Thierry Delauney “La Vignette” Rosé

Posted on August 13, 2020 by thewineraconteur

My wine club at the Fine Wine Source in Livonia is not that far away, but they have very limited hours at the moment as they are still adjusting to the mandates of trying to run a business and not go out of business.  The world is still topsy-turvy and getting to my local wine shop has been just as difficult as anything.  I just picked up recently the July club offerings and as usual there is an Old World offering and a New World offering.  I am just glad that he has a great business and loyal customers that are not wanting the wines at the corner market or the grocery store.  Each time I have been there, because he has condensed hours, so that he can deliver wine orders, it has been hectic.  There are usually a couple of wine sales reps there, and I am sure that they are glad that they are still getting the chance to process orders.  I know that my old industry that I retired from is suffering terribly, so I am glad to see when businesses overcome adversities that have been imposed upon them, as if business is not hard enough as it is.

The Old-World offering is a Rosé wine from the Loire Valley, which is a major wine producing area that lives in the shadow of some of the other wine regions.  One of the main reasons that this area is over shadowed, because all of the wines are more nuanced and delicate, instead of big in-your-face reds that so many of the wine critics prefer these days.  White wines are what most people think of when they think of the Loire, they think of Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc.  Though red wines are increasing and Cabernet Franc is the star, but followed by Gamay, Pinot Noir and Malbec (known locally as Cot).  Touraine is located in the center of the wine region of the Loire.  With the Touraine appellation the wines may be white, red, rosé or sparkling (and in all three-color variations).  The red wines of Touraine are led by Gamay and then Cabernet Franc and Malbec.  Rosé wines account for about ten percent of the production and they are dry in style, and the three main red grapes are the major players as well. 

Thierry Delauney “La Vignette” Rosé Touraine 2019 is from an estate that is twenty-one hectares situated in Pouille above the banks of the Cher, the very center of the appellation. The vineyards have been cultivated and tended by five generations of the same family and the first wines that were bottled at the Domaine was in 1971.  Through the years they have worked to increase the quality and the reputation of the winery and in the process have also entered into the négociant trade.  The wine is made using Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Malbec (Cot).  The fruit is harvested from across the Touraine and the wine is aged on fine lees in Stainless Steel. The notes for this wine are that it is a salmon pink hue, with a spicy nose of red currants, strawberries and raspberries.  The wine is described as balanced with a lovely acidity and offering a creamy finish on the palate.  It is recommended as the perfect wine for salads, and pink meats, charcuterie and soft cheeses. 

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“Hello Dahling”

Posted on August 11, 2020 by thewineraconteur

We were going to meet our one son and his wife at Tallulah Wine Bar & Bistro in Birmingham, Michigan, and it is a place that we have mentioned often and never gotten there, that is how life works, sometimes.  Well anyways, my mind often runs in several different directions.  When I hear Tallulah, I immediately think of Tallulah Bankhead, more famous on the Great White Way, because for one generation she is more known for being in the movie “Lifeboat” and it was always rumored that she made the film without wearing underwear, to another generation she was known as the Black Widow on the Batman television show.  She might have been one of the reasons that the term “camp” was created, because she was so theatrical privately and publicly.   We once saw Kathleen Turner in a one-woman play “Tallulah” and it was basically her classic lines recorded by the press.  And in the opening scene of “A Pocketful of Miracles” it is Bette Davis as Apple Annie who roars out “Tallulah” as they had a rivalry for decades.  Her lifestyle probably did not help her memory, but she was able to remember lines for the stage, but not for names, so everyone was “dah-ling.”

So, as you can tell, I had a lot excess baggage with me, just because we were going to Tallulah Wine Bar & Bistro, but it was all good.  When we arrived, we had booked a reservation through their requested service and our reservation was before they were actually opening up, what with the turmoil of what has happened to the restaurant business, they never changed the protocol.  It was fine, and they let us come in and have a table and we began the evening.  Rather, then have throw away menus, they had the information in a square emblem, I have no idea what the proper name for it is, and you took your phone and photographed the square and the menu appeared on your smart phone.  I guess if your phone was not smart enough, they did have some throw away menus.  We got a couple of appetizers to share for the table.  One was a platter of Artisanal Cheese, and I cut a small chunk of Manchego and some fresh honey and left the rest for the others.  We also had Sardines with fennel, beets and Remoulade Sauce, we were expecting small sardines, but these were so big that they were fileted tableside, but still concerns about bones, and unfortunately not much flavor to this dish.  My Bride had the Sea Scallops with corn pudding, honey crisp apples, crispy bacon and Campari tomato and cooked to perfection.  I had the Rohan Farms Duck Breast prepared three ways, with carrot puree and black beans and it was great, it also made me realize how long it has been since I have had a duck dinner.  The other plates were a Mushroom Cauliflower Risotto with Shiitake, Portobello, Shallots and Thyme Butter and an order of Lamb Ragu Pappardelle with house-made pasta, poached egg and Parmigiano Reggiano.  Then there was a couple of orders of desserts, but I refrained from having sweets.

