Acquaviva Winery - Maple Park, IL - 7/30/10

Maple Park...not quite Chicago suburb, not quite rural outpost. It's an interesting sort of cusp where McMansions line one side of the road and cornfields the other. This is where Acquaviva resides. We stopped in for lunch and had a couple different wines with our meal instead of doing a tasting of the bar.

A tasting of six wines at the bar is six bucks. Glasses ranged from about five to seven dollars. Full bottles are available for five bucks over retail with your meal.

Here's what we had:

Prairie Star: The term 'clean' is difficult to describe, but it's fit for the nose here - peach, nectarine and slate. On the palate I get a mild golden apple quality, pear, stone fruit, it's fruity enough that one may easily call it sweet, but it's fairly dry. The finish brings out a Gewurzy kinda feel. Very nice.

Bianco Bello: Don't know what varietal in this is, but I'd guess Catawba. Catawba is frequently found in Illinois wineries, it's sweet and juicy, you rarely get anything interesting from their wines but it would be tough not to call them tasty. This is a bit better than average because it has some acid to give it a bit of balance. Cantaloupe, muskmelon, a bit of honeydew, and green grape.



Frontenac: Italian in style. Raspberry, strawberry, dirt, brown spice, kind of a trashy quality, and way in the background an interesting sort of melon quality.

Piacere: Plum on the nose. Another funky, Italian-ish wine, lighter in body with more acid. Dry green spices, anise especially, raspberry for fruit, and an odd kind of caramel quality.

The white wines are tough to argue with, the reds are some of the better 'acquired taste' style wines that you often get in Illinois. If you haven't ventured into hybrid wines, this would be a fine start. The trick to Illinois reds is to eat them with food.

Speaking of food....

Italian style crab cakes (forgive me, a few bites were taken before this photo was taken). These were quite good - loads of crab, little filler, all in a delicious sauce.



--

Sausage pizza from the wood burning oven. Pretty solid.



--

I'm beyond sold. The food was outstanding and worked nicely with the wine. Well worth a visit.

Lynfred Winery - Roselle, IL - 11/7/09

Lynfred is a small winery in downtown Roselle. No grapes are grown on property and some of their labeling - "American" Cabernet Sauvignon, for example - is vague (see the comments section for info on the government regulations). The staff do have more information - sometimes down to the vineyard - available if you ask. From what I could see, a good chunk of their grapes are from Washington.

The tastings change monthly - seven pours (six wines, usually three white and three red, but that varies, plus one fruit wine) go for nine bucks. There are a few different snack boxes for five bones, and I think they do a few other premium tasting deals from time to time. These prices are lower for members of their various buying clubs - which is the promise of buying one bottle a month, at a discount, with no added fee, so if you dig what they do, it's worth getting into.

The bar and tasting area are large, but they get crowded. I'd guess going in the afternoon of a weekday would probably be your best bet for comfort and small crowds.

2007 Gewurztraminer - A fairly big nose reminiscent of a fuzzy naval. Peachy, pink apple, apricot, a bit hot, and a tad short of acid for my liking, but no complaints. A bit of heat on the finish, plus some nice vanilla and honeysuckle qualities come through.

2008 Sauvignon Blanc - The nose brings grass, slate, and lime. Good acid but with a slightly viscous mouthfeel. Lime and citron qualities with a bit of grass and perhaps some honeydew. Grassy finish with some clear limeade - not lime, but limeade things going on.

N/V Oktoberfest - Golden apple and green grape on the nose. Light pineapple on the palate - very light, like watered down pineapple juice. Beyond that, this had a distinct grapple taste - a grapple is a strange genetically modified apple designed to taste like grapes. It winds up tasting like both and neither at the same time - this brings it both on the palate and finish.

N/V Rose - Strawberry all over, I'd almost guess this was infused with them. Nice acid, a bit of sugar, a hint of tannin, and some bitter grapeseed make this a wine I think is well made but just didn't quite work to my palate.

2005 Merlot - Garbage and plum on the nose. Loads of black pepper with big tannins (I'd probably wait a year or two before opening this one). For fruit, we get black cherry and plum.

