Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Posted on July 21, 2023 by thewineraconteur

This whole trip to Toronto was done in record time, so that we could see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child before it stops being performed.  As luck has it, we were able to get tickets for the final performance, at the beautiful Ed Mirvish Theatre, which was entirely done in Harry Potter themes.  A crazy morning, we finished packing, left the condo according to their instructions, we went to a restaurant for breakfast, and found that the most accommodating parking was at the garage that was part of the Eaton Centre.  The ladies were excited, but I was the most successful; I found an Italian Sport Coat (my shoulders were too large for Harry Rosen, but Saks was up to the challenge), since my retirement and the nonsense of a few years ago, I gained a little weight LOL, but it is slowly coming off, just like it slowly was added.  My Bride found the garment, I might add. 

We got to the theatre which was across the street from shopping about an hour early and it was already getting mobbed, but we couldn’t get in for about a half hour.  I did find out that I could get some wine, and all I could think of, was they were losing money, by not letting meander the lobbies drinking wine.  It was rather thrilling to see all the children, and some adults dressed like they were wizards at Hogwarts.  Some had complete outfits with wands, others had school ties or school scarves.  There were more people in costume, compared to when we went to the two parks in Orlando for our anniversary a few years back, and no, my Bride didn’t even bring her wand.  My Bride was going to take a photo of me in “The Mirror of Erised” and at the last minute, her sister who was one of the co-conspirators of this trip jumped in, as well. Now, without further ado, I will mention the play.  We all had some problems keeping up with the plot, as the enunciations of the actors was not as crisp as it could be, and they were not speaking from their diaphragms, as I was taught way back before mini-microphones.  Most of the cast were close enough in appearance to the characters that we have learned to love over the decade of films, with one glaring difference.  The staging was spectacular, the scene and property changes were choreographed perfectly, and the human transfigurations of the characters from one to another using “Polyjuice Potion” onstage was awesome.  Also, the “Patronus Charm” and the “Dementors” floating from the stage to above the audience was spellbinding.  As you may have noticed, since I know all the terms, I have become a fan.  We have the entire collection of hardbound books, and when I mentioned that I saw the book for the play, someone immediately went and purchased two copies.           

I did mention that my throat was getting parched when we arrived at the theatre and while they were searching for mythical candies found only at Hogwarts, I passed on the Butterbeer from Hogsmeade.  I decided that I needed a beverage more local in nature and I made my Bride happy as I purchased Hillebrand Trius Pinot Grigio Ontario VQA 2022.  It began as a small winery in the Niagara Peninsula called Newark, which was bought by Joe Pohorly and renamed Hillebrand Estate Winery in 1979.  In 1983, they were the first Ontario winery to successfully make Icewine.  In 1989, they launched Trius Red and two years later it won “best red wine in the world” at the International Wine and Spirits competition in London, England. In 1994 Hillebrand was sold to Andres, and is now owned by Andrew Peller Limited of Ontario and British Columbia.  In 2012 Trius Winery was founded, and as a side note we have been there a couple of times and we even had dinner at their restaurant.  The wine we had was from their Trius Everyday Collection and hence the Ontario VQA.  A very pale straw-yellow colored wine that offers notes of green apples, pears, honeydew, and a spritz of citrus. A very fresh and fruity, unoaked wine, that probably had very little aging time in Stainless Steel after Initial Fermentation.  A couple of glasses of this wine was perfect while enjoying the play.  You will be glad to know that my American patois was back, by the time we hit the border, and I think the border agent was just laughing as he saw some old timers waving play bills and books about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.     

