Cruising With Ms. Yoga

Posted on January 22, 2023 by thewineraconteur

A day with Ms. Yoga is either spent shopping or wining and dining, and the latter was the unanimous vote.  It was a win, win decision as my wife surrendered her beautiful ladies wrist watch for a piece of plastic and rubber on her wrist that keeps track of her steps.  So, we were out visiting downtown areas where she used to live.  We went to the City of Plymouth and the City of Northville; both rather historic in Michigan and both are still great places to wine and dine. 

Now downtown Plymouth seems to always have something to do, I think it is like thirty-nine weekends of the year, they have events in the park and adjoining streets downtown, if you go there enough, you even learn how to walk around and learn where to park, during the busy times.  The first two eateries that we went to were closed, because of private parties, so we decided to try a place that has been there since we all could remember and none of us had ever been to.  The Post Local Bistro was established in 1978, if memory serves me right as the Post Bar and Grill as it was the first building next to the old Post Office.  We were going out for dinner that evening, so in honor of Ms. Yoga we were going to have noshes and wine.  We decided to just get their Party Tray and our waitress assured us that it would be fine for the three of us.  I liked that they didn’t go upscale and call it a Charcuterie Tray.  One thing I learned years ago, was to ask, what is on the tray, because there are certain cheeses that don’t agree with me, and certain cured meats that don’t either, as I keep saying “I am a pain in the arse.”  Not only did they have a nice collection of noshes, they also had a Whitefish Dip, so my Bride was ecstatic, as Whitefish is the unofficial State Fish.  I selected a wine that I have had before from the Wagner Family of Wines, as in Chuck Wagner of Caymus Vineyards. The wine was Bonanza Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 5 California NV. I have stated before that it the old days, this wine would have been perhaps in a gallon jug with a finger ring, but with the pedigree of the winemaker, even for a wine with no vintage, it was very tasty.  This is a bulk wine produced under a great pedigree of fruit made from the “bonanza” of great vineyards in the state of California.  A nice deep red with notes of black and red fruits.  On the palate there are tones of fruit, dark chocolate and soft tannins with an easy finish.  Not what I would select for a filet, but perfect for what we were looking for.

We still had time to amble around wo we moved up to the City of Northville.  We went to Simply Wine which is a cute wine shop that looks and feels like it belongs there.  Maybe a bit more than half of the store is a wine shop with a large assortment of world-wide wines and the majority were affordable and then a few unicorns tossed in the mix as well.  In the back are some wine barrel tables and chairs, a dozen automatic argon-gas -filled wine dispensers that you use a preloaded credit card to pour a sample up to three different quantities.  The help seemed quite gregarious and much more knowledgeable especially compared to the corner party stores. The ladies started before me, as I ran into a friend and had to catch up for a bit.  I had to get a glass of wine and catch up with the ladies and I chose a glass of Soter Vineyards Mineral Springs Ranch Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton AVA/Willamette Valley 2020.  The winery is a two-hundred-forty-acre Biodynamic farm in the heart of the Willamette Valley in Oregon.  They have forty-acres devoted to Pinot Noir and their White Label is considered one of the best in the State.  The Fermentation and Maceration of this wine goes for thirty days, followed by twelve months in barrel of which forty-five percent is new French Oak.  They made 1,340 cases of this wine.  The wine had a nice deep red color with nice legs and offered notes of black fruit and spices.  On the palate tones of black cherry, plum and blackberry, soft tannins with additional notes of leather and a finish more of wine, than terroir.  A very enjoyable wine, and the wine bar would be a nice place to meet people for a glass of wine.   

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Ms. Yoga Revisits The Earle

Posted on January 20, 2023 by thewineraconteur

Years ago, just after The Wine Raconteur and his Bride, Ms. Yoga frequented The Earle; one of our favorite haunts, especially if we are in Ann Arbor.  She wanted to go there with us, and of course, how could we say no?  This occurred back in December and I have so many articles that are on backlog, all I have to do is write them, when I am not working around the house, or being the Domestic Goddess for my Bride, as part of our division of labor, I do the laundry and then I have a hot and steamy day with Ms. Rowenta.  I digressed again.

