Lobster Roll and Chardonnay at Legal Seafood Chicago

Lobster Roll and Chardonnay at Legal Seafood Chicago 

Highlights of a Day in the City … 

Yes, Legal Seafood in CHICAGO … that Boston institution opened in Chicago a year ago in the iconic landmark Marina City Complex, overlooking the Chicago River, above the marina boat slips, right next to Smith & Wollensky (another east coast restaurant institution, from NYC). 

Notably, we blogged in these pages about dining at Smith & Wollensky on another day such as this, during a day trip that also included the Art Institute - Chicago Experience - Museums, Architecture and Smith Wollensky Riverside Lunch.

Just like in that previous post, we spent the day in the City (Chicago) touring the Art Institute of Chicago and the current exhibit of Impressionist artist Gustave Caillebotte. Caillebotte is most known for his monumental painting Paris Street; Rainy Day. This iconic painting is one of the standards of the AIC collection, one of the best in the world and consistently ranked one of the top museums in the world. Highlights of the classic collection are featured in the Art Institute Essentials Tour which is available in this on-line virtual tour.

We’ve been premium members of the Art Institute for decades and regularly tour each exhibit, taking advantage of one of Chicago’s greatest assets. Moreover, Linda and daughter Erin (Teacher of Art and Art History, who ironically toured the exhibit today separately with friends), visit the Art Institute many times during the year, beyond just the special exhibitions. 

A typical outing in our beloved Chicago, we took advantage of the many assets of our City - transportation, museums, architectural landmarks, and restaurants. 

We took the Metra train into the city, convenient, comfortable, economical, then connected with the Water Taxi, from Union Station to Michigan Avenue. We love it that the Chicago River boat tours have become such an attraction (I counted more than a dozen such boats on the river this day) - especially the architectural boat tours that give backgrounds and insights into more than twenty-five magnificent and historic architectural landmarks of the cityscape. (As a docent interpreter of other Chicago architecture tours, I know several of the docent interpreters and how much is required of them to be certified to give these tours!)

Even though we’ve done it dozens of times, (I used to take the Water Taxi daily as part of my commute to work - from the train to Michigan Avenue), the Chicago River boat tours never get old. Riding the Water Taxi on the Chicago River, we boarded at Union Station, below my former office (shown). 

And, we saw today for the first time from the riverside, the completed Wolf Point and the recently completed SalesForce Tower, (where son Alec works), and the recently finished Bank of America Tower (shown below, at night, from across the river). 

We also discovered a new restaurant, new to Chicago - Legal Seafood, from Boston, located in the Marina City complex overlooking the river. 

While it’s been here for a year, we just discovered Legal Seafood in Chicago and made plans to lunch there later in the day. 

The Caillebotte exhibit was spectacular, as are all AIC special exhibitions. The exhibition, initially opened at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris in October 2024, included more than 120 works including paintings, works on paper, photographs, and other artifacts covering Caillebotte’s career. In addition to recognizable works like the Art Institute’s Paris Street; Rainy Day, the show presents lesser-known but pivotal works like the Musée d’Orsay’s recent acquisition, Boating Party, and the Louvre Abu-Dhabi’s The Bezique Game, as well as many works from private collections that are rarely seen by American audiences. 

A centerpiece of the exhibit was Paris Street: Rainy Day, Linda’s favorite painting. 

One of the highlights for me was the map of Paris, showing the location of several of the Caillebotte paintings featured in the exhibit. This pinpointed several sites in Paris and brought back many memories of visits to one of our other favorite cities, walking the same streets and neighborhoods of Caillebotte. 

As mentioned, we lunched at Legal Seafood, alfresco, overlooking the river, and naturally had their lunch special featuring their famous Lobster Rolls, served with choice of Boston Clam Chowder, or Shrimp and Corn Bisque (shown).

With lunch, we each ordered from the limited but fundamental winelist two familiar and favorite Sonoma Chardonnays WBTG - Wine By The Glass. 

Linda tasted the Sonoma Cutrer ‘RRR” (Russian River Valley) Chardonnay 2023

This is the same wine we ordered in another recent waterfront dining experience featured in these pages Louisiana Lagniappe Destin Waterfront Dining Seafood Dinner.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2025/08/our-last-night-hosting-lindas-lady.html

Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay 2023

From the basic fundamental wine list, we ordered this standard pleasant drinking Chardonnay. Sonoma Cutrer are consistently recognized for good value Chardonnay. 

This was ideal for pleasant easy sipping pairing with our fresh seafood.  