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Café Boulud in Toronto

Posted on July 19, 2023 by thewineraconteur

As I said one of the joys of finding a fine dinner experience in Toronto, which should have been easy, was difficult, because it was Canada Day.  My brain decided that the best chance of finding a nice dinner was at a hotel, because they have to feed their guests.  I found Café Boulud was at the Four Seasons Hotel.  I didn’t look any farther, since we have had the Chef’s Tasting at Daniel, and the stellar burger that is an homage to America at Bistro Boulud.  We were led to believe that we could do the Chef’s Tasting, while her sister and her husband could order off the menu.  Our waiter was totally against that idea, and had a very condescending attitude to us, as we all placed our food order.  My Bride and I shared an appetizer of Rougie Foie Gras Torchon, with rhubarb and strawberry, pistachio and house made Brioche.  We also shared a glass of Chateau Suduiraut Castelnau de Suduiraut Sauternes 2006, which is the second label for Chateau Suduirant.  Chateau Suduiraut is a Premier Cru from the 1855 Classification of Sauternes and Barsac. The estate has over ninety hectares of vines on gravelly, sandy soil on the banks of the Gironde and borders Chateau d’Yquem.  In 1992 the estate was acquired by the investment firm AXA Millesimes in 1992.  The fruit is harvested in passes, to get the optimum levels of botrytis grapes (Noble Rot which creates deeper depths of sugar).  The Premier Cru wines are aged for twenty-four months, the second label for fifteen months in twenty-three percent new barrels.  The wine is a blend of ninety-six percent Semillon and four percent Sauvignon Blanc.  The wine was a very pretty deep golden color and offered notes of candied fruit, florals and honeysuckle.  On the palate tones of yellow fruit and quince, and spices perfectly balanced of sweetness and acidity with a medium count of fruit and terroir.     

While the other couple shared a Rotisserie Chicken for two, with confit potatoes, zucchini, and wild mushroom risotto.  My Bride had Nova Scotia Lobster tail, with asparagus, Chanterelle mushrooms, frisee salad, and a Lobster Cognac sauce. After the appetizer I showed our waiter of my articles about our trip to Daniel and his autograph; his attitude changed immediately, and the next thing I knew, was that the General Manager came over to apologize about the misunderstanding about the Chef’s Tasting.  As a consolation he sent over a plate of Octopus that was one of the courses and it was large enough that the four of us could try it; I thought that was very generous and considerate.  Since the other couple wanted red wine, I ordered a glass of Domaine Louis Moreau Petit Chablis 2021 for my Bride.  Domaine Louis Moreau produces Chardonnay wines from four different levels of appellations in Chablis. The Moreau family has been in Chablis since 1814 and Louis represents the sixth generation.  This vineyard was planted in 1987 and is four hectares of vines.  The Petit Chablis vines are harvested in the second half of harvest for the domaine.  Initial Fermentation is for about eighteen days with natural yeasts, and Malolactic Fermentation is for a couple of months in Stainless Steel vats.  Then a light filtration, and then the wine is aged for an additional four months on the lees with several stages of racking.  It takes about ten months total, before the Petite Chablis is ready to be released.  The wine was a deep yellow and offered very aromatic notes of white fruits and citrus and white florals.  On the palate there were tones of fresh apple and citrus combined, good acidity and roundness with a nice finish of terroir.

I had the Rack of Lamb from Alberta, with spring peas, Morel mushroom fricassee, confit potatoes, and pressed Lamb shoulder; as a side note my Bride thought that I had chosen the better of the two entrées.  I tried to find a wine that I thought would work both with my choice and the chicken dishes and we got a bottle of Vina Bujanda Rioja Reserva 2016.  Familia Martinez Bujanda is a group of five wineries that own their own vineyards in different parts of Spain.  Joaquin Martinez Bujanda founded the original winery in Alava in 1889.  In 2009 Vina Bujanda was created to bottle the entire production for the vineyards in Rioja.  The wine is pure Tempranillo and the fruit is a blend of harvests from Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa. The wine is aged for twenty-four months in seventy percent American Oak and thirty percent French Oak barrels. The wine was so deep in color it appeared to be black and offered notes of black fruit, chocolate, leather, graphite, and pepper.  On the palate rich tones of black cherry, currants, pepper, and moderate tannins with a long medium count finish of fruit and terroir.     