The Earle is in the basement of an office business in downtown Ann Arbor and opened up in 1977 as a Jazz Club with a light fare of sandwiches, soups and omelets.  In 1979, it had a casual club environment and finally to the romantic European Bistro that it now is.  To this day there is still live music five nights a week.   Now Ms. Yoga is a nosher, she likes appetizers and small plates compared to big plates of food.  While she was noshing, we started noshing as well, first with Roasted Garlic, then we split the Panzanella salad of cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, basil capers and anchovies with Tuscan-style hard bread.  We shared a bottle of Domaine Alain Chavy Bourgogne Chardonnay 2018.  The Domaine is a leading Burgundy house with its cellar in Puligny-Montrachet in the Cote de Beaune and is known for elegant wines and only with Chardonnay grapes.  It was formed when Alain and his brother decided to split their father’s estate Domaine Gerard Chavy.  Alain Chavy’s holding of six and half hectares of Premier Crus, Grand Cru, lieu-dit vineyards, and some Bourgogne Blanc vineyards.  He is a firm believer in low-intervention, the fruit is hand harvested, Initial Fermentation begins in the barrel for extra depth and intensity, with minimal lees stirring and Malolactic Fermentation begins later, basically due to the cool subterranean cellars of the domaine.  Bottling is staggered and allowed to age according the status of the vineyards.  This wine was a very pretty soft-golden color with notes of lemon, grapefruit and citrus with some spices.  On the palate the tree fruit was front and center showcasing tones of apples and peaches with creamy sensations and a nice finish of chalk and minerals (the terroir).  For a basic Bourgogne Blanc wine, it delivered extremely well, well above its class. 

For our entrées, Ms. Yoga went with the Salmon in Puff Pastry with Dijon Mustard and a Mushroom Duxelles in tarragon-cream sauce.  My Bride and I shared an order of our favorite Coquilles St. Jacques al crème de Xeres, or Sea Scallops sautéed with mushrooms and garlic, pan-sauced with Sherry and cream with rice.  For dessert we shared an order of Crème Brulee with three spoons.  We were fine with our wine with dinner, but there is never a shortage of wines to select at The Earle with over twelve-hundred different wines to select from and international in scope.  They have had the Best of Award of Excellence from the Wine Spectator magazine for thirty-five years in a row and still counting.  While the ladies were more interested in the dessert, I went for a more liquid form in the way of Chateau Bastor-Lamontagne “Les Charmes de Bastor-Lamontagne” Sauternes 2018.  The estate is in Preignac, in the heart of the Sauternes region, with three centuries of history and one of three properties with an Organic certification.  The estate has staying power because of the product, as it was not part of the 1855 Classification of Sauternes and Barsac and has changed hands a couple of times in the last hundred years.  The estate is forty-six hectares planted with Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle on land that is sand, limestone, gravel and clay; with vines averaging about thirty-seven years of age.  The wine is aged for about fifteen months in French Oak, of which twenty percent is new.  The wine had a very pretty gold color for a young wine with notes of lemon curd, honeysuckle, almond and vanilla.  On the palate notes of apricot and apple with nice acidity and balance with a very crisp finish with some terroir.  I think the ladies liked the wine over the dessert.      

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Fine Wine Source Club Selections – January 2023

Posted on January 18, 2023 by thewineraconteur

If you don’t belong to a wine club, I would strongly recommend that you find a good one and join; if you are near Livonia, Michigan than I would suggest The Fine Wine Source.  I was just there yesterday, to pick up the January Club Selections and we were catching up, since the holidays.  I mentioned to the owner that I received a message on my blog, extolling his expert taste in wines, his knowledge and his ability to market to his customers.  There is always laughter and true appreciation towards the customers, and respect to the wholesale wine salesman, as I once again was able to witness yesterday.  The also offered me an impromptu tasting, and asked if I could back the next day to try some wines that may make the cut for their restaurant and for the wine shop.  You really could not ask for a better way to spend a couple of hours.

