11/11/11

Greetings from Carrboro,

We were suckers back then. At least, I like to imagine it wasn’t only me who swallowed their spiel – hook, line, and sinker. Either way, those salesmen could smell the earnest naiveté on me and would lay it on thick. They wore golf shirts and tassel loafers and called me buddy. And I was young and just beginning to taste wine professionally. If you could call it that.

And I wanted to be good at it. When my parents drank wine, it was fancy. And I wanted to be fancy. Period. I wanted to have good taste and appear cosmopolitan. And standing at a bar, tasting wine with men twice your age discussing “varietal composition” certainly smacked of having arrived at a new plane of cool. Somebody take a picture.

But I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. Hardly. The way I figured it, any wine that tasted bad had to be the really good stuff. Refinement requires suffering, right? (See: opera.) And I had to make sure that everybody thought I was wildly refined. There could be no doubt. And that’s when those ever-so-coiffed sharks moved in for the kill. A particularly heinous bottle would be slowly pulled out of their wine bag. They’d look me square in the eye. “Buddy, you’re gonna really like this one. Like, really. It tastes French.”

And that was that. How could I not buy it? Because, duh, French means fancy. And, hello, I hadn’t practiced saying “Cabernet Sauvignon” in the bathroom mirror for nothing. “Delicious,” I said. “I’ll take a case.”

The oh-so-refined French Wine Dinner at Acme. Sunday, November 20^th at 6:30 in the evening. A once in a lifetime chance to taste jaw-dropping red Bordeaux from the illustrious 2001 and 2005 vintages. We’re talking fancy. And delicious. Ooh, la,la. Menu is below. Reservations are required by phone. It will sell out. Price is $85 per person. Which is a bargain. Especially considering all the suffering I’ve been through. Cross my heart.

Bordeaux Dinner

Lobster and Grouper Bisque

Ch. Haut-La Peyreyre, Bordeaux Blanc 2010

Wild Mushroom Stuffed Quail over Truffled Sweet Corn

Ch. Clos Manou, Medoc Rouge 2005

Pork Rillettes with Brandied Mustard, Pear Butter , Onion Confit

Ch. Carmes – Haut Brion, Pessac-Leognan 2005

Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Sweetbreads, Brandy Cream,

Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes with Camembert

Ch. Rol Valentin, St. Emilion 2005

Grilled Leg of Lamb

White Beans, Lardons and Rosemary Gastrique

Ch. Rauzan-Segla, Margaux 2001

Well, that’s all the news from Carrboro. The staff at Acme look forward to serving you soon.

Cheers,

The Staff at Acme

reservations online or 919 929 2263