Michigan By The Bottle

Podcast #82: Good Harbor 2011 Dry Riesling

Shannon dives right in and Cort gets left in the dust in this short-but-sweet (er ... dry) taste through Good Harbor Vineyards' 2011 Dry Riesling, part of their new Small Batch line. (We're valiantly striving to rein in our yammering!) Are you a Good Harbor fan? Come tell us about it.

Video Feature: Good Harbor Vineyards

Wine is a family affair at Good Harbor Vineyards on the Leelanau Peninsula, where Debbie, Sam and Taylor Simpson run the show. After their father, Bruce, the winery's co-founder, passed away three years ago, Taylor and Sam returned from out of state to carry on their dad's legacy, handling the marketing and winemaking/vineyard management, respectively. Take a look at what the Simpsons believe makes their winery unique, and how they're building upon the old while embracing the new. (Can't get enough Good Harbor? Check out our "Meet Your (Wine)Maker" segment featuring Sam Simpson.) 

Meet Your (Wine)maker: Sam Simpson of Good Harbor Vineyards

Ever wonder about the person behind what's in that bottle? Welcome to the latest installment of Meet Your (Wine)maker, which introduces you to the winery folks responsible for crafting that vino you so adore.

Today, we introduce you to Sam Simpson, the winemaker and vineyard manager at Good Harbor Vineyards on the Leelanau Peninsula. Learn how Sam made the shift from the finance world to the winemaking one, what he loves about his job(s), and the family philosophy behind Good Harbor. 

Feedback Friday: Burgdorf's Winery, Circa Estate, Good Harbor

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:

Burgdorf's Winery
Circa Estate Winery
Good Harbor Vineyards 

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...

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

SUPER HUGE Michigan Wine Month Giveaway: May 4

Congratulations to BRANDY GERBER! She was randomly drawn from yesterday's entrants to win a private tour and tasting for up to four people at Chateau de Leelanau. Brandy, 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!)

Speaking of prizes left unclaimed, the winner of the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival tickets did not claim her prize in time, so we've redrawn. The new winner is ... GREG THOMAS! Greg, please email us within 48 hours to claim the prize.

This is it — the big finale contest! Today is the last day of the Giveaway! We hope you've had fun; we'll be posting a roundup on Monday.


This contest is closed as of 11:59 p.m. Friday, May 4.

Today's sponsor: Good Harbor Vineyards

Today's prize: A certificate redeemable for a bottle of Moonstruck Blanc de Noirs, a bottle of Sleeping Bare Blanc de Blanc, and two Good Harbor flutes.

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

Good Harbor Vineyards and the Dialectics of Cherry Wine |

Cherries are to Traverse City what slot machines are to Las Vegas—lifeblood.  But when a community’s lifeblood starts sapping its life force, it’s time for a rethink.  According to Good Harbor winemaker Sam Simpson, the cherry industry has had a rough decade.  Battered by weather woes and oppressive GAP certification requirements, the growers remain far down a food chain overlorded by cherry packers and cherry distributors.

via intoxreport.com

The future of Traverse City cherries?

Good Harbor Vineyards showcasing family traditions, quality wines

Winemaking is a family affair at Good Harbor Vineyards. The winery's history begins, as do many stories in Northwest Michigan, with cherries. From cherry orchards to vineyards, the Simpsons (no, not the TV family) have tilled the land in Leelanau County for three generations.

Sam Simpson and Taylor Simpson own and operate Good Harbor Vineyards, under the guidance of their mother, Debbie Simpson. Bruce Simpson, Debbie's husband, opened the fourth winery on the Leelanau Peninsula back in 1980 after studying viticulture and enology at the University of California--Davis. Sam credits his father as his inspiration for winemaking.

via nwmichigan.secondwavemedia.com

Good article on Good Harbor!

2010 Grand Rapids International Wine & Food Festival

Relive the fun (if you were there) or check out what you missed (if you weren't) at the 2010 Grand Rapids International Wine & Food Festival! It's a foodie/wine-lover dream, with tons of booths representing wines from throughout the world, along with food samples and special seminars! We focused on the Michigan section, of course... Can't wait to go again next year!

 

Guest Blog: Leland Wine & Food Festival

Seeing as we're stranded in southeastern Michigan, MBTB fan Kathleen Swinehart volunteered to be our correspondent at the 2010 Leland Wine & Food Festival June 12 and kindly contributed a guest post detailing her experiences.

The 2010 Leland Wine & Food Festival, held near Fishtown on the Leelanau Peninsula, marked the annual event’s 25^th anniversary.  It was my first time attending and surely won’t be my last. 

After reading online that thousands of people make their way north to participate, we decided to leave early for the event, which ran 12 to 6 p.m. Being this was our first time, we weren’t sure what to expect.