Wine Spectator-California - Sonoma County - "Appealing for its seamlessness and texture, this white is creamy and supple, with lemon meringue pie, shortbread and peach notes at the core on an elegant frame. Accents of lemon zest and wildflower honey linger on the finish..."

https://www.sonomacutrer.com/

For my wine accompaniment I had the Jordan Sonoma County Chardonnay 2021

Like Linda’s wine accompaniment selection, this wine has also been featured recently in these pages as part of another restaurant dining experience - Parmesan Crusted Grouper and Jordan Chardonnay at Fat Clemenza’s Miramar Beach.

Jordan Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2021 

This is an iconic well known brand known for Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, crafted in a European style that allows them to pair well with a broad range of foods. Jordan’s winemaking focuses on the ‘wine's fruit and acidity rather than alcohol and tannin, and achieving elegance and balance in the bottle

Founders Tom and Sally Jordan acquired the 1200 acre property in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley, and established Jordan Vineyard & Winery in 1972, inspired by the great wine estates of France.

They enlisted the legendary André Tchelistcheff, as consulting enologist, and he was instrumental in establishing Jordan’s Francophile style of winemaking becoming one of the best wineries and brands in Sonoma County, with the help of winemaker Rob Davis. Davis guided Jordan winemaking from the inaugural 1976 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon and inaugural 1979 Jordan Chardonnay achieving the remarkable quality and consistency of Jordan wines for more than four decades until his retirement in 2019. 

On the 1,200 property they planted Jordan Estate with roughly 120 acres of a dozen small vineyard blocks of grapevines, 16 acres with four parcels of olive trees, a two-acre chef’s garden as well as, their home and a second lake. Unique amongst Healdsburg wineries, they left more than three-quarters of the scenic estate, roughly 900, preserved as natural habitat with open spaces,  craggy oak trees and lakes providing habitat for geese, rabbits, turkeys and coyotes.  

Winemaker Maggie Kruse took over for Rich Davis and produced this classic California Chardonnay in 2021,  sourced from cooler vineyard sites in the western Russian River Valley. The wine spent half of its life in stainless steel, and was aged 5.5 months in 100% new French oak.

Winemaker Notes - “One of the most balanced Jordan Chardonnays to date. Flavors of juicy citrus, Asian pear and lemon peel balance seamlessly with the subtle French oak notes. The cooler-climate vineyard sourcing this year brings even more lively acidity and purity of fruit on the palate—making this vintage especially food-friendly and cellar-worthy.”

J'nai Gaither of Decanter gave this release 93 points. 

Pale golden straw colored medium bodied, rich but nicely balanced full round ripe fruit notes of pear, Meyer lemon and apple with flinty spice notes and hints of vanilla accentuating the vibrant acidity masking the French oak on the lively finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.jordanwinery.com/

https://twitter.com/jordanwinery

https://www.legalseafoods.com/

https://www.artic.edu/

https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/10068/gustave-caillebotte-painting-his-world

https://www.artic.edu/visit-us-virtually/videos/art-institute-essentials-tour

Friday night Favorites at Entourage DG

Friday night Favorites at Entourage DG

Friday evening we dined at Entourage Restaurant in DG (Downers Grove, IL) and enjoyed some of our favorite selections, taking advantage of their Early Bird Specials available up to Five PM. 

As with our most recent Friday night visit, Downers Grove community featured live music on the Metra Railway Station fountain courtyard, immediately across the street from Entourage. Ideally, we might’ve waited for an outside table for dining and to enjoy the music, but Entourage was slammed, completely full, so we opted for the first available table. 

Ironically, our second encounter this week with community sponsored live music on the city square, in the western Chicago suburbs, like Wednesday night’s Music in the Park in Bensenville. 

As starters, we ordered our usual favorite starters the Focacio Bread plate and their delicious Deviled Eggs. 

We then ordered the Entourage Roasted Beets and Whipped Goat Cheese Salad - Arugula, Baby Gem with Spicy Pecans, Fennel, Hot Honey and Grapefruit Citrus Vinaigrette. As always, this was delicious - a wonderful pairing of flavors.

Linda ordered the Entourage Shrimp and Grits - what has become one of her favorite go-to dishes - Spicy Shrimp & Jalapeno Grits - Blackened Wild Shrimp, Andouille Sausage, Charred Jalapeno, Charred Corn, Baby Peppers and Creole Cream.

I selected the Daily Special, Herb Crusted Alaskan Halibut with Roasted Peppers, Corn and Regianno Parmagiana Risoto and Brocolini in a lemon butter sauce. 

Thinking I was going to order one of my usual favorite selections, their Waygu Beef Meatloaf or Waygu Beef Sliders, I took BYOB from our home cellar a Red Blend.

