Michigan By The Bottle

Podcast #90: Bowers Harbor Vineyards 2012 Unwooded Chardonnay

What do Scottie Pippen and Bowers Harbor Vineyards' 2012 Unwooded Chardonnay have in common? Guess you'll have to watch our podcast coverage of Bowers Harbor's latest Chard vintage. Today's obligatory digression from the topic at hand also involves popcorn and Seth MacFarlane. Are you a Bowers Harbor fan? Come tell us about it.

Charity Uncorked: Michigan Wineries Give Back to the Community

'Tis the season for giving, and it's no exception among Michigan wineries, many of which are participating in charitable events or holding promotions benefiting worthy causes this holiday season.

Podcast #68: Bowers Harbor Vineyards Estate Riesling

"That was terrible," declares Shannon at the end. The podcast, that is, not the wine. And, in the spirit of consistency, we inadvertently continue the multi-week tradition of making the camera crooked. (If these ringing endorsements arent enough to prompt you to watch this episode, I don't know what it is.) The wine, however — Bowers Harbor Vineyards' 2009 Riesling — is good, a "pineapple Life Saver" of a medium-sweet Riesling. (And here's a secret: Despite its sweetness level, dry-lover Shannon drank practically the whole bottle.)

Feedback Friday: Bowers Harbor, Chateau de Leelanau, Lemon Creek

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:

Bowers Harbor Vineyards
Chateau de Leelanau 
Lemon Creek Winery 

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...

Northern Michigan Wine: Tasting Old Mission and Leelanau Chardonnays

Northern Michigan Wine: Traverse Magazine food and wine editor Tim Tebeau puts Northern Michigan chardonnay in the spotlight with a little behind-the-scenes intell (and tastings!) from Northern Michigan wineries along Old Mission Peninsula and Leelanau County.

via www.mynorth.com

Good piece.

SUPER HUGE Michigan Wine Month Giveaway: April 10

Congratulations to BRIDGET COOK BARRATT! Bridget was randomly drawn from yesterday's entrants to win a VIP tour at Chateau Grand Traverse on Old Mission Peninsula. Bridget, please email us at cort@michiganbythebottle.com within 48 hours to claim your prize. (For prizes not claimed within 48 hours, we will redraw from the original pool of entrants to determine a new recipient, so be sure to check back daily to see if you're a winner!)

This contest is closed as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, April 10.

Today's sponsor: Bowers Harbor Vineyards

Today's prize: ONE grand prize of a VIP tasting for two — including souvenir glass, tour, snack and reserve wine samples — valued at $50, plus a Bowers Harbor mesh-back hat. An additional FIVE winners will receive BHV hats. (SIX winners drawn today!)

Please click through for restrictions and instructions on how to enter...

Beyond the Bottle: Bowers Harbor Vineyards

Welcome to the fourth installment of MBTB's Beyond the Bottle, a periodic Q-and-A-style feature that allows winemakers and/or winery representatives to talk candidly about their respective facilities: what they specialize in, what types of consumers they're geared toward, what they offer in terms of food and entertainment, what their ambiance is like, etc. We hope this helps you, our readers, decide which wineries make it to your "must lists," based on your affinities and attitudes, as you hit the wine trails. Responses are printed verbatim.

Today, Kristy McClellan, director of operations for Bowers Harbor Vineyards, discusses operations at this Old Mission Peninsula winery that's become known for its friendly wine dogs (who even have wines named after them and bearing their images) and sought-after Pinot Grigio.

Editor's note: Wineries do not pay a fee to appear in Beyond the Bottle; we're featuring every Michigan winery that requests and responds to our BTB questionnaire. If you're a winemaker or wine representative and would like your facility highlighted, please email cort@michiganbythebottle.com.

This Thanksgiving, Dine Like a Winemaker

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the obligatory article about recommended wine pairings, right? But this holiday, we asked Michigan winemakers and winery representatives to take it a step further and share their favorite recipes as an added bonus. So if you're looking for ideas for what to put in your glass AND on your plate this Thanksgiving, take a peek at what's being served by our wine friends throughout the state.

Podcast #41: Bowers Harbor 2010 Reserve Chardonnay

In today's podcast, we get oaktastic with Bowers Harbor Vineyards' 2010 Reserve Chardonnay. As Shannon says, this oak-aged palate-pleaser is definitely for those who prefer "fully clothed" Chardonnay to the "naked" (unoaked) variety. Of course, as we were just about to upload it, we realized we didn't know the retail price, so if one of our friends over at Bowers could help us out and post that on our Facebook page, we'd appreciate it!

2011: A Heartier Harvest for Michigan Wineries

The 2011 harvest is in full swing — most of the vineyards are picked clean, though Cabernet Franc, Merlot and other reds are still ripening at some — and if the early results are any indication, it's going to be a good year for Michigan wineries.