Michigan By The Bottle

Video Feature: Peninsula Cellars

We're not sure why it sounds like an airport in the background instead of a two-lane road up Old Mission Peninsula (iMovie must die), but audio issues aside, we hope you enjoy this taste of summer in the middle of winter as we share our interview with John Kroupa of Peninsula Cellars. (Look for a cameo by Michigan By The Bottle fans David Adelstein and Elly Strzalkowski, who were on their honeymoon when we met them for the first time that day!)

Video Feature: 2011 Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer & Food Festival

Is it any surprise that our coverage of the 2011 Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer & Food Festival is light on the beer and food and heavy on the wine? Or that we spent most of our time in the Michigan section despite the tons of wineries from elsewhere in the country also in attendance? Well, we're nothing if not loyal (or perhaps obsessive?). Anyways, take a look at what local winemakers and winery reps have to say about this awesome annual event, and if you were there, see if we caught you on video!

Video Feature: White Pine Winery

Here's another long overdue video from our trip to the Lake Michigan Shore wine trail last fall, when White Pine Winery had just recently opened its doors. In our video, Dave Miller talks about the decision to make the leap from longtime winemaker at St. Julian to owning his own outfit and what made him choose downtown St. Joseph. Our apologies for the delay; we accrued quite a backlog of video footage from our travels, but we're finally almost to the end of it! Hopefully the sound will come across OK for our viewers; we've since learned that while a busy tasting room is a dream for background visuals (and for the winemaker!), it wreaks havoc on the sound!

Video Feature: Traverse City Wine & Art Festival

Take wine, art, food, music and fashion, combine them at a sweet venue (the amazing Village at Grand Traverse Commons, a redeveloped former asylum) and you've got the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival! The Aug. 20 event was seven hours of fun for all of the senses. Take a peek at what went on with our video feature.

Many thanks to the festival organizers for making our trip possible, to all the MBTB fans who introduced themselves, to the great guys at 94.3 and 92.5 FM for letting us tout MBTB on the radio, and to and all of the newcomers who stopped by our booth to see what MBTB is all about!

 

Video Feature: Celebrate Michigan Wine Tasting at The Rattlesnake Club

One of our favorite downtown Detroit establishments, The Rattlesnake Club, recently held a Celebrate Michigan Wine Tasting event as part of its Summer Terrace Tasting series — and invited us to come by to capture the fun! Wines featured included Fenn Valley's Capriccio, Sandhill Crane's Sur Lie Chardonnay, Chateau Grand Traverse's Whole Cluster Riesling and L. Mawby's Sex. Take a peek at why the restaurant decided to dedicate a night to exploring Michigan wine, and what the events are like. (Though it's not Michigan, there's one more Terrace Tasting on Aug. 25, BTW, if you want to see what the events are all about!)

Video Feature: MBTB's Wine Tasting Course

If you missed Michigan By The Bottle's Wine Tasting Course with Master Sommelier Claudia Tyagi Aug. 6 (or just want to relive the glory), here's a little peek at what it was like. Many thanks to Forest Grill in Birmingham for hosting us, and to our winery (and cheese!) sponsors.  We're hoping to hold more events like this in the future, so feel free to drop us a line at wine@michiganbythebottle.com to tell us what you'd like to see in such a class (when, where, topics, etc.).

Video Feature: 2011 Gold Medal Reception

Wineries were basking in the glow of their big Michigan Wine & Spirits Competition wins during the Gold Medal Reception in East Lansing Aug. 6, featuring the Best of Class, Double Gold, Gold and Silver medal winners from the showdown, held earlier in the week. Take a look as winning winemakers (and MBTB fan Julie Vandenboom, in her video debut!) talk about the fun-filled celebration. 

Video Feature: Hickory Creek Winery

Once upon a time, we visited Hickory Creek Winery in Baroda and collected footage for a video feature... OK, so, maybe it wasn't that long ago, but it was last October, and our profuse apologies for the delay — we're still a bit backed up. But the silver lining for Hickory Creek is it gets to be the very first winery to have a video feature with our new logo and updated fonts.So kick back with a glass of Gentil or Melange and see what Michael deSchaaf has to say about his accidental start in the industry, the barn that inspired the tasting room, the reasoning behind Hickory Creek's dry-leaning wine lineup, and his hopes for the future. (Don't mind the busy tasting room and the whipping wind ... and check out that crazy pre-storm sky!)

Video Feature: Verterra Winery

Meet the newest addition to the Michigan wine scene, Verterra Winery in Leland! Take a peek as partner Geoff Hamelin discusses the winery's origins and goals on their first full day open last month. (Please note: You may need to adjust your sound. I didn't realize how much background noise there was until I imported the footage, and as much as I tinkered, I couldn't get it properly balanced.) Have you been to Verterra? Which wine was your favorite there?

MBTB Summer Tour: Four Days in Northern Michigan

Take a look at our whirlwind wine tour Up North, which included stops at a brand-new winery and plenty of old favorites, along with our MBTB Northern Birthday Bash, celebrating our second anniversary!