Michigan By The Bottle

This Weekend in Michigan Wine (Feb. 23-26)

 Welcome to the latest edition of This Weekend in Michigan Wine, a listing of what's happening now, what's coming up and what's ongoing in the world of Michigan wine!

Wineries, if you'd like your event listed, please email us with all of the pertinent information, and we'd be happy to post it. MBTB fans, we hope this serves as your weekly "go-to" guide for finding the best options for getting your Michigan wine on! Cheers!

Note: Thanks to everyone for your patience while This Weekend in Michigan Wine was on hiatus last week!

Moersch reigns at wine competition | Off the Water

Matthew Moersch, winemaker at Free Run Cellars and Round Barn Winery, took first place in three of the categories, including Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer and Riesling, at the fifth annual Southwest Michigan Wine Evaluation, hosted by the Michigan Grape Society on Feb. 8.

The wine-tasting event was led by three master sommeliers, Ron Edwards, Kathy Morgan and Matthew Citriglia, who guided participants through blind tastings of wines from the Lake Michigan Shore Appelation, along with examples of wine styles from their traditional “home” regions.

At the end of the blind tasting evaluation, the sommelier panel provided feedback and ranked the local Michigan wines alongside their benchmark wines.

via offthewater.com

Congrats to Free Run and Round Barn

Disgorging and dosaging 2 Lads Reserve Sparkling Wine

The guys were down in the cellar yesterday disgorging and dosaging another "batch" of our Reserve Sparkling Wine. I thought I'd use this as a great time to explain the process a little better...

Disgorging and dosaging: a wine story in photos

There are a few different methods to make sparkling wines (known better as Champagne, although legally only wines made in the Champagne region of France can be called that). We choose to use the méthode champenoise or method traditionnelle (traditional method) in which the secondary fermentation process that actually creates those bubbles is done inside the bottle. This creates a much more elegant style with finer bubbles (its also a lot more work, but hey, we like the end result better).

via twoladswinery.typepad.com

Very educational!

Don't Go Away — We'll Be Right Back!

Even winos need a vacation, so hang tight — we're going to be incommunicado without Internet access for a few days, but we'll be back before you know it with new articles, contests, podcasts and more.

Our event listing, This Weekend in Michigan Wine, will be on hiatus next week, but you can glance back at this week's edition to see what's coming up. TWMW will be back in full force Thursday, Feb. 23, and our weekly podcasts will resume Tuesday, Feb. 21. In the meantime, MBTB's Michigan wine community remains alive and well on Facebook even in our brief absence, so don't hesitate to head over there to get your Michigan wine chat on in the meantime! Cheers!

This Weekend in Michigan Wine (Feb. 9-12)

 Welcome to the latest edition of This Weekend in Michigan Wine, a listing of what's happening now, what's coming up and what's ongoing in the world of Michigan wine!

Wineries, if you'd like your event listed, please email us with all of the pertinent information, and we'd be happy to post it. MBTB fans, we hope this serves as your weekly "go-to" guide for finding the best options for getting your Michigan wine on! Cheers!

Note: This Weekend in Michigan Wine will be on hiatus Feb. 16. It'll be back Feb. 23; in the meantime, refer back to this issue for plenty of upcoming events!

Beyond the Bottle: Fenn Valley Vineyards & Wine Cellar

Welcome to the third installment of MBTB's Beyond the Bottle, a periodic 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. Responses are printed verbatim.

Today, Doug Welsch, owner of Fenn Valley Vineyards & Wine Cellar, discusses how a "mid-life crisis" spurred the launch of his family's Fennville-based winery, and how it's evolved over nearly four decades.

Editor's note: Wineries do not pay a fee to appear in Beyond the Bottle; we're featuring every Michigan winery that requests and responds to our BTB questionnaire. If you're a winemaker or wine representative and would like your facility highlighted, please email cort@michiganbythebottle.com.

This Weekend in Michigan Wine (Feb. 2-5)

 Welcome to the latest edition of This Weekend in Michigan Wine, a listing of what's happening now, what's coming up and what's ongoing in the world of Michigan wine!

Wineries, if you'd like your event listed, please email us with all of the pertinent information, and we'd be happy to post it. MBTB fans, we hope this serves as your weekly "go-to" guide for finding the best options for getting your Michigan wine on! Cheers!

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.

On the Michigan Wine Trail « Stephanie Schlatter Art

“On the Michigan Wine Trail” is more than just a series of paintings attempting to recreate the beautiful sights of wine country.  It captures the essence of the people there, and what happens to them as they inhabit and grow attached to this enchanting place.

My series, like their wine, tells of their journeys, their art, and the relationships they’ve built with the land.  The stories are all there on canvas, like a bottle of wine, waiting for us to uncork it.

via stephanieschlatterartblog.com

Check out this series! It is awesome!

This Weekend in Michigan Wine (Jan. 26-29)

 Welcome to the latest edition of This Weekend in Michigan Wine, a listing of what's happening now, what's coming up and what's ongoing in the world of Michigan wine!

Wineries, if you'd like your event listed, please email us with all of the pertinent information, and we'd be happy to post it. MBTB fans, we hope this serves as your weekly "go-to" guide for finding the best options for getting your Michigan wine on! Cheers!

Northern Michigan Wine: Chateau Grand Traverse Wins Best Wine - My North - January 2012 - Northern Michigan

Northern Michigan Wine: The vines of Traverse City are home to yet another award-winning wine from the 2010 season. The 2010 Chateau Grand Traverse Whole Cluster Riesling was recently included in Food & Wine Editor Picks 2011 for Best Wine and beer.  In the article, wine editors Ray Isle and Megan Krigbaum selected ten wines as most exceptional of the year, including Northern Michgian's Chateau Grand Traverse award winning 2010 Whole Cluster Riesling.

Northern Michigan's Chateau Grand Traverse has produced wine on the Old Mission Peninsula near Traverse City since 1974 and is now in its 2nd generation of leadership.  The winery is noted internationally for its excellent riesling wines and has won several international competitions.  

via www.mynorth.com

Fantastic wine!