The Wine Raconteur

My Bride said let’s go to Napa Valley for our next holiday.  To an amateur wine lover, that is close to Nirvana.  My brain went into hyper-drive.  There is so much to plan, so much to see, but most important…so much to taste.  Wineries, restaurants, being a tourist and finding out that we were going to go to a Spa as well, were all crowding my thought process.  We were planning on meeting some friends that had moved out of state, in Napa.  When should we go?  That was easy, let us go when it is the craziest; we will go during harvest season.  We can see wine production in process, and fully appreciate all that goes into making a bottle of wine.

Where do we stay, what should we see and where should we eat?  All important and great questions that needed an answer, to make this holiday wonderful and memorable.  By long distance, burning up the phone lines, we decided to split up some duties.  Our friends would work on securing someplace to stay, and find a Spa.  The wineries and restaurants fell on my lap, and who in their right mind would consider that work.

There are so many wineries in Napa Valley, that there was no way to see them all, let alone to do wine tasting in just one week.  There were wineries that I had to see, and there were some wineries that were important, just to say we went there (because they were tourist attractions that even friends who were not into wines would have heard of).  Restaurants had to be chosen for each dinner, not to mention lunches as we would need strength to continue on this quest.  I was adamant that we would eat out, all the time, my Bride is an excellent cook, but there was no way that I wanted her to be cooking on this trip, after all she was on holidays as well.

I was burning up the internet checking on wineries and restaurants, and printing maps galore (would I need a separate suit case just for paperwork?).  Certain wineries had different classifications for wine tasting.  Certain restaurants had different rules for reservations, and everything had to be planned.  I felt like a general planning on the largest military maneuver since D-Day.

Slowly, but surely everything started to fall into place.  We rented a private home that was owned by a couple from San Francisco and they considered this their cabin on the top of the rise overlooking the whole valley.  In the mornings with coffee, out on the porch we could see the hot air balloons from Sonoma.  Reservations were being made and then we looked at maps to fill in other side trips between.  This was to be a memorable holiday.  We decided that the first day would be unpacking, a trip to a Spa (massages and reflexology to prepare us for the rigors of the week) and then dinner.  The adventures would begin the next day.  The following series of anecdotes may have additional photos beyond just wines, so I beg you to forgive my indulgences ahead of time.  Remember also that beyond being an amateur in wines, we are even more an amateur in photography.

Wine and Food go hand in hand at one of the best fund-raisers that I know of.  We have been attending this affair for years, in fact we gave been going prior to the construction of the new VisTaTech Center at Schoolcraft College.  This event raises money for the Schoolcraft College Scholarship Fund.  It is held in September of each year just for that purpose.  The greatest thing besides the noble effort of helping young students go to college is that former graduates of the culinary program return for this event representing the restaurant or other culinary institutions and prepare a tasting for everyone that stops at their respected table.

As soon as you enter the Extravaganza you are handed a plastic tray, which has a slot provided for a wine glass and a wine glass.  This tray makes is as convenient as you go from table to table tasting all the delicious foods being offered.  There are normally three sets of tables, each representing a different restaurant, and each table will offer a different dish that is placed on a small plate which is then placed on your tray.  There are clusters of tables with groupings from appetizers, salads, soups, entrees of meat, poultry and seafood, desserts and coffee and soft beverages.  Usually the fourth table in the cluster will be of a winery or a distributor featuring four to six different types of wine to try (hence the glass).  There will be leaflets and brochures about the wines as handouts, and some of the restaurants even offer gifts as an added inducement to go to their restaurant at a later date.  This is such a great time, because you may see a restaurant that is there, that you have heard about and never gone to, and they are trying to dazzle you with their offering.  It is a great time, but be warned that you should go there hungry, because there is some serious “grazing” for the afternoon.

They also have silent auctions of art work, food baskets, dinners and collectible wines.  There is also a live auction that features trips to wine countries and areas, dinners at your home prepared by some of the chefs at the Extravaganza, something for everyone at all price levels.