It was a hot day, and we continued our quest for something chilled for dinner.  We had a bottle from Famille Moutard, their Moutard-Diligent Bourgogne Chardonnay 2018.   They own a little over thirteen hectares of land deemed for Chardonnay.  The Moutard-Diligent label represents their Negocient range, as there are approximately three-hundred communes in Burgundy that can be used for this designation. The firm did not offer any production notes on their wines, but it was a good basic Chardonnay with a flinty finish and a great bottle for having with dinner.   While everyone was enjoying dessert, I decided to have my own dessert.  I had a glass of Les Vignerons du Terrassous Rivesaltes Ambre Hors d’Age 6 Ans Languedoc-Roussillon NV.  Rivesaltes is a famed wine with its own appellation for this dessert wine from the Roussillon and this wine was made from only Grenache Blanc.  This legendary wine that has been made from at least the Fourteenth Century and is termed Vin Doux Naturel is produced by settling of the must, pressing, partial fermentation in oak barrels with temperature control and then mutage, which is stopping the fermentation by adding wine alcohol.   Rivesaltes wines are made from all three Grenache grapes; blanc, noir and gris.  Rivesaltes wines are offered in several forms, distinguished by their color, depending on the grape and the ageing process.  These are Rosé, Grenat, Ambre and Tuilé, and fifth category Hors d’Age which is only applicable to Ambre and Tuilé wines that are aged for at least five years before being released.  This wine was a beautiful deep amber color, sweet and viscous, and offered nuts and caramelized fruit in the finish.  I think, that I had the best desert of the group.  We had a wonderful dinner, though we were getting razzed that we had a very early dinner from the kids.  And before I leave, I will offer two great and often repeated quotes of Tallulah, that can be used in proper society.  “Cocaine isn’t habit-forming.  I should know – I’ve been using it for years.” “Nobody can be exactly like me.  Even I have trouble doing it.”

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An Afternoon in Birmingham

Posted on August 9, 2020 by thewineraconteur

So many people have gained weight, since everyone was forced to stop working and to change their lifestyle.  I have lost a five or six pounds, no big deal or worth a celebration, but my Bride is another story.  Just before everything imploded, where my Bride works, they promote different “healthy” programs periodically and one was Weight Watchers.  My Bride had to pay for the start up costs and if she was successful according to Weight Watchers, her company would later redeem her expenses, so it was a win-win situation for her, and she does like getting paid to do something healthy; she met her goals, so Weight Watchers, her employer and most of all, my Bride is happy.  Anyways, I have been very cruel and have made her go through and box up all the clothes that do not fit her, because they are hanging on her, and of course she has had to buy new replacement clothes, even though she has discovered plenty of “new” clothes that had been too small for her.

We were going to Birmingham, which is a nice northern suburb of Detroit, that has some very fashionable and trendy apparel shops, as well as some great restaurants.  She wanted to go shopping and it was a necessary trip, plus we made plans to have dinner with our son and his wife later that evening.  As I say, she was very happy, and as the old saying goes “Happy Wife, Happy Life.”  When she goes shopping, I normally just stroll the street, in case she calls for me to help her make a decision and in the old days I would enjoy a cigar.  Especially nowadays, because I am not partial to wearing a mask for extended long periods of time, and I guess that I retired at the right time, because I am sure that I would not enjoy retailing as much as I did, looking like Jesse James.  Anyways, right across the street was a restaurant and wine bar and I figured that I would get a chair out on the verandah and enjoy something chilled and wet while she was having fun.   No such luck, even in Birmingham, the restaurants and wine bars had shortened their hours of business, but my Bride was a quick shopper, made the right decisions and found me with a parched tongue.  We took a gamble and walked a couple of blocks to the Townsend Hotel, where they had both a restaurant and grille open, but also a bar.  We have been to the Townsend several times, and she has even been there more often, because of her job; for conferences and business meetings, and my Bride is considered an essential worker, so even with her home every day, we have not been bumping into each other.