However, in the end, I ordered their Daily Special Fresh Seafood preparation, hence we ordered from their somewhat limited wine list, one of our regular selections, a Sonoma Russian River Valley Chardonnay. 

Often I take a Red and a White to open based on our entree choices. Tonight I took only a red, hence we ordered a white wine from the winelist to accompany our entree selections.

As with our earlier visits, we ordered from the limited Chardonnay selections, a bottle of the Kokomo “Peter’s Vineyard” Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast California Chardonnay.

((We continue, regretably, our unfortunate protest against Plumpjack (Chardonnay) wines, the Entourage winelist premiere Chardonnay feature, due their dubious associations and outlandish politics - Plumpjack Reserve Napa Chardonnay at Entourage Restaurant Naperville)).

As featured in earlier blogposts, revisited here ….

Family owned and operated Kokomo Winery was started by Owner and Winemaker Erik Miller in 2004, a fellow Hoosier who named it after his hometown of Kokomo, Indiana, which is near Linda’s hometown and family farm in North Central Carroll County, Indiana. (Funny, they showcase their “Boilermaker” collection of wines, honoring the Purdue Boilermakers’, mascot of the Big Ten University not far from Linda’s family homestead, arch rival to our beloved Indiana University “Hoosiers”, but the one she grew up supporting.)

The Winery sits on the East side of Dry Creek Valley, twenty miles north of Santa Rosa, off the main route 101, midway between the towns of Healdsburg and Geyserville. The winery and tasting room is located at Timber Crest Farms, sitting amid 120 acres of vineyards, overlooking the valley.

Kokomo produces over a dozen different varietal wines and several single vineyard designated labels which are farmed by his partner in the winery, grower Randy Peters. Kokomo Wines strive to showcase the terroir of the their vineyard sources in the three distinctive appellations of Sonoma County - Russian River, Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys. They also offer some wines sourced from the Sonoma Valley Moon Mountain District.

This Peter’s Vineyard Designated label is 100% Chardonnay sourced from a site in the Russian River Valley, west Sebastopol, next to Luther Burbank's Farm where the soil is rich with Goldridge sandy loam. There the vines are exposed to consistent coastal fog, which calls for extended hang time and more development for the fruit.

Our visit tasting of this wine, I was a bit hesitant to order this bottle, especially to be paired with such a magnificent dinner, since our awareness of Kokomo is more modest entry level wines, less discriminating than the premium and ultra-premium labels we tend to enjoy.

We see their entry level labels widely distributed but have never had any of their more premium labels. Note they show two dozen different offerings on their website. Never-the-less I gave it a shot and found it to be an over-achiever to my perception of the brand, meeting our hopeful expectations for suitably pairing with our dinner.

Kokomo “Peter’s Vineyard” Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast California Chardonnay 2023

Winemaker notes for this release - “Planted in West Sebastopol, this is a premier location for Chardonnay. The vineyard is next to Luther Burbank’s Farm and the soil composition is rich Goldridge Sandy Loam. With the consistent coastal fog extending hang time well into October, this fruit is fully developed and loaded with complexity. The Chardonnay is comprised of Clones 4 and 76.’

Continuing, Winemaker notes for this release remain the same as with the previous vintage: “Reminiscent of a classic white Burgundy but with a California twist, this Chardonnay displays vibrant minerality accompanied by the mouth-watering natural acidity typically found in Peters Vineyard. Stirring the lees (Sur Lie) was performed to this lot consistently once per week through malolactic fermentation. We feel like this gives the wine body, texture and depth while maintaining its graceful acidity and restraint. This Chardonnay is elegant enough to pair with delicate foods and delicious enough to drink by itself after a long day.”

This is 100% Chardonnay, Sourced from Russian River Valley Appellation, and was aged 11 months in 100% French Oak, 30% New..

While I gave it the same rating, this release had a slightly different profile.

Straw colored, light to medium bodied, tangy crisp acidity highlights a predominant layer of vanilla that overshadowed the subtle pear, spice and peach tones of the earlier release, accented by light sprites of oak on a pleasurable moderate finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5165863

https://www.kokomowines.com/store/?view=product&slug=23ch

https://www.kokomowines.com/

https://entouragerestaurant.com/downers-grove/ 

Red & White Indy Racer Wines for Beefsteak and Shrimp Dinner

Red & White Wines for Beefsteak and Shrimp Dinner

We were joined for dinner by Sis/in-law Pat and Rodger and friends Steve and Carol-Ann, who used our house as a staging stop-over as they flew out and then back into Chicago O’hare International airport. 

Linda prepared beef flank steak and shrimp with rice, roasted potatoes and vegetables.

