Archive for the George Heritier Category

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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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It started a few weeks ago with some twittering back and forth between our friends Master Sommelier Claudia Tyagi and Western Market Wine Manager Jarred Gild about Beaujolais, and in particular, one of our favorites from that oft-maligned appellation. We were privy to said twitters, one thing led to another and it was decided that the wine in question would be tasted at Gang Central, along with a few others in support and a variety of Kim’s killer homemade pizzas. Also in attendance were Jarred’s friend Dawn Astrop and Roastmaster aka James Cadariu. After we started things off with a glass of our house bubbly, Mionetto Brut Prosecco, we turned our attention to a wine that James brought back from a recent visit to Romania. Read the rest of this entry »

AHD principal, Richard Delsener and Anne Charlotte Melia-Bachas. Click to enlarge

Our friends at AHD Vintners invited us to a wine luncheon held at the Forest Grill in Birmingham this Monday past, to present the wines of one of the producers in their portfolio, Chateau de la Font du Loup Chateauneuf du Pape.  On hand to talk about the wines was Anne Charlotte Melia-Bachas, who, along with her husband Laurent, owns and operates the Chateau.   “Font du Loup” means “Fountain of the Wolves,” a reference to the local legend that tells of the wolves of Mont Ventoux stopping to drink at the spring located on the property while making their way down to the Provencal plains. Read the rest of this entry »

The Brownbag Irregulars gathered for their inaugural meeting last Thursday to blind taste and consider a dozen wine selections from around the world. Tasters were all “in the biz,” and the event was held in a shady location of questionable repute better left unnamed here. There was no arm-twisting or sales pitches being given, just some good palates checking out some new wines. Festivities kicked off with the only two whites in the lineup. Read the rest of this entry »

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I drank almost no beer throughout the ’90s and well into the new century.  The reasons for this are roughly equal parts of the following: the usual boring suspects (Budweiser, Molson, etc.), the thrill of exploring the endlessly fascinating world of wine and the vain (but ultimately futile) attempt to retain my once-girlish figure.  About the only times I would indulge in any malt and hops beverages were the occasional Chimay Trappist Ale at Christmas, or in the middle of March, when I would take advantage of St. Patrick’s Day promotions, grab a discounted case of Guinness Stout, gain five pounds in a matter of days and swear the suds off until the following year.

About four or five years ago, it became necessary for me to gain some knowledge of the considerable stock of beers and ales in the retail department that I managed in order to better serve my customers.  My distributors were generous with samples and I got up to speed fairly quickly, in the process discovering that the hoppier the beer, the more I liked it, and India Pale Ale quickly became my preferred style.  There are plenty of great American IPAs being brewed, from the likes of Dogfish Head, Stone Brewery, our own Short’s and Bell’s here in Michigan and many more. (I’ve already expressed my admiration for Bell’s Two Hearted Ale in previous blog entries here.) My Bell’s rep at the time, Todd Hill of Rave Associates in Ann Arbor told me, “If you like IPAs, you’ll LOVE Bell’s Hopslam.”

Oh my, how right he was! Read the rest of this entry »

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Here at Gang Central, we celebrate the year-end holidays mainly through the sharing of good food and wine with friends and family. We tend not to participate in the commercial rat race that so dominates Christmas, though we do indulge in gleefully viewing two opposite extremes in Yuletide movies; Polar Express (they still don’t have 3-D quite down for home viewing yet, but that’s a minor complaint), where a boy’s doubts about the existence of Santa Claus are happily resolved with a dazzling, sometimes harrowing train ride to the North Pole, and the very different Badder Santa, in which a vulgar, drunken, safe cracking department store Santa is ultimately redeemed, if not necessarily entirely reformed. (Remember, Gang of Pour has often been described as “irreverent,” and we do nothing to discourage that descriptor.)

Then, of course, there’s New Years Eve, when bubbly rules, and that’s where we’ll begin our rundown of the Gang’s 2009 holiday cheer. Please note that not all of the sparkling wines listed here were enjoyed on December 31st, but rather, are grouped together for a more cohesive report. All were enjoyed during the holidays, however, and I’m happy to report that Kim continues to show progress in becoming a true bubblehead. Read the rest of this entry »

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Being a “glass is half full” kinda guy, I like to look at my “unsigned free agent” status as an opportunity, rather than a handicap. Why an opportunity? Because I am more or less obliged to focus on QPR wines to fit our budget, and there are always plenty of those available from a variety of sources.

I stopped by Western Market in Ferndale a few days ago and was intrigued by a stack of this wine at a price that was just too good to pass up. We’re fans of Bonny Doon Vineyard, and we very much liked the 2007 version, which was priced at $22. So why is the 2004 available for half the price? My buddy Jarred Gild, manager of Western’s wine department, wasn’t around to answer that question, but these are usually the result of distributor close-outs, sometimes in conjunction with the winery. Whatever the case, I had a good feeling about this one, so I grabbed a bottle, brought it home and liked what I found. Read the rest of this entry »

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While perusing the wine shelves at Royal Oak’s Holiday Market recently, I was pleased to note that some of the places we visited in our recent Tasting Leelanau adventures were well represented, including the likes of Shady Lane, Chateau Fontaine and Black Star Farms. It’s good to see retailers who recognize the fact that our wines continue to improve and have achieved a quality level that no longer needs the caveat “It’s pretty good for Michigan,” and Brian Croze and Jeff Mar do a great job in that regard. Read the rest of this entry »

We have Gang of Pour charter member Scott “The Geek” Tobias pretty well trained these days. He knows that when he comes to visit and hang out on a night when there’s a Detroit Red Wings game on the tube, he should bring an appropriate wine to observe the traditional “Red Wings and Red Rhônes” theme. He did just that a few days ago, when he showed up with a bottle from one of our favorite value orientated appellations from the south of France. Read the rest of this entry »