There were actually two chairs at the bar, in fact that is all that there was in these days of social distancing and from my era and outlook, two chairs at a bar seems so sterile and uninviting.  Since, there were only two of us, and we haven’t practiced social distancing between us, all was good.  We had some time to kill before seeing the kids and my tongue was still parched.  My Bride had a glass of Giocato Pinot Grigio Goriska Brda, Slovenia 2018.  Giocato in Italian means to play or to have fun.  Giocato was a joint endeavor between Slovenian winery Edi Simcic, their lead winemaker Aleks Simcic and the United States wine importer Small Vineyards-August Wine Group, along with their Italian counterpart Collio.  The wine is hand harvested and fermentation and aging are done in Stainless Steel.  Goriska Brda is the northern sub-region of the much larger Primorski wine region in western Slovenia and the name is actually two towns that are divided from each other from the dust that settled from the political intrigues of Italy, Trieste (both Zones) and Yugoslavia.  Goriska ended up in Italy and is known as Collio Goriziano and Brda is in Slovenia.  Political intrigues aside, this was a very nice Pinot Grigio with some brightness and notes of green apples.    I had a glass of Maison Simonnet-Febvre Chablis 2018, and they were founded in 1840 and are one of the oldest wineries of the area.  They produce a wide range of wines showcasing the terroirs of Chablis and Grand Auxerrois, in 2003 they were bought by Maison Louis Latour and it is run as a separate enterprise with its own style.  Chablis is the large general appellation for the area and this wine was fermented for around six months on the lees and then aged for around two years, all in Stainless Steel.  This really was a tasty wine with a fruity nose and a finish of minerals in the terroir and a real crispy wine.  Even though my Bride has been on a Pinot Grigio kick, she did opine that I had the better of the two choices.  After enjoying the wines, it was time to go to the restaurant and meet our son and his wife.   

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Two Old Reds from the Cellar

Posted on August 7, 2020 by thewineraconteur

In a sense I feel like the old Aesop Fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper” when it comes to finding wines that were laid to rest years ago.   I have been writing about wines that I have discovered in the cellar and so far, only two have been passed their prime and they have both been white wines.  I have slowly, but surely been methodical about trying to rearrange the wines in the cellar and moving the whites up to a wine vault in the family room, in hopes that the whites won’t be lost again, but I do keep finding stray bottles and if you are like me, you tell yourself that you will remember putting a wine in a certain spot, even with a neck tag on it, so it won’t get lost.  I am only mortal.  Also, in the early days there might have been discussions that a certain wine is too nice for the moment and it gets forgotten about for another time period.  It seemed that it was forever, before we could go out to eat, by mandate and we ate every meal at home.  There was nothing wrong with that, as my Bride is an excellent cook, but I still miss the ambience of dining out, especially with friends; and for awhile that was another mandated no-no.  I am still finding some fun stuff, even after five or is it six months that this has been going on.

The two reds that I am going to discuss I actually found mixed in with some white wines in the main structure in the cellar, and rather than let them get misplaced or lost again, I brought them up, knowing that we would be needing some red wines.  The first wine is Trefethen Family Vineyards Double T Red Wine Napa Valley 2007.  Trefethen Family Vineyards is located in the Oak Knoll region of Napa Valley and they produce a good selection of wines all from their estate from a Dry Riesling to their flagship Halo Cabernet Sauvignon.  Eugene and Catherine Trefethen moved to Napa Valley after his retirement in 1968 from the construction industry.  At that time there were less than twenty wineries in the valley and some had been neglected since the last big “Nanny State” mandate called Prohibition.  They purchased six farms, including the 19th century Eschol Winery with the intention of selling the grapes to other producers; their son John had a different idea and the first commercial vintage was in 1973.  The Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley AVA covers 8300 acres of the valley floor and received the recognition after a slow up-hill battle for the vineyards in 2004.  The area was originally planted with vineyards during the Gold Rush days of the 1850’s.  The recognition is because the area is much cooler compared to the other parts of the valley and the growing season can actually extend for sometimes up to eight months.  Double T is named for the quadrilateral cordon trellis, commonly called the “Double T” and it is also a nod to the generations of the Trefethen family that has worked to build the vineyard and winery.  The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.  The wine is aged for fifteen months in a mix of French, American and Hungarian Oak.  A lovely wine that hides under the humble name of a Red Wine that was not even showing any age for a thirteen-year-old and it was wonderful with her house made cheeseburgers with grilled onions. 