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A Day Enjoying “Justin’s Barbecue”

Posted on July 17, 2023 by thewineraconteur

While we were enjoying a day in Toronto, and it was on Canada Day, we had to find ways to be entertained.  When I was a kid, I could speak Canadian fluently as my father was born in Hamilton, Ontario; named after George Hamilton and not a hip-hop musical. Also, as a kid, I would remember that on holidays and Sundays, Canada completely closed down, just like in the States.  Between the time we arranged this trip to us being in Canada, a major forest fire broke out in a couple of provinces, and the smoke was even devasting in Detroit as well in New York and the New England states.  So, we got a chance to wander around downtown Toronto in the haze and sometimes the CNN Tower was difficult to see.  In case you were concerned Justin Trudeau seem untroubled with the trees burning, as he was in Alberta away from the problem.  You may remember Justin as the little boy of Pierre and Margaret Trudeau.

We took a trolley and a transfer and walked the edges of Chinatown and Little Japan (I couldn’t tell you which was which) and we went to the Art Gallery of Ontario, or as it is called AGO.  We started in the lower-level concourse and admired the magnificent ship models, from there we went to the European galleries to the large Cassatt-McNichol collection.  We also saw a large collection of Indigenous art and perhaps the largest collection of Henry Moore art under one roof.  My Bride and I also showed her sister and her husband, one of the side benefits of going to a museum.  We went to the AGO Espresso Bar, and had some munchies.  While they enjoyed cups of espresso and tea, I decided on having something more flavorful and when in Rome… I had a glass of The Organized Crime Pinot Gris Niagara Peninsula VQA 2021.  “Sometime in the early-to-mid 1900s there were two quarreling Mennonite congregations who disagreed about the acquisition of a pipe organ.  The feud resulted on one congregation breaking into the other church, and then tossing it down an embankment… hence the Organized Crime Winery name.”  This small boutique winery, second-generation and family-owned is located on the Beamsville Bench of the Niagara Peninsula.  Edward Zaski and Ania de Duleba are the winegrowers, assisted by their Consultant Winemaker Greg Yemen.  The fruit for this wine was allowed to macerate for twenty-four hours of skin contact.  I will venture to say that this wine had fermentation and probably a short aging period all-in Stainless-Steel tanks to maintain the freshness of the fruit.  The light straw-colored wine offered a nose of pear, nectarine, and cantaloupe.  On the palate a very crisp and balanced taste with tones of pear and cantaloupe and a short finish of light citrus.  It was perfect and I felt comfortable to brave the heat and haze, especially since the women didn’t find anything that they had to have in the museum shop.

It was my job, to find a restaurant in Toronto, which seemed like a snap, until you realize that it was Canada Day.  Fast food, pubs and bar food was plenty, but the fine dining establishments were all closed so that the help could be with the family.  I put on my thinking cap and decided that major hotels had to have restaurants open for their guests, so I chose the Four Seasons Hotel as our destination.  According to our navigators, it was almost an even time lapse for trolley/bus or by foot from the museum to the restaurant, after almost an hour we made it to our destination, and I am glad that we do our daily 5K walks, though I still grumbled (it is a common feature).  I will reveal the restaurant in the next article, but the restaurant had a street-level bar that we gladly availed ourselves of.  They brought us out ice water, and a small dish of olives and Wasabi-spiced nuts and Marcona almonds.  My Bride and I had a glass of Mas Carlot Generations Blanc Costieres de Nimes 2021.  The original area was controlled by the Romans, and there are remains of that era. The buildings of Mas Carlot were originally built in the 17th Century and updated in the 19th Century. They are in the seventh generation as stewards of the land.  The current family has restored the grounds and buildings to their original appearance.  The Mas Carlot stretches across sixty-five-hectares and the vines are 70 meters above sea level. The vineyards were redone twenty-years ago, and the estate is now officially certified as organic.  The wine is a blend of fifty percent Roussanne, forty percent Marsanne and ten percent Viognier.  The wine had initial skin maceration and then fermentation and aging were done in concrete vats.  The soft yellow wine offered tones of apricots, peaches, and honeysuckle.  On the palate there were strong tones of apricots and peaches, the fruit was a bit jammy for me, but in good balance and acidity with a decent finish of fruit. Dinner time was approaching.  

