Saving Boobs With Bubbles And Zin

A glass can change a night, and sometimes a cause. We’re clinking through Detroit’s dining glow-up, tasting everything from a zero-proof old fashioned that actually satisfies to a small-lot Mount Veeder Cabernet with the kind of structure that makes bourbon fans nod. Along the way, we spotlight Uncork for a Cure—the 10th-anniversary gala rallying chefs, sommeliers, and guests to fund breast cancer research—and why a modern event now pours exquisite wines alongside serious non-alcoholic cocktails.

We start with Little Saints, a smart take on NA drinking built around botanicals like reishi and damiana for calm focus and lifted mood. Then we pop Champagne Andre Clouet 1911, a true Champagne with deep reserves that opens from tight and steely to vinous and layered as it warms. For sweater weather, we dig into Amador County Zinfandel—the right kind of jammy, with raspberry and bramble framed by dryness that plays beautifully with lamb, smoked pork, and game. Finally, we Coravin a limited Mount Veeder Cabernet, showing mountain fruit, French oak spice, and a firm, late-arriving grip that begs for a decanter and a slow evening.

Between pours, we map Detroit’s restaurant scene: Mabel Gray, SheWolf, Chartreuse, and more raising standards with craft bar programs and thoughtful wine lists. We share practical buying tips for mulling wine without the headache, a quick primer on decanting and sediment, and a handful of Michigan wine stops that prove the state’s cool-climate whites and leaner reds deserve a spot at your table. It’s a tour of taste, technique, and community, wrapped around a night that uses hospitality to do real good.

If you enjoyed the ride, follow the show, share with a friend who loves great pours, and drop a review with your favorite fall pairing—we’d love to feature it next time. Cheers.

Transcript

Kickoff, Banter, And Guest Welcome

SPEAKER_01 0:20

We're gonna drink a fine whiskey and smoke a really fine cigar.

SPEAKER_05 0:28

It is time for Happy Hour, the Man Cave Happy Hour, Whiskey, Cigar, Spirits, the stories that go along with it. I'm Jamie Flanagan. I'm August Gitchlag.

SPEAKER_08 0:36

There's no sexy handsome Matt Fox today. There's no. No. You might have noticed the pink hat sitting next to me.

SPEAKER_05 0:43

Yeah, it's boy boy girl colors over there. It's like uh I'm just waiting for the uh for the that was me. I'm waiting for the gender reveal. Oh yeah. Uh went to a gender reveal party. I interpreted that all wrong. Yes. Yeah, we're just pulling their pants down. I got uh that that was not good, yeah. It was uh not what they wanted. Oh okay, guys. I revealed my gender.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Hi, so girl over here, Mrs. Vino. It's nice to see y'all again.

SPEAKER_08 1:09

Thanks for coming in, Mrs. Carlson. Good to see you. It's good to see you. We were supposed to do this Monday. I know. You got the sniffles, yeah. You caught a little schniffel. And uh we we haven't seen you in a while.

SPEAKER_02 1:20

I know. I was just looking through all of the podcasts that we've done in the past, and the last one was uh Loncaro, and that was in July. Wow, and then before that it was yeah, you're getting ready to go to Spain then, right?

SPEAKER_05 1:30

Yeah, we just had an anniversary, did we not?

SPEAKER_02 1:33

We did, we all did, so we get to share and and Matt Fox, you are in you are in you are here in spirit, yes. Um, but yes, we're celebrating uh a one year because it was August 15th last year. Um, I think it was the exact day when I first came on your podcast.

SPEAKER_08 1:49

Yeah, wow, yeah, okay. So yeah, that makes sense. So you've been here what four times now? This will be your fourth.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

This will be the sixth.

SPEAKER_08 1:56

Sixth?

SPEAKER_02 1:56

Yes.

SPEAKER_08 1:57

I think I missed I must have missed one.

SPEAKER_02 1:58

Yeah, Jamie and I got to play footsea without you guys on the table. But you're here now, so now we have supervision.

SPEAKER_05 2:04

We got we got supervision. Um, but yeah, so it's uh it's it's uh thank you for just sticking with us and not being offended by all the the the nasty childish humor that we come up with.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

I love it. You you got I don't have any brothers, so this is so this is always fun, lots of fun.

SPEAKER_05 2:22

But since July, you've been doing a lot of stuff. We did the we did uh well, we did Lancaro, and before that we did the little saints, and then there was a really fun little saints event downtown that I came to.

SPEAKER_02 2:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 2:32

Uh so today we're we're getting into we're gonna we're gonna do a little little little little little saints. Which little saints event did you go?

SPEAKER_02 2:40

It was at the Royce, and it was in June. Yeah, it was in June. It was for Summit Detroit, and Little Saints was the sponsor there, and Jamie came by and got to meet him again.

SPEAKER_05 2:49

I had never been to uh the Royce before.

SPEAKER_08 2:52

Yeah, uh I I went to the the the the other one, the the non-alcoholic happy hour at the last chance saloon, and I had uh a little Little Saints and a and a Guinness.

SPEAKER_02 3:02

Yeah, so you boys have been very supportive of me. I really appreciate it. So you did that.

Little Saints: NA Cocktails With Functional Botanicals

SPEAKER_05 3:06

What else? Because uh you got a hat, you got stuff going on. Yes. Uh what uh what you had a dinner which was fabulous, uh, but right now uh you're doing things as a little charity thing, right?

SPEAKER_02 3:17

Oh, yeah. So I'm definitely a Renaissance woman. You know, when I'm not Mrs. Vino and you know, being a beverage consultant for restaurants or my chef partner and I, if we're not doing, you know, in-home, very elevated private dinners, I'm in Detroit mainly uh with Little Saints. So people who are just tuning in are and are not familiar with it, Little Saints is a non-alcoholic, sugar-free uh canned cocktails and also spirits. And the reason why I have this hat on that ties in with Little Saints is uh Uncork for a Cure is this Saturday. So Uncored for a Cure is a huge charity event for breast cancer awareness, and that's gonna be a M1 Concourse. And I brought today for you guys because I thought that you didn't try this one because the old fashioned, so this specific one, let's pop this, let's pop this open and then we're gonna pop open champagne.

SPEAKER_05 4:08

Old fashioned first, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

All right, let's see that. All right, um, so the old fashioned uh it was seasonal and then they brought it back permanently. This is mushroom.

SPEAKER_08 4:19

I'm seeing more and more of this stuff. My here, do you want to finish? Catherine's obsessed with her mushroom drink. Do we need uh bitters added to this?

SPEAKER_02 4:26

If you want to, I brought some orange bitters and then I brought some cherry bitters too, just for the heck of it, you know. Um, but yeah, you can doctor it up however you like.

SPEAKER_05 4:36

So you I brought we have our glassware sponsor, the the Firebird Tavern. Uh, and the but I gave August the the lion one because you get your lion's chipotle on today.

SPEAKER_02 4:45

So yeah, matches your hat. So here, let's let's cheers, let's start this off NA, and then we're gonna we're gonna tap into some of the things.

SPEAKER_05 4:52

We'll get into what we're really yeah, what we're really doing.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Yes, congrats to all of us. I appreciate you very much.

SPEAKER_05 4:57

That is uh fragrant.

SPEAKER_08 4:59

It is fragrant.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 5:02

Catherine ordered some mushroom stuff, and what did I call it? Like fairy mushroom cum or something. I'm like, your fairy mushroom cum showed up. She's like, What?

SPEAKER_02 5:11

No, this one, so this one has Rishi and Damiano. So Damiana is. That's really tasty.

SPEAKER_08 5:16

I remember that. I remember this. This was really good.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

Yeah, this one is definitely for the male palette. So, any gentlemen that are listening to the Man Cave happy hour and tuning in, the uh old-fashioned, this is the one that you want to try.

SPEAKER_05 5:29

And it's not so bad for the male libido either. Yeah, that's right. Colleen gets so pissed off at those commercials, and she'll like it too. She's like she's like seconds away from throwing the remote at the at the TV when when they when they do that.

SPEAKER_02 5:45

That's why I brought multiple cans. So I brought I brought two more so you can take them home.

SPEAKER_05 5:50

But this is supposed to be that uh a little bit like um aphrodisiacal. Is that not a word?

SPEAKER_02 5:58

Uh it's kind of so Damiana's uh it's it's a botanical, so it's uh heart opener and then raishi. It's a chill mushroom, all right. So it kind of chills you out.

SPEAKER_05 6:06

Heart more blood flowing. Yeah, there you go. Makes things good. Yes, it makes sense. Yes, we like good blood flows. All right, we'll leave it at that.

SPEAKER_02 6:17

Yeah, so that's the little saints. We're really excited about Saturday for Uncorked. Um, and then yeah, I brought some really amazing wines, right?

SPEAKER_05 6:27

Right. So, but Uncorked for the Cure, people can go. So tell me a little bit more about it. So the cure.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

Yeah, so Uncork for a Cure, they're celebrating their 10th anniversary. So my friend Flora Mignanka, she was actually just on local four news this morning advocating for Uncork for a Cure. And what it is is a charity event to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research.