The other red wine that I found was one of favorite wineries after we discovered them in our trip to Napa Valley and to boot, it is my Bride’s favorite grape to this day.  We had a bottle of Peju Province Winery Cabernet Franc Napa Valley 1996 and all we could wonder is why didn’t we buy this wine by the cases.   Peju Province Winery was founded in 1983 by Tony and Herta Peju, he originally came from Provence to California and had a very successful florist business.  Peju is located in Rutherford, near Mondavi, Beaulieu and Inglenook.  Peju has grown from the initial twenty-two acres in Rutherford, as they now own another twelve-acre vineyard in Calistoga and two vineyards in Pope Valley with an additional one-hundred-sixty acres.   They also source some fruit from Sonoma and Mendocino and they offer a complete rage of wines from sparkling to dessert wines.  This twenty-four-year-old was sublime for a lack of a better term.  It was everything I want and expect from a Cabernet Franc, especially the long finish that says terroir to me.  I don’t know if it is to everyone, but I find that Cabernet Franc expresses terroir better and easier compared to most varietals and it is even apparent in popular price examples when one can find it.  So, all of the diligence of our being worker ants in the cellar, has kept us from singing to the moon during over extended lockdown period and has made it as tolerable as it can be.   

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Back to Butch’s Dry Dock

Posted on August 5, 2020 by thewineraconteur

We were making the most of our time in Holland, Michigan and it was a hot one as we walked up and down the main street of downtown.  We had to stop several times to quench our thirst, but alas as I have stated, my new phone froze and I lost about a month’s worth of photos and potential future articles, so I guess I shall have to persevere and drink some more wine.  I basically stood outside while my Bride would put her mask on and go shopping, in the old days I would have had a cigar outside while she shopped, but instead I was just happy breathing fresh air unhindered and away from the maddening crowds.  I ended up talking to a lot of people from the suburbs of Chicago, which is not surprising as the western shore of Michigan from the Indiana border up to Traverse City has become a vacation hot spot for the people of Illinois, who have discovered “Pure Michigan,” even if there is no longer a budget to advertise the charms of the state and this occurred before virus from Wuhan.  In the afternoon we went walking out to the waterfront and had to walk through an open-air farmers market that was going in operation and there were was a lackey at the entrance to that block checking to see if people had a mask on to walk in the street; and as a side note it has been over two weeks that we have returned with no complications, so all is good, and I hope that part of the state is not penalized again.

We really wanted to go to Butch’s Dry Dock again, and the name is appropriate, because a boat would have to be dry, if it was anywhere near the location of the restaurant, because it is in the middle of the downtown area and away from Lake Michigan.   The last time that we ate there it was for an anniversary and they gave us a wonderful table up by the windows, so that we could do some people watching, and we had the same table again without a congratulatory message that we had the first time.  I had first read about the restaurant, because it has maintained the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence and I still use the magazine issue of that magazine if we are going someplace new, or if I have to try to help someone find a restaurant.  It is the type of restaurant that you can see people going out on a date, family dinners and also plenty of grandparents taking their children and grandchildren out for a quality meal.  It really is a pleasure to be in such an institution, or maybe, because I still enjoy dressing for dinner, especially with my Bride.  We started dinner off by sharing an appetizer of Smoked Salmon Dip with house made pita chips and fried capers.  My Bride had Sea Scallops with jasmine rice, coconut curry, caramelized onion, red pepper and basil.  I had to have the Braised Short Rib with cherry chutney, glazed green beans and crispy potatoes.  To balance out the evening we shared an order of Crème Brulee for dessert.