I pulled from the cellar a special Napa Red and White for pairing with the surf & turf dinner.

Taking into account our guests being from Indianapolis, I opened bottles from Indianapolis 500 Race drivers, legend Mario Andretti and Randy Lewis.

Notably, both wineries have been sold or closed since acquiring these wines.

Andretti Cellars Montona Napa Valley Chardonnay 2015 

We discovered this wine and the Montona portfolio/brand when we visited the Andretti Winery and Estate in southeast Napa Valley during our Napa Wine Experience in 2018. I wrote about that visit in a more detailed blogpost earlier, and about the Montona brand and this particular label in another previous blopost. 

This label is from the Montona Reserve brand, the high end premium line of the Andretti portfolio. The line is named for the village of Montona, the hometown of the Andretti family and birthplace of the legend racer turned wine producer.

Mario’s birthplace, Montona d’Istria, Italy, is now called Motovun and is in Croatia; at the time of his birth in 1940, it was part of Italy but it was annexed by the former Yugoslavia after World War II. 

Mario is not the only Napa ‘vintner’ with the distinction of being born in what is now Croatia – legendary winemaker Mike Grgich was also born in Croatia in the small village of Desne.

Mario fell in love with wine through numerous trips around the world as a result of his racing career; he would seek out the finest wines in various regions and wine became a part of his lifestyle. 

Andretti Winery was established in 1996 by the famed race car driver, Mario Andretti in a joint venture project with Joe Antonini, former CEO of Kmart, who was one of Mario’s sponsors during his racing days.

Andretti and Antonini purchased land along Big Ranch Road in Napa Valley’s Oak Knoll District (a short drive north of the city of Napa). In 2001 they sold the property to Laird Family Winery and agreed a 20-year operational lease for the Andretti Winery and hospitality space. That lease expired in March 2021 at which point Andretti Winery closed its doors and no longer sees visitors at that winery location. For the next couple years Andretti Winery hosted visitors by either walk-in or appointment at Feast it Forward tasting room in downtown Napa but those tastings are no longer being offered. 

Andretti continues to lease about 42 acres of vineyards surrounding the winery, planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. They also purchase grapes from other vineyards in select locations in Napa Valley.

Several brands were produced under the Andretti label including their Napa Valley Series (wines that are not vineyard designates), the Villa Andretti Series (reasonably priced limited production wines that focus on Italian varieties from grapes typically not growing in Napa Valley) and the Montona Series is named after Mario’s childhood home in Italy and features their most premium limited production wines with a number of bottlings limited to just 50 cases.

Each vintage, Andretti Winemaker Bob Pepi selected from the finest fruit to create wines for the limited production Montona series of labels - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, a Super Tuscan and this Chardonnay. Produced was very limited to as few as fifty cases each and allocated available directly from the producer, to Andretti Winery Wine Club Members. We procured our allocation through our membership in the Wine Club.





Photos of the former Andretti Winery estate, a small faux Italian/Tuscan building and courtyard with picturesque fountains and landscaping. There was a small cottage, patios and lawns that are available for small private tastings and picturesque grounds which would be ideal for a private event or special outing.

Andretti Montona Reserve Napa Valley Chardonnay 2015

The Andretti Winery Montona Napa Valley Chardonnay went through full malolactic fermentation and was aged 16 months in 30% new French oak barrels. This is our last bottle of our limited holdings. 

As noted above, this label is not Estate bottled, meaning the grapes for the juice in the bottles are not necessarily grown on the property, but rather, may have been purchased from contract growers. As such, the (rear) label cites the wine is merely "Bottled by Andretti Winery".

Hence, with all due respect to the legendary Indy Racecar driver, Mario Anrdretti, and his benefactor investor partner in the winery venture, former CEO of K-Mart Joe Antonini, they are tenant wine producers, not landowners or winery estate owners.

As a wine collector and onephile, I would prefer to support family owned farmer/grower winemakers who produce wines from grapes produced on their properties. This provides a consistent source of fruit year after year and thereby allows for the focus on terroir and its impact on the wine from vintage to vintage, as a basis for comparison over the years, and as a comparison against other similarly situated terroir focused wines.

Winemaker notes - “Our Montona Chardonnay exudes complex aromas of fresh stone fruit, Meyer lemon and floral notes complemented by subtle oak overtones of almond and crème brulee. On the palate, the wine is exploding with flavors of pear, toasted almond and spiced apple. Minimal new oak allows the wine to retain its natural fruit characteristics and varietal focus.”

This is not an oaky or buttery profile wine. It is butter to medium golden in color, medium bodied, moderately rich and concentrated pear, peach and stone fruits with notes of floral, jasmine and citrus with toasted oak spices on the lingering finish.

