Michigan By The Bottle

A Leelanau gem: Brengman Brothers Winery romances the vines - Wine - The Detroit News

Visiting Leelanau’s new Brengman Brothers Winey at Crain Hill Vineyards is not just a trip to another tasting room, it’s an experience.

Discover wines that seduce the palate with their crisp, clean flavors; a winemaker who wears wacky hats and just plain loves fermenting grapes; and owners that learned the food and wine business the hard way — running restaurants in Detroit and other parts of southeast Michigan.

And then there’s the location — an incredible east-facing hillside on the southeast side of the Leelanau Peninsula that’s pure Michigan.

via blogs.detroitnews.com

A great article about Brengman Brothers Winery on Leelanau Peninsula by the Detroit News' Sandra Silfven!

Michigan Pinot is Black Star Farms Forte

Now Black Star Farms Winery in Leelanau County has made Pinot Noir, the wine drinker’s wine,  its signature grape. Given the high expectations of Pinot Noir drinkers- like the main character in the 2004 movie Sideways – it’s noteworthy that a winery in an emerging wine region would dedicate itself to a grape that Jancis Robinson calls “capricious and extremely variable.”

Lee Lutes at  Black Star is aware of the risks and rewards of committing to Pinot Noir. “Pinot Noir is also known as the heartbreak grape – the bastard grape, or any number of other negative associations. This is one variety, however, that greatly reflects it’s growing season and viticulture, so you need to work closely with it in order to really capture the best qualities of the variety.”

via midwestwinepress.com

Love Pinot Noir!

Leelanau wineries: What's new, what's hot in Northern Michigan - Wine - The Detroit News

Longing for Leelanau? The beaches, the wineries, the winding roads, the cherry pies?

Spring has been slow in coming up north, but the buds on trees and vines are starting to swell as witnessed by more than two dozen scribes who recently converged on Traverse City for the annual Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association Media Day.

via blogs.detroitnews.com

Sandra Silfven of the Detroit News checks in with a report from the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association Media Day on April 20. Thanks for the MBTB shoutout, Sandra!

Reporter's notebook: Highlights of the Michigan Wine Showcase - Wine - The Detroit News

It was impossible to taste all the wines at Monday’s annual Michigan Wine Showcase at the Rattlesnake in Detroit — but I tasted enough of them to walk away with yet more impressions of this wonderful, changing, booming industry in our state. Clearly wine styles vary greatly, especially the Rieslings and Chardonnays. Vintners showed many dry whites with bracing acidity ideal for the table — some with unabashed oak. Pinot Noir continues to be a passion. And there was one new varietal of note — Gruner Veltliner more commonly associated with Austria — brimming with bold lime zest, red grapefruit and potential for Michigan.

via blogs.detroitnews.com

Hour Detroit Magazine | The Michigan Wine Industry Has a Lot to Toast

The number of wineries in Michigan is rapidly expanding, topping the 100 mark in January when the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council approved three new wineries. Ten years ago, only about a third of these wineries existed.
“The Michigan wine industry has tremendous momentum right now,” says Linda Jones, program manager of the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council.

Wine production is has skyrocketed, reaching 1.3 million gallons, or 547,000 cases, annually. This is more than triple the production level of a decade ago, securing a spot for Michigan in the top 10 wine producing states in the country. From year to year, Michigan generally ranks between fifth and eighth, depending on climate conditions that can affect volumes.

via www.hourdetroit.com

Who Will Win the Final Four Wine Taste-Off? | Seasonal | News & Features | Wine Spectator

For those following this month's NCAA men's basketball tournament, it's been a wild ride so far, with plenty of upsets and some outstanding play. It's been an equally wild ride for Wine Spectator's annual Final Four Taste-Off, in which we've been tasting surprising wines from across the U.S. for the past six years.

via www.winespectator.com

Whether U of M wins or loses, Michigan won — in Wine Spectator's version of March Madness, that is! Congrats to L. Mawby for coming out on top in Wine Spectator's Final Four Wine Taste-Off!

Best 'Foot' forward - Lansing City Pulse

The route to making great wine can follow many paths. For many, the path begins with successfully navigating through the coursework of enology and viticulture programs at a university. For others, the path is defined by hard work, an eagerness to learn and an intuitive sense for making great wine. The latter is the path followed by Bryan Ulbrich, a northern Illinois native who was wrapping up a master’s degree in American Indian law and policy in Arizona 20 years ago when the wine bug hit. 

via www.lansingcitypulse.com

Michael Brenton from Lansing City Pulse delves deeper into the background of Left Foot Charley's Bryan Ulbrich. Are you an LFC fan?

Michigan winemakers experiment to get the most out of their grapes | Michigan Radio

Michigan winemakers are exploring a variety of options to get the most out of their crops. They’re experimenting with growing hardier grapes to handle whatever curve balls Mother Nature throws.

via www.michiganradio.org

Take a listen to Michigan Radio's report on how the state's winemakers are working with cold-hearty grapes.

Leelanau Winery wins top Riesling honors at Finger Lakes … AGAIN! | Leelanau Peninsula Wineries & Wine Trail

The Finger Lakes in New York are recognized as one of the nation’s top Riesling regions, but they are learning what those familiar with Leelanau Rieslings have long known: Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula is a Riesling powerhouse. For the second year in a row, Chateau Fontaine Vineyards & Winery has proven that in the clearest way possible, winning the top award for Riesling at the 2013 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition.

via lpwines.com

Congratulations to Chateau Fontaine for earning the Best Riesling award at the Finger Lakes competition, and to all of the Michigan wineries that snagged medals!

The State News: 2012 Michigan wine grapes

Michigan wine dodged the bullet.

To the satisfaction of many Michigan wine growers, late blooming wine grapes were unaffected by the 2012 season’s Spring warm and cold-snap that annihilated most of Michigan’s apple and fruit crop, according to a press release.

“The quality of grapes last year was exceptional, perfect ripening conditions of the fruit allowed several grape varieties to perfectly express all their varietal characteristics,” said viticulture assistant professor Paolo Sabbatini in the release. “Much of the fruit harvested last year will produce reserve-quality wine.”

He said Michigan is known for it’s wine and last season only proved it to be more prestigious.

via statenews.com