The wine representing the Old World is one that I am well acquainted with, as I even tasted this wine back in May 2022.  Lorenzo Gatteschi of Podere Ciona had hosted a tasting of his family’s wines that day, and their winery is in one of the oldest parts of the Chianti region on a south-facing hill and the estate has thirteen acres of vineyards, two acres of olive groves and one-hundred acres of woodlands, plus assorted fruit trees, chickens, vegetable gardens and soon apiaries.  The Podere Ciona Chianti Classico 2018 is the winery’s basic Chianti wine and they still maintain their desire to only produce one bottle of wine per vine.  The soil of the vineyards is a mix of sandstone, clay schist and marl. Depending on the vineyard the vines are between seven to eighteen years in age.  The wine is eighty-nine percent Sangiovese, nine percent Merlot and two percent Alicante Bouschet.  They still maintain hand harvesting and initial fermentation is in Stainless Steel for about ten days with extended post-fermentation maceration on the skins for about a month, followed by malolactic fermentation, and then aged in French Oak for about eighteen months, finally refined for twelve months in the bottle.  This light-ruby colored wine offered notes of red fruits and spices, and on the palate fresh fruit, soft tannins and a velvety texture from the Merlot with a nice medium finish of fruit and terroir.

The next selection represented the New World with Dunning Vineyards Chardonnay Paso Robles/Willow Creek District 2018.  Another moment of déjà vu as I had a chance to taste this wine as it was being touted by their neighbor Willie Newman of Tre Son Winery back in January 2022, in fact I enjoyed this wine so much that I had to take some bottles home to my Bride, who didn’t attend the tasting with me.  Bob and Jo-Ann Dunning are the winemakers and owners of this forty-acre estate which was established in 1991 on the west side of Paso Robles.  The winery produces about fifteen-hundred cases a year using several different varietals.  This Chardonnay wine is produced in the classic Burgundian style with full oak barrel fermentation and sur-lees aged for one year.  It was a delightful wine with notes of pear and citrus, nutmeg and vanilla.  The wine had a nice creamy taste with balance acidity and layers of flavor that opened up and finished with a nice medium finish of terroir. 

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Black Star Farms Winter 2023 Club Selections

Posted on January 16, 2023 by thewineraconteur

It is wonderful getting new club selections, as it is always fun and getting something that I might not try, because we are all creatures of habit.  Originally, we tried a couple of their wines at a business conference and they were stellar, but not their famous Black Star Farms Arcturos Dry Riesling Michigan 2017; but their Cabernet Franc 2013 was out of this world.  After the conference, we went directly to the winery and had such a great experience at the tasting, that we had to join, not to mention some wines on the spot.

The first wine out of the box, was an interesting wine for them.  It is a Black Star Farms Sparkling Riesling Michigan NV.  The Riesling is a major varietal for the entire region and especially for Black Star Farms.  The fruit for this wine comes from both the Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas, hence the Michigan AVA.  This is the third issue of this wine for them, and I have to believe that they use the Charmat Method to produce this sparkling wine, and it appears to have a bottle cap sealant under the capsule.  The wine is described as having pear and green apple on the palate with marked minerality on the finish.  The notes also mentioned that sparkling wines when consumed young will show fresh, crisp qualities; while when cellared properly the wine will soften and display a creaminess on the palate and the wine is suggested to last for about five years.

The second wine was produced in limited quantities and it was the Black Star Farms Arcturos Merlot Leelanau Peninsula 2020. A trickier wine to grow in Michigan, because of the potentially cooler temperatures, but when it clicks, it can be awesome.  There is little information to be culled from their newsletter or from their website about wine production.  Their notes are “on the palate there are rich dark fruit flavors that complimented by hints of cocoa and spice.” I am very partial to Merlot, so it shall be fun to try it, after it has settled.

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ATOM Wine Club Winter 2023 Part Two

Posted on January 14, 2023 by thewineraconteur

I guess that with all wine clubs, it is fun to see what you eventually get for later enjoyment.  With “A Taste of Monterey” as well as our other clubs, it may be years, before I open the bottle, sometimes by design and sometimes because one forgets.  I know that the smart person will try the wine immediately, because if it is a winner, you can get more.  Of course, maybe bragging a little bit, we have plenty of wines, some that should be opened sooner than others.  And we never know, what we may end up drinking with dinner, when we are home.