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3599050

http://andrettiwinery.com/

https://twitter.com/AndrettiWine 

@Andrettiwine  

We then opened this big red wine from another Indy Race Car Driver, Randy Lewis, whose winery ironically was across the road from the (former) Andretti Winery Estate.

Lewis Cellars Alec’s Blend 2015

We wrote about our private Lewis Cellars Napa Chateau Visit and Tasting in an earlier blogpost, excerpted here. Our visit to the Chateau of Lewis Cellars winery was one of the highlights of our Pour Boys 2017 Napa Wine Experience. 

I've often written in these pages about the fun we have with this branding, with its signature 'L' on the label, ala Laverne and Shirley, or wife Linda, or her mother Lucy, or our daughter Erin Leigh, or her daughter, our first grandchild/daughter Lucy! 

That coupled with the Hoosier heritage of Randy Lewis, Indy 500 race driver from our native Indiana, and, their affinity to family, naming labels after their grandkids - Alec, Ethan and Mason, we adopted Alec's Blend as a signature label for son Alec and feature it at family celebrations.

Lewis wines are family favorites for such special occasions, punctuated by this namesake Blend for son Alec. Lewis Cabernets are some of our favorites and we have a decade long vertical of Alec's as well as their Cabernets, dating back to this '97.

This blend is dedicated to Randy and Debbie Lewis' first grandson, Alec, who was born on the day of the harvest of the grapes for this wine leading to the name. I learned at our tasting that this is the inaugural vintage of this label/blend of which we still hold two bottles, and every vintage bottle since.

At the time of the writing of this blogpost, the blog search shows twelve postings of Lewis wines (Lewis Cellars (12)). Scrolling through those tastings are posts tied to many memorable family and friend wine tastings and dinners.

Tuesday, April 4, 2017 - Lewis Alec's Blend 1997 - Lewis Cellars Napa Valley Alec's Blend 1997 - Son Alec's Signature Namesake Label selection for his birthday eve dinner.

Sunday, May 10, 2015 - Mothers Day Family Dinner Features Lewis Alec's Blend

Sunday, August 17, 2014 - Family Celebration Dinner - Favorite Wines & Foods

Family Celebration Dinner - Favorite Wines & Foods for our anniversary celebration family dinner featuring Lewis Cellars Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Friday, December 25, 2015 - Lewis Cellars Napa Valley Alec's Blend 2003 - Son Alec's Signature Namesake Label for Family Holiday Celebration Dinner
Thursday, August 30, 2012 - Alec's Blend, Robert Craig Affinity, Penn Shore Diamond 

Saturday, May 5, 2012 - Graduation celebration wine tasting flight featuring 1990 vintage birthyear wines. Gala celebration of son Alec and his roommates' graduation from Indiana U, Kelly School of Business, featuring specially selected wine flight of namesake or other memorable wines saved for the occasion.

So it was that we have some experience with Lewis wines going back two decades.

Like Andretti, Lewis didn’t own their own vineyards, they have long term contracts with many grower sources, some for terms as long as thirty years. We collect and drink some other wines similarly situated such as Freemark Abbey and their long term affiliation with the Bosche' vineyard, source for their vineyard designated select Cabernet which we own going back to the '92 vintage.

Lewis sourced the finest fruit from Calistoga, St. Helena, Rutherford and Oak Knoll for our their varietals. Chardonnay comes from Oak Knoll and Russian River Valley. Each site was selected for a specific varietal character, with many of the vineyards being planted exclusively for them.

Notably, Lewis Cellars was acquired in 2021 by Paso Robles-based Justin Vineyards and Winery, which is owned by the company behind Fiji Water.

Louisiana Lagniappe Destin Waterfront Dining Seafood Dinner

Louisiana Lagniappe Destin Waterfront Dining Seafood Dinner 

Our last night hosting Linda’s lady friends at The Cove, our Destin, FL vacation rental home, we took them to LOUISIANA LAGNIAPPE for dinner. Louisiana Lagniappe is a Destin institution since 1984 known for Gulf seafood with a Creole flair.  The upscale restaurant offers waterfront dining at the end of Destin Harbor. 

They also offer beachfront dining ant their two sister restaurants The Back Porch, and our favored Pompano Joes a beach walk from our vacation home. We regularly walk the beach to Pompano Joe’s for dinner or for their Happy Hour Signature PJ’s Punch. Shown below is our kids/grandkids there.

Among the hundreds of restaurants in Destin, Lagniappe is consistently ranked in the Top 10 restaurants on TripAdvisor and wins the Award of Excellence every year.  