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I Was Shanghaied – Perhaps LOL

Posted on July 15, 2023 by thewineraconteur

All I know, is we were out having a nice dinner and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child came up.  Here in the States, it is being performed in New York and in California.  Then it was mentioned that it is being performed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  Immediately, I was the only one not feverishly punching away on a cell phone getting information.  It turns out that the last performance was going to be on 2 July 2023 and of course that is a holiday weekend, as 1 July is Canada Day.  I really didn’t think everything would fall into place, but it did.  Though on the drive up, we stopped at a restaurant and they had a red wine, and a white wine.  They did know how to make a Run and Cola.  We arrived late enough to unpack and drink some “house” wine that my Bride had packed, and I have written about too many times, but she is a creature of habit, when she finds something that she loves.    

We were staying at an Airbnb, which brought terror into my heart.  I guess I am old school and I like to stay at a hotel, and I also like to have everything preplanned.  My idea of roughing it, is a Holiday Inn, and here we were staying at someone’s condo, I guess in a building that doesn’t condone such enterprises, with designated parking spots designed for a Mini Cooper, instead of the Mini Van that the four of us were traveling in.  Luggage and all the other stuff that my Bride brought had to be unpacked and three of us had to get out before the vehicle could be parked, with just enough room for the driver to extricate himself. Our ensuite bedroom had a jacuzzi tub, next to an open toilet and there was a shower that we both had to enter sideways in and out of and no hand rails especially stepping out onto wet marble flooring.  A risk manager would have a field day with this, come to think of it, the immortal Willie Gingrich would have thought he died and went to heaven, he would have been able to stop chasing ambulances forever.

The next morning, we had breakfast in the condo, some sort of micro-wave individualized quiche bites and Mimosas.  Me, the fellow that likes to know what is going on and likes to have things planned out, was flying by the seat of his pants.  All I know was that later on in the day we would be using public transportation, which is basically unknown in the Detroit, the “Car Capital of the World.”  In Chicago, we would use the “El” to travel from the airport and get off at the river and walk two blocks to our hotel, and then walk or take cabs, until we left. The three others left in the morning to go shopping with the van, to a mall that was closed by the time we had arrived in Toronto, the night before.  The women came back with new purses, who knew?  My Bride is getting younger every day, as she bought a very trendy robin’s egg leather backpack.  I stayed home and finished the Mimosas and contemplated taking street cars, without really any true map to fall back on.  The magic of Harry Potter was surrounding us. 

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Fine Wine Source Club Selections – July 2023

Posted on July 13, 2023 by thewineraconteur

Is there anything better than stopping off at my local wine shop, The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan?  There may be, but for mere mortals, the options aren’t as easy to achieve.  Some days, I can run in and run out, and other days, it may be an hour interlude of pure bliss.  I also know that I will not encounter any of the wines that I can find at gas stations, drug stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, or beer and wine stores.  Each and every bottle of wine has been curated by the owner, and often by his staff as well.  The selection always offers a wine from the Old World and one from the New World.

Representing the Old World is Bodegas Breca Rosé Calatayud DO, Spain 2021.  Bodegas Breca was founded in 2010 by Jorge Ordonez with the aspiration of creating the finest Garnacha (Grenache) wines from Spain. The use clones of the original vines from the Kingdom of Aragon (Garnacha de Aragon). This varietal is perfect for the mountain vineyards, as it is a very late ripening grape and ideal for the meso-climate of mountain vineyards.  Calatayud DO is located in the southwest corner of Aragon, in Northern Spain.  It was the Romans that introduced viticulture to the region.  The area has what is called a Continental Climate and known for hot and dry summers, but is also known for winters of extreme low temperatures and frost that can last for six months. The vineyards are loose, rock soils with limestone, slate and quartz tossed in the mix and some of the vines have now reached the fifty-year mark.  The fruit for this wine is hand-harvested from multiple mountain vineyards and they use the saignée concept; which is the concept of bleeding off, some of the initial juice from the initial crush, leaving the rest of the (red) wine to get concentrated from additional time with the skins.  They use traditional dry farming techniques with a minimum to no human intervention.  The wine has Initial Fermentation with indigenous wild yeast in Stainless-Steel and concrete tanks.  The wine is described as having a pale orange color with notes of yeast, cantaloupe, and florals.  On the palate the wine offers tones of stone fruit, melon, citric acidity, and a short finish with a dash of salt.