The second bottle of wine that was pulled out of the carton was Pianetta Vineyards Sangiovese San Antonio Valley AVA 2019.  Pianetta Vineyards was started in 1995, when John Pianetta bought a ninety-five-acre ranch and developed it into seventy-acre vineyard.  His family’s background was in the fresh market produce in California going back to the 1920’s.  At one time they even had a small family vineyard in Lodi. The vineyard is in the Southern part of Monterey County in a small valley called “Indian Valley.” The vineyard was basically planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and fifteen acres for Syrah. Originally, they sold their crops to other wineries and in 2002 they had their first vintage of three-hundred-seventy cases of estate wine.  It is now a family business as his daughter Caitlin has joined her father and they now produce about 2500 to 3500 cases of wine annually and only in red wines. They have started sourcing wines from other vineyards and doing single variety wines.  They also produce a “JUG” wine each year as an homage to their Italian heritage.  This Sangiovese wine is from fruit sourced from the Lockwood Valley Vineyards in the San Antonio Valley.  The wine was aged for twenty months in what I will presume was oak barrels, which would be the classic treatment for this famed Italian variety.  According to the notes, the wine is offering bright cherry on the nose, with notes of roasted nuts and red fruit for taste, with strong acidity on the finish which means that it should be laid down for at least six years to mellow the wine out. I can wait it out.

The last bottle out of the carton was Mission Trail Vineyard “Friars’ Reserve” Meritage Monterey 2018.  Mission Trail Vineyards takes their name from the Mustard plants that can still be found, as the seeds were spread out by the Franciscan Friars around two-hundred-thirty years ago as they planted the original vineyards in the area.  Those original vineyards are long gone, but there are plenty of vineyards in Monterey, so those Friars recognized good land back then.  In Monterey County there are about forty different varieties of grapes being grown.  Ken and Robyn Rauh created Mission Trail Vineyards on the premise of featuring small lots of hand-crafted wines, from different locations throughout the county.  Their goal is to produce robust and fruit forward wines featuring Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Marsanne, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Grenache, Syrah, Zinfandel and a Meritage.  This wine is seventy-three percent Cabernet Sauvignon and twenty-seven percent Merlot.  There were no other production notes available.  The wine is described as deep Garnet with a nose of blackberry, cassis and oak.  The palate will appreciate first flavors of plum and blackberry that layer into chocolate and cassis, with a finish of terroir and cedar. 

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ATOM Wine Club Winter 2023 Part One

Posted on January 12, 2023 by thewineraconteur

The first wine club we ever joined was “A Taste of Monterey” and it was purely by happenstance.  We were going to eat at the famed Sardine Factory in Monterey and we were wandering around the Cannery Row district and we ended up buying the most expensive piece of art in our home, but also discovered the wine club.  We were just doing a wine tasting, when they mentioned that they had a wine club, well that was back in the days, when Michigan was a felony state for the shipment of wines.  (Our governor at the time was sued along with the State and the courts realized that the State was wrong and caused hardships to the citizens.  The case of Granholm vs. Heald was a boon across the country for wine lovers, but the one term governor has since found a new way to cause havoc to the state of Michigan, possibly in retribution.)  Back then I was used to shipping “olive oil” by the cases to my place of employment, and here was a club that said it was legal for them to ship, and they have been shipping ever since.

When we joined, they had two clubs to choose from, and now they have three.  We went with their “Private Reserve Club” as I figured that we had a chance to get some better and limited production wines, that would probably get any interest from the wholesalers in my state.  A few times the wines that were shipped were from one or two barrels of production.  And we have had a chance to discover some of the smaller AVA sub-regions in Monterey, that in the early days, hardly even got a mention.  The club offers about two-hundred-fifty different wines from about seventy-five wineries is Monterey.   With our club program, we get three wines quarterly and, in this carton, we receive one from a new winery for us, and two wines from wineries that we have had before.

The new winery and wine are Exposition Estate Vineyards Monterey Sparkling Wine NV is from a cold-climate (Region 1), sustainably farmed about two miles south of Soledad.  The area gets full sun exposure, but little protection from the strong winds that scrub the valley every afternoon, hence it is considerably cooler compared to Santa Lucia Highland and Arroyo Seco AVAs. The wine is a blend of fifty-three percent Pinot Noir and forty-seven percent Chardonnay.  The wine is produced in the Traditional Method or Methode Champenoise.  Primary fermentation was done slowly and at a cold temperature.  Then the wine was bottled with sugar and yeast, for secondary fermentation in the bottle and after aging forty months on the lees, the wine was riddled.  The settled lees were frozen to form a “plug” and disgorged, then the sparkling wine was quickly corked to maintain the effervescence.  The tasting notes for the wine describe it as dry, elegant and complex cuvee which exhibits bright fruit, crisp acidity and a toasty creaminess.  