The restaurant carries about eight hundred assorted bottles of wine, and the majority are priced at retail and then you pay a corkage fee, which sure beats the typical normal markup of three times retail. I had a charming conversation with the Sommelier before dinner as I was walking up and down the aisles of wines, just like in a wine shop.  I knew what we were going to have and I was trying to find a balance, though my Bride is always willing to have a delightful red, even with an order of scallops.  I found a bottle that looked interesting to say the least; Domaine Olivier Jouan Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Nuits Vielles Vignes 2017.  Olivier Jouan is a sixth-generation Morey-Saint-Denis grower and the first in his family to make wine commercially in 1999 after completing studies at the Lycée Viticole in Beaune.  He and his wife found a 17th century home with a cellar in the Hautes Cotes de Nuits and he is basically a one-man operation.  He has parcels in two Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Crus, Ruchots and Riotte, an acre of Grand Cru Charmes-Chambertin, an old vine parcel in the Chambolle-Musigny lieu-dit Les Bussieres and this forty-year-old vines on his Jouan Hautes Cotes de Nuits (which I have now discovered is considered an incredible value for the remarkable depth that he has achieved in this appellation).  I have to tell you, that it was only two days earlier that I saw a bottle of wine from Hautes Cotes de Nuit being talked about by another blogger that I have both admiration and respect for.  The Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits appellation was created in 1961, and I actually went and looked at my old labels and could not find that appellation.  It is for the high slopes above the famous mid slopes of the eight communal and twenty-three Grand Cru appellations of the Cote de Nuits.  The majority of the Hautes Cotes wines are red made basically from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay is the grape found for the whites of this appellation and then there is a very small amount of Rosé wine made from Pinot Noir.  This wine was a doll, a beautiful affordable Red from an area where affordable is not usually mentioned.  It was so smooth and delightful that I thought that the bottle must have had a crack in it, because the wine disappeared by the time dessert came.  I am so glad that I take the empty bottles home after a meal, because this was another photo that I lost from this trip, but the memories are still just as precious.  

                                                                                                                                              

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Warner Vineyards

Posted on August 3, 2020 by thewineraconteur

We were enjoying walking up and down the main street in downtown Holland, enjoying the shopping, but you could tell that it was much quieter compared to the last time we were there.  Also, most of the merchants were terrified that governor was going to close that part of the state down again and the common belief was that the area could not handle the lockdown a second time. We could only find one location for breakfast and it was the same for all the other tourists as well.  We ended up having a late breakfast and not a brunch.  As we were walking up and down, we stumbled upon a shop that we missed the last time we were there. 

Warner Vineyards has a satellite wine tasting room in Holland, as well as in South Haven and Marshall, Michigan.  The vineyards are located along the Lake Michigan Shore appellation.  It was originally founded as Michigan Wineries in 1938.  In 1971 they acquired Honel Wine Company of Sandusky, Ohio, one of the pioneers in Midwestern sparkling wine making.  They are still using the techniques from the acquisition, as well as the equipment.  In 1973, they changed the name from Michigan Wineries to Warner Vineyards.   In 1976, President Gerald Ford, the first President from Michigan served their Warner Brut at the White House.  Warner Brut was selected as the official champagne of Super Bowl XXIII in 1982 and the Super Bowl XL in 2006.  The Warner Brut continues to the their most prestigious wine. 

Wine tasting has changed since all the new rules have taken affect.  I went to “belly-up” to the bar, for a tasting and I was chased to a table.  The wine was poured into small plastic glasses that could be thrown away.  I took photos of each wine, but alas with my iPhone that froze, I lost all the photos from the trip. Thankfully the family chronicler, AKA My Bride had taken some photos on her own.  We were allowed to try five of twenty-seven wines.  We started with two white wines.  The first was the Pinot Grigio and it was a very light wine with a soft nose and a short finish, I have to say it was not the most interesting bottle of wine that I ever had.  The second wine was their Chardonnay Reserve with a Lake Michigan Shore appellation which had more body and a soft buttery finish.  The next two wines were reds and we were touted to try these.  The 2Cab/Merlot Lake Michigan Shore 2017 was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot that had been aged for twelve months in Hungarian Oak.  The nose was off and the finish left me tasting alcohol.  The next wine was their Cabernet Franc Lake Michigan Shore, aged for six months in Hungarian Oak and I thought there was some terroir to be noticed, but at $34.99, I could not get excited about it, as much as our server was getting excited about it.  The last wine that we tried also was highly touted and it was their Port, that was made to emulate the wines of Portugal, and this wine was a blend of Chancellor and Chambourcin and to us, it was the best of the five wines that we tried.  We didn’t try any of their sparkling wines or their fruit wines.  I would try their wines again, perhaps in a real wine tasting setting with actual glasses, and I think that it might have been better, if they sold a tasting glass, and allowed a rinse between tastings, but then again that may be against the dictates of governor. 

