Belle Glos Pinot Noir at Firefly Grill Effingham, IL

Belle Glos Las Alturas Pinot Noir at Firefly Grill, Effingham, IL

Enroute back to Chicago from our Florida Destiny Cove getaway last week, we stopped and dined at the Firefly Grill in Effingham, IL for a delightful, memorable fine dining experience. Firefly American Grill is now on our itinerary and plans for future trips through the area.

Firefly is just off the highway I57 in a large expansive freestanding building surrounded by flowerbeds, gardens and a pond. 

Firefly is a farm-to-table cuisine artsy restaurant that focuses on dedication to growing and serving "some of the best food on the planet", imaginative food creations crafted from the finest ingredients. They have a stated wholehearted dedication to their community, eco-system, clients, farm, the Earth and their teammates. 

Firefly is the handicraft of proprietors Kristie and Niall. They met in Puerto Rico while helping mutual friends open a new restaurant there, the Blue Macaw. Kristie and Niall embraced the challenge and wonderful experience of getting a restaurant off the ground.

After a few years in Puerto Rico, they decided to get married and return to the mainland. Niall had taken a job at Bradley Ogden's Lark Creek Inn outside of San Francisco. On the way to California, they stopped in Kristie's hometown, Effingham, IL. They commented to folks there how Effingham could benefit from a restaurant like the one they dreamed of and wanted to create someday.

The establishment of Firefly was the idea of local entrepreneur/developer Jack Schultz who orchestrated the fulfillment of the vision and dream of Kristie and Niall Campbell to open a restaurant. Jack had heard through the grapevine that Kristie was marrying a chef and that someday they want to open a restaurant. 

Jack loved their ideas and with the help of their incredible community, Jack and his team at Agracel, some investors, a visionary at Newton State Bank, and architect Cass Calder Smith, Kristie and Niall's dream to open a restaurant was born, in Effingham.

In Firefly, they created a space that is like coming into their own home, with the kitchen the heart of the Campbell house, with an exhibition kitchen, customers see everything that goes into the dishes firsthand.

Their vision of sustainability is also manifested in the building with recycled steel, reclaimed barn wood, chairs recycled from Hard Rock in Manhattan, and a pond that irrigates the gardens reducing firefly's carbon footprint. They grow mint in the gardens on the site, not only for the menu, but also to keep the mosquitos away. 

The rustic dining room with wood ceiling and hardwood floors is lively and almost boisterous. 

Food they can't grow themselves is sourced locally whenever possible by using sustainable fisheries, artisan farmers, and foragers. Their website lists about twenty suppliers including Trader's Point Creamery in Zionsville, IN, not far from several of our family and friends in the area that we occasionally frequent when in town. 

The firefly philosophy on food is: keep it simple, source the best ingredients possible, and stay out of their way.

We dined outside on the front porch overlooking the landscaped lawn with gardens and Illinois agricultural fields in view across the road.

From the lunch menu, we selected the wedge salad, I had the grilled petit filet with mashed potatoes and asparagus, and Linda ordered the beef wellington. For a wine accompaniment, I chose BTG the Belle Glos Pinot Noir.

Following the delightful tasting of Belle Glos Santa Maria Valley vineyard designated Pinot we had on vacation in Florida last week, it was fun trying another Belle Glos Vineyard Pinot. I wrote extensively about producer/winemaker Joe Wagner and the Belle Glos brand in a blogpost about that dinner.

Linda tried the Caymus Quilt Reserve Cabernet.

Belle Glos Monterey County Las Alturas Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

This is another single vineyard designated Pinot Noir. It is sourced from the 15 acre Las Alturas Vineyard located in one of the highest-plantable sites in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County. The yields are deliberately kept low in order to preserve the fruit intensity from the vines.

