Stemma Confectionary.

 

    

I remember tagging along with some of the men, more contemparies of my Father, then of my age.  They would take me out for dinner, drinks and belly dancers.  It was such heady days, when the dancers would throw their veil over my head and dance for me.  It was all clean and pure fun, but exciting non-the-less.

     

 

On a different note, that made an indelible mark on me, one night after hours in Sero’s Coffee Shop.   I was sitting with some of the men, and an old black man came into the shop in ragged clothes, unshaven and reeking of cheap alcohol.  He came to our table, looked at me and said “hello” in Greek, to which in my laidback attitude of the moment, I replied “fine” back in Greek.   That was about the extent of my knowledge of the Greek language.  The man looked at me at started to speak in fluent Greek and wanted to have a conversation.  I replied in English that I was not Greek and could not speak the language.  I shall never forget the next couple of exchanges we had.  He looked me right in the eye, and said “if yous be here, now, yous must be Greek.”  I replied “no,” and then he said “what yous be, if yous be here.”  I answered that I was Armenian, and he looked at me and mumbled “Harmenian, Harmenian.”  All of a sudden he counted from one to ten in Armenian, then chanted the Armenian alphabet, and then began talking to me in the Armenian language.  I was amazed and at a loss for words.  Then out of the blue the manager of the shop came and escorted the old man out of the building.  The manager came back to our table and asked if there were any problems.  I said no, but asked almost rhetorically how an old drunk black man could talk to me in both Greek and Armenian.  The manager just should his head and said that the man had once been a professor of languages, but that alcohol had ruined his life.  I still get a bit of a shiver when I relive that moment.

 

 

We are here though to talk of wine.  I looked everywhere to find some wine labels that I thought for sure that I had.  They were not in my scrap book, nor in my loose files, nor could I even find them by removing bottles out of my rack, looking at the labels that are the wall paper in my cellar.  I had to go online to get the labels, and I feel that I am cheating you, but I have drank many of these wines that I am going to discuss.  That is why some of my labels that I show are not pristine, but I do want to show that I have drunk the wine, and I feel that it is my best proof.

 

Even back in the days of Homer, wine was written about, and there are three wines that are usually encountered to be paired with Greek cuisine.  The first is Retsina, a white wine that has been flavored with pine resin during fermentation.  Some people are put off by the nose and taste; some have even thought that it was turpentine.  Once you get over the initial taste, you find this oily wine tends to work well with a lot of the dishes.  There is red (rose) version of this called Kokinelli.  The next wine is Roditis a dry red wine, and sometimes found as a rose.  This wine has more body and more of a true wine taste then Retsina.  Depending on the winery you may find this wine as Demestica, and even a white version called Hymettus.  Finally there is a wine called Mavrodaphne, which may be the most famous of the Greek wines, but it is more of a dessert wine, and does not pair well with dinner.

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Lelli’s on Woodward Avenue and a Barolo

Posted on October 5, 2012 by thewineraconteur

The original Lelli’s restaurant on Woodward Avenue was unique.  It had morphed into the place everyone remembers.  There were all sorts of little rooms and coves and sometimes felt like a maze.  I never asked, but presumed that the restaurant grew by acquiring the buildings adjacent to it, as that is how it felt as you walked around.  It was also legendary as one of the only restaurants that I am aware of, where you could have your car washed while you were dining there.

 

 

One always started with an antipasto plate, salad Lelli, minestrone Lelli, spaghetti Bolognese, the entrée of your choice and then dessert and coffee.  I have to say that I do not care for minestrone soup, but I always enjoyed the minestrone at Lelli’s.  The steaks, veal, seafood and chicken all had a Lelli treatment, or you could order classic interpretations as well.  When you left Lelli’s you knew that you had a meal.  It was a sad day when Lelli’s left Woodward Avenue.

 

The first Barolo wine that I ever enjoyed was from Lelli’s.  It Was a Bersano 1966.  Barolo wine comes from the Piedmont region and is made from the Nebbiolo grape.  The Nebbiolo grape is found in three wines from the Piedmont. Barolo, Barbaresco and Gattinara, but the grape varietal is usually not listed on the label.  If you see Nebbiolo on the label, you are almost guaranteed that the wine is not from these three villages.  Barolo wine production is probably a third of the size of the Chianti Classico quantities.  The Italian government requires at least two years of maturation in the barrels before bottling, and it is not uncommon for even longer aging by the better houses.  I wish I could say that I have had plenty of Barolo wines, but that is not the case, as it is often hard to find, but worth it, when you can.