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A Quick Trip to Holland

Posted on August 1, 2020 by thewineraconteur

We had a wonderful trip to Holland, Michigan a few years back and we decided to tempt fate and take a fast weekend trip.  We had toyed with the idea of going to Mackinac Island, or to Petoskey, Traverse City or in that part of the state.  In the end, we decided to stay closer to home, just in case the state became closed again, I did not want to try to fight traffic on two lane roads for four or more hours.  Thankfully the worst-case scenario did not occur.  Though it was interesting to see how the hotels now have these seals that they apply on the hotel rooms to show you that the room has been cleaned (and sterile?).  The first room that we ended up having, thankfully my Bride was not in the bathroom when we closed the door to start unpacking, as the door to the bathroom would not open back up.  We had to move all of our luggage and stuff and to make it up to us we had to open up another sterile(?) room only this time it was a suite.  I am glad that we were only there for a weekend, as there were just enough towels.  The amenities were a rag-tag mixture of assorted brands of soaps, shampoos and conditioners, and this was from a major hotel chain. Walking through the hotel required masks in the hallways and thankfully there was a coffee maker in the suite, because there were no breakfasts being offered.  My laptop would not sync with the hotel’s Wi-Fi, but my Bride’s did, so we had to share one computer.  The Gods must have been offended, because after we returned home, my brand-new iPhone froze, and the good people on Tech Supported ended up sending me a new phone, and even walked me through the entire conversion, but for some odd reason I ended up loosing all the photos of the trip, plus some additional wine photos for future articles, all in all, I lost about a month’s worth of photos, but I have a phone that is functional.

We had made arrangements to meet a former co-worker of my Bride and we met them for dinner outside of Grand Rapids and on the way to Holland.  We met the other couple at FireRock Grille that was running not only the restaurant, but banquets and business meetings at quite a large facility at a semi-public golf course.  The weather was nice, so we opted to eat on the backside of the facility overlooking part of the golf course and some residential areas that abutted the course as well.  The gimmick for a lack of a better term was the use of the hot rocks that if one desires to go with it, allows one to cook the dish to the desired finish, and we have been to other restaurants that feature this concept.   We started off with an appetizer while we waited for her husband to show up and it was a Smoked Whitefish Dip with warm flat breads and Pesto; before masks were the rage in Michigan, Whitefish ruled supreme.   My Bride ordered the Salmon Al Pastor, seared Atlantic Salmon, grilled pineapple, Achiote Sauce, Coconut Rice and Citrus-Jicama Slaw.  I had the Creole Pasta with Smoked Chicken, Andouille Sausage, Spinach, Tomatoes and a Spicy Cheddar Cream atop Cavatappi.  I was impressed that they even had American Wagyu steaks being offered.  The other couple had their choices and there were not requests for carryout boxes. 

I was trying to find a nice refreshing Summer wine as we were sitting outside and I selected Fleurs de Prarie Cotes de Provence 2019, and Fleurs de Prarie translates into wildflowers evoking the fields and fields of wildflowers found in Provence.  The wine is sourced from many vineyards in the district.  The wine is a blend of fifty-five percent Grenache, thirty percent Cinsault and fifteen percent Syrah and the fruit were immediately crushed and sent to tank to chill prior to yeast inoculation.  The wines were fermented slowly for two weeks in cool temperatures in a zero-oxygen environment to maintain the color and fresh fruit flavors.  The wine had bright acidity which was perfect for the day and made it easy to go with an assortment of foods, and the soft salmon color was very enticing with a nose of soft strawberries to entice the drinker and was very refreshing.  The wine is made by Les Grands Chais de France and the label was created in 2016 for the Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits.  After we said good bye to our friends, it was just a short trip from the restaurant to Holland, Michigan and our little getaway.  I am just glad that I saved two of the wine bottles from our trip as is my habit, or I would have nothing to show for show and tell. 

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The River Crab

Posted on July 30, 2020 by thewineraconteur

Here we were on our first major venture since the new virus from Wuhan changed outings.  I guess that even the cars in the caravan were practicing social distancing, as we didn’t see the other cars as we drove the ten miles or so from the dock of the Huron Lady II in Port Huron to the River Crab in Saint Clair, Michigan.  We were going to try to have dinner in Port Huron like we did the last time, we were there for the boat excursion, but since economic downturn from the mandated lockdown, even though they have been partially relaxed, it reminded me of the old Blue Laws where everything was shut down.  We tried several locations, including one place that took over from another place and they even kept the old place’s phone number. The only place I could think of, was an old stately Inn that was taken over and modernized and it had lost its charm and just became another place to go to.  One of the others in the group, then mentioned the River Crab. 