For the New World the wine is Criss Cross Petite Sirah Clarksburg 2020 under the umbrella of Vino del Sol.  Vino del Sol’s mission is to be your trusted source for great wine and they were founded in 2004 and they now market wines from Argentina, California, Chile, Japan, and New Zealand.  Vino del Sol’s wineries are all estate-grown, sustainably-farmed and family owned.  Criss Cross is a joint venture between Lange Twine Winery and Vino del Sol.  The winemakers are Karen Birmingham and David Akiyoshi and they like to say “boot prints, not tire tracks.”  The wine has also achieved the Lodi Rules Sustainable Winegrowing Certified Green designation.  Clarksburg AVA extends into three counties (Yolo, Sacramento, and Solano Counties) just east of the San Francisco Bay Area, in the Sacramento Delta waterways.  The terrain is mostly flat with mineral-rich clay and silt soils; and for years it was considered over-fertile and more suited to high yields rather than high-quality, but this old concept is being challenged more and more.  The wine is ninety-nine percent Petite Sirah or Durif and one percent “other varietals.” There was just over one-thousand-eight-hundred cases produced.  The grapes are picked at optimal ripeness, pressed at dryness, and aged in a mix of French and American Oak.  The wine is a deep purple offering notes of black fruit and spices.  On the palate a fruit-forward wine offering tones of blueberry, blackberry, and plum, along with cinnamon, nutmeg, licorice, and olive juice; jammy with full tannins.    

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After Dinner at Bar Pigalle

Posted on July 11, 2023 by thewineraconteur

My Bride and I had a wonderful time at the French Rosé wine tasting at Bar Pigalle.  A rather new establishment, and between the bar and the kitchen, it appears that they are carving out a niche in the Midtown area of Detroit that has been bustling for the last ten years or so, as the district keeps picking up more residents moving in and the independent restaurants are creating a need for even the suburbanites to drive down for dinner.  We had met one of the principals as we first arrived, because as I keep telling you, I am such a shy wall-flower and we were going to go back to the bar and thank him for being such a good host and for the fine evening we had. 

There were still a few bottles and a few tasters milling about at the end of the bar.  He grabbed a fresh glass and poured my Bride a glass of Domaines Ott Chateau de Selle Cotes de Provence Clair de Noirs Rose 2021.  Domaines Ott is famed for their rosé wines in the south of France.  They have three estates: Clos Mireille, Chateau Romassan, and Chateau de Selle (and since renovated de Selle, they created a fourth line “By.Ott”).  The wineries were founded by Marcel Ott in 1896, and Chateau de Selle was added in 1912.  Each of the three estates make two wines, and all are bottled the unique bottles which represent the undulating landscape of Provence.  Chateau de Selle is the most inland of the estates and are planted on terraced slopes of soils that are a mix of gypsum, red clay, sandstone, gravel, and chalk. The wine is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, and Mourvedre; and I would venture to say that the wine is fermented and aged in Stainless Steel tanks. A golden-pink colored wine offering subtle notes of citrus, florals, and spice.  On the palate a fresh and crisp mix of citrus flavors ending with a nice lemon edge, well balanced and with a nice medium count finish with a kiss of sweetness and terroir.

I finished the evening having a glass of Domaine Rolet Pere et Fils, Arbois vin Jaune 2014. My Bride is not partial to the white wines of the Jura, so I took advantage of having one without her.  Domaine Rolet was created in 1942, and in two generations they were producing wines of all the appellations of the Jura.  In 2018 the Rolet family handed over the estate to three families who were passionate about wine and the Jura. Arbois was one of the first AOC districts in France, since 1936, the district also created one of the first wine cooperatives; and the region has been recognized since the year 1000. The wines have been written about by Rabelais, as well as Jacques Brel. This wine is pure Savagnin, one of the famed varietals of the Jura. The grapes are manually harvested and sorted at the end of the harvest season. The wine is aged for six years and three months (minimum) in oak barrels.  A “flor” of yeast, or a layer sits on top of the wine as it ages. The wine also naturally oxidizes during the aging process, and the wine is basically untouched during the entire aging period; and the barrels lose some of the wine, and even the bottles represent the lost wine, as the bottles have a smaller amount compared to the average wine bottle.  This soft straw-yellow wine offers notes of cut hay, dried fruit, almonds, and spices.  On the palate a refreshing dry wine with tones of fruit and almonds, saffron and plenty of oak and a nice long finish evoking yeast and almonds.  I enjoy the rich, concentrated taste, especially the nuttiness (for a lack of a better word), but my Bride only enjoys the Cremant wines and the red wines of the Jura, it is that unique. 