The extensive Lagniappe menu features steaks but focuses on fresh seafood with a broad selection of “Chef’s Selections” and “Lagniappe Favorites”.

Lagniappe Chefs Selections include:

GROUPER PONTCHARTRAIN - Fresh Gulf Grouper, pan sautéed and topped with fried jumbo soft-shell crab, hollandaise sauce and honey roasted nuts 

TOURNEDOS OF BEEF - Medallions of Certified Angus Beef Filet Mignon topped with sautéed jumbo lump crab meat and shrimp and finished with béarnaise sauce

BAYOU GROUPER - Fresh Gulf Grouper, pan sautéed, topped with jumbo lump crabmeat and jumbo shrimp, then finished with meuniere sauce 

SHRIMP & GRITS - Jumbo Gulf Shrimp tossed in a smoked tasso ham cream sauce served over stone-ground cheese grits

BLACKENED REDFISH - Fresh filet of Redfish, blackened then topped with jumbo lump crabmeat, medallions of lobster and both hollandaise and garlic-beurre blanc sauce 

TWIN LOBSTER TAILS - Two Maine Lobster tails cooked to perfection

GROUPER CREVETTES - Fresh Gulf Grouper, pan sautéed and topped with grilled jumbo shrimp and hollandaise sauce

CHARGRILLED YELLOWFIN TUNA - Fresh Yellowfin Tuna topped with jumbo lump crabmeat and hollandaise sauce

BLACKENED SHRIMP OR SCALLOPS - Your choice of blackened jumbo shrimp or blackened bay scallops served with a pineapple-rum butter sauce, and 

SEAFOOD LAGNIAPPE - Gulf Grouper, sautéed and topped with medallions of lobster, hollandaise sauce and a light garlic-beurre blanc 

The Lagniappe Favorites include:

SNAPPER DESTIN - Gulf Snapper, stuffed with jumbo lump crabmeat, rice and cream cheese 

BARBECUE JUMBO SHRIMP - Peeled, spicy New Orleans style barbecue shrimp

JAMBALAYA - Chicken, sausage and shrimp cooked together with rice in a rich tomato sauce 

GROUPER LOUISIANNE SAUTÉED OR GRILLED - Fresh jumbo lump crabmeat in a seasoned butter atop a fresh fillet of Gulf Grouper 

GROUPER ALMONDINE - Fresh Gulf Grouper, pan sautéed and topped with toasted almonds and lemon butter

LAGNIAPPE STUFFED SHRIMP - Fresh jumbo shrimp topped with our shrimp and jumbo lump crabmeat stuffing

GROUPER MEUNIERE - Fresh Gulf Grouper, pan sautéed and finished with meuniere sauce

GROUPER PECAN - Fresh Gulf Grouper, pan sautéed and topped with toasted pecans and meuniere sauce

OYSTERS LAGNIAPPE - Baked with Lagniappe stuffing and jumbo lump crabmeat

CRESCENT CITY FETTUCCINE - Jumbo shrimp tossed in a smoked tasso ham cream sauce with fettuccine, finished with Parmesan Romano cheese

For our dinner we all selected variations of the Grouper selections … all were delicious, perfectly prepared, served hot, and included their signature twice baked potatoe and vegetable, along with their signature hush puppies starter.  

BAYOU GROUPER - Fresh Gulf Grouper, pan sautéed, topped with jumbo lump crabmeat and jumbo shrimp, then finished with meuniere sauce

Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay 2023

From the basic fundamental wine list, we ordered this standard pleasant drinking Chardonnay. Sonoma Cutrer are consistently recognized for good value Chardonnay. 

This was ideal for pleasant easy sipping pairing with our fresh seafood.  

Wine Spectator-California - Sonoma County - "Appealing for its seamlessness and texture, this white is creamy and supple, with lemon meringue pie, shortbread and peach notes at the core on an elegant frame. Accents of lemon zest and wildflower honey linger on the finish..."

https://www.sonomacutrer.com/

https://www.thelouisianalagniappe.com/destin-menu

Hope Cuvée at Beachwalk Cafe, Destin

Signorello Hope Cuvée BYOB at Beachwalk Cafe, Destin 

We celebrated our anniversary with dinner at Henderson Beachwalk Cafe, one of our favorite eateries near  The Cove, our vacation rental in Destin (FL). 

We’ve featured Scenic Beach Walk Café, Henderson Park Inn, Destin, often in these pages, as excerpted here. 

With its idealic views of the Gulf Coast beach and off-shore horizon, and the towers of Destin across Henderson State Beach Park in the distance, it is noted to be one of the best views along the Emerald Coast.