The River Crab, back in the old days was a Chuck Muer restaurant.  In Detroit there was Joe Muer and then there was all the Chuck Muer locations and some are still in existence and some have been taken over, but most of them still have the quirky charm that set them apart from day one.  You see, none of the restaurants were cookie cutter clones, as some used the charm of an older building and some were brand new structures, and even the menus were all different.  The River Crab was taken over, but they kept the name and they were still the restaurant attached to the Blue Water Inn, that claims that every room has a view of the water and all the boating activity, as well as their own small marina and wharf.  We had to wear a mask to enter the restaurant and each time, if we had to use the facilities, but they accommodated our group with three tables rather adjacent to each other and it worked very well.  I took the seat with my back to the waterfront and let everyone else have the good views.  We arrived a little after three and they had a “Lunch Box” special for those that wanted to take advantage of it on the menu, and my Bride almost had our waitress do a blood oath to guarantee that the tables could take advantage of the specials.  We started off sharing with some of the others an order of Maryland Style Crab Cakes, corn sauté and Mustard Sauce and it was probably the same recipe from day one.   My Bride had the Lunch Ocean Cobb, which was a salad of chilled Lobster, shrimp and Crab “Louie,” bacon, egg, avocado, blue cheese, red onion and a White Balsamic dressing.  I went with one of the “Catches” of the day, and had Sea Scallops with potatoes and asparagus.

I was trying to get something wet for the table that could conceivably work with whatever would be ordered, as the thirst needed to be taken care of before the hunger.  At first, my Bride was against my selection, because the waitress mentioned that it had nice acidity and a soft strawberry nose and finish.  I think that my Bride was having flashbacks to the artificial wines of the late Sixties like “Strawberry Hill,” and I allayed her fears that strawberry was good for this wine.  I had selected a bottle of Lucien Albrecht Cremant d’Alsace Brut Rosé NV.  Outside of Champagne, Cremant d’Alsace is the second largest region for sparkling wine in France and the manufacturers must abide by the rules, just as in Champagne.  The Alsace appellation law requires that only Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Auxerrois plus Chardonnay, which is not otherwise allowed in the region, but because of the acceptance and success in Champagne it is allowed in the Cremant, and by law the grape varietal must be indicated on the label.  This particular bottle was made entirely from Pinot Noir.  As with all Cremant appellations, the Methode Tradittionnelle is used to make the wines.  The wines must spend a minimum of nine months on their lees, to aid in creating a certain accepted level of complexity.  This allows the wine to impart some of the terroir and a better finish to the wine, and the traditional dosage concept is used, as this wine was a Brut, which had a small dosage to keep it dry.  It was a very easy drinking wine and easily paired with our dishes, and the bubbles and the color made the table more festive and the strawberry notes were pure pleasure on that sunny afternoon as we watched the freighters go by. 

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Testing the Waters

Posted on July 26, 2020 by thewineraconteur

After how many months of living like hermits, I think everyone is trying to venture out into the world, beyond hunting for toilet paper and hand sanitizers.  After how many Zoom sessions, my Bride and her sisters, except for the Louisville clan decided to go on a boat excursion along with some cousins and a good friend of my Bride’s as well.  We had done this boat excursion before with one of her cousins and her husband, but back in the winter, everyone had wanted to do this trip and they bought a package of tickets and the crowd was getting antsy and this seemed like the perfect way to do something.  The crowd also wanted to go out to eat afterwards and in today’s climate, there was a lot of planning to do. We were off to Port Huron, Michigan which is right across from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada; and we didn’t need our passports, because the boat was not stopping on the Canadian shoreline.  We are blessed in Michigan with the Great Lakes and they are such a large body of water, that you could take all the water from the Great Lakes and cover the entire map of the United States nine feet deep.  It is also one of the busiest waterways in the world and conveys more shipments than the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal combined.

We were all going on the Huron Lady II, which started life as a ferry boat for passengers and whatever else for conveyance to Mackinac Island, when they changed over to hovercrafts which are faster and probably more economical, there were several boats that were up for sale and we ended up on one of them.  We all wanted to be on the upper deck, with the open air, the lower deck had air conditioning, but this was an outdoor adventure.  The excursion boat is rather spartan, the seating is like park benches and they were trying to have everyone do “social distancing” and no one had to go over the rails into the water to accomplish this, though the family was bending the rules.  Even though we were in the fresh air on the upper deck, I did notice that some people were still wearing masks, most of us did not.  I might also add that I noticed that the crew when they were not doing other assigned duties were going around sanitizing the rails and parts of the boat that get touched the most often. The last time we did this trip, the Captain was a female and she was far superior to the male Captain of this trip regarding the narration of the tour, explaining some of the nautical “right of way” etiquettes and pointing out some of the highlights and historical sights.  There were plenty of pleasure crafts as well as the huge vessels that ply the Great Lakes.