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Dinner at Bar Pigalle

Posted on July 9, 2023 by thewineraconteur

After enjoying many wines at the tasting, we had made a reservation for dinner, as we had no idea what to expect from the dinner.  I had originally called to ask if I could get a table in the bar area, and yes, I still make reservations by phone.  I was told that there were no tables in the bar area.  One can dine at the bar, or they have some open booths along the wall that divides the bar from the restaurant. 

When it was time for our reservation, there was still quite a bit of activity in the bar area from the tasting crowd, but we had worked up an appetite.  There were plenty of interesting items, on the menu, but I have to admit, that we both went traditional for us.  My Bride had the Great Lakes Whitefish with crispy skin, Back Fin Crab, Beurre Blanc and Roe.  She had also poured herself a glass of wine from the tasting that she liked and that was Domaine de l’Ile Porquerolles Cotes de Provence 2021.  The Cotes de Provence is the largest appellation of the Provence and produces the majority of the rosé wine. Francois-Joseph Fournier an adventurer of the old school went from France to the New World in search of fame and fortune and ended up finding his island home that he bought for his new wife, the Porquerolles Island in 1912.  The island is 4.3 miles long and 1.9 miles wide and it is here that he planted vines, fruits, and olives.  There are thirty-two hectares of vineyards planted on soil of shale and clay.  The wine is a blend of twenty-six percent Syrah, twenty-five percent Cinsault, twenty-two percent Mourvedre, twenty-one percent Grenache, and six percent Tibouren. A salmon-pink colored wine that offered notes of red currants and florals.  On the palate there was a mix of red fruits, bright acidity, salinity and a finish of fruit and terroir.

I had the Duck Confit with Agrodolce (a Sicilian sweet and sour type of sauce), Grapes and Frisee (from the chicory family).  I also opted to have a red wine with my dinner.  I had Domaine de la Chapelle de Bois Morgon Les Rontay 2020.  Morgon is one of the ten crus in the hills of Beaujolais, and Morgon allows Chardonnay, Aligoté and Melon de Bourgogne in a mix of fifteen percent to the balance of Gamay, this particular wine is pure Gamay.  The soil is granite, schist, and volcanic influences, rich in iron on a mix of sandy to loams to heavier clays.  Domaine de la Chapelle des Bois goes back to at least 1820 and it has been in the family for seven generations.  The fruit is all hand-harvested and then the fruit undergoes vatting for about ten days, where the juice is pumped from the bottom to the top twice a day, and grids are placed over the fruit to weight it down.  The grids are removed before final pressing. The resulting, slightly alcoholic, quite sweet juice, bursting with aromas is called locally “Paradis.” The estate is just over eight hectares and is organic in approach.  The wines of Morgon are denser than the other wines of Beaujolais and tend to get barrel aging.  The wine is ruby-red and offered notes of plums and cherries, and violets.  On the palate this was a medium-bodied wine with tones of cherry and plums, medium acidity, and tannins.  It opened up, more as we sat discussing the tasting and during the dinner and would not be mistaken for a Beaujolais Nouveau.

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More French Rosé Wines at a Tasting

Posted on July 7, 2023 by thewineraconteur

Considering that we were outsiders among the regulars at Bar Pigalle for their casual wine tasting event, we eventually fit in, for sure my Bride did.  I was just holding my own, as I have always drunk at my own pace.  Everyone that was attending the wine tasting was supposed to bring a bottle of French Rosé to share with the crowd.  At first, I thought that there were more tasters than wine, but even as hot and heavy as it started, the event seemed to eventually balance out.  We also reserved a table for when the tasting was scheduled to end, so that we could have dinner. 