One year we begrudgingly left all the food and wine to go to a session of wine tasting (and I say begrudgingly because the food choices were so wonderful) overseen by the Detroit area’s Master Sommelier Madeline Triffon.  It was a blind tasting and believe me there was some lively discussions and a fun time enjoyed by all that attended it.  How often do you get a chance to discuss wines with a Master Sommelier?  Ms. Triffon made it fun and not stuffy; she was attempting to make the wines accessible and non-threatening.  She accomplished that goal with flying colors.  We then proceeded back to the food and wine tables and ended up at the live auction.

We always invite friends to join us, and in later years we see our friends with other friends that they invite for more good times.  The chefs, restaurants, wineries and all who participate are zealous in their endeavor to serve quality and not mediocrity.  An extremely well run charity event.

So if you are in the Detroit area, go to Schoolcraft Community College’s website to check out the forthcoming Culinary Extravaganza and order your tickets.  You will not be disappointed.  My only caveat is that you should not have any dinner plans that evening, as you will have to work off the afternoon’s delicacies.

My Bride and I have always aspired to be Nick and Nora, which proceeds Hart to Hart by decades.  We were up at the Grand Traverse Resort one year because of a conference that my Bride was attending.  I was asked if I could give a wine tasting and talk to the spouses that were not at the conference.  I accepted the challenge graciously.  Since we were up in the Traverse Bay area, it was quite easy to find seven different wines locally as well as some Michigan cheeses for the tasting event.

This was a fun tasting and not a classroom for in-depth discussion.  There were several people who had no concept of what to expect, but they were in a resort, they were not golfing and they wanted to have fun.  That is the way I approached the tasting.   I discussed the grape varieties, and some of the wine techniques.  We had some lively discussions of which wines would be great with different foods.  I found Champagne that was on the sweeter side to begin with, that was a big hit with the group.  Everyone prior to tasting this Champagne had expressed that they prefer a brut style, until they tried this wine, and they all raved about it.  This wine was from Chateau Chantal and it was called Celebration.  It is a pink wine with a wonderful semi-sweet taste and they all wanted to buy some to take home from the trip.  The other wine that I surprised them with was a Gewürztraminer style wine also from Chateau Chantal (on another tangent here, if you are ever in the Traverse City area, you must see Chateau Chantal not only for the wines, but it is one of the most beautiful wineries in Michigan as it is the furthest point on the peninsula with panoramic views of both bays).  The Gewürztraminer was at first a little startling to everyone, because it is a very “spicy” wine.  When I suggested that they try this wine paired with Chinese food, they all could see this marriage in their mind.  We ended the tasting and everyone was then ready for the dinner that evening at the conference and looked forward to trying some different wines and feeling adventurous.

At the end of the conference, I was wandering in the lobby of the resort, and wandered into a gift shop.  They had a “murder mystery” game for a group of eight.  According to the packaging, there were suggestions for attire for all of the guests, and invitations to be mailed with those suggestions.  The game also had dinner suggestions and music suggestions in keeping with the theme of the “murder.”  We couldn’t wait to get home to have the party, elaborating on the dinner and pairing wines with each course.  Since that first “murder” party we have probably purchase another twenty different themed games.  That is where Nick and Nora come into the picture.  If those two names do not ring a bell, think of the “Thin Man” movies of the thirties and forties based on the original “Thin Man” story by Dashiell Hammett, who also wrote “The Maltese Falcon.”

Nick and Nora were the ultimate amateur sleuths, though at one time Nick had been a professional, gave it up when he married Nora, and they both just enjoyed the era and the carefree times, helped by some days and nights of revelry with assorted alcoholic beverages and assorted colorful characters.  Years later on a wine vacation in Carmel, we stopped in art gallery in Monterrey, and there was a collection of works by the legendary caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.  While in the gallery there was the work we had to have, signed as #95 of a 100 print run, with four “Nina” trademarks “The Thin Man.”  An extra expense, we had not counted on, but it is now the focal point of our living room.  I was going to include a picture of the drawing in this remembrance, but every picture I could find on the internet was protected and I could not download a copy.  When I mentioned this fact to my Bride she became adamant that I do not even photograph the one on the wall, so instead I will offer a faint resemblance of our famed duo with a picture of the host and hostess with a bottle of Champagne at one of our “murder” parties.