SPEAKER_06 6:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:50

Um, there's gonna be Maple Gray, She-Wolf, Tokoy, Seldon Standard. Um, I I I apologize, I don't have the whole entire list in front of me. I'm just seeing like logos in my in my head right now, but it's a lot of the Metro Detroit. We're gonna circle back that are gonna be there.

SPEAKER_05 7:07

Um what about what about uh uh you and and people are bidding on things? Uh is it live bidding? Is it bidding? Are you up for auction again?

SPEAKER_02 7:15

I am auction, but I'm bringing a partner this time with me. So it's not just it's not just uh so chef, so chef Matt Sidney, he is my chef partner for Mrs. Vino LLC. Right, and like I had um mentioned before, we do in-home very elevated paired wine dinners. So we just did one last week um for one of my friends um that I knew from high school, and it and it was fabulous. It was it was beautiful, they had an amazing time. And uh yeah, so this the auction site is live right now for um any of the attendees that are going to be at Uncork for a Cure, and they're also auctioning off, you know, like Prada bags, tons of different vacations and excursions. Um, there's actually a couple other fellow similiers that are offering their services for in-home wine tastings. Um, but I wanted to bring the table not just wine wine tasting just with myself, but also showcase uh Chef Matt because he's been that's all he's been cooking for decades.

SPEAKER_05 8:19

So if people don't hit this uh before the event, Uncork for the cure, is this uh are are they doing things year-round? Like they have a website up, people can get involved through the website now.

SPEAKER_02 8:28

They do, yeah. So they have uh they have a website, they're very active on social media. Like I said, this is their 10th year.

SPEAKER_05 8:35

So and they have like different events throughout the year. So if someone misses this and then finds the podcast, this one's the number, this is the biggest one.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

Yeah, this is the big dog. So they just started Flora, just um partnered with a lot of Traverse City area wineries and um Amanda Danielson from uh uh Stella Trateria, and um uh they do an event up there, and I think this was their third year. So that one's a lot smaller. That one was about 200 to 250 people. Yeah, this one that's gonna be at M1 Concourse is upwards of four and 500, and it's and they're actually doing track rides on the racetra. Um, and everything, everything goes to charity, so nice tax write-off. So for those individuals who haven't bought their tickets and haven't attended before, um, you know, please, please um, you know, support the cause. Uh, you know, it's quite an experience, it's very elevated.

SPEAKER_08 9:31

Sounds like I'm cashing in one of my 401ks.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Yes, please do, please do. You can put back your sweat.

SPEAKER_08 9:36

I'll give money for boobs.

SPEAKER_02 9:38

That's what we're all about. That's what we're all about. We have to save them. The knockers. Yes, we have to save them. Um, but yeah, some of the restaurant partners, thank you for bringing this up, August. I appreciate you. No problem. Um, so I had mentioned before, you know, um, Gray Ghost is actually they are so Will Lee, he's the bartender over there and um part owner. He's actually making with Little Saints these spirits that I had brought. Oh, so these ones right here, he's making non-alcoholic uh cocktails with these at the event, in addition to so people are like, Oh my gosh, I I want to go drink. Yes, there's gonna be so much beautiful hand-selected wine by Flora's cousin Madeline Trifon. So, people who aren't in the wine world, she was the first female master simelier in the United States.

SPEAKER_08 10:28

In the US, it's been yes. How long have they had the Sommelier designation?

SPEAKER_02 10:33

I don't really know. Don't school me.

SPEAKER_08 10:35

I'm just you know, I figured you're you're in that fraternity, sorority, whatever it is, in the exclusive club. So the fact that there's the first female one is like why would they not let me know?

SPEAKER_02 10:47

Yeah, it's a secret handshake with a corkscrew. But yeah, some of the other some of the other restaurants that are there, time and honey, so chickpea hospitality, so that's uh Sammy Eid. So Sammy, um, and God rest his his dad's soul, Samir. Um, so chickpea hospitality is Forest, Phoenicia, Wilders, and Layla. Uh, have you guys been to any of those? I love Layla. Their Middle Eastern cuisine is so incredible. So yeah, so incredible. Let's see, who else we got? Vecino, uh Time and Honey, Tokoy, shout out to Mary over there, uh Bar Pigale, um Echelon Kitchen and Bar over in Ann Arbor. Hi Taylor, I'll see you Saturday. Uh Dixborough, uh Baobau Fair, and Miss Kim was actually on with Flora on Local 4 this morning.

SPEAKER_08 11:39

So, yeah, we've got a lot of really chartreuse kitchen and cocktails is one of my favorite day night places. I love the chartreuse. They always the menu switches all the time and it always has something really cool.

SPEAKER_03 11:49

Very local, very local, very cool.

SPEAKER_05 11:52

So the thing is we I said uh Mabel Gray, right? That uh it's crazy how popular it that has gotten. Yeah, and it's like you gotta do like a reservation or like a month out.

SPEAKER_02 12:01

I have some history with James.

SPEAKER_05 12:03

It's like and that's in Hazel Park, right? Yeah, it's like very unassuming, and uh just for whatever reason, I hate the word, but it popped. It just yeah, it just went viral, as it were. And yeah, it's good for them, right? Yes, it's like sorry, I'm not gonna go until it calms down. It's like the Lions, I can't wait till they start really losing so I get tickets at a reasonable price.

SPEAKER_02 12:27

Oh my gosh. Yeah, so James, uh so Chef James Rugato, him and I actually went to high school together. Oh, right on. Yeah, so we're so I'm so happy for them.

SPEAKER_05 12:35

I love when when when people do well, and and speaking in a local businesses, it's because it's so hard, right? It's uh there was a cool one on Woodward called Cork.

SPEAKER_02 12:44

I I remember hearing about that.

SPEAKER_05 12:46

That was a that was a cool little place, and you know, it just didn't didn't stick around. Yeah, it's like it's it's it's it's tough for the entrepreneur, restaurantepreneurs.

SPEAKER_02 12:57

It is, but I think after is that the word for the restaurant restaurant tours restaurants at the same time.

SPEAKER_08 13:02

This was the first generation of Detroit bartenders that aren't living three in a house together, all coked up and drunk, and they can actually they're like professionals that are owning. Can't we get back to the it's just really cool, and it's but it's all because of these that we finally have a high-end dining scene in Detroit that you was only you only saw places like this in Chicago, New York, Miami, Vegas, LA, uh, Boston. It was just hard to get. And I'm glad it's not all just in that downtown area because I'm spreading out to some of the I'm a man of a certain age. Yeah, when I was running around at 21, these were not options.

SPEAKER_02 13:33

No, they were not.

SPEAKER_08 13:34

Like there's some there that like London, you know, uh Mr. Paul's chop house has never gone away, and right places like that, the caucus club, and that was it. Yeah, yeah, you know, there's a few places, Roma and people places like that downtown, but that somehow lasted. Mario's, you know. Yeah, now there's a culture of professional chefs and bartenders that are there is there's cool stuff.

SPEAKER_05 13:54

There's great cool stuff to do downtown. It's great, yeah. Great stuff to discover.

SPEAKER_02 13:58

Oh, yeah. I'm constantly downtown. Um, because you know, there's a lot of lot of clients that I have with Little Saints, and then when I worked for Tom Schelani, we're actually gonna drink one of his wines, right? You know, with those high-end places that August was just alluding to.

SPEAKER_05 14:10

Oh, did you just did you just curate a uh uh a wine list recently?

Detroit’s Dining Scene And Notable Restaurants

SPEAKER_02 14:16

Uh I had I I won an award for a wine list that I had written. Was it a major award? It was it was a major award, major award, major award, yeah. So fragile. Yeah, very fragile. Um, but yeah, it's just like I said, I think after COVID, it took a couple years, but now every time I go downtown, I mean, you have so many different options of really amazing food. And it's not, it's not out of, you know, there's lots that are very high-end. And then there's also in the middle of the road, because I think before it was just, you know, a bar and shot places with burgers and fries, and then now you're at the Detroit or you're at the Caucus Club. Yes, it was either, yeah, there was nothing, yeah, there was nothing in between, but now, you know, there's all these different places, you know, like um, you know, uh Zayed Alaya, he's got some really great properties, you know, Zuzu and Park, uh, Central Kitchen. Uh, let's see, Dennis Archer Jr., he has the vinyl society. Uh that place is really cool if you haven't been there yet. Yeah, super cool vibes. Uh, of course, you know, Chef Sean over at uh Highlands, Detroit.

SPEAKER_08 15:24

Up at Highlands?

SPEAKER_02 15:24

Yeah, up at Highlands on the 71st floor where you so that counts with the high-end guys.

SPEAKER_08 15:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:29

Well, you have to you have to get on a different phone plan when you're up there. Every time I go, I'm I'm in Canadian airspace, I guess.

