Michigan By The Bottle

Podcast #51: Chateau Chantal 2010 Proprietor's Reserve Trio

"WOW — I LOVE this wine," was what Shannon said off camera about this Chateau Chantal 2010 Proprietor's Reserve Trio, a Merlot/Cab Franc/Pinot Noir blend. His never-ending raves on camera forced what was likely a record number of edits as we valiantly tried to whittle down the time. As a bonus, he inexplicably dons a Detroit Tigers jersey in the middle of winter.

Top 10 Wine Country Inns In The U.S. | Fox News

Dividing Lake Michigan's Traverse Bay, Old Mission Peninsula is the kind of place to go when you want to get away from the grind of daily life. Although it's home to only seven wineries, it's an official American Viticultural Area. A long weekend here means you'll have enough time to get to know each winery well. We suggest you begin with Chateau Chantal, an Old World-style winery on a 65-acre estate. Along with an eleven-room bed-and-breakfast, the grounds are home to a cooking school, where demonstration and hands-on classes include the opportunity to learn the fine art of pairing food and wine. Touring local wineries is a pleasant way to pass the time, especially when it is followed by a glass of house wine on the château's patio, overlooking the vines, cherry orchards and bay. 

via www.foxnews.com

Congrats! Well-deserved recognition.

We Asked, You Answered: What Did You Drink for Thanksgiving?

Congratulations to ADAM AFFHOLTER! He was picked randomly from entries in our Thanksgiving Day contest that asked readers to show us which Michigan wines were gracing their holiday tables by posting pics on our Facebook page or emailing them to us. Adam will get his pick of either a Michigan By The Bottle "I Support the State with Every Sip" T-shirt, a copy of Sharon Kegerreis' and Lorri Hathaway's book "The History of Michigan Wines: 150 Years of Winemaking Along the Great Lakes," or a copy of Kegerreis' and Hathaway's book "From the Vine."

Read on to see some of the answers we received...

2 Lads and Chateau Chantal Video from Local News

Welcome to Wine Country: woodtv.com

Podcast #42: Chateau Chantal 2010 Proprietor's Reserve Pinot Gris

In today's podcast, Shannon and a zombie (oh, wait, never mind — that's just a sleep-deprived Cort, trying and failing to function like a normal human being) sample Pinot Gris from Chateau Chantal's Proprietor's Reserve line, a.k.a. the creme de la creme. Also, Shannon has fun with adjectives. This wine is "refined." Or perhaps "refined." One might even say ... "refined." (We could make a drinking game out of the number of times Shannon says "refined." Hey, an MBTB podcast drinking game — now THERE'S an idea! Who's in?)

What's in Our Glass: 2008 Chateau Chantal Pinot Noir

Welcome to the second installment of our periodic "What's In Our Glass" feature, a quick, informal way to highlight some of the more interesting wines we come across in our (frequent) Michigan wine adventures. We hope you'll head over to our Facebook page to continue the discussion. We want to hear what you think about these particular wines — and everything else you drink!

It's important to note that WIOG is by no means a paid endorsement; none of the wineries have asked us to feature these wines. This is more of a spur-of-the-moment, "Hey, I love this, let's tell the world"-type deal.

On to today's WIOG wine...

MSU Video: Michigan's Transformation into a Wine Destination

Beyond the Bottle: Chateau Chantal

Welcome to our first-ever Beyond the Bottle, a recurring 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.

Traverse City becomes wine destination - JSOnline

We couldn't afford to take the entire family to Napa or Sonoma, but we knew they could make a weekend of the Grand Traverse area wineries. They were skeptical at first, as were we. We've gotten excited about being in wine country before only to be disappointed when we got home. In Napa and Sonoma, it was clear we didn't bring back enough bottles of the wines that we liked. In Canada, it was clear we brought back at least one too many (seriously, pepper-infused ice wine). This time, we wanted to try the wine on our own before getting caught up in tastings.

via www.jsonline.com

Not a bad article on the Old MIssion and Leelanau wineries as a vacation destination.

Michigan Wines Served at James Beard Foundation Dinner - MyNorth

Chateau Chantal’s 2010 Hawthorne Vineyard Pinot Blanc and 2008 Pinot Noir have been chosen, along with other Michigan products, to star in the upcoming July 20 Michigan themed dinner at the James Beard Foundation in New York City. 

This opportunity arose from the relationship between the winery and Novi restaurant, Toasted Oak Grill & Market.  Chef Steven Grostick of Toasted Oak received an invitation to cook at the legendary James Beard House and will be serving his “I Cook Michigan” menu. Through the support of this restaurant and market, Michigan wines will be given the opportunity to be shown at one of the world’s leading culinary institutions. 

 via community.mynorth.com