Our contribution to the tasting was Chateau Mourgues du Gres “Fleur d’Eglantine” Rosé Costieres de Nimes 2020.  It was funny that there was a wine rep that was asking who brought the wine, as she saw her company’s name on the back label, but she wasn’t aware of the wine in question; which is understandable as they represent a very large range of wines.  I also felt good, that by the end of the evening there were plenty of “thank you” and accolades for this wine among all the wines tasted.  A former agricultural estate of the Ursulines de Beaucaire since the Sixteenth Century.  “Mourgues” is the word for nuns in the Provencal dialect and “Gres” refers to the round rocks that is part of the defining part of the soil of the Costieres de Nimes.  Francois Collard returned to his family estate in 1990, confident of the terroir and the newborn Costieres de Nimes AOP and his first bottling was 1993.  Costieres de Nimes is the southern-most region of the Rhone appellations and the entire region is based on the round rocks. The wine is a blend of sixty percent Grenache Noir, thirty percent Mourvedre and ten percent Syrah.  After the crush, the varietals are blended prior to fermentation.  The wine stays on the fine lees for a month and then is aged for two months in Stainless Steel, and there was no Malolactic Fermentation involved. I would describe it as a rose-petal colored wine with notes of red fruit and florals.  On the palate tones of cherry, strawberry, and raspberry, finishing with subtle spices and terroir.

Another of the wines that we tasted among the twenty-eight that were being poured was Thomas Labaille L’Authentique Sancerre 2021 from the Loire.  Claude Thomas began in the Fifties with a few hectares in the village of Chavignol and created his estate.  In 1994 his daughter and her husband took over the farm and with the addition of his family’s estate in Sury-en-Vaux they now have eleven hectares of sustainable farming.  The land is a limestone pebble soil on clay and they use twenty-five-year-old Pinot Noir vines to make this wine.  The wine is produced from a direct press and is fermented with native yeasts in fiberglass and cement tanks and then is aged in Stainless-Steel tanks for about six months.  There is no Malolactic Fermentation for this wine, and it is filtered, but unfined.  A coppery-pink wine that offers notes of green apple, stone fruit, and some pepper.  On the palate a tangy wine with tones of fresh fruit, zests, and ample citrus with a medium finish of fruit and terroir.  I thought it was refreshing.  

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A Unique French Rosé Wine Tasting

Posted on July 5, 2023 by thewineraconteur

Through social media and assorted wine associates, I found out about a wine tasting at Bar Pigalle in Detroit.  Detroit is undergoing a change, it is being rediscovered and areas that were once elegant and trendy, had become areas that were to be avoided by the time of my student days; as they were where one would go for illicit activities.  The area in the Roaring Twenties was known as Little Paris, and is now called Brush Park in the reawakened Midtown of Detroit.  A beautiful bar has been installed in The Carlton Lofts; an historic building built by the famed architect Louis Kamper.  The uniqueness of the wine tasting, is that the Bar Pigalle offered one end of their bar, and all the wine glasses for the event.  Those that wished to attend, the entrance fee was a bottle of French Rosé of their choice.  My Bride and I brought two bottles, just in case, not knowing what to expect.  I think that I heard that there were twenty-eight entrants and twenty-one bottles of wine.  I will discuss some of the wines that were offered that evening. 

We got there just before the restaurant was opening, as we wanted to make sure that we had parking in their lot across the street.  We may have stuck out a bit, as we were oldsters, instead of hipsters, but I guess our enthusiasm and interest in wines won over, most of the people that we were chatting with, and my Bride was definitely enjoying the moment.  One of the first bottles opened was Mas de Daumas Gassac Rosé Frizant Mousse IGP Pays de l’Herault 2021.  IGP Pays de l’Herault is a department of Languedoc-Rousillon on the southern coast of France and well over a hundred varieties are allowed to be used, and the region is so vast that it encompasses plenty of different terrains.  Mas de Daumas Gassac is well known and is nicknamed “the Lafite of the Languedoc.”   The winery cellars were built in the foundations of an ancient Roman mill.  The wines are vinified in Stainless-Steel and kept naturally cool by two springs running under the cellars, and slows down fermentation.  The first vines were planted in 1972.  The estate is still family owned and operated.  The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvedre, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon, Petit Manseng, and Muscat; all hand-harvested and grown on white clay soil.  They use free-run juice (saignée) at low temperature, followed by fermentation in the Charmat Method.  A coppery-rose colored wine offering notes of strawberry and violets.  On the palate a charming sparkling wine with tones of watermelon, strawberry, soft mousse and short finish of fruit and terroir.