SPEAKER_08 15:35

Yes, it does think you're in. Thank you for joining Rogers Communications. Yes, it does do that when you're up there.

SPEAKER_05 15:40

I was I was making I laugh really hard when you when you when you said the about the vibes and being good vibes.

SPEAKER_06 15:45

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 15:46

I just saw uh Keanu Reeves' new movie, The Good Fortune, yesterday. There was a a screening of it. And it's funny. There's some good laughs in it. There's uh there's some good laughs in good in good fortune. Um, but there's a there's one of the one of the bits is about is about vibes, and these two ultra-rich guys are mad at their assistant for ruining the vibe um at a party. It's like, can you believe he did this? It's just it's very, very funny. That's a funny little shtick, anyway. So it's a good for good fortune. Keanu's it's fun. I think Seth Rogan uh was much better in the movie than than Keanu.

SPEAKER_02 16:18

I'll have to see that.

SPEAKER_08 16:19

Keanu's return to uh comedic stuff after being an assassin for the last year for a decade.

SPEAKER_05 16:26

I want to see him on Broadway when doing Waiting for Godot. I want to see that. I want to see that in the worst way. Okay, I have no idea what you're talking about, but you know it's a play. You are an English teacher, Samuel Beckett. Uh yeah, but waiting for Godot's the scholar and tennis of all kinds. It's I that's I can't, I would just I just it's a two-man play. So the the other guy from Bill and Ted is doing it with them. It's oh yeah, okay. It's uh it's a it's a great, it's a great banter.

SPEAKER_02 16:53

Yeah, back and forth.

SPEAKER_05 16:54

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And there's a third character. Your your glass is empty, you know, and I was kibbitzing and wasting time because I was enjoying my little saints immensely. This old this this old fashioned uh I'm calling Dibs on at least one of these. Well, that's why I'm gonna do it. Well, there's two left, yeah. So I'm taking one home too.

SPEAKER_02 17:09

Those are extras. Yeah, I think but I think we need to undress this beautiful lady right here. Oh, the wine, yes.

SPEAKER_05 17:16

Hey girl, hey sparkly.

SPEAKER_02 17:18

So we'll slowly undress her because her name's Andre. And uh she's very beautiful, very special.

SPEAKER_05 17:26

Take it off. Take it off.

SPEAKER_02 17:28

So Andre Klue 1911. So these wines were donated by Fine Wine Source in Livonia. Uh, shout out to the Lutfey family. So uh Jimmy and Remy own Vertical in downtown Detroit. Yeah, ding ding. Thank you. Um so Jimmy is a preferred partner of Mrs. Vino LLC, and he said, Come on by, Kristen. He's like, I've got some really beautiful wines for you to celebrate your one year.

SPEAKER_08 17:54

At vertical, I have a friend that works here and she's giving me the business for not getting right now. We gotta go. We gotta go because that neighborhood needs it because that street's all tore up. Uh because it's all completed. Well, it's all yeah, and vertical's in the middle of uh Aminro Street right there, where it's all like it's all construction there. So it's like that's where our friends uh the firebird are. I I got to go talk to Tony a couple weeks ago. They're on the edge of construction, so they're on the edge. They're kind of lucky that they're on the edge of the construction. But he said it wasn't for the tigers, man.

SPEAKER_02 18:20

Hey, oh I know usually usually I make it very silent, but I I know you guys like the pop. We like the pop. Yeah, so this is all about the so this is champagne from from France 1911. So there's some significance to can you get us some new champagne?

SPEAKER_08 18:39

What do you mean? From 1911?

SPEAKER_02 18:41

Oh, so no, no, no. This actually has some juice from 1911. Oh, so what they do with this specific champagne. Here you go, I guess.

SPEAKER_08 18:51

And this is the first time of the sixth, so you brought us real champagne, right? You brought us sparkling wines and Spanish stuff and all kinds of different sparkles.

SPEAKER_02 19:00

But this this one is very special. So cheers, gentlemen. I haven't seen you in so long.

SPEAKER_08 19:06

Welcome home.

SPEAKER_02 19:07

Thank you. I appreciate you. Yes, happy anniversary, boys.

SPEAKER_08 19:10

Yes, happy anniversary.

SPEAKER_02 19:14

Oh, yeah, that's a good one. That's a good one. So they oh, I wasn't expecting that.

SPEAKER_08 19:19

It's grapey. Yeah, it is. I like it.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

Yeah, let it if you guys let it open up a little bit because I have a I have a pretty serious chill on it. So 1911. Um, there's juice in this bottle from 1911. And also who am I?

unknown 19:34

Who is that?

SPEAKER_02 19:36

The blues brothers, and he's shaking the glass at the oh, please don't do that. It's a similar's worst nightmare. It's awful, or like moving the glass around.

SPEAKER_08 19:45

Oh Jake and Elwood Blues are your worst nightmare? They should be. No, no, I I have your water belly.

SPEAKER_02 19:50

I have them on vinyl. I met Dan Aykroyd. I have a signed uh Skullhead vodka from him. Yeah, I hosted him at my wine bar. He was great, he was fantastic, and I actually nothing but good things. I got to tell him a ghost story about uh St. John's resort and the crypt that was downstairs where the in at St. John's? Yeah. Okay. Yes.

SPEAKER_08 20:11

I officiated a wedding there once. I wonder if I'm haunted. Oh or cursed.

SPEAKER_02 20:15

It's okay. I'll bring some stay there. I'll I'll I'll sage you. I'll just bring some sage. I want that. You want some weird stuff on you? Okay, that's fine.

SPEAKER_08 20:22

I drank this mushroom cum, so I'll be all fine. Oh shoes. I'm sorry, mushroom fairy blood. Yeah, that better mushroom blood.

SPEAKER_02 20:36

We're here for Mrs.

SPEAKER_05 20:37

Hey, no press is bad press.

SPEAKER_02 20:41

I love it. I love it.

SPEAKER_08 20:43

I'm taking them, I'm taking one of those home running. Yeah, you know that.

SPEAKER_06 20:45

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:46

Yeah, so they are so Andre Cluet, uh, only 19 and 11 bottles. So 1911 uh were made of this particular production. Really? And and you can only uh there's 1,200 that were purchased by Jimmy at Fine Wine Source in Livonia. So there's only 711 in the rest of the world.

SPEAKER_03 21:10

The rest of the world. Yes, in the world. So this is why 700 bottles of that champagne.

SPEAKER_02 21:15

Yeah, you say Jimmy Jimmy at Fine Wine Source. So this is Jimmy. So this is pretty exclusive, and then you just wait until we have the last wine because that one's got some exclusivity. So we got some really special stuff today.

SPEAKER_08 21:27

And I'm pushing my voice. Yes, I know. Pretty nice. I know because it tastes so good.

SPEAKER_05 21:31

I want to sound like I said, it's uh it's got a uh a grapey uh uh very much so a great. I uh I like it.

SPEAKER_02 21:40

Yeah, let it warm. Yeah, let it warm up a little bit.

SPEAKER_05 21:43

It's not sweet though. It's uh no, it is not.

SPEAKER_02 21:46

No, this is definitely a brute. This is a brute. I don't bring you guys sweet wine because you guys are men.

SPEAKER_08 21:52

I like Colleen Colleen with uh Colleen would like Colleen likes the brute. I believe in love. I like sweet wine. Yeah, I'm German. We have sweet wines, you know.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

Umsporters and Rieslings and Givers.

SPEAKER_05 22:08

I started my wine adventures with leafer milch. I started mine with Boons Farm. Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

All right, I have I'll I'll jump in the confession train.

SPEAKER_03 22:17

We didn't in the in the 50s.

SPEAKER_02 22:18

Uh it was it was Gato Negro, and it was like four dollars a bottle. That stuff was awful. I know that's before I was a psalm. That was when I was in my 20s, and I just like so you're you're you're a psalm.

SPEAKER_08 22:28

You're you're it's it's it's your it's your thing, yes, sir. We're gonna get into this really good stuff here. Give us for you know, we're coming up. I don't know if we're we're gonna have you on again before the before the holidays, I think we hope so. Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:42

Please do because Jimmy, Jimmy has some wines lined up for us for holidays.

SPEAKER_08 22:46

Is there a prof a wine that's better for mulling for things or for Halloween? Oh, like a good, like right in betweener, or do you just take the cheapest wine you can and you throw a bunch of oranges and cinnamon in it and cook it?

SPEAKER_02 22:56

You don't want to go super cheap because then you're gonna get super.

Champagne Andre Clouet 1911 Uncorked

SPEAKER_08 22:58

Well, that's a headache, yeah. Yeah, so what's the what I mean? Is there a particular style that's a better one to put it? I mean, the house always smells great when you're mulling it up anyway, and you put the cinnamon sticks and the orange slices in there.

SPEAKER_02 23:09

Oh, I've got I've got a couple actually. Okay, so oh, excuse me, bubbles, love it. Um, so Trader Joe's, they actually have a really good selection. That's where I that's my little secret. I go there for like inexpensive wine.