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New Year’s Day 2023

Posted on January 10, 2023 by thewineraconteur

I have a philosophy or maybe just a misguided thought, that whatever I do on New Year’s Day is what I will do the most of during the year.  Thankfully, whatever struck me on the eve, was out of my system in a day.  So, I was able to devote my day to more earthly pleasures like eating, drinking and revelry; I even put on a new set of clothes, that were a Christmas present.  Life is good.  Of course, we may have purchased an over abundance of appetizers, real food and wine (did I really say that we may have bought too much wine?).

We had an abundance of fresh fruit sliced up, several cheeses including a Lemon Ricotta and a Cheddar with Truffles (which disappeared before I even tried it), and a Liver Pate.  She was baking some miniature muffins, and several types of Quiches.  She also had classic and Canadian Bacon for meat for the brunch.  Of course, it wouldn’t be brunch without some Mimosas. The Mimosas were a continuation from the sparkling wines from just twelve hours ago. Domain Chandon Brut California NV is a delightful wine, that my Bride and I had a chance to visit, years ago.  It was the first time that a French sparkling house owned a winery in Napa, a joint venture of Moet and Chandon and John Wright, back in 1973.  The fruit is from cooler regions of Napa, and including their own estate in Yountville.  It is a blend of seventy-three percent Chardonnay, twenty-six percent Pinot Noir and one percent Pinot Meunier.  The wine is made in the Methode Traditionelle and a minimum of twelve months is required to make the finished product.  The initial fermentation is done is Stainless Steel and the second fermentation is done in the bottles after riddling, it then corked and aged for at least three months before release.  The wine is a pretty straw color with tiny bubbles and offering notes of stone fruit, toast and vanilla.  On the palate a nice cream texture of fruit, vanilla and bright acidity with a touch of sweetness (how I enjoy my Brut wines) and a nice finish.

As the brunch continued, some guests showed up after a tradition in Detroit, not necessarily in our house, but the Detroit Lions were playing football, real American football not the game played elsewhere, and maybe another time in my lifetime they may be a real team again.  And they won, well we had more people that arrived and brunch morphed into a dinner.  Thankfully my Bride had made some stuffed cabbage that she didn’t want to compete with our son’s version, as well as other foods that she prepared last minute to keep everyone fed and of course, no one died of thirst either.   All the desserts came out in full force from cookies, pies and a tray of Baklava.  I guess I should never tease my Bride about having an over abundance of food, as one never knows when you may have a ten-hour brunch, as one never knows when you may have a ten-hour brunch.  

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New Year’s Eve 2022/2023

Posted on January 8, 2023 by thewineraconteur

We had the daily double for the holiday, we were doing New Year’s Eve dinner and then everyone was coming back here the next day for a New Year’s Brunch.  I thin part of it was logistics, because it was the best location for the Louisville contingent.  We had to make room once again for a dog cage in the family room as they now travel with a pet, and only the pet thinks that it is a lap dog.  I don’t know what happened, but I was very sick for a day, it started in the morning and by a little after nine in the evening, I just snuck off in the shadows and went to sleep, I ate nothing for the day, but I did try some of the wines that we were pouring, before I called it a night; and left my Bride to be the perfect hostess.

Actually, she got off pretty easy as our son insisted that we have an homage to his late grandmother, so, we had an evening of Polish food; and he did all the cooking and catering basically for the evening.  He insisted that the real version of Pierogis is with pork and veal that have been pureed, instead of potatoes and cabbage.  He also made Stuffed Cabbage with beef and veal.  I did some consulting with other wine people to find what they thought would pair with cabbage, which has its own unique characteristics.  The consensus was to have a Rosé wine, and it did work very well, as I heard the next day.  So, besides having a couple of Chardonnay wines open, one of the main wines was Clarendelle Rosé Bordeaux 2021.  Clarendelle is part of the Clarence Dillon Wine Group, which was established in 2005 and they offer four wines; a red, white, rosé and a dessert wine with the fruits coming from Dillon estates across Bordeaux.  The selling point of this wine is that the Dillon family in 1935 bought Chateau Haute-Brion.  The wine is a blend of sixty-five percent Merlot, thirty-two percent Cabernet Sauvignon and three percent Cabernet Franc.  The fruit was harvested in the last two weeks of September and had direct pressing, and a short maceration and fermentation period, presumably in Stainless Steel, to maintain the crisp, fruit flavors.  The pale pink-salmon colored wine offered notes of tropical fruits like Pomegranates and Lychee.  On the palate, tones of fruit, a touch of menthol, pepper with very soft tannins, fresh with a medium finish of fruit. 