It has been named one of the most romantic restaurants in North America for its pairing imaginative cuisine rooted in the freshest, local ingredients with spectacular sunsets and starry skies amidst the surf.

The cuisine is crafted by executive chef, Destin native Daniel Peters. Daniel first worked a professional kitchen at the age of 26, gaining his first taste of fine food and wine knowledge at Chan’s Wine World here in Destin.

In 2011, he moved to Napa Valley to further his culinary skills and experience. There he studied under a number of world-renowned award-winning chefs, including Douglas Keane, Sang Yoon, Jake Rand and Stephan Barber. He returned home to apply what he learned to elevation Destin’s food culture, with his Gulf-to-table concept at Beach Walk.

We’ve written about Beach Walk Café in these pages often as we typically dine there each time we visit the area.

For the starter course I chose their delicious mixed green salad with Mixed Greens, Strawberries, Pecans, Goat Cheese, and their to-die-for Maple Bacon Vinaigrette.

For dinner I ordered from the menu fresh seafood local catch, a regular feature - Snapper with Corn Truffle Risotto, Madeira Mushrooms, Matchstick Truffle Fries, Citrus Beurre Blanc.

Linda chose the daily special, also fresh Snapper, but crusted with coconut and served with a Beurre Blanc sauce with asparagus spears and garlic mashed potatoes. This was understated as the coconut crust treats t was absolutely delicious showing a flavor profile much more expansive than mere coconut. 

With the dinner course, we enjoyed from our home cellar, BYOB, one of our favorite full flavored Chardonnays, and ideal pairing with the seafood selections. 

Signorello Hope's Cuvee Napa Valley Estate Chardonnay 2010

We discovered and acquired this wine at a winery dinner/visit at the magnificent setting overlooking lower Napa Valley vineyards during our Napa Wine Experience 2013.

I selected this hearty full, forward Chardonnay that I knew would accompany the fish entree as well as the first and second starter and salad courses and I was right.

Our CellarTracker wine inventory records showed we had four different vintages of this label dating back to 2010. Only when we removed the colorful tissue paper packaging from the winery did we know which vintage release we pulled for this special dinner. It turned out to be the oldest vintage, 2010, ideal for proper inventory management, consuming the oldest vintage. .

Previous blogposts of this label note - “Read through my blog postings and you'll know I am predominantly a red wine drinker. While I enjoy an occasional glass of white, most often with appropriate food, I don't normally get excited about a white wine. This Chardonnay was the exception, memorable and special. This was the first bottle from our winery purchase that we have opened at home and it met all my high expectations.”

At fifteen years, this Chardonnay was actually starting to show its age, with a slight fog in the color, a cause for initial concern, but in the end, it was absolutely delicious, but time to drink up. Using a conventional corkscrew, the cork separated on removal, but was otherwise intact. (I’m confident an Ahso two-pronged cork puller would’ve extracted it intact with ease.)

Aside the clarity issue mentioned above, consistent with earlier notes - This Hopes Cuvée Chardonnay was deep golden colored, full bodied, bursting with expressive forward flavorful fruit with layers of peach and poached pear with a sharp flavor sprite almost akin to tangy butterscotch accent giving way to hints of honey, almond, nutmeg, vanilla and creamy soft spicy oak. There is very pleasant full mouth-feel with rich texture on the palate with a long lingering finish of sweet mellow oak. It was a great accompaniment to the carefully prepared, delicious fresh seafood dinner.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1401845

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/01/signorello-del-dotto-napa-wines-paired.html

http://signorelloestate.com/

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2024/10/henderson-beachwalk-cafe-dinner-with.html

https://www.hendersonparkinn.com/dine/beachwalk-cafe/

Entourage BYOB Keenan Spring Mtn District Chardonnay

Entourage BYOB Keenan Spring Mtn District Chardonnay

Friday Happy Hour early dinner at Entourage DG (Downers Grove), we took BYOB this Napa Valley Spring Mtn District Chardonnay for pairing with our anticipated entree selection (s). 

Several times, we’ve taken two bottles, a red and a white, for pairing, depending on what we choose for our entree selections. Tonight, I took a white, confident Linda would likely order her favorite Shrimp and Grits, and, I was content with a red in any event. 

We ordered some of our standby favorites from the Special’s Small Plates offerings - Shrimp and Grits, Waygo Beef Sliders, Focaccio Fresh Bread, and Deviled Eggs. 

After dinner we had their delicious Flowerless Chocolate Cake with iced cream and fresh berries. This was wonderful with their Capuccino with double steamed milk (substitute for Expresso Latte’ not on offer). This likely adds to our new favorites menu of go-to selections for future visits.  