SPEAKER_08 23:21

Well, this sounds like another episode, the Trader Joe's versus the Ollie versus every you know, probably, and I don't want to be a part of that, but I'm just telling you what I like.

SPEAKER_02 23:29

All right, but no, they'll have they have a really good selection, like get a red blend, okay, and try to get organic grapes. So I know that they have uh this one organic red blend, and it was uh coming out of California, and I think it was I think it was like 12 bucks, and I'm like, hey, what the heck? I'll see if I like it. If I don't like it, I'll cook with it. That's that's always what I think. I'm like, yeah, I can cook with it, or I can make uh you know some vinegar. If you don't like it, I'll make it work. Yeah, just make some vinegar out of it. I got some SCOBY at home, and yeah, yeah, ferment it.

SPEAKER_08 24:00

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 24:01

Um, but yeah, just check out Trader Joe's. Okay, and seriously, it's I'm not I'm not scared. Yeah, do that. Red blinds, red blinds.

SPEAKER_08 24:09

I honestly cannot stand, and I don't know if I'm pissing off a per a future sponsor, but that witches brew stuff that's four dollars a bottle. Don't worry about that.

SPEAKER_02 24:16

They won't sponsor with me. I won't expect it. I just can't drink it.

SPEAKER_08 24:19

It's so untrinkable. I don't know. No, I can't say I can't say that. It's a holiday favorite, and people buy it. Actually, they they hand it out. People buy it because it's cheap, they give it as gifts, yeah, and then regular wine people open it and go, What the f is in my mouth? What did you just do? Yeah, yeah right. And it's like, well, you gotta get me the alpha. You gotta put it in the goddamn crock pot.

SPEAKER_07 24:37

Yeah, you gotta put it in the crock pot and let it cook. Yeah, see your house smells good for the holiday. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 24:42

Yeah, yeah, you gotta heat it, you can't. Put a little potpourri in it, call it a day. Yeah, you gotta pasteurize it.

SPEAKER_08 24:47

I was in a booze exchange on Christmas one year, and some kid put that in the booze exchange, and I drew it, and I was so offended, and everyone was mad at me for not being excited about what my random blind draw was. I'm like, who's the fucking college kid that put this shit in here?

SPEAKER_02 25:02

Yeah, that's college line.

SPEAKER_08 25:04

Yeah, I mean, I brought Yezgy, but whatever. It's not like you know, you gotta have a Yeshi and a Malort and any blind draw of more than 20 people.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

I honestly Melur, I would rather have that as a poll because at least Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_08 25:14

There's some novelty.

SPEAKER_02 25:17

You can have some fun with it. You know, when you guys, you know, uh malurred me. Uh that was that was interesting, and I found it actually quite pleasant, but I was very grateful that you had it super, super, super chilled.

SPEAKER_08 25:29

Pungent.

SPEAKER_02 25:30

It was very chilly.

SPEAKER_08 25:30

It was rather cold. It was in the car in the winter, I believe. I pulled it out of the airline bottle out of the out of the glove compartment when I found out that you hadn't had any. So I went to the glove compartment when uh her and I were gonna do side never mind. Uh so yeah, I got you the malort out and and now they have the uh at one of my favorite places, the Eastern Palace Club. They in the Hazel Park. If you haven't been there, please go. I have not yet. It's wonderful. And uh it's a they have the barrel-aged malort, and it's a whole it's a different taste, it's just a different taste.

SPEAKER_02 26:00

Do you think okay, so when you barrel age wine, for example, so with the with the malort, did it impart some like vanilla, like a little bit of creaminess?

SPEAKER_08 26:10

It takes some of the ache off. It takes the um so kind of rounds it out a little bit. Easiest way to describe it. I describe Melort as um burnt erasers and shame with a little bit of grapefruit rind, and it takes at least the burnt eraser off of it, but it's still as shame and grapefruit.

SPEAKER_02 26:26

I didn't have any shame. I mean, you guys made shame, shame it's not the actual shame. I got a lot of grapefruit out of it.

SPEAKER_04 26:35

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:35

But you guys were gentle and nice with me and not treating me like you know, a uh a college student that needed to get haste.

SPEAKER_08 26:42

Cat through a uh a crafting party where they made uh haunting um I don't know, it was what they building, wreaths, like uh Halloween wreaths, and she molded wine and she just texted me, Oh, we had Trader Joe's wine, is what we made our mold wine out of. No kidding. There you go. There you go, same page as a Somalier. Look at that.

SPEAKER_02 27:00

Yeah, you got a good woman on your hand. Good job, cat. Good job, cat. Good job, cat. Yeah, all right.

SPEAKER_08 27:06

So, this is the wine that she really desperately wanted to drink, but she's in uh Fort Myer.

SPEAKER_05 27:10

So yeah, I told Colleen to come. I said, Bring your girlfriend because she's uh she's got a girl, they're doing uh crazy Halloween setups, they're creating uh Area 51.

SPEAKER_06 27:22

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_05 27:24

Um last year they did Marvel versus uh DC DCU. There was like literally 20 skeletons dressed in Marvel costumes.

SPEAKER_02 27:33

I always love seeing what people do with their yards, you know. Like I don't have the uh the patience for it, and also we live on a mile road, so uh thankfully we don't get trick-or-treaters, but maybe that would be a good excuse to you know decorate the yard. But I just I put out moms and pumpkins and we carve pumpkins, and that's about it.

SPEAKER_08 27:58

Yeah, that's about it. What are your thoughts?

SPEAKER_02 28:02

Oh, here's him and an hawk.

SPEAKER_06 28:04

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 28:05

I've I'm traumatized by past relationships and been forced into uh couples' costumes and things.

SPEAKER_05 28:10

Um Raggedy he had to go with Raggedy Andy one year and she showed up as a sexy kitten anyway. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:16

What was what was one memory that you want to forget that we want to hear about?

SPEAKER_08 28:20

Um the well, there's the there was the original one with a old old girlfriend from like 15, 20 years ago where we went as uh JFK and Jackie O. And I was of course JFK, and people were really pissed. Well, no, sometimes it's fun when you reverse that shit. Um like Mikey and Stephanie went as Princess Leia and Han Solo, but they reversed it because Mikey had his hair in buns and she dresses on solo. Oh, that's fun.

SPEAKER_07 28:42

Oh, that's fun.

SPEAKER_08 28:43

But I had uh I went and bought like a big generic sponge from the auto shop and dyed it and made it red, and I had pieces of brain that I would hand out to people as I was going to do.

SPEAKER_02 28:51

Oh, wow, yeah, you majors, okay.

SPEAKER_08 28:53

And I had a bullet in action coming through my throat. Oh, and uh it really, really pissed off my friend's 80-year-old mom. Yeah, oh yeah. And then my girlfriend at the time was carrying around a piece of the red sponge, just like Jackie O held on to the scripture of the brain. Oh my god, this is so morbid! We won a couple costume contests that year. Okay, all right.

SPEAKER_02 29:12

So it was we did, so it was worth it. Yes, and it wasn't too soon because it was how many decades ago? Sure.

SPEAKER_08 29:16

Yeah, so that's that was the the one time the couple's costume really clicked. Yeah, yeah, I'd do that one again.

SPEAKER_02 29:23

Wow, all right. So we're moving on the reds. Yeah, I was gonna say speaking of red, um, so we're no, so we're so we're saving Chelani for last. Okay, so we're gonna have in between. So Jimmy suggested this uh Zinfandel, which I love Zinfandels in okay, in the fall in the winter time. Everybody always thinks of Cabernet Sauvignol for your big fall or winter cat.

SPEAKER_08 29:47

Actually, worse than that, they think of Zinfandel as a box of pink wine.

SPEAKER_02 29:50

They do, that's right.

SPEAKER_08 29:51

That's what people think, and it's not it's a good zin is a nice red oh that's rice and red, yeah. Yeah, we're good.

SPEAKER_02 29:59

I'm Just checking, guys. I'm just checking. You never know. You never know.

SPEAKER_08 30:02

You never know.

SPEAKER_05 30:03

Wine can do weird things.

SPEAKER_08 30:04

I mean, I would send it right back.

SPEAKER_02 30:07

Where are you going to send it to?

SPEAKER_08 30:09

Yeah. The owner. Yeah. Send us back.

SPEAKER_02 30:13

Yeah. So this one is um Spelich Winery. So they're out of uh Amador County in California. This one you can you can find uh pretty prevalently, but like I said, find wine source in Livonia. Uh they have actually a special story behind this because Jimmy's daughter Remy uh worked for them and helped make wine with them. So Zinfandel is really fantastic. Uh I like it because the difference between this and a Cabernet Sauvignon, there's a lot more like uh raspberry or you know, like jammy flavors to it. So it's a really great fall winter wine. Um, as opposed to if you're if you're burnt out on Cabernet Sauvignon or you're a huge Cabernet Sauvignon fan and you just haven't delved into the world of you know a really good Zinfandel, Amador County specifically makes really great Zinfandel, and then they'll also have you know old vine Zinfandel. So Zin Zin vines will last a long time.

