Archive for the Flotsam Category

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We got a private tweet from our buddy Jarred Gild last week, wondering if we were free to get together soon for some good food and wine. Ask us a question like that, and you’ll usually get an answer like, “Hell yeah!” So, at the appointed hour, we stopped in at Western Market in Ferndale, where Jarred runs the wine and beer department, picked up a slew of sausages, peppers and a bagguette, collected several wines that he wanted to try with us and moseyed on over to his place to eat, drink and make merry, all with much lively conversation. There was one white wine that was put in a bucket to chill, but somehow, we never got to it, so it was all reds and there’s nothing wrong with that. We started out on Burgundy, but soon hit the harder stuff… Read the rest of this entry »

I was underage when I bought my first bottle of vintage dated wine back in 1971.  I had actually been able to buy alcohol legally for a short period before that, when the state of Michigan lowered the drinking age to 18, but the voters, in their infinite wisdom, rescinded that privilege through referendum, leaving me and my peers in alcohol limbo for several months.  Nonplussed, when I needed a dry red wine to go with grilled steaks I was serving to a hot date one evening , I paid a visit to Lemanski’s Food Emporium, a delightful little gourmet food and wine shop in Bay City, Michigan that is sadly no longer in existence.  I stood in front of a wall of fine wine, all with mostly incomprehensible labels , and I eventually, and quite randomly, settled on a bottle of 1966 Chateau des Templiers Bordeaux Superieur, reasoning that two of the few things I knew about wine was that Bordeaux was a dry red and dry reds went well with steak. Read the rest of this entry »

“I Need a Miracle Every Day” – Grateful Dead

Bob Weir and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead brought their latest musical project, Furthur, to Chicago for two shows on March 2nd and 3rd, and Kim, Rosie and this reporter reprised our Rothbury adventures to meet there for both shows at the beautiful Auditorium Theater of Roosevelt University, a venue that more usually showcases the likes of Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández and the Alvin Ailey Dancers. Read the rest of this entry »

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It’s no exaggeration to describe “Florida” Jim Cowan as one of the most respected and admired commentators in the online wine community.  A true gentleman, Jim is the consummate voice of reason, with a common sense view of all things wine-related that resonates strongly with his many friends and readers.  Most of us in Gang of Pour go back a number of years with “Florida” Jim, having met up with him all over the country to share good food, wine and friendship, and several of those events have been documented in our pages, going all the way back to the second “Bacchus tour.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Widespread Panic brought their traveling road show to the Royal Oak Theater in Royal Oak, Michigan last night, and the Traveling Rothburys were there in full force to immerse ourselves in the experience.  Daughter Rosie has been telling me for the last two or three years how incredible these guys are, but they stayed pretty much off my radar until after our experience at Rothbury this summer, when I figured that I had better check them out and I loved what I heard.  When tickets went on sale a few months ago, we were first in line to buy ours and since Rosie has seen them on many occasions and turned us on to them, it seemed only fitting that we fly her up from the Keys and all go together.  As things turned out, it just couldn’t have been a better time.  Read the rest of this entry »

Pizza and beer; it’s a natural combination, right?  Like love and marriage, law and order and Laurel and Hardy.  But truth be told, it’s been years since we’ve indulged in those particular American secular sacraments at the same time.  On the occasions that we do eat pizza, we’re more inclined to open a bottle of Sangiovese or Zinfandel, but last week, we broke away from our norm with a visit to Amici’s Pizza and Living Room in Berkeley, Michigan. (Click image to enlarge) Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a long time coming and finally, we’re as pleased as we can be to launch our brand new Gang of Pour Blogs. It’s a move we’ve been wanting to make for a while, and now the time is right. Read the rest of this entry »

It was pure serendipity that took me back to neilgaiman.com a few weeks ago to see what was happening lately with my favorite author. (The uninitiated can learn more about Neil Gaiman here.)  There was a time when I was an almost daily visitor to the site and especially the Journal (pretty much a daily blog, only you can’t comment directly), but haven’t spent nearly as much time there lately.  It was there that I found to my great delight than Mr. Gaiman would be making appearances in Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio on October 4th and 5th respectively.  I would have traveled to Cleveland with no problem if necessary, since he has never come that close to us that I knew of since I’ve been following him for more than20 years, but Toledo is an hour down I-75 from Detroit, so it was a no-brainer. Read the rest of this entry »

Geo’s non sobering sabering

George receives instructions from Champagne Warrior, Brad Baker, on how to saber a bottle of Jean Laurent Champagne after Anne Keller chickens out   Many, many bottles were sabered that night.