 

The name “Las Alturas” in Spanish means “the heights,” a fitting name for this vineyard located on one of the highest grape-growing benches in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA up to 1,200 feet. At this elevation, it has a terroir of sunny but very cool climate from the breezes that blow in from the Pacific coast that creates wines bearing all the hallmarks of the coastal region: robust, expressive, full-bodied, and balanced by a firm acidity

The wine was aged in 100% French oak (60% new) for up to nine months. After the wine underwent malolactic fermentation, it was racked twice before making the final blend.

Winemaker's Tasting Notes: "Rich crimson in color withfragrant aromas of blackberry, sage, cherry, and hints of rich dark chocolate. Bold and elegant on the palate with boysenberry pie, black currant jam, dark plum, and subtle notes of ground nutmeg. Balanced and structured, this wine has beautiful acidity that lingers through to a long, mouthwatering finish."

A wonderful accompaniment to the grilled beefsteak, especially on a warm summer afternoon, its a nice departure from the big bold hearty Syrah's/Shiraz's we enjoy, and the robust Bordeaux varietals, to the finer, more refined, less bold and forward Pinot Noirs. 

In the midst of summer, its a nice departure from the big bold hearty Syrah's/Shiraz's we enjoy, and the robust Bordeaux varietals to the finer, more refined, less bold and burdensome Pinot Noirs. 

What sets Belle Glos apart is its beautiful acidity that gives it a long, mouthwatering finish. It's a wine that is perfect for those who appreciate a well behaved structured, bold, and complex wine. With every sip, you feel the balance between the fruitiness and acidity making it a fantastic accompaniment to hearty meat dishes or simply enjoyed on its own as a sipping wine.

Winemaker Notes - Scarlet red in color with an aromatic medley of gooseberry, raspberry, and cranberry with hints of ginger, black pepper, and shaved milk chocolate. Dark fruit on the palate with flavors of wild berries, milk chocolate, toffee, black cherry, and ground nutmeg. Rich and structured, this wine has beautiful acidity that lingers through to a long, mouthwatering finish.

This was rated 91 by Wine Enthusiast. 

Dark ruby colored, medium-full bodied, aromatic, complex full flavors of black cherry with notes of toast, caramel, milk chocolate and hints of cola, toffee, spice and licorice.  

RM 91.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4501644

https://belleglos.com/

https://www.ffgrill.com/

Belle Glos Las Alturas Pinot Noir 2014

Belle Glos Las Alturas Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2014 at Burwell's Charlestown

We spent a getaway weekend in Charlestown, SC, where we discovered the city, took in a rare tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright Auldbrass Plantation estate, and then escaped to Seabrook Island to visit friends for the weekend.

While in town we took in the 2 1/2 hour Charlestown Culinary Tour that highlights Charleston's Historic French Quarter. The walking tour traverses the historical neighborhoods dropping in to a collection of the city's hottest and historic restaurants showcasing food creations that make up Charlestown's history and culinary scene from traditional favorites to recent innovations. The tour highlights cuisine of favorite locally-owned and operated restaurants, conducted by Glen - a former chef, foodie and evangelist for the food scene of the Holy City. This is a great introduction to the culture, history, personalities and attitudes of all things food in this vibrant city.

Glen leads the tour through the streets with a half dozen stops revealing background, insights and perspectives of the Charlestown food scene with the chance to sample a variation of the spectrum of food offerings - barbecue, shrimp skewers, oysters, shrimp and grits, blueberry shakes, BLT, and decadent dessert. All the while Glen shares the latest happenings of the cityscape, chef's, sommeliers, and restaurants.

One of the many tips he offered was Burwell's Stone Fire Grill that features steaks and seafood selections cooked over a 1,400 degree, wood-fire oven, or 700 degree stonewood fired grill in the open kitchen adjacent to the bustling dining room (above). We dined at Burwell's that evening and had a great dinner validating his recommendation was a great choice.

We selected from Burwell's wine cellar (shown left) wine list this Belle Glos Las Alturas Pinot Noir to accompany our steak dinners. Normally, we'd order a Cabernet Sauvignon to go with a hearty grilled steak but the selective wine list offered two of our favorite Pinots at reasonable prices.