SPEAKER_08 31:13

The most expensive juice I ever used to make home wine was at Old Vine Zin. I paid almost 300 bucks for six to get six gallons of wine. Holy yeah, if the juice is expensive, it's hard to find, you can't get it.

SPEAKER_02 31:25

Yeah, yeah. Well, this is well, how many years ago was that though?

SPEAKER_08 31:29

That was probably five, six years ago. Okay, I think you could probably pre that was pre-COVID. You could probably pre-date things.

SPEAKER_02 31:34

Yeah, you could probably find a little bit more uh offshore.

SPEAKER_08 31:38

I didn't have as eclectic a source of uh selection of sources back then.

SPEAKER_05 31:42

Do you like do you like her having handed pour to herself? You like that? She's like, you notice that adult size.

SPEAKER_08 31:48

She had a living room pour. We all got our little tasters, right? Right. You know, like where's this where's this wine gonna fucking go at the end of the night?

SPEAKER_05 31:54

She knows she knows we're coming back for seconds. Yeah, and she also knows the bottle's going home with her.

SPEAKER_02 31:58

So no, it's not, it's going home with one of you.

SPEAKER_05 32:01

You guys can fight this lady, you can fight on it. You can have you can have the little saints.

SPEAKER_08 32:05

I'll take the wine.

SPEAKER_05 32:09

There's more to come. There's more to come. Yeah, oh man. Well, there's two to fight over here. Uh, but this is nice.

Fall Reds: Zinfandel Deep Dive

SPEAKER_02 32:14

Oh no, there isn't, unless you want to fight me. Solani's coming home with me. Because I have a story behind that one. I'll share.

SPEAKER_05 32:22

So again, thank you to uh the fine fine wine. Fine wine source. Uh Jimmy, thank you. Oh my god, this is the the the dryness. Uh there's it, but it's not uh Colleen likes a dry, dry, dry, and sometimes it's like too much for me. But this is like nice and dry, but then there's a fruit that that that that comes through.

SPEAKER_08 32:41

Absolutely. Jammy is the right is the word that my that like uh the Coonin brothers when they talk about their favorite wines, that's jammy.

SPEAKER_05 32:47

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it but it it sometimes the dry like just buries all of that, uh, but the fruit uh uh creeps on through. Yeah, it's the jamminess yeah, crawls on up because it does still because it does, it comes to the tip of my tongue, so it crawls up to the tip of my tongue. I like I like I like it.

SPEAKER_02 33:07

I know. I think yeah, I think I think Colleen would like that too. Because like I said, there's some there's some cabs out there. Cab Cabernet Sauvignon can come in all different styles. Um, but like I said, I just love a good Zen. And this one's actually this is a 17, so this one is aged properly and well. Um, a lot of the Zinfandels that you'll find in the market, they're gonna be newer, you know, newer vintages. But this one specifically, you know, you've got eight years of age on it, which is really, really beautiful. That's why it's so like big, bold, still dry, but it's got a lot of the jamminess to it. Why'd you take your headset off? I feel naked over here.

SPEAKER_08 33:45

It just gets warm. Yeah, it gets warm.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

I'm sorry. I do that.

SPEAKER_08 33:49

Yeah, well, yes, that's what it is. That's what it is.

SPEAKER_02 33:52

You set them girls loose, and we're all like woo talking about boobs and wine and you know it's for the cure, guys. It is.

SPEAKER_08 34:03

Every time I go to uh caucus club in Detroit, I always uh go to the bar room and I always order their their dark zin. Give me what do you have? What's your your old vinezin or something? They always they always have. When I asked for one of Mr. Paul's about a month ago, and Paul himself was like, I gotta go down to the cellar. I'm like, don't don't bother going down to the cellar, Paul. Your knees ain't what they used to be, buddy.

SPEAKER_07 34:25

Yeah, well, uh, I'll just take something else.

SPEAKER_02 34:29

Yeah, it's um it's definitely rare to find, you know, an old vine zin, depending on where you're at. But I think now, you know, with the similiers that are creating these beautiful wine lists and you know, these restaurateurs that themselves are, you know, wine collectors, they know the value of a really good Zinfandel, especially anything that's old vine. Um, and you know, why not? It's something that you can age, you can age it just like a Cabernet Sauvignon if you are fortunate enough to have a cellar in which to do so. Um so yeah, that's that Zen. I love it. This is this is my go-to whenever I whenever I bring a holiday wine, it's a Zen versus a cab.

SPEAKER_08 35:13

I mean, there's like like Etsy sells uh forgive me for I have forgive me, Lord, for I have zinned. It was like that was all that pink Zinfandel stuff. Those are the they still sell those wine glasses at like Meyer and Marshall's and stuff, you know.

SPEAKER_02 35:27

Yeah, so pink, yeah. That that's where Zinfandel got a bad rap.

SPEAKER_07 35:31

Yeah, absolutely. Big time, absolutely big time.

SPEAKER_02 35:34

It was it was quote old lady wine because it was the pink wine. Yeah, you know, they didn't even jug. They didn't even call it rose, they they it was the pink wine.

SPEAKER_08 35:41

Oh, it's yeah, blush or rose. Yes, blush.

SPEAKER_02 35:44

Oh, that's right. Not because it was never J Galo Blush, yeah. Yeah, well, I got a mom.

SPEAKER_07 35:51

She's an old lady who drinks white, she drinks pink wine, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:54

White Zinfidel, even though it's not white, it's pink. It's pink, yes. I love it, I love it.

SPEAKER_08 36:01

I did once make a a pink Merlot, it was a clear Merlot. It was a it was a white Merlot. I made a white Merlot. Oh, that's what I did. Yes, I made a white Merlot.

SPEAKER_02 36:12

Yes, yeah, because Merlot, so the skin of the grape is gonna be uh like you know, purple or red, and then the meat inside is gonna be white. But you know that because you make you make your wine. I make basement wine, yeah. You make basement wine.

SPEAKER_08 36:26

Yeah, the last batch was shit you told me, you made sure you told me that, so but it's okay.

SPEAKER_02 36:29

Yeah, I was honest with you, and I let you know, hey, uh this one is gone. It was oxidized. It was oxidized, it was oxidized.

SPEAKER_05 36:36

I had uh the one uh you I because I had one of your bottles and it was fine. The Christmas ones were fine.

SPEAKER_02 36:40

Yeah, you took your headset off. Yeah, and in naked land over here.

SPEAKER_08 36:44

I feel like Joe Rogan with no, we're naked, you're the only one with cans.

SPEAKER_02 36:49

No, there's cans right there.

SPEAKER_08 36:51

Ding.

SPEAKER_02 36:54

We need our bell ringer. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_08 36:56

Yeah, what are you finger banging over there? Chocolate flanagan?

SPEAKER_05 36:59

Yeah, dark chocolate, flanagan, dark chocolate to go with these red lines. Yes, I know it's perfect. I was gonna get some cheese, but I'm like, eh, a little dark chocolate.

SPEAKER_08 37:06

No, it's Eric Schultz is watching. Oh, he was gonna come in and join us, but uh he's moving this week.

SPEAKER_02 37:12

So all right, busy man. It's all right at Schultz. Thanks for checking in.

SPEAKER_05 37:16

I was gonna say you miss some gorgeous wines and a gorgeous co-host. There you go. I'm right here.

SPEAKER_04 37:22

And Kristen's Kristen's here as well.

SPEAKER_08 37:26

Oh boy, the wine's kicking in, kids. I got a kitchen to clean, I got laundry to do, I got baseball to watch. All right, I've got charcoal. It's all right. Oh, it's all right.

SPEAKER_02 37:37

We've got charcoal pills for you.

SPEAKER_08 37:38

And if you want some DHI, I've been taking my charcoal pills. Yeah, we're out. We ran out. We ran out. Okay, I've got some in my truck.

SPEAKER_02 37:44

All right, we're all good.

SPEAKER_08 37:45

We'll be all right.

SPEAKER_02 37:46

I always have them in my truck.

SPEAKER_08 37:48

Okay, we only have we have one more of these to drink. That's probably why we should have had the smaller samples, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:53

Well, you were insistent. And a similar never says no when somebody wants refills.

SPEAKER_05 37:58

I was busting your chops.

SPEAKER_02 38:00

Yeah, me too, but that's fine.

SPEAKER_05 38:01

Well, because this is this is I mean, I've because if I'm enjoying this the way that, like you said, the jamminess is coming through with the dry. Yeah, I really want some lamb chops right now.

SPEAKER_02 38:10

Oh, I've got I just got some lamb chops. That's one of my favorites.

SPEAKER_05 38:15

Garlic. Where was I the last wedding? They had they were doing strolling lamb chops before dinner.

SPEAKER_08 38:20

Oh, you know, dude, I just hijack a tray and go in the back room. All right, I'd be happy.