2006 Cabernet Franc Reserve - An earthy nose. Fairly earthy with cherry and clove on the palate. I was excited to try this one, but it paled next to many of the comparably priced Michigan Cab Francs we've had.

Mango - Many wine buffs turn their noses up at fruit wines. I am guilty of this attitude because, let's be blunt, it's a legit thing to be snobby about. Lynfred, though, makes some excellent fruit wines. Are they "wine"? No. Are they well crafted alcoholic beverages? Absolutely. This mango wine obviously tastes like mango, but it also could easily pass for a (admittedly odd) Riesling or Gewurz. Vanilla notes come through on the finish.


No complaints at all. Lynfred is a worthwhile spot to try out if you're anywhere near Chicagoland.

Two Lads - Traverse City, MI - 10/3/09

I was wandering the audiobook stacks at the local library and the new David Cross book, quite appropriately titled I Drink for a Reason caught my eye. It seemed like the perfect accompaniment for this little day trip, seeing as we were making the drive for one of our reasons for drinking.

Two Lads released four new wines today - 2008 Cab Franc, 2007 Merlot, 2007 Cab Fran Reserve, and a 2008 Dry Sparkling Pinot Grigio. I have no notes for any of these releases as full bottle write ups will be on the way in the coming weeks/months. Expect the first review - a writeup of the 2008 Cab Franc - to be up by Monday.

While in the area, I felt compelled to show some respect to Harding's Cup winner, Brys Estate, an establishment that just didn't work for us last time (this time was better, notes follow).

We were able to try the top three Cab Francs from the Harding's Cup and, I know what you're thinking - who the hell do you think you are commenting on such things? - but I'll just leave it at the following: The Brys wines were both very good - worthy of the top three? Perhaps. Yet, I bought neither. The Two Lads Reserve? I walked out with four.

Brys Estate - Traverse City, MI - 10/3/09

So we visited Brys Estate a few months ago and were not particularly impressed - in (large) part due to at no fault of the winery, a major buzzkill in the tasting room. To be honest, I was in no rush to get back until they won the Harding's Cup - an all Michigan Cab Franc competition. Brys won first and third place with their Artisan and Reserve Cab Francs.

So, Brys has a regular tasting deal (six wines for five bucks, I think) or a premium tasting four pours for ten bucks with a small gnosh plate. Each of the four wines on the premium cost $50 a bottle, so it's a pretty nice deal.

The notes:

2007 Artisan Chardonnay - I no like-a the Chardonnay in general. This one? It's alright at one ounce. Vanilla and tropical fruit on the nose, which is a bit hot. Palate is all vanilla, pineapple, and butter. Tropical fruit and some heat on the finish. Well made, to be sure - I respect it.

2007 Artisan Pinot Noir - vaguely sweet smelling with cherry dominating. Medium body, cherry, spice, very nicely balanced.

2007 Artisan Merlot - rather big. Almost a blackberry liqueur nose. Easy drinking with very nice tannin/acid/fruit balance. Blackberry and cherry for the most part.

2007 Reserve Cabernet Franc - Cherry with some bell pepper on the nose. Earthy and spicy with a dash of cherry.

2007 Artisan Cabernet Franc - Cherry and distinct eucalyptus on the nose. Bigger than the Reserve, but still earthy, spicy, with cherry and more eucalyptus coming through.

The woman at the bar, Cheryl, was very nice - courteous, informative, friendly - all you could ask for.

Overall, we left with a higher impression of Brys. The Artisan series are certainly well made wines, but at $50 a bottle, I believe they are also among the most expensive (non-ice) wines in the state. My recommendation is to hit it up, do the premium tasting, relax, and see what you think. We left empty handed this time, but next time we're in the area Brys will be on our short list of must visits.

There ya go

This marker was right off the highway in Wisconsin. I saw a couple signs in the TC area, but none were of the photo op variety like this one.



So our full notes from the Lake Michigan Circle Tour are up....if you're reading this in the distant future, just click the "July 2009" link to your right and you'll see them all on a page or two.

I do encourage you all to comment or drop us an e-mail if you have any questions, comments, or observations.