Another of the wines that we were tasting with the crowd was Domaine du Bagnol Cassis Rosé 2021.  Cassis is a small coastal village in Provence. It is one of the first five AOC regions in France, as it was recognized in May, 1936 for white, rosé, and red wines from area of about two-hundred-hectares.  The Domaine takes its name from a vineyard in the Bagnol district that was recorded in 1430 and in 1867 the first formal trace of the property.  The domaine has twenty-three hectares of vines, including eight in the heart of Cassis and is one of ten oldest in the district.  Jean-Louis Genovesi purchased the estate in 1997 and now they are in the second generation of family, and they began growing organically and became certified in 2014. The grounds are limestone and the wine is a blend of fifty percent Grenache, thirty percent Cinsault and twenty percent Mourvedre.  The fruit is pressed directly and rapidly, under two hours (saignée) to extract as little color as possible and all fermentation and aging, I presume is done in Stainless-Steel.  A pale golden-rose colored wine offering notes of red fruit and florals.  On the palate a refreshing balanced wine with tones of strawberry, cherry, and herbs; with a soft finish of fruit and a slightly salty mineral end to compliment the terroir.

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Father’s Day 2023

Posted on July 3, 2023 by thewineraconteur

I am always looking for new restaurants to try, especially when we are trying to find some place between our house and our son’s house.  I found one place that sounded very interesting and I called to make a reservation, yes, I still like to talk to humans if I can, as I find the modern way to get a reservation so impersonal.  The place informed me, that they would be closed on Father’s Day, because they don’t have enough help, which is the constant refrain that I hear and observe.

There was another place, that I have tried to go to a couple of times before, and this time I was able to achieve my goal.  We went to Benstein Grille, which is off the beaten track for both parties, but still doable.  My Bride asked if we could eat on the patio section, it was not totally outside, but with the garage doors swung up, it was like the outdoors, and I agreed, because there wouldn’t be idling cars to alter the aromas of the food, which is my main reason for dining indoors.  My Bride and I don’t eat as many large meals anymore, so we are starting to get creative.  She ordered the “B.G. Salad” of mixed greens, pecans, dried cherries, carrots, red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and house made Cheddar Cheese croutons, and a Garlic Balsamic dressing.  The waitress split the entrée salad in two.  The waitress also split my entrée in two as well; Peppercorn-encrusted Filet Mignon, marinated jumbo shrimp and scallions with Beurre Blanc, buttermilk mashed potatoes, and vegetables.  Our son, his wife and the one grandson that came to celebrate had different dishes and appetizers.

Now, I don’t want you to cringe, though we were having a version of surf and turf, I ordered a white wine, as I could handle white with the filet, and we were sitting almost like outside.  We had a bottle of McManis Family Vineyards Chardonnay River Junction AVA 2021.  McManis Family Vineyards is five generations of farmers and is a family-owned wine producer based in Ripon, near Modesto and founded in 1990.  The estate has thirteen-hundred acres all in the River Junction AVA, one of the smallest AVA designations in California and the designation was awarded in 2001 with only one winery.  They are most famed for their Viognier wines.  The vineyard that the Chardonnay is grown has sandy-loam.  The wine had cold Initial Fermentation in Stainless Steel and filtered prior to oak aging.  About two-thirds of the wine was allowed to go through Malolactic Fermentation for additional complexity and texture.  The wine aged for four months in a mix of French and American Oak.  A nice golden-straw color that offered notes of pear, melon, and peach.  On the palate a well-balanced wine with tones of stone-fruits, bananas and a touch of vanilla with a finish of fruit and a touch of terroir.

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