SPEAKER_02 38:25

You know who's got really good lamb chops? Lastrada Dolce in Birmingham. Yeah, Lastrada Dolce in Birmingham. So Chef Zarko. So uh I was at uh Eastern Market for oh my gosh, what was I there for? Um, one of their events that they were having, it was our Detroit. Oh, it was Grill Fest. No, it was Grill Fest. It was Grill Fest, Burger Battle, and uh and Chef Zarko, he had lamb chops. He had a line, you guys. I can't remember which shed we were in. I think five. He had a line all the way around.

SPEAKER_08 38:57

All the events are in the same shed, the one that has the garage doors, that's where the events are.

SPEAKER_02 39:00

Yeah, all the way around. So and they and they were right in front of my little saints table. And I'm like, all right, cool. I'm like, here, guys, I'm like, try this, try this, try this. And then he sold out instantly because I had my chef with me to help poor little saints, and I because I'm like, hey, you want to come? You want to make some extra money? And he's like, Yeah, let's do it. Yeah, and then we went over to chef, and before it got crazy business, and he's like, Here, he's like, try he had the lamb chops over polenta with asparagus. Yes, yes, yes, and chef, chef, chef, and then we chefed, and then we shoffed, and then we chefed, and then we shoffed, and we shuffled, we shuffled together, and it was great, it was beautiful. Um, but yeah, lamb chops, beautiful, fantastic. And then speaking of uh like like different types of meat, like uh mangles pork.

SPEAKER_08 39:47

If you ever had that, it sounds made up, it's not made up.

SPEAKER_02 39:50

Mangalese is a type of heritage, it's a heritage pork, and up north uh near like Sutton's Bay, and I bring this up to bring into in the vines with Mrs. Vino.

SPEAKER_05 40:02

I told you that story to tell you this story. Yes, that's my life. Yes, that's welcome to you into my classroom.

SPEAKER_02 40:07

That's where this is how we bring the students back, bring your attention. Um, but heritage were you know, meat that you normally wouldn't, you know, some people are adverse to lamb.

SPEAKER_08 40:20

Um or uh like I had a grandfather who ate too much mutton during the war, so he wouldn't eat it.

SPEAKER_02 40:25

Well my gosh, I mean that's the worst cut out of the lamb, yeah, right?

SPEAKER_08 40:29

So he was afraid of anything lamb was like no, you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:33

This sounds like a lot of my family because I'm always like, Hey, do you want me to make some lamb chops or do you want to make you some kafta? And they're like, No, no, no, no. And I'm like, it's really good the way I make it. I'm like, you know that I cook well. They're like, No, no, no, no lamb.

SPEAKER_08 40:44

So sometimes I just I lie gamey to people, they have a different taste.

SPEAKER_02 40:48

Just lie to them and cook it well and be like, here, just taste it and try it. Same with wine, I'll do that all the time. I won't tell you.

SPEAKER_08 40:54

My dad did a lamb roast one year for Thanksgiving, didn't tell the family. And I knew, and dad knew, and all my aunts and uncles are like, This is great. What's this cut of beef? He goes, It's lamb after we ate, right? What? So, yeah, you can you can pull it off. Welcome, plus, you know, the way he he barbecue smokes it, it's just amazing.

SPEAKER_02 41:11

So I know I've got a big barrel smoker at home. I love smoking meat.

SPEAKER_08 41:15

Yeah, this is just uh he just does the offset, you know, coals in the sides and lets it go. And yeah, he does it well.

SPEAKER_02 41:22

I love it. Yeah, I've got I've just got a pellet smoker. I used to have uh I do too.

SPEAKER_08 41:25

I have a trigger, I love it.

SPEAKER_02 41:26

Yeah, it's I I like the pot. It's yeah, it's almost too easy. I'm one of those where I'm like, I want to be out all day long for eight hours so that I have an excuse to drink lightly for eight hours.

SPEAKER_05 41:37

Let it smoke, yeah. Too much of a well, I gotta let it set. I gotta let it, I gotta let it faster.

SPEAKER_02 41:42

I know, and then everyone's like, hey, when is it gonna be done? I'm like, uh oh, how many bottles? Second bottle. Uh we got two more hours. Are we want to turn down the temperature a little bit just to extend it? All right, yeah, that's what I do. So, are you gentlemen ready for?

SPEAKER_07 41:58

Oh, you dumped that out. I don't I don't understand.

SPEAKER_02 42:02

This one, this one's uh so this one, this wine, uh, so I'm very excited to bring this back. I believe, and I brought it, and I and I believe the first podcast that I did with with you guys. I I know I brought because you talked about it. So I did Ardore, so Ardore is like their highest end, Cabernet Sauvignon, and this one blows it away. This one, I'll be honest. So this one is Mount Vitor. So Mount Veter is uh a specific area, specific AVA in Napa that's highly, highly coveted for its fruit. So this fruit grows on the eastern um facing side of Mount Veter, and there's only I don't know how many uh acres there are, but it's it's very select. So there's only certain uh wineries that have access to these grapes. Okay, all right. So this is very special. This is gonna be a 2021. There was only 175 cases of this made, and I believe there's six in a case. 70 of them Jimmy at Fine Wine Source has, and the rest only you can get from the winery, as far as I know. Really? Don't quote me.

Coravin Demo And Mount Veeder Cabernet

SPEAKER_05 43:26

So Jimmy's kind of corner in the market, quoted yourself. He's he's uh so the fine wine source, he's uh uh is his focus wine. Does he have other spirits as well, or is it they like really wine?

SPEAKER_02 43:36

Wine really wine, yeah. Okay, yeah. So Jimmy we gotta get in there.

SPEAKER_05 43:41

We were talking about August. Thought we were gonna record live. I thought we were going live, and I'm like, we we will be.

SPEAKER_02 43:45

Oh, you know what?

SPEAKER_08 43:46

I was trying to set up my timing like from where I'm like, so we're going to Livonia on Wednesday. Yes, I was like, No, no, no, we're in the studio. I'm like, Oh, I thought we were going to the shop.

SPEAKER_04 43:57

You know what?

SPEAKER_02 43:58

Let's no, because Jimmy actually just expanded his store and he has a whole new area, and there's actually a spot where we could set up and have that backdrop. Cook it, Dano. Yes, let's do it.

SPEAKER_08 44:09

Slavonia's out of our usual sphere of influence. I like that. Hang on, I like that idea.

SPEAKER_05 44:13

You're you're you've got some contraption here.

SPEAKER_02 44:15

I do. So this is called a Coravin. And the reason why I'm doing this also sounds made up is because I'm very selfish and I'm taking this bottle home afterwards. Um, but this Coravin, what it does, it's it exchanges argon gas for the wine, so no oxygen gets in the bottle. So there's a needle that I just inserted into the cork.

SPEAKER_06 44:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:37

And when I and when I hit the um penetrates.

SPEAKER_05 44:41

So if you turned your bottle into a wine box.

SPEAKER_02 44:44

Um if you want to cheapen it that way, Jamie. You can go if you want to. I'm sorry, where does it cheapen it? Simple simplify it.

SPEAKER_08 44:51

A cortovin.

SPEAKER_02 44:52

A Coravan.

SPEAKER_08 44:53

Coravan.

SPEAKER_02 44:54

Uh Amazon. Yeah. So what it does, it just um, yeah, turn that, turn that camera down so people can see. Yeah, yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_08 45:02

So this is some wine nerd shit right here. Oh, very much so. So Argan, so you wheezing the juice. So listen, listen.

SPEAKER_02 45:08

So specifically Argon gas, what it does, it's it creates a layer on top of the juice that's already in here. Um, so that there's no, so that there's no oxygen that's in here.

SPEAKER_08 45:22

Argon gas is what they use when they are uh interrogating prisoners, it makes them talk. Yes, so this is we're gonna be very, very honest here today, Jamie.

SPEAKER_02 45:31

I don't know if you guys are lying or not.

SPEAKER_08 45:32

Isn't Argon gas the stuff that makes the signs light up? No, it's what blue that's why the Hindenburg burned.

SPEAKER_02 45:38

No, that's helium. It was heat or not helium. Does it does it make you talk?

SPEAKER_05 45:42

Are we gonna talk in squeaky voices after this? Yes, yes, it's gonna make me laugh a lot.

SPEAKER_02 45:49

Which one's which one's flammable? I can't remember. Argon gas.

SPEAKER_08 45:53

This is literally like a bomb. This is like we have pipe bomb materials here.

SPEAKER_05 45:57

Okay, so and you're gonna see I love that she's like grown to ignore us. Yes, she's a smart lady.

SPEAKER_02 46:03

Let this so aerate this, okay. IE.

SPEAKER_08 46:06

But you just argoned it.

SPEAKER_02 46:07

I.e.

SPEAKER_08 46:08

wasn't it a guy from Lord of the Rings?

SPEAKER_02 46:10

It was Atagon.

SPEAKER_08 46:11

Same thing.