We're not normally Pinot Noir drinkers, favoring bigger more robust, more forward wines with concentrated fruit. Yet, I selected this Pinot for our dinner and it did not disappoint, standing up nicely to the steaks as well as seafood entrees. If one blind tasted this wine, they might think it is a Petit Sirah with its deep color and firm but refined approachable tannins. While it still maintains some of the flavor profile of a Pinot with that dusty rose tone, this is big and complex with tasty concentrated forward fruit.

Belle Glos is the brand developed by Joe Wagner, son of the legendary Chuck Wagner, owner of the well known Caymus brand and producer of the ultra-premium "Special Selection" Cabernet. Joe has also launched the popular moderately priced Meiomi brand. The Belle Glos brand is devoted entirely to distinctive, single-vineyard Pinot Noirs sourced from properties in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Coast and this one down in the central coast Santa Lucia Highlands.

With the emphasis on single vineyard designated labels, its all about terroir, that sense of place associated with vineyard with its distinctive soil, climate or micro-climate, elevation, terrain, location relative to coast, mountains or other influences - all those elements that contribute to a particular wine. And since they are based on factors associated with a location, climatic and seasonal variations aside, they will be relatively consistent from year to year, vintage to vintage, thereby becoming part of the brand and identity for that label.

The vineyard notes say of this wine: "The Spanish term ‘Las Alturas’ means ‘the heights’, a fitting name for this vineyard located on one of the highest grape-growing benches in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. The vineyard sits at an elevation between 540 and 1210 feet where the sunny but very cool climate creates a wine bearing all the hallmarks of this coastal region: robust, expressive, full bodied and balanced by a firm acidity.

Nestled between the Santa Lucia Mountains and the western side of Salinas Valley, Las Alturas benefits from early morning fog which rolls in most days from Monterey Bay then burns off within a few hours. Gusty winds funnel in from the bay throughout the afternoon, moderating the overall temperature and contributing to one of the longest growing seasons in California. The high winds also result in smaller berries with very thick skins, giving us more color concentration. Another attractive characteristic of this vineyard is the low-vigor, free-draining sub-soil made up of a calcareous base underneath a layer of sandy loam. This complements our farming techniques to further reduce our yields per vine and augment the fruit’s intensity."

Belle Glos "Las Alturas" Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands Monterey County Pinot Noir 2014

This was deep ruby red in color with intriguing aromas of sun-warmed blackberries, ripe plums, with hints of black licorice. A complexity of dark berry fruits unfold on the palate; blackberries and bing cherries along with dark chocolate flavors. Vanilla and cedar oak undertones on the mid-palate further enhance the wine. The overall impression is rich with refined tannins, firm acidity and explosive layers of ripe fruit.

RM 91 points.
92 points Wine Spectator

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2498033 

http://belleglos.com/

https://charlestonculinarytours.com/activities/charleston-downtown-culinary-tour/

http://www.burwellscharleston.com/

Two vintages Belle Glos Las Alturas Santa Lucia AVA Pinot Noir

Two spectacular restaurants - two vintages Belle Glos Las Alturas, Santa Lucia Highlands, Pinot Noir

For two important client dinners, we dined at two spectacular restaurants - each with award winning wine lists. On consecutive nights, one wine label emerged as the choice for value, distinction and sophistication. Two recent vintages of Belle Glos, Las Alturas Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County, Pinot Noir were selected for premium steaks at Capital Grill, as well as duck breast and ahi tuna entrees at Charlie Palmer's Aureole. What is this wine that has this versatility, range and cache'?

Belle Glos (pronounced BELL GLOS) is the eponymous product of Winemaker and Viticulturist Joseph Wagner to honor his grandmother, Lorna Belle Glos Wagner who was co-founder of Napa Valley's well known classic Caymus Vineyards.