Now not only did he make all the main courses, he also did a traditional Polish dessert.  He made Nalesniki z Serem, or Crepes with Sweet Cheese and I understand that he did a yeoman’s job, since we don’t have a crepe pan.  Now you have to understand that we had people coming in from about five in the afternoon and a continuous influx up to the Midnight hour.  My Bride came up to check on me, but she said that I was totally out of it, even with the fireworks that were going off and everyone yelling Happy New Year, though I probably feel that it is safe to say that no one sang Auld Lang Syne.  Another consensus was that I have a lighter red, perhaps not as dry as what we usually serve, and a few recommended a Gamay, but I did have some lighter reds in the cellar.  We served Black Star Farms Vintners Select Red Table Wine Michigan NV.  The Vintners Select collection is a blend of different vintages of all small lots with unique characteristics.  The wine carries a Michigan appellation as eighty-three percent of the fruit is from the Leelanau Peninsula and seventeen percent is from Old Mission Peninsula.  This wine is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Teroldego, Merlot and Petite Pearls.  The wine is aged in a blend of newer French, European and American Oak.  The wine was described by the winery as a full-bodied red, but I thought it was more of a medium bodied red wine.  It had a nice deep garnet color and offered notes of dark fruit and spices.  On the palate there was dark fruit flavors with some spices and a touch of cocoa.  Even though I didn’t eat, I did taste the wine, before I called it a night and I thought it should pair quite well.    

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Christmas Day 2022

Posted on January 6, 2023 by thewineraconteur

Another sister had volunteered her home for a Christmas brunch, it was the first Christmas without the Matriarch of the family and the sisters were all trying to test the waters to continue traditions.  Last year as in all the previous years, the families all crowded into the house that they all grew up in, and the mother at 95 was still having a brunch on Christmas Day.  It was good and all the local sisters were together.  Of course, I can remember for years my family would do the same thing for every Sunday and holiday at my grandmother’s flat back in Detroit, but my father and his two sisters all lived with in a block of each other.  That era will never be duplicated. 

We were not the first to get to the brunch, as after church, my Bride went to a Senior Facility, and as a Eucharistic Minister served Communion for those at the facility that wished to partake.  She then picked me up and we drove across town for the gathering.  There were scrambled eggs and ham, pancakes and brown-sugar dusted bacon for the crowds.  And what would a brunch be without Mimosas?  The first Mimosa, I tried was made with Member’s Mark Asolo-Prosecco Superiore DOCG NV.  I did not know the brand, but I have since found out that it is sold exclusively through Sam’s Club big box stores.  Member’s Mark is their house label.  The fruit is all harvested from the vineyards surrounding Asolo, in the Veneto region of Italy.  The wine is made with eighty-five percent Prosecco (if it wasn’t from a Prosecco region it would have to be called Glera, and the other fifteen percent was a mix of Blanchetta, Perera and Boschera grapes, which are three indigenous white varieties of the region; definitely three for the Century Club, if I do ever get my arse in gear to attempt to fill out the questionnaire.  This sparkling wine, I am quite sure was done using the Charmat Method.  I tried a taste, before completing the Mimosa, and it was nice straw to golden color wine with medium size bubbles with notes of pears, apples and lemon zest.  On the palate the tree fruits had nice acidity, some yeast was detected and perhaps some honey.  I then added my tincture of orange juice and it was a nice Mimosa, perhaps a bit on the sweeter side, but it worked.