SPEAKER_02 46:13

If you want me to get nerdy, it's a sequel to range.

SPEAKER_08 46:16

So you got Ranger Gas. Ranger gas. There was Vigo, yeah, there was Vegle Morton.

SPEAKER_07 46:21

So Vigo Morton's infarted into this bottle, Vigo Morton's.

SPEAKER_02 46:26

You know, I try and keep everything. This is me just disrespecting the classy thing to ever happen.

SPEAKER_08 46:34

The classiest thing to ever happen to this podcast, and I'm making Vigo Morton's infart jokes.

SPEAKER_02 46:43

Um, so yes, spin it. So swirl, swirl, swirl, swirl, swirl. Because this specific wine, this is one that I would decant for two reasons. One, there's gonna be sediment in here because Mark Harrol, the winemaker, he believes in leaving sediment in specifically the Carbonet or the Cabernet Sauvignol, and then also the tenacious, which is uh Merlot and Pias.

SPEAKER_08 47:08

I feel like I've overfiltered some of my wines and I lost some flavor. Yep. I overfiltered it. I could have left it.

SPEAKER_02 47:14

Are you afraid? Are you afraid of some chunkies at the end of a glass?

SPEAKER_08 47:17

I'm not, but other people are the people that are that you're giving us a lot of things. You're gifting it to.

SPEAKER_02 47:22

Then you can go to one of two routes depending on it.

SPEAKER_08 47:25

Put a sticker on it that says chunky bottom.

SPEAKER_02 47:27

So depending on if they're really close, if they're really close, family and friends, you can be like, hey, guys.

SPEAKER_08 47:35

Sorry, this is classy. Chunky bottom is the game in college. Anyway, yeah, but you can tell them that there's gonna be sediment. And beer people beer people are used to sediment.

SPEAKER_02 47:44

Yes, beer people are used to it. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. So with with wine specifically, you just gotta, depending on your relationship with someone, okay. So if I put my simelier professional hat on, I'll be like, okay, no problem, I'll filter it out. But for friends and family, I'll be like, no, no, no, no. You're gonna drink that and you're gonna eat some of the chunkies and you're gonna chew on it and you're gonna appreciate it.

SPEAKER_08 48:05

That might be a little much to have them chewing on the chunkies in the bottom of the wine, but then again, there's no chunkies in the bottom of that box of uh crisp white frenzia.

SPEAKER_02 48:14

So the white zincel. Oh no, no, that's been filtered many times.

SPEAKER_05 48:19

Squeezing the last drops out of that silver bag.

SPEAKER_07 48:22

Yes, I know. At the tailgate. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:25

All right, if you guys swirled it enough, did you guys get a nice okay? So this is a little bit more. You can tell me if I swirled enough.

SPEAKER_08 48:32

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 48:33

Yeah, so there's gonna there's gonna be some oak on here right in the mouth. French oak. French oak.

SPEAKER_05 48:37

This is opposite. The the the flavor, the flavor from comes first and then the dry hits. The other one, the dry hit, and then I got the flavor. This one I'm getting the dry and it just readjusted my tongue completely.

SPEAKER_08 48:50

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_05 48:51

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 48:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 48:52

Cat'll be thrilled.

SPEAKER_02 48:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 48:56

I'm letting I'm getting flavor first on this, and the dry comes later.

SPEAKER_02 49:01

So that's coming from the Darna Jou French oak. So Darnage is the specific cooperage that is most prevalent with Tom's.

SPEAKER_05 49:09

This is speaking to my bourbon boy. This is speaking to my bourbon soul. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:13

Are you familiar with uh Darnajou?

SPEAKER_05 49:16

No, but it's just this this flavor is speaking to my bourbon soul.

SPEAKER_02 49:19

Yeah, I knew it was.

SPEAKER_05 49:22

This is a number.

SPEAKER_02 49:23

Shout out to Tom. I will see you on Saturday on Cork, you and Vicki. This is a fan.

SPEAKER_08 49:28

This is a top shelf wine. This is not going to be at your local party.

SPEAKER_05 49:33

So you said there's 150 cases, right?

SPEAKER_02 49:35

175 uh that were produced for this specific vintage of 2021. There's only 20 cases available at Fine Wine Source Livonia. And I believe the rest of the uh 155 are exclusively uh just through the vineyard and/or some of the other like partnerships that Tom has.

SPEAKER_08 49:58

So I have a feeling that that is the coolest place in the city of Livonia.

SPEAKER_02 50:02

I'm thinking very cool, very amazing wines. And Jimmy and his father or um son-in-law, uh Igor, really helpful. Dare, I've known Dare forever. He's such a sweetheart, very knowledgeable. He'll tell you whatever it is that you you need to know.

SPEAKER_05 50:18

And then the nose on those just grows.

SPEAKER_02 50:20

Oh, yeah, yeah. You wait, you guys.

SPEAKER_05 50:23

Yeah, you wait.

SPEAKER_02 50:24

So, this is one of those wines that, like I said before, you want to decant this, one because it will open up, and two, because of the sediment.

SPEAKER_06 50:32

Right.

SPEAKER_02 50:33

So, for those individuals who aren't into you know the the chewiness, uh, all of it settles in the bottom and bottom of the decanter, and then you can just pour it off slowly so that you don't have to have any of that.

SPEAKER_05 50:45

So now you said there's only 170 some odd cases uh of the 2021.

SPEAKER_02 50:50

Yep, you got it.

SPEAKER_05 50:51

Uh so the following years are are there, are the so it's that it's not one and done. There's other years, right? Have they done it in the other years? Or should we be able to get the 22 eventually and the 23?

SPEAKER_02 51:03

Yeah, so the other vintages. Um, I haven't talked to Tom as far as how 22 was, how 23 harvest was. Um, but I know that specifically this harvest was was really fantastic um for them in Napa and specifically at Mount Veter. Um, because yeah, Mother Nature, you guys, she's she's in control, she's in control, especially when it comes to these very elevated wines where you know Tom doesn't, he's not buying juice from people just to make X amount of cases. It's no, it's whatever grapes he's got, and him and Marquero, the winemaker, that's what they have to work with. That's all you get, people. That's it. That's why people sell her, that's why they collect wines, it's why they uh you know, wines appreciate it.

SPEAKER_08 51:47

I was out in in uh Hood River, Oregon over the summer, and I had my first ever Barbarossa. Like, wow, this is different. And we were literally sitting under the grapes and their wineries. It was really kind of cool. I'd never been out to Oregon. Everywhere in Hood River, Oregon is a fucking screensaver. Yeah, everywhere you look, it's like something on your screensaver.

SPEAKER_06 52:07

I love it.

SPEAKER_08 52:07

Yeah, it was great, and the wine there was was really good.

SPEAKER_02 52:09

Yeah, yeah. There's yeah, the Pacific Northwest has beautiful, beautiful. Obviously, they're really known for their cat or um Pinot Noirs. Um, but yeah, it's uh, you know, it's that cool, salty air, like especially the ones that are closer to the ocean. It's really unique, very unique. Yeah, super cool, super cool. But I'm excited about you know, exposing people to that type of uniqueness of wines in Michigan next year, uh, because I'm putting together an in the vines excursion uh with Mrs. Vino. So it'll be some of my really um awesome winery friends and winemakers that either I worked for or closely with uh when I uh was working up there for Big Little and Wabi.

SPEAKER_06 52:56

Right.

SPEAKER_02 52:57

And uh yeah, because we're gonna start there because we were we so August doesn't know. So we were gonna do space.

SPEAKER_08 53:03

August doesn't know. No August doesn't know, August doesn't know.

SPEAKER_02 53:08

And if you guys put this into a meme, I'll kill you. But anyways, um that will be one of the crazy. I could just see, yeah, I could just see it now. Right when I was doing it, I already knew where your heads were at. So, anyways, um so August doesn't know. August doesn't know so uh no Spain this year. Okay, however, that's okay. Blessings in disguise, right? So we're gonna be doing uh local in the vines tour with Mrs. Vino up north in the uh Lelana Peninsula, Mission Point Peninsula.

SPEAKER_08 53:41

I got a buddy with a place up there, I'll send you to him.

SPEAKER_02 53:43

Yeah, man. Yeah, well, I yeah, I've got pal. Yeah, uh, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna say where I stay because it's a secret. I love advocating for them, but I also I I always hate when they get busy and they get booked.

Michigan Wine Country, Travel Plans, And Pairings

SPEAKER_05 53:56

Right, you know, Colleen and I were not gonna say work at Interlock, which is just a good 20 25 minutes outside of Travers. Um, and it was raining, so we're like, all right, well, we're not hiking or walking around or going to the beach. So uh let's let's hit some wineries. And so as we're driving to Travers, we've got a 20-minute drive. So I I text Mrs. Vino and I'm like, hey, we're doing we're doing some wines today. Which uh which uh tell me a couple of places we gotta hit. Um and we did there was a one, and it's it's like it was reminding me of what uh the whistle pig is, what role Raj is doing. Um, because it looks like a whole community uh college campus that they've turned into just like the shopping district. And you sent sent us to one in there.