Parallel 44 - Kewaunee, WI - 7/4/09

Parallel 44 is located around 30 minutes southeast of Green Bay in a somewhat tucked away area - it's not right off the highway and you do have to be looking for it.

The notes:

Seyval Blanc - Floral nose, a tad sweet, with floral/herbal tea qualities on the palate.

Riesling - Sweet, a bit of acid, pink apples, with peach and various stone fruit lingering around.

Rosso - Cherry nose, semisweet, decent acid and mildly tannic, with cherry flavors but still a bit sweet for our liking.



Baco Noir - A goofy grape varietal that I was happy to see. Cherry, chocolate, and blueberry, still sweet and lacking tannin or oak, but interesting enough that it's worth a try.

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon - A funky nose, light in body with spice and a bit of funk and mild sweet oak with strawberry notes hanging around in the background.

Meditation - A sweet, heavy dessert wine with cherry notes - full notes at some point in the future.


A nice place with some unusual wines, perhaps worth a stop if you're in the area. I'm not glowing about it, but just for a chance to try some Baco and go for a country drive I'd say it's worth the trip.

Captain's Walk Winery - Green Bay, WI - 7/4/09

On the way to this winery, I needed gas only to be met by the WORST GAS ATTENDANT EVER.



This is what liberal America is doing...making small businesses - like Shell - hire employees who don't even have opposable thumbs. Did we lose a war? That's not America...that's not even Mexico.

I digress.

We've been to many wineries in our day, but the staff at Captain's Hawk wins the prize of the friendliest, most outgoing, easiest going staff we have ever encountered. Seriously. Even if the wines here sucked, which they don't, I'd still recommend visiting because everyone rocks.

This place is apparently tied to von Stiehl Winery, also in Wisconsin, which he haven't been to yet, but plan to sooner rather than later.

The notes:

2006 Riesling - Just a tad flabby for my tastes with peach being the strongest flavor.

Sangiovese - Menthol on the nose, light in body, some bell pepper, cherry, spice, and a tad of plum.



Merlot - Smooth, low tannins, cherry, a bit of tannin and cinnamon come through on the finish, but I can't help but call this one a bit blah.

Cabernet Sauvignon - Cedar and black cherry on the nose and palate with dark black fruit, medium tannins, clove, and nice structure.

Captain's Red - Grapey all around, we were told this is their top selling red which is just sad.



Gewurz - Sweet and slightly flabby, but fine - peach, apricot, a bit of spice.

Maiden Voyage - This wine comes in an awesome ship shaped bottle that I would've bought if it wasn't thirty bones. Strawberry nose with a big fat artificial watermelon thing going on on the palate, good acid, sweet but not cloying - if this was ten bucks I'd probably buy it. This is the perfect wine to drink while listening to Alestorm:




The wines here are sampled in Riedel glasses, which should really be the standard, but almost no one does it. There's a sign that says something along the lines of "Does the glass matter? Ask for a demonstration." I should've, just to see what they do. The staff here clearly know their stuff and I gotta tell ya, I'm beyond down.

My favorite Wisconsin winery? I think so.

Threefold Vine Winery - Garden, MI - 7/3/09

So we're driving along the dirt road to get to the winery and I absentmindedly passed it up. Suddenly, I heard "Hey man, you missed it." Fran and I looked around wondering who said it only to find....


Larry the llama pointed the way back to the winery. Thanks Larry!


Anyway, as an anti-theist of the Dawkins school I was a bit taken about when we walked into a place which had Bible quotes on the wall. The tension of a guy with a goat skull tattoo on his wrist walking in was broken by the friendly house dog coming up to say hello. The woman working was friendly enough, but we were clearly not terribly welcome outsiders in a place where we didn't belong, so we didn't linger.



Here's our notes:

Valiant - Grapey, every so slight tannins and even a bit dry, but basically this sort of tasted like a dry wine of the Concord variety.

906 - Tasting almost exactly the same as the Valiant, a cherry quality comes through but that's about it.

Glory Bee - A wine made of peaches, honey, and ginger that's actually extremely tasty.