On the lower deck or the main deck was a concession stand that was opened up for business once the boat had set sail, I guess that is maritime law.  Halfway through the excursion my throat was getting a wee bit parched and if I didn’t splurge, I wouldn’t have had an article, so I bought a glass of Sutter Home California Chardonnay NV and they had the wines in those handy-dandy individual size bottles that one sees during flights, or did the last time we flew.    The Sutter Home Estate is located in St. Helena, one of the famed cities in Napa Valley, the estate was actually a winery in the 1870’s and continued until the government in their infinite wisdom decided to make decisions for the citizens and we had the great tragic experiment known as Prohibition.  After Prohibition the estate was just basically abandoned until 1948 when the Trinchero family purchased it and began a winery again.   In 1972, the family was experimenting with a Zinfandel wine that ended up white and dry and they called it “White Zinfandel, “and they produced 220 cases.  In 1975, the 1974 production had a problem and it had residual sugar and slight pink cast, and history was created.  The wine was getting popular and was at production of 25,000 cases and eventually this one wine grew to a count of 4.5 million cases.  This was nothing to sneeze at, and while the Chardonnay is probably not produced in that large of numbers, it is a bulk wine that pleases plenty of people.  In fact, in 1994 Wine Spectator gave Bob Trinchero a distinguished service award for “having introduced more Americans to wine on the table than anyone in history.”  I actually remember that issue, and at first, I was shocked, but then I agreed that any wine that is used as an introduction is great, and I have had worst wines over the years.  It is just fun learning some new things that I did not know, but then I also realize that Sutter Home Winery has allowed the Trinchero Family to expand and produce wines at the other end of the spectrum, so all is good.  The good news is that we did not run aground, collide or sink and a good time was had by all.  Then we all got into our cars and we off to our next destination.  We were all making the most of this day out of captivity. 

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Vina Robles Rosé

Posted on July 24, 2020 by thewineraconteur

Vina Robles Rosé is the June New World wine from my wine club at Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  At the moment, it is the personal touch that they extend that is keeping them in business during these hard-economic times as wine shops are not considered essential.  They were able to reach out to their customers and do special deliveries and curb-side pickups, as well as the club offerings.  One of the main parts of their business has been curtailed, because they can not have wine tastings, which was a great way for them to maintain their existing business and to grow it, when new customers learned of the feature. 

Vina Robles is the story of Hans Nef from a village outside of Zurich, Switzerland.  From his agricultural background, his interest took him to the southern United States in the early 1990’s.  He had also developed a passion for fine wines and created his own import business.  His appreciation for California wines kept increasing and his desire to make his own wines.  In the mid 1990’s he discovered Paso Robles, and he wanted a winery to be a cross of his European heritage and the heritage that was becoming Paso Robles, with the intent of creating world-class wines.  Nef and an old friend and business associate Hans – R. Michel who became his managing partner planted the first of what would eventually become six vineyards in 1996.  Vina Robles was created and later in 2012 they hired Winemaker Kevin Willenborg.  The hospitality center was opened in 2007, a blend of California Mission-style and European elegance.  In 2013 they opened the Vina Robles Amphitheatre and has been averaging thirty world-class artists each year.   In 2019 they opened up a new state-of-the-art winery, so they have not been idle.

The Vina Robles Vineyards & Winery Rosé Huerhuero Vineyard Paso Robles 2018 was inspired by the Rosé wines of Southern France.  The grounds are very similar and the Huerhuero Vineyard is a hilly terrain that actually spreads into both the El Pomar and Geneseo sub AVA districts of Paso Robles.  The locations are fortunate to get marine air from both the Templeton Gap and the Salinas Valley and the soil is a gravelly calcareous subsoil.  The wine is a blend of sixty-eight percent Syrah, twenty-seven percent Grenache and five percent Viognier.  The harvest of the fruit was over a month to maximize the three different varietals.  The fruit was crushed and put into Stainless Steel vats and then blended just before bottling.  The wine is said to have a nose offering red cherry and pomegranate with hints of peach and rose petals. The wine is described as having red cherry notes and moderate acidity.  It is suggested to pair with pork, chicken and oily fish and rich cheeses.  It should be gone this summer, especially with all the wine we have been drinking at home.

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