SPEAKER_02 54:40

Yeah, I'm trying to think. Oh, it was um uh so Left Foot Charlie, it's Brian.

SPEAKER_05 54:46

Yeah, so we and and we hit a couple of the other ones that that you suggested. I was laughing earlier when you mentioned Traverse City because Colleen and I because we bought a bunch of bottles, and just like in the last three weeks, we were kind of out of wines, right? But we had all our Travers wines that we had picked up, yeah. We were saving because we bought a bunch that we were like, Oh, we're gonna serve these at Christmas, right? Because we usually we have like 30 to 40 people for Christmas. Fun. Colleen's from a huge family, yeah. So we had these wines for table wines, and uh we we destroyed them in the last two weeks. Oh, so yeah, but those kind of things. Did you hear that?

SPEAKER_02 55:19

Flanagan family, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 55:21

So you're gonna be getting some uh you know, something.

SPEAKER_02 55:23

Yeah, I know. I'm looking up my text. Yeah, I told you Left Foot Charlie, um, you know, Boss Wine and Elk Rapids, Gilcrest Tasting Room, Shady Lane. Yeah, there's so many.

SPEAKER_05 55:33

I mean two of the ones you recommended. Yeah, and we enjoyed them great immensely.

SPEAKER_02 55:37

Yeah, such great wine.

SPEAKER_08 55:39

An old buddy of mine sold a company, his wife retired from one of the TV stations she worked at, and they uh they bought a defunct winery up there.

SPEAKER_02 55:47

Which one?

SPEAKER_08 55:48

Uh Three Trees. Oh Three Trees Vineyard. It's now the Suenteses.

SPEAKER_02 55:53

Oh, I love it. Yeah, send me their info because we're gonna be we're gonna be going off. Yeah, I would love to meet them.

SPEAKER_08 56:01

He would come down to whiskey jar and have me try stuff when I was bartending a couple years ago.

SPEAKER_05 56:05

Yeah, Michigan has bona fide actual wine country, yes, they do have Michigan.

SPEAKER_08 56:10

And I used to always talk shit about the reds here because we have we have that German parallel, uh you know, the German climate, the soil we could we'd had great German wines.

SPEAKER_06 56:19

45th parallel.

SPEAKER_08 56:20

When I was a kid, it was always there was always Rieslings and Um Peace Porters at Christmas that were from Michigan wineries, were all over our tables in the holidays when I was a kid. Never a red because our reds were too thin.

SPEAKER_02 56:34

Yeah, too light. I get it.

SPEAKER_08 56:36

Of course they would be. They're getting better. That's what I'm hearing.

SPEAKER_02 56:38

Yeah, so they'll all so they'll always be thin, they'll always they they won't ever get big and juicy like a Cabernet Sauvignon or isn't that the viscosity definitely does struggle um just because it's the growing season again, it's mother nature. Yeah, you know, unless somebody starts growing you know, Cabernet Sauvignon in a greenhouse.

SPEAKER_08 56:58

Yeah, well, that's gotta be it. Yeah, they have to greenhouse it or do they have to like yeah, light it or something crazy.

SPEAKER_02 57:03

Because if you want it to be native grapes that are actually coming from the soil within that AVA designation, you'd have to do that.

SPEAKER_08 57:10

But I mean, I've gotten great red wines from Portland and Washington State, which also doesn't yeah, that's some really good Syrah's out of Washington.

SPEAKER_02 57:20

That's right.

SPEAKER_08 57:20

My my homemaking, which I'm I'm two years since I've actually made a wine. That's what life does, you know. Like my stuff's scattered around right now. I have to, I have to, but I get I was getting all my stuff from Washington State.

SPEAKER_02 57:31

I want to come help. I want to come help.

SPEAKER_08 57:33

There's nothing to help. Well, the help is when you're doing the the bottling and the tasting. That's the fun part to help, you know. Everything else is like you throw some stuff in a bucket and you let it wait, and then you gotta clean it, and then you do it, you know. It's not all that helpy, you know.

SPEAKER_02 57:45

I want to taste it. I want to give you my stamp of approval.

SPEAKER_08 57:47

That's fine. We'll do we'll do it, yeah. Because I need to, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna do a white done. I can get a white done and I can give it away, give it out for Christmas. I didn't give wine for Christmas the last two years. So, and I think uh Melso and I were gonna do a port. Oh you want to do a port wine, okay, fortify a port wine, and and that always works.

SPEAKER_02 58:08

That you'll have success with because the alcohol content is you can just put a bunch of Christian brothers in there and kill any funk.

SPEAKER_08 58:17

Yeah, it could be a fresh one, but you just got you know, it doesn't have to be aged, yeah. So we've been in we've been in non-negotiations.

SPEAKER_02 58:22

I love it, I love it. Like I said, I would love to help.

SPEAKER_08 58:26

Yeah, we'll get you.

SPEAKER_02 58:26

We'll give it a stamp of approval. Mrs. Vino approved.

SPEAKER_05 58:30

Cool. Handramic sellers is gonna return. So I don't want to say it wrong. Jimmy Jimmy Lutfey. Jimmy's place is what?

SPEAKER_02 58:39

Fine wine source.

SPEAKER_05 58:40

Fine wine source. It's uh it's a it's a simple name, but I it's like it doesn't find wine. Yeah, fine wine, fine wine source.

SPEAKER_08 58:47

The source fine wine. It doesn't get it right to the point.

SPEAKER_05 58:51

Yeah, fine wine source. All right, so the fine Jimmy, thank you uh for for sharing these.

SPEAKER_08 58:57

Yeah, we can't wait to uh enjoy one of these with you in your space. Yes, we must schedule that for let's do the holiday episode there.

SPEAKER_02 59:02

I'll talk to Jimmy back. What do you think?

SPEAKER_08 59:04

We'll do something in uh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:06

So Mondays, Mondays are uh late November before Thanksgiving, before I leave for Krakow.

SPEAKER_05 59:14

Krakow Krakow Mondays are best because uh Foxy Loxy can make some for sure.

SPEAKER_08 59:19

So yeah, well and Sundays, Sundays, Sunday remotes are always good too.

SPEAKER_02 59:25

Sundays are hobby and wifey day for me. I've got business to do at home.

SPEAKER_08 59:29

You can bring Wolverine to the wine shop.

SPEAKER_02 59:33

You can it's true. I know that's very true. It's right down the road from me. Ain't gonna be too long, and then afterwards we can have a bonfire at my house. Oh my gosh, I'm gonna have to like get an air mattress. Sneaky hoodies. Listen, I'm gonna have to get an air mattress for you guys. You're gonna have to get tons. I don't know what to tell you.

SPEAKER_08 59:51

It's not gonna work though, it won't be there. It won't be.

SPEAKER_05 59:54

Yeah. That would that thank you for sharing these. Yeah, this is wonderful. Thank you to uh little saints. Yes. For the contributions as well. Good luck with the uh liqueur.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:04

Yes, yeah. On cork for a cure the Saturday, everyone. I will be there. Uh Wolverine, aka Logan, my husband will be there.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:13

Um, Logan's it works. It's his name's Logan.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:18

Oh, you should wait. His hair is long.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:20

Oh, is it now? Uh-huh. Oh boy.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:22

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:22

Meow.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:23

Yeah. Meow is right.

Closing Toasts And Event Reminders

SPEAKER_07 1:00:26

Remember the remember the first show with her when she he came as the bouncer to keep an eye on us, creepy old men.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:31

Well, I just I'll be I'll be all right. So, full disclosure, I wasn't sure because I'm like, all right, there's these gentlemen, these guys, because I didn't know if you're gentlemen or not. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Barely that invited me, and I'm like, you know, I feel comfortable if you came with me just in case. He's like, Yeah, that's great. And then afterwards, I'm like, uh, we're fine.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:48

Yeah, we're like, you want to talk? He's like, no, leave. I'm not here. But anybody in the room, we usually try to drag onto a micro.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:54

Say something. Come on, Peter Gallery. I know he's so yeah, I know he's so introverted. I love him.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:58

So uh, but yeah, we had a night chat at the the Little Saints thing we did, but anyway, uh, like, subscribe, leave comments, all the podcast things in all the podcast places. There'll be links to all the shenanigans. Something's gonna go in there. Uh yep, uh links to all the shenanigans uh down below. And uh that is August Kitchlag.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:16

This is Mrs.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:18

Vino, uh Kristen Carlson, and this is James Flanagan of our live.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:22

See, she learned she knows.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:24

We miss we miss you, sexy Matt Fox.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:25

We miss you, Matt Fox.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:27

Yeah, oh, there's Foxy there. Thanks. All right, so we'll do it all again very, very soon. We'll see you next time. Cheers, everybody.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:35

Cheers, guys. Oh, I'll give you a round. Cheers.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:37

Hey Tammy.