Confection - Almost like a cherry port, fairly strong, and fine for a powerful cherry wine.



Basically, the products here are aimed more for the fruit wine drinker. They're not "bad" at all, but it's just operating as a different type of place than most of the places we hit on this trip. We won't be back, but we wish Larry well!

Mackinaw Trail Winery - Manistique, MI - 7/3/09

Ah, the Upper Peninsula - home of pasties (the food, not the garment - though whose to say the garment isn't featured there as well), smoked fish, and wild animals who dart out in front of your car.

There really is a wikipedia entry for everything, isn't there?

This winery tasting room is located on US-2 in the Upper Peninsula, we visited because we saw a faded sign at the side of the road that said fifteen miles to the MACK TRAIL. MACK TRAIL YEAH!



You get two samples for free and five for $5 - so technically seven samples for five bones. I didn't even ask where the actual vineyards and winery are....seriously a deer had just jumped in front of my car, and I drive a tiny one made of plastic, I'd lose that fight.....I can't be expected to remember basic questions.


The notes:

2006 Shiraz - A funky/garbagey nose with earthy, peppery, and cherry notes on the palate.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot - Light in body with cedar and raspberry notes.

2006 Pinot Noir - Cinnamon, clove, all sorts of spices all around really, with some blueberry notes as well.

2007 Cabernet Franc - A bit of sugar, with a bit of a cherry cough syrup thing going on.

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon - Blackberry notes along with cedar and spice.

2007 Merlot - all my notes say is "cherry."

2008 Vidal Ice Wine - Peachy nose with honey, orange, and peach on the palate.

This may not sound like a ringing endorsement, but it really is - everything here was at a minimum good (maybe not the Cab Franc). Did anything jump up to the level of transcendence? Perhaps not, but few places do. If you're anywhere near the area (there's another tasting room in Mackinaw City), hit this place up.

Ciccone Vineyards - Suttons Bay, MI - 7/2/09

Ciccone's website will be your destination if you click that.

This winery is owned by Madonna's dad. Yeah, that Madonna...besides a few bottles of "Madonna wine" that is close to being sold out and not available for tasting, you'd never know it. Seriously - if you want glitz and tackiness, you'll be disappointed.

I was going to put in a bunch of lame puns about Madonna, referencing how if an older gentleman was working the room I'd insist he 'not preach' and making sure to tell everyone we were on 'holiday' - but I'm not going to do that. That would be tacky. I was hoping for something light so I could say something like "there's no evidence of body" - but really, this is a classy blog. So, instead, I present you my notes:

2007 Chardonnay - Enough butter and oak to turn me off, but not enough that I couldn't respect this as a well crafted wine.

2007 Pinot Grigio - Dry with muskmelon and honeydew notes - well played.

2007 Pinot Noir - Cherry and eucalyptus on the nose with plum, cherry, and even some chocolatey notes on the palate.

2007 Cabernet Franc - Smoke with green pepper, cherry, and soft tannins over all.

Lee La Tage - A Bordeaux blend with cedar, cigar, and cherry.

Marechal Foch/DeChaunac - Cinnamon and plum, not doing much for me.

You know, the notes here may not reflect it, but I really dug this place. The wines are mostly Old World in style, subtle, refined, and well crafted - not to mention cheap, I don't think anything we tried was over $16. I bought a bottle and we'll see how it holds up to concentration, but based on the samples, I'm down. Well played! Five for five on Leelanau!

L Mawby – Suttons Bay - 7/2/09

This was an obvious, must revisit - one of our favorite wineries in the country, L Mawby rocks my face. You get two free samples (Sandpiper is mandatory, I think, and the other is up to you) and then for five bones you get two addition 2oz pours with some crackers and spread.

We've reviewed a lot of L Mawby here, so do a search for more....these are what I jotted down in the room.


Talismon - Apples, light in body, though some interesting toasty notes come through.

Cremant Classic - This wine sickens me, I hate it, I can't stand it, I drink it and want to throw it out....yet I cannot put it down. Funky and weird, rye toast comes through as does some blueberry essence, with a strange gasoline component. Complex, frustrating, and not at all to my liking, yet I felt compelled to buy a case. I didn't though. I hope to never taste it again, but if I see it at a store I'll buy them out.