The noted Caymus Napa Valley producer Chuck Wagner's grandfather acquired the land following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. A winery was built in 1915 where he produced bulk wine until prohibition. 

In 1972, Chuck and his parents, Charlie and Loma, established Caymus Vineyards named for the original Mexican land grant, Rancho Caymus, which encompassed the area now known as Rutherford. The Wagners began making wine at Caymus which has become a one of the classic benchmark Cabernet Sauvignons of Napa Valley.

Over the following decades, the Wagner family expanded into other California wine regions with their varietals suited to their distinctive climates, soil, and all the other characteristics known as terroir, that define a wine growing area's appellation. In addition to Caymus, the Wagner family produces wines under the Mer Soleil, Condundrum and Belle Glos brands. 

Since its founding in 2001, Chuck Wagner’s son, Joseph, handles the viticulture and winemaking for Belle Glos which produces three vineyard-designated labels from Taylor Lane Vineyard on the Sonoma Coast, the Clark and Telephone Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley, and this Las Alturas Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands. The most widely available label is Meiomi, the fourth Belle Glos Pinot Noir, an entry level value-priced wine from declassified juice. The wines are known for their distinctive long necks dipped in garnet colored wax rather than sealed with foil. 

Readers of this blog know we're not big Pinot fans and I'm not a fan of Meiomi, but then I'm on record of writing about how difficult it is to find a good sub $25 Pinot Noir. We hold a couple vintages of the Clark & Telephone Vineyard Pinot but have found it to be somewhat lackluster. What a pleasant surprise to discover this blockbuster Las Alturas! I will definitely seek it out and look forward to having it again, especially from other vintages.

Belle Glos Pinot Noirs are known for big-styled wines with generous extraction, alcohol and oak, and plenty of tannins when young. These recent vintages of Las Alturas are even more voluptuous than the earlier bottlings. This is perhaps the most vibrant, expressive extracted Pinot Noir I have ever tasted, resembling a full forward concentrated Shiraz more than the delicate lighter style of a California Pinot. 

The label takes it name from the Spanish term “Las Alturas” means “the heights”,  fitting since this vineyard is located on one of the highest grape-growing benches within the Santa Lucia Highlands appellation (AVA). 

The vineyard sits high in the Santa Lucia Mountain Range on the western side of Salinas Valley. The Las Alturas vineyard is subjected to the cooling effect of the early morning fog that rolls in most days from Monterey Bay, only to burn off within a few hours from the heat of late morning sun. Gusty winds flow in from the bay throughout the day moderating the overall temperature and contributing to one of the longest growing seasons in the state. The high winds also result in smaller berries with very thick skins, which contribute to color and concentration. The 15-acre vineyard is planted to match various Pinot Noir clones suitable and best fitting to the individual slopes and soil attributes of the land. 

At Capital Grill on the Las Vegas Strip, we dined on prime fine filet steaks and the 2011 Vintage Belle Glos Las Alturas was up to the pairing. Resembling a Shiraz more than a Pinot, it was dark ruby colored, full bodied, rich, dense and concentrated with tones of black raspberry and blackberry fruits with tones of earthiness, spices, ripe plum, currant and black cherry flavors. The ripe tannins are nicely balanced with acidity, and the finish is long and fulfilling.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1466871

The next night we dined at the fabulous Charlie Palmer restaurant Aureole at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino with its spectacular wine tower (left) and wine angels in the four story glass enclosed wine cellar, avante garde menu and chic setting.

To complement the ahi tuna and roasted breast of duck with confit orange coulis we chose the 2012 Belle Glos Las Alturas, which once proved to be a perfect choice. Dark garnet colored, only slightly lighter than the 2011, still full bodied, dense rich and concentrated with dark berry fruit flavors turning to layers of vanilla and cocoa. Once again more like a Shiraz than a Pinot with its chewy palate, structure and depth with a nicely balanced acidity on a silky supple finish."

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1682781

www.belleglos.com

www.wagnerfamilyofwine.com