July 12th, 2007
Great Restaurants has partnered together once again with Chaumette Vineyards and Winery to release the 2005 Big Sky Café Big T Chardonel. This private label wine is exclusive only to the Great Restaurants (Blue Water Grill, Big Sky Café and Remy’s Kitchen & Wine Bar) in the St. Louis area. The collaboration was created last fall with the release of the 2003 vintage to bring the wine and restaurant industry together. After only four months, the two local businesses successfully sold almost 100 cases combined.
The story of the “Big T” is that Mr. and Mrs. Thebeau sold their property to Chaumette owner Hank Johnson in 1990, but Hank continued to lease the Thebeau’s their home. Hank planted a vineyard lot next to Mr. Thebeau’s house and named the wine after him. Mr. Thebeau was so honored that he took his first sip of alcohol ever when he tried it and then threw a party for all his family and friends to try his namesake wine. In 2006, Great Restaurants choose the wine to expose people to high quality Missouri wine as well as support a local producer. The wine was then renamed to Big Sky Café Big T Chardonel to reflect the personality and background of the wine and the restaurant.
Chardonel is predominantly grown in Missouri and a hybrid of the Chardonnay and Seyval grape. Like Chardonnay, Chardonel can be barrel fermented to produce a full-bodied wine with aromas ranging from apple to steely pear. The Seyval component contributes a clean and crispness to the final wine. The 2005 vintage of the Big Sky Café Big T Chardonel is described as a dry white wine that offers pears, caramel green apples and a long creamy finish.
The wine is available for a limited time on all three Great Restaurants wine lists for $7 a glass, $30 a bottle, and $20 for carryout retail sale ($30 minus $10 corking fee). Besides the Great Restaurants, the wine is also available in the tasting room of Chaumette Vineyards & Winery.
A premier Missouri Winery, Chaumette Vineyards and Winery is dedicated to handcrafting wines of distinction and elegance. For more information go to www.chaumette.com
Great Restaurants is an independent restaurant group in St. Louis, Missouri. Owned by Tim Mallett, he first opened Blue Water Grill in Kirkwood in 1988 and soon followed with Big Sky Café in Webster Groves in 1992 and Remy’s Kitchen & Wine Bar in 1995. For more information go to www.allgreatrestaurants.com. |
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