Sex - Strawberry and cranberry, slightly off dry, certainly tasty.

US - Fruity with bubble gum qualities even though it's not all that sweet.

Jadore - Treat this as a dessert wine and you're set - sweet with honey and apricot notes. No toast or whatever and no apologies, just layers of fruit and sugar - it works nicely.


Gil's Pier, L Mawby, Circa, and 45 North - four damn fine places all within a few miles - you can't beat it.

45 North Winery - Lake Leelanau, MI - 7/2/09

Here is 45 North's webpage.

With vineyards situated more or less on the 45th parallel - the halfway point between the North Pole of the Equator - this winery is right down the road from Circa and only opened a couple years back.

It was busy enough that I didn't feel comfortable taking up too much of the young woman's time, but buildings seem to be under construction, so I'm not sure we tasted in the permanent tasting room or not.

A group of people made a comment about seeing us the day before at some other winery, which made me extremely self conscious as I was wearing the same shirt....like you've never done that....whatever.

Anyway....the notes:

2008 Riesling - Light bodied with mostly apple notes, low acid and low sugar so still balanced but more in the quaffable range. The finish brought out some nice acidic notes for what it's worth.

2007 Sparkling Pinot Noir - Basically a bad ass sparkling rose. Dry and crisp with strawberry notes. Detailed notes coming soon, but I gotta tell you I'm already pissed at myself for only buying one.

2008 Pinot Noir Noveau - An earthy nose on this blush style wine - strawberry, cherry, nice acid, but a dash of sugar. Rather nice, even though I prefer dryer roses (they had a dry rose, but we inadvertently skipped it).

2007 Pinot Noir - I snagged a bottle of this one because it was so damn intriguing. I couldn't place it, but I was getting strange notes of whiskey or maybe brandy on top of odd petrol and stone fruit notes along with some berry like things - I am stoked to pop it open at some point.

2007 Cabernet Franc - Light body, cherry, cedar, and cigar notes. Not bad.

Peach Cremant - Like a bellini without the work - peachy but light in body and even nicely acidic, and oddly enough I was getting some sort of (extremely mild) tea like tannin, though that may have been residual Cab Franc swirling around the cavities. Either way, well played.

If Circa gets my top recommendation, this winery - right down the road - gets an easy second, if not tie. I think I'm going to have to start saving for next year's trip now as we've found some winners.

Circa Winery - Lake Leelanau, MI - 7/2/09

Check out Circa's by clicking that underlined word.

The guy working at Gil's Pier suggested that if we hit any other winery, we should hit this place as it was recently renovated. I'm game, let's try it.

The outside of this winery was, I believe, designed to look like an old Tuscan winery. The inside was dimly lit and had a rather swanky feel - I admit feeling impressed and underdressed, but quickly got over it. The two young women working - one who looked so much like a cousin of mine that I no doubt acted strangely as we first walked in - were friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. Right on.

Pinot Grigio - Floral notes on the nose. A light, easy drinking wine with pear notes.

Chardonnay - Very light in body, so light one may not even think it was the satan of grapes, crisp and with apple notes, this was quite enjoyable.



Requisite - This wine is made with a grape known as Blaufrankisch - if you've never had a Blaufrankisch, they tend to be from Hungary and are frequently disgustingly sweet. This? Fruity, but basically dry, with cherry and a nice amount of spice - cinnamon and clove dominating. Well done!

Cabernet Franc - Blueberry and light cherry with mild cedar and clove, all with great tannic structure - full bottle review coming soon enough.


At least one wine was about to be released, so there will be more in their portfolio soon. Few places hit four for four, so I'm very much down - as far as the Leelanau Peninsula goes, this winery gets my strongest recommendation.

Gill's Pier - Northport, MI - 7/2/09

Gill's Pier is fairly high up there on the Leelanau Peninsula....in fact, I'm not sure there are any wineries further north so you probably won't just drive by it - is it worth seeking out?

