Michigan By The Bottle

Sip Clip: Ed Gerten on Pentamere's May Wine

Sometimes, we end up recording so much footage at events that we can't possibly fit it all into the completed video feature, yet we find the content so interesting that we want to show it to you somehow. Hence, Sip Clips, a new periodic series that takes whips up bite-sized portions of our cutting room floor footage. Here, Ed Gerten of Pentamere Winery in Tecumseh talks about the winery's unique May Wine at the Great Lakes Wine Fest at the Michigan International Speedway May 19. Have you tried this traditional German-style Wine?

Michigan wines grow reputation | Travel | London Free Press

Picturesque cherry orchards and huge sand dunes along Lake Michigan beaches have made this area a favourite vacation destination for generations.

But this northwest corner of the lower Michigan peninsula is also drawing more visitors to the growing number of wineries established on the slopes of the rolling farmland.

There are now 19 wineries on the Leelanau (lee-lan-naw) Peninsula west of Traverse City and another seven on the small Old Mission Peninsula just to the east.

On the map it might seem a bit far north for wine country but Lake Michigan and two interior lakes create a moderate microclimate that staves off early frost and buries the vineyards in an insulating blanket of lake-effect snow in the winter. The 45-degree latitude peninsula is the same as the Rhone region of France.

via www.lfpress.com

International Press!

Small Talk: Claudia Tyagi helps author some of Detroit's finest wine lists | The Detroit News

Claudia Tyagi has set up wine programs at Detroit's high-end restaurants for decades. She currently consults at the Rattlesnake in Detroit and Forest Grill in Birmingham, and wrote the first wine list for the new Joe Muer Seafood in the RenCen. She is the seventh American woman to pass the rigorous British wine exam to be certified a Master Sommelier, in 1997.

How do you begin writing a wine list today compared to past years?

With every project, I change with the season and definitely change as the menu evolves. A wine list is not a static thing — it's dynamic. The more I get an idea of what a chef is doing, what guests perceive, and what wines they enjoy that work with the food, the more the list changes.

Wine lists were more formulaic in the past. When Madeline (Triffon) and I were at La Fontaine in 1977, we were two young women with passably believable French accents. They put us in pretty gowns and put a tastevin around our necks and told us to sell wine. And we did.

via www.detroitnews.com

Cool feature on our friend Claudia!

Leelanau Peninsula’s Good Harbor Vineyards - Midwest Wine Press

Last summer Good Morning America viewers voted Leelanau Peninsula’s Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore the Most Beautiful Place in America.  The significance of this national recognition reverberated through the region’s quaint villages, including the town of Lake Leelanau where one of the peninsula’s oldest wineries, Good Harbor Vineyards,  overlooks the rich blue hues of Lake Michigan’s Good Harbor Bay.

“With the Good Morning America coverage, we’ve had  a lot of people come in and ask, ‘Where are the Dunes?’” says Debbie Simpson, proprietor and tasting room manager at Good Harbor.

These same visitors are exploring Leelanau’s growing wine region as much as they are seeking sand and water.  In recent years, Simpson says travelers are spending more time on wine tours, planning several day long trips to ensure multiple winery stops.

via midwestwinepress.com

Meet Your (Wine)maker: Nancie Corum-Oxley of St. Julian

Ever wonder about the person behind what's in that bottle? Welcome to our latest periodic feature, Meet Your (Wine)maker, which introduces you to the winery folks responsible for crafting that vino you so adore. Today, we get up close and personal with Nancie Corum-Oxley, winemaker for Paw Paw-based St. Julian Winery. Once part of a team of three, Nancie is now the last woman standing at the Michigan wine giant. Take a peek at her story.

Feedback Friday: Round Barn, Peninsula Cellars, J. Trees

You may have at least heard of or seen our Michigan wine app for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android — hopefully, you own it, use it and love it! Now, you have a chance to be IN it.

Welcome to Feedback Friday, our weekly feature that works like this: We solicit comments about a specific winery or wineries. You supply them. We pick some to include in our app. You become famous (at least in the Michigan wine community). The end.

Today's featured wineries:

Round Barn Winery
Peninsula Cellars
J. Trees

Send your comments on these wineries to cort@michiganbythebottle.com or post them as a reply to today's Feedback Friday thread on Facebook. We'll be accepting Feedback Friday comments for these featured wineries until next Friday, when we'll introduce a new set. (Of course, feel free to come chatter on Facebook about the wineries you love just for fun any old time. We dig that.)

Read on for complete details...

Chateau Chantal, the Rattlesnake and the Garden Party usher in summer - Wine - The Detroit News

It’s summer according to the thermometer, and Michigan wineries and Metro Detroit restaurants and event planners are busy at work. Following Memorial Day the wineries shift into longer summer hours and restaurants are preparing their patios. Here’s a taste of what’s happening, along with a nice honor for Michigan wineries.

via blogs.detroitnews.com

Great events coming up!

This Weekend in Michigan Wine (May 31-June 3)

 Welcome to the latest edition of This Weekend in Michigan Wine, a listing of what's happening now, what's coming up and what's ongoing in the world of Michigan wine!

Wineries, if you'd like your event listed, please email us with all of the pertinent information, and we'd be happy to post it. MBTB fans, we hope this serves as your weekly "go-to" guide for finding the best options for getting your Michigan wine on! Cheers!

Video Feature: 2012 Great Lakes Wine Fest

Engines were revving and wine was flowing during the 2012 Great Lakes Wine Fest at the Michigan International Speedway May 19. Winemakers and winery reps declared it a huge success, with cooperative weather and bigger-than-ever crowds. Take a peek at the action, and if you were there, see if you made it into the footage!

The Daily Tribune - Uncork the facts about Michigan wines

Did you know:
Wineries attract more than 1 million visitors annually to the state, with the industry contributing $300 million each year to the Michigan economy.

via www.dailytribune.com

Michigan Wine Trivia!

Traverse City Events: 2012 Traverse City Wine and Art Festival

Traverse City Events: Events like the 2012 Traverse City Wine and Art Festival remind us why Traverse City was voted "Number One Foodie City" this past year- to put it  quite simply, we have got the goods! Celebrate some of the best that Northern Michigan has to offer at the 4th Annual Traverse City Wine and Art Festival, Saturday, June 30th from 3:00-10:00 p.m. at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons.

via www.mynorth.com

Are you going?