With our favorites Special Small Plates offerings - Shrimp and Grits, Focaccio Fresh Bread and Deviled Eggs we opened BYOB from our home cellar this full round Napa Chardonnay. . 

Keenan Spring Mtn District 2021

This is from Robert Keenan Wine Cellars high atop Spring Mountain in the Mayacamas Mountain range above St Helena. We’ve written about Keenan and our visit to their Spring Mountain District estate and their wines numerous times in these pages, some posts excerpted here - Keenan Spring Mtn Cabernet with Tenderloin Beef and Avocado, and Keenan Napa Spring Mountain Cab with Grilled Beefsteak.

Napa Valley Spring Mountain District may be our favorite of the seventeen different appellations that make up the greater Napa Valley wine producing districts. 

We tasted and acquired several vintages of Keenan wines while visiting Robert Keenan Winery on Spring Mountain as featured in this blogpost during one of our Spring Mountain District Napa Valley Wine Experiences. 

We discovered Keenan during our many visits to Napa Valley and our treks up Spring Mountain to visit Fantesca, Pride Cellars, Paloma and Spring Mountain Vineyards. 

Like those other producers, most of our collection of Keenan wines are Bordeaux varietal reds, although we also have collected and hold this Spring Mountain District Chardonnay. 

We have enjoyed collecting Keenan and having fun sharing and gifting it to a friend and former business alliance partner of the same name. 

Keenan WInery dates back to 1974, when Robert Keenan purchased 180 acres on Spring Mountain District. The property sits at an elevation of 1700 feet, located on the eastern slope of the Mayacamas Mountain range overlooking St Helena in Napa Valley. Today, fifty of those acres are planted to vineyards.

The Spring Mountain District gained recognition as an American Vineyard Appellation (AVA) in 1993.

The unique terroir of the appellation is characterized by low vigor soils on the steep, rocky, mountainsides, ideal for vineyards to produce wines of great concentration, structure, and pure varietal flavors.

The original acreage included the historic but crumbling Peter Conradi Winery, founded in the late 19th Century and one of the first pioneering properties established on Spring Mountain. 

The property vineyards were originally planted in Zinfandel and Syrah.

The property declined when it was abandoned during Prohibition until the time Keenan arrived in 1974. He extended the original vineyard acreage and replanted the property primarily in Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

A new winery was built using the existing stonewalls from the old Conradi building. Keenan Winery’s first harvest there was in 1977.

Michael Keenan took over leadership of the estate in 1998 and replanted the vineyards to increase grape quality. He built a solar power system that went on-line in 2007 that now supplies all of the estate’s energy needs.  

Notably, winemaking duties during the early years were done by legendary consulting winemaker Nils Venge. We hold many labels of Nil's own wines as well as many of the wines he crafted for Del Dotto and many other leading labels. Nils was winemaker for this 2005 as well as that 2003 Cabernet release as shown on the rear label (below). 

Today Keenan Winery produces four estate wines from grapes grown on the Spring Mountain Estate: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Reserve, Cabernet Franc and a Merlot and Reserve from the Mailbox Vineyard. They also produce one Bordeaux Blend which they call “Mernet” for its Merlot and Cabernet varietals.

CellarMaster for this 2021 Chardonnay release was Aristeo Garcia, working with General Manager Matt Gardner. 

Winemaker’s notes for this wine. “Keenan's 2021 Chardonnay was hand harvested, de-stemmed, then gently pressed. The juice was fermented and aged in French and American oak barrels. The wine was left on the lees and the barrels were stirred weekly. No secondary, or malolactic fermentation was carried out, leading to the crisp, citrus character of this wine. The wine was bottled after approximately seven months of aging in the cellar.”

Winemaker’s tasting notes: “The finished wine shows citrus, ripe pear and green apple in the nose. Hints of lush white peach are noticed as the wine opens up. The sur-lie aging has added richness and complexity, and a touch of toasty oak returns on the finish. Like all of Keenan’s wines, this Chardonnay is a food worthy wine whose crisp acidity and medium body, will accompany a wide variety of cuisine.”

This release was rated 93 points by James Suckling and 92 points by Wine & Spirits Magazine. 

Keenan produced 2370 cases of this 100% Chardonnay, all sourced from Keenan high elevation estate vineyards. 

Golden straw colored, medium bodied, full round crisp flavors of apple, pear and hints of peach and lemon zest with chalky mineral notes and crisp acidity on the lingering finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4606194

https://www.keenanwinery.com/

 

https://twitter.com/KeenanWinery 

@KeenanWinery 

@nilsvenge