We continued noshing during the day, and then they started playing a dice game, that they all played when they were together up at the family cottage in Ontario, Canada.  I am the only in-law that doesn’t share those cottage days, as I appeared much later on the horizon.  We brought some wines to the table, but one of the wines was a big hit, both on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas Day, and we actually were taking orders for it, from a couple of people, so we had to make plans to go and get some more if possible and that will be an article on its own.  Another sparkling wine that was used for the Mimosas is a brand that has been around forever to me and that is Andre Champagne Cellars Brut California Champagne NV.  The wine is from E&J Gallo Winery and they have a couple of sparkling wines in their portfolio that carry the “California Champagne” designation.  There is no listing of the varieties that are used to make the wine and the wine does mention Secondary Fermentation on the label, and I am sure that the wine is made in the bulk Charmat Method.  The light-colored wine with medium bubbles offers notes of pears and lemon zest, while on the palate both flavors are apparent with some acidity, and it is just a good easy drinking sparkling wine that blends very easily with orange juice.     

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Christmas Eve 2022

Posted on January 4, 2023 by thewineraconteur

What by all rights in a proper setting, Christmas Eve would have been a totally joyous occasion, but with the Matriarch of my Bride’s family having passed away within the year, it was a day of observation and reflection.  As with most institutions that are no longer in vogue in today’s society, families have become splintered, as fodder for today’s idea of culture.  The five daughters are attempting to keep the family intact, and it will be the next generation that will have to make it work, as it seems that families lament that cousins no longer know each other, whereas in my day, you tripped over cousins all the time at family get-togethers from holidays to birthdays. 

We had Christmas Eve at one of the sister’s houses and all but the Louisville clan made it, but it was already known that they would be able to attend the New Year’s weekend celebration.  We got there early to help, as my Bride has always been one to chip in and get the work done, as she is a planner and not a procrastinator.  I have to give my sister-in-law credit; she had announced that dinner would be at five in the afternoon and she would begin serving at that hour.  There were plenty of appetizers laid out and a few of us made the most of the noshes, in between getting dishes out of the ovens and into warming chambers; and constantly checking the meats with thermometers to make sure that all was at the proper settings.  One of the wines being poured early on was La Marca Prosecco DOC NV. The company was founded in 1968 as a cooperative of wine growers in the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy.  Since its beginning it has now grown and comprises nine cooperative wineries predominately in the Prosecco DOC region. These wine growers comprise some nine-thousand hectares of vineyards of mainly Prosecco (or Glera when the grape is not from the DOC district) as well as a few other grape varietals for some of the other wines that they produce. La Marca uses the Charmat Method and they do a great job with it.  In 2007, Wine Spectator magazine listed La Marca as being one of the “Top 100 Wines of the Year.” The wine is an easy crowd pleaser and never disappoints.  A nice soft-golden color with medium size bubbles, the wine offers notes of citrus and stone fruit and a touch of honey.  On the palate it has tones of citrus and peaches in a refreshing off-dry wine with nice acidity that beckons for another glassful.

For the main entrée dishes, there was an air-roasted pre-brined Turkey with an Apple Stuffing, a Roast Pork Tenderloin and if that was not enough, there was also a Standing Rib Roasted cradled and tied.  I offered my help with the meats, about letting them continuing cooking out of the oven, just tented with aluminum foil, until it was time to carve, and I am good at kibbitzing about such artwork.  It was amazing that at five, the house became alive with diners, so alas, a lot of the appetizers were not enjoyed as much as in the past.  We had taken a couple of whites and reds for the dinner, but my brother-in-law wanted me to try this wine that he had found and my Bride was raving to me about it from another evening when she was with her sister.  We had a bottle of Bodega Aleanna El Enemigo Cabernet Franc 2018 from Mendoza, Argentina. El Enemigo means the enemy, and the vintners Adrianna Catena and Alejandro Vigil applied this quote on the back label “At the end of the journey we remember only one battle: the one we fought against ourselves, the original enemy. The one that defined us.” The wine was ninety percent Cabernet Franc with ten percent Malbec blended in. The fruit came from the Gualtallary district of Mendoza, an elevated district with deep-calcareous, rocky soil.  Maceration and fermentation were done over a five-week period and then was aged for sixteen months in hundred-year-old foudres (very large casks). The wine had a beautiful deep garnet color, with notes of red and black fruits. On the palate it started off very jammy with ripe berries and black currants with good acidity and a smoky edge, but it opened up during the course of the meal and the initial jammy tasted softened up; it turned out to be an excellent and refreshing wine choice.

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