Everyone has to start somewhere.  Wines are everywhere to be procured.  In the old days it seemed that wine was only sold in bulk gallon jugs, but that could be, because I grew up in a highly ethnically mixed neighborhood.  You would see wines with brand names like Gallo and Famiglia Cribari.  The labels would have such descriptions as “Red Wine,” “White Wine,” Port and Chianti.  Then in one of the back closets at church you would see gallon jugs that said “Altar Wine.”

People would buy these wines and enjoy them or grimace and wonder what all the fuss about wines was about.  Then there were the bottles of Chianti that seemed to be everywhere from fancy pizzerias and local Italian restaurants, the wines that had a wicker wrapped bottle.  This wicker-work is called a “fiasco” which is how some wine enthusiasts would insist is a proper description.  The wicker-work was done by hand back then, so the wine was the least expensive and had the least quality of the vintner.  The bottles were designed to be standing erect, and usually had shorter corks (both indications that the wine was not designed for long-term storage, but for immediate use).  In the old days in the movies or on television you would see the bottles in the background of sets with a tall candle inserted in the neck, and candle wax drippings down the bottle; a very Bohemian type of atmosphere.

I have always viewed this migration of the wine industry as a positive growth.  People started becoming more adventurous with decisions.  I really enjoy seeing this up-growth of people drinking wine.  At parties, people would have wine set out, and a lot of hosts would make it a point to pour me a full glass of wine (knowing that I am an outspoken advocate of wine), not realizing that the glass should not be filled to the brim.  When I am offered the glass, I always accept it, and taste it with them.  I then try to tactfully suggest that the next time when they are shopping for wine, they should try to look for a different type of the same wine.  How many times have I nursed a glass of wine, rather than insult my host or hostess.

Any attempt to get more people to enjoy wines is a great idea.  It is also wonderful when the next time I see some of my past hosts or hostesses and they thank me for the last suggestion.  They may not be able to verbalize the difference of my last suggestion, but they readily admit that there was a marked improvement in taste.  I find that very satisfying and humbling at the same time.  It is even better when they asked for a suggestion that is one step above the last recommendation. I hope that I have started another wine enthusiast for the future, as they have begun to take the small steps to better enjoyment.

I may only be a new raconteur of wine.  I remember reading about this wine, and I had to discover it and decide for myself, as the story was intriguing.

On the back label of the bottle I quote;

“In the year 1111, the Bavarian Bishop Baron Johannes Fugger was traveling to Rome under the instructions of Emperor Henry V.  The nobleman, a connoisseur of wine, sent his faithful servant ahead to chalk the word EST! (“It is”) at the entrance of every inn where the wine was especially good.  The servant was so enthusiastic about the wine of Montefiascone that he wrote EST! EST!! EST!!! on a local inn.

The Baron never reached Rome.  Agreeing with his servants choice he remained in Montefiascone.

The story is commemorated in Montefiascone every year in August when a barrel of EST! EST!! EST!!! is poured over his tomb.”

Further to the legend is that the Baron actually drank himself to death on the spot.  Whether or not this is true, it is lore that the village revels in.

The wine is a very pleasant white wine, what I would refer to as unassuming.  It was a decent wine, though I know that I would not drink myself to death over it.  The story was good enough for me to want to try a bottle of it.  That my friend is the true wonder and the cause of my continuing love of wine, that there is always another bottle to try, a region, a grape variety.

Of course I remember the old priests in the neighborhood, even though they were of Italian or Hungarian descent, all had that Barry Fitzgerald persona and were known to have a glass of wine or two.  It is still a tradition, as my Bride always goes down to the cellar to get a wonderful bottle to give to her priest on Christmas.  Then my Father loved to tell the story about our priest who came to bless our house in Detroit.  He came from my Grandmother’s village so she was adamant that when he presented his flask, that it should be filled with the Crown Royal and not the Canadian Club.  My Father would laugh and say that the flask held a fifth.  This has nothing to do with wine, but I get off on tangents periodically.