Editor's blog
Small dog, loud bark
Saline's tiny Spotted Dog Winery makes kit wines of no particular distinction -- but gets more public notice and better distribution than most other Michigan wineries of its size. The secret: good branding and marketing.
2X Trophy Winner!
"The Ice Wine Everyone Can Afford"
Pssssst! Hey, buddy, wanna buy a genuine trophy-winning Michigan ice wine for just $15? Doug Welsch of Fenn Valley is betting 900 cases on a one-time-only deal he figures you can't resist...
Get MichWine Updates
Wine Country Weather
| Berrien Springs |  |
52°F |
| Fennville | |
48°F |
| Grass Lake |  |
45°F |
| Suttons Bay | |
46°F |
| Old Mission | |
46°F |
| Power Vintage: 2007 Reds Flex Muscles at Wine Competition |
|
|
|
|
 The gang from Leelanau Peninsula celebrates their trophies. Front: Alan Eaker, owner, Longview; Charlie Edson, owner / winemaker, Bel Lago. Rear: Ryan and Kris Sterkenburg, owners, Gill's Pier; Steve Grossnickle, owner, Forty-Five North; Shawn Walters, winemaker, Forty-Five North and Longview; Lee Lutes, winemaker, Black Star Farms Fourteen powerful reds from the atypically ripe 2007 vintage grabbed gold medals at the 2009 Michigan Wine and Spirits Competiton on August 4 in East Lansing. Fifty wines took double gold (14) or gold (36) medals. This included seventeen dry reds, all but three from 2007. Among them: two Pinot Noir, four Cabernet Franc, one each Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and a surprising six Meritage-style blends. Six dry and nine semi-dry whites struck gold. Leelanau Peninsula's tiny Longview Winery walked away with the most gold in the state: two double gold and three gold medals, including a Best of Class for its Reserve Cherry -- the fourth straight year that Longview's team of owner Alan Eaker and consulting winemaker Shawn Walters have grabbed a top trophy. Almost overshadowed by the reds' tide:
Overall medal numbers dropped to 67% of entries from last year's 73%, after some rule tweaks and a pre-judging admonition by competition superintendent Chris Cook. A total of 267 wines received medals, of the 395 wines entered. Gill's Pier co-owner Kris Sterkenburg, whose Cab Franc / Merlot blend earned the winery its third Best of Class trophy since 2003, said, "We've had an amazing relationship with (winemaker) Bryan Ulbrich from the get-go. But we're also very proud that the fruit for this wine came from our own vineyard and our next door neighbor's."
Bookmark
Email This
Trackback(0)TrackBack URI for this entryComments (0)Show/Hide comments Write comment |
Show/Hide comment form
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
BORDEAUX FACES UNRIPE VINTAGE
Michigan knows the problem: unripe grapes. But in Bordeaux, the cause is different: not enough rain for them to physically mature. Consultant Jacques Boissenot says 2010 wines may taste green as a result, according to Decanter.
Bill welsch dies
The founder of southwest Michigan's Fenn Valley Vineyards died on August 6 at the age of 83. He purchased the land for Fenn Valley in 1973 and built the winery three years later.
OHIO FERTILIZES vineyardS -- WITH CASH
The state of Ohio's Vineyard Expansion Assistance Program has awarded grants to 19 growers and wineries to increase their wine grape acreage, according to Wines & Vines.
Coming soon: $1 merlot?
Take a back seat, Three Buck Chuck. Dollar store goliath Dollar General says it's currently test-marketing wine at an undisclosed number of its 9000 stores in 35 states.
100-POINt bashERS: A LIBERAL PLOT
Slightly tongue-in-cheek conspiracy theory du jour by writer W. Blake Gray: opponents of the 100-point ratings meritocracy are liberal elitists who want you to drink what they like
TO THE MOON, NORTON
Just out: Todd Kliman's book on the birth, decline and recent resurgence of the offbeat American hybrid grape, Norton. Developed in Virginia, it's now Missouri's state grape.
MOVING TO NAPA?
For a cool $25 million, you could be living on the late Robert Mondavi's estate, near Yountville. The 56-acre property just put up a "For Sale" sign, says the Wall Street Journal. Sorry, no vineyards included.
WHISKEY IN YOUR TANK
Corn ethanol is so last year. According to Decanter, the latest biofuel comes from by-products of whiskey distillation, developed by scientists in -- where else? -- Scotland.
DOES RED WINE BOOST FEMALE SEX DRIVE?
Researchers in -- where else? -- Florence, Italy say women who drink red wine report higher sex drive than drinkers of other alcoholic beverages; teetotalers rank last
PA TO TEST SELF-SERVE WINE KIOSKS
Pennsylvania's state-run wine stores wlll test self-serve wine kiosks in 100 supermarkets -- but customers must first insert a drivers license and blow into a breathalyzer
KEEP YOUR CANOPY MANAGED!
MSU Extension guy Duke Elsner explains an arcane branch of wine-related knowledge: how to train and prune vines to grow the best grapes
SCOTT HARVEY ON THE RIESLING SCALE
Cal Riesling guru (and MI wine fan) Scott Harvey does a good job explaining the Riesling sweetness scale, coming soon to a bottle near you
Links to wine news from Michigan and elsewhere. Use the Contact Fom to let us know what should be here.
MichWine Poll
Joel Goldberg's Blog
New posts every Tuesday, sometimes more or less often
New York wine writers Lenn Thompson and Evan Dawson won't judge at wine competitions, and urge other journalists to follow suit. The complaints are valid -- but their prescription doesn't work for states like Michigan.
So far, Michigan's warm, early-maturing 2010 vintage looks like a winner for red wines -- while California is suffering one of its coolest summers in years.
Two high-profile politicians who carried water for Michigan's wine wholesaler cartel lost big in the primary for Governor. So let's take a trip into fantasyland, where politicians do what's good for the state, rather than their contributors.
KNOW A GOOD BYO? PLEASE SHUT UP!
Michigan's consumer-unfriendly laws make most BYO illegal. So publicizing places that quietly allow it doesn't necessarily do them any favors.
Yes, thank you, I believe I WILL try some Michigan Cabernet Franc next to that '86 Cheval Blanc
Mere coincidence that Old Mission's two South African-trained winemakers grabbed all the awards at the Cab Franc Challenge? Maybe not...
WINE WRITING'S ETHICAL THICKET
Why does wine writing tolerate murky ethics and apparent conflicts of interest that wouldn't be acceptable in other areas of journalism? The new AnnArbor.com is the latest media outlet to ignore such concerns.
HAS TERRY STINGLEY FOUND MICHIGAN'S "IDENTITY WINE"?
Kalamazoo retailer Stingley believes Cab Franc has the chops to become our state's flagship. And he's organizing a one-of-a-kind event to help make it happen.
MichWine Classics
Ode to the Leelanau Winemaking pioneer Larry Mawby pens a poem about his home
The South Will Rise! Wyncroft's Jim Lester likes his region's future
MichWine Resources
| Wine Calendar |
| Wine Review Database |
| Winery Links |
| Other Links |
| Our Contributors |
| FAQ |
| Site Search |
| Contact Us |
Login / Register
The independent, objective consumer guide to Michigan wines and wine country.
Copyright © 2010 MichWine LLC. All rights reserved.