 

The grandson of the Lelli family has opened up a new restaurant using the recipes of the original restaurant.  We have also been there a couple of times, but as the character named Moustache in Irma La Douce says “that is another story.”

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Amarone della Valpolicella

Posted on October 4, 2012 by thewineraconteur

A group of us had a couple of bottles of Capitel de’ Roari one night during dinner at the old Arriva Ristorante in Warren, Michigan.   The dinner was a classic spread of Italian dishes, from an antipasto salad and ending with tiramisu and canolis.

 

While the dinner was great, I want to discuss the wine.  It is an Amarone della Valpolicella.  Valpolicella is probably the second most popular wine in Italy and is found in abundance in America as well.  It comes from an area near Verona.   Valpolicella is known as a fresh medium body wine with a dry aftertaste.  It is similar to the Bardolino wines also from the same area, but those wines are more delicate and paler than the Valpolicella.

The Amarone designation is for a unique wine making technique from this area.  Select groups of grapes are laid out on tables to dry in the sun, until they become “raisiny.”  This creates a wine that has much more nuance and character than the typical Valpolicella wine.  Some wineries and blenders are known to let the wines mature in casks for up to five years before bottling.   When the wine is ready if it ends up with its natural sweetness then wine is called Recioto Amabile and turned into a sparkling wine.  If the resulting wine ferments into a dry wine it becomes a Recioto Amarone.

 

 

This process takes longer to produce, but I have never been disappointed with any Amarone wine that I have tried.  If you try some, make sure that you tell your friends while you are enjoying the wine, the process that evolves.  You will be held in awe for the moment as they take a second taste of the wine to discern some tastes that they may have missed the first time.

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Tullio’s La Riviera in Allen Park, Michigan

Posted on October 3, 2012 by thewineraconteur

Tullio’s was one of those great Old Italian neighborhood restaurants of years back.  Nothing pretentious or having that canned look of so many restaurants of today.  It was an honest dinner from the old school.  Like so many of the nationalities that I grew up with in Detroit, there was a segment that moved down river from the city and Tullio’s  La Riviera catered to one of the groups.  Though his food was fine enough, that many others discovered his dishes as well.

 

It was a great pasta place, the type that even if you didn’t order pasta, you got some on a side plate along with your meat entrée.   I remember the first time that I was there, the host/manager brought us to a table.  His voice was so familiar, but I was having a hard time placing him from my youth.  During the course of the meal, I had a chance to talk to him some more, especially after hearing people call him by his first name.  He was Mario Casadei, who years ago had a restaurant in Southwest Detroit called (of all things) Casadei’s.  Of course everyone from the neighborhood referred to it as “Cassidy’s,” which made it sound like an Irish-Italian restaurant.  The old restaurant had closed I would venture a guess around 1972 or so (maybe later).  I remembered it, as the restaurant that had my Mother’s memorial dinner after her burial.  The restaurant was usually closed on Mondays, but with the turn-out for my Mother, the restaurant was opened for a private event.  It is funny how one remembers little incidents, as this was a restaurant that my Father and his cronies would go to, as opposed to my cronies.  Mario looked at me, when I brought up the memory and remembered the day.

 

The wine list was not extensive, but a simple grouping that would accommodate the menu.   I was just learning about Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wines at the time, so here was another learning moment for me.   This was more of a table wine, from the region so it was not as heavy.  Of course one of the problems for this wine, that I do enjoy, is that it is dwarfed by the Chianti district and now also by the Super Tuscany region as all three are in the central part of Italy.   Another problem for this wine is that the grape varietal is the Montepulciano, and there is a town or village with the same name, but Abruzzi is the major city in the district.  The charm of enjoying wines is pairing a wine with the dish.  If one is not fussy, neither should the other; at least that is my thought on the subject.   I find that a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo can make pasta (even the dishes that are made for the American palate)and Tullio’s La Riviera was not of that ilk, better.

 

I am sorry to say, that a tragedy befell the family and the restaurant has since closed their doors.

 

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