Here's our notes:

2007 Royce - spice on the nose. Golden apple on the palate with a bit of pear and honey. The best part of this wine is it contains Auxerrois which is a grape varietal we haven't had yet, inching us ever closer to the Wine Century Club.

2007 Riesling - Peachy nose with peachy notes on the palate.

2006 Cab Franc/Merlot - Oak and black cherry notes, nicely done.



N/V Just Unleashed - an easy drinking, light bodied wine with cherry notes - full notes to come eventually.

N/V Cherrio Cherry - light in body and a nice combination of fruit and tartness. Not a bad offering at all - so many cherry wines we try are cough syrupy, it's always pleasant to find one that's not.


The young guy working the bar was friendly and very helpful, he gave us plenty of info on the wine and the area itself. The woman we encountered was positively hilarious - pray these people are working when you visit....it was almost a Groucho Marx/Margaret Dumont pairing (with genders reversed).

Is Gill's Pier - in an area with so many wineries - worth driving the slight extra distance? I'm gonna have to say yes - in fact, I think if you're hitting Leelanau, this should be your first visit and then you can work your way south back towards the cities.

Left Foot Charley - Traverse City, MI - 7/1/09

Last year we hit up Left Foot Charley at the end of a ridiculous day of visiting something like eight wineries (this photo is from that day - there was no sun or blue sky in the first days of July 2009), we got lost finding it, and had a crappy attitude all around - I remember my tongue hurting.

The wines, though, still shined through even though we weren't having it...the irony, of course, is the bottle we bought wound up getting one of the most enthusiastic reviews we've done. I was very happy to be able to revisit when we were more enthusiastic.

2008 Pinot Grigio - Melon, pear, and green apple on the nose, more of the same on the palate with a punch of acid. Bottle review coming eventualy.

2008 Pinot Blanc Island View Vineyard - Light, quaffable, slightly sweet, not a lot of acid, but still strikes me as balanced.

2008 Rose - Light bodied with strawberry and a tad of banana - not working for me.

2008 7th Hill Riesling - Light in body with apple and peach dominating.


You know, I'll admit something. I'm the kind of guy who gets weirded out when there's no 'limits' placed. Put down "You can try six wines!" and I'll try six and think the employee is being rude if they cut me off at five. Put down nothing and I start feeling awkward - even though the staff gives no reason to. Maybe it's because the staff seems so accommodating I feel like I'm taking advantage.

I don't know what it is, residual Catholic guilt?

This is also the reason I strongly prefer visiting tasting rooms with a fee - a few bucks and I'm fine working my way down a menu.

Where was I?

They also have a small food menu as well as hard cider - which was quite tasty.

Left Foot Charley - good stuff, when I work out my issues I'll head back. Hell, maybe I'll head back to help work out my issues.

Peninsula Cellars - Traverse City, MI - 7/1/09

Last year we hit up Peninsula and were met by the most unfriendly winery staff we've yet encountered - I badmouthed them on this blog and received an apology from the owner and an invitation back since the two people we encountered were, according to him, terminated. I was hesitant, but we returned anonymously.

I left this second visit feeling like a real dick. The owner is clearly a decent guy, and most of his staff are probably awesome.

It's highly likely we hit them up (the first time) when the two ladies working were having a bad day and I talked smack. Maybe they jerk I dealt with at Brys just left and they were sick of it and a guy with a notebook was the last thing they wanted to deal with.

But the point of writing a blog is to give an honest assessment, and in that spirit, the staff here was great and any bad voodoo sent their way is hereby ceased.

This tasting room lets you try six wines for free. The notes:


2006 Manigold Gewurztraminer - Nice spice and acid with peachy notes dominating.

2006 Pinot Noir - Cherry, funk, and earth with a mediumish body - sorta like a slightly lighter bodied California Pinot Noir. Well played, if that's your style.

2005 Cab Franc - Quite a bit of an acidic punch, so much so that I'd say this one begs for food, black cherry is the dominant force along with some strawberry and spice - perfect for Italian faire.

2006 Merlot - On first sip, there's not much going on but it develops on the mid palate with some interesting cherry, stone fruit, and minty notes. Nicely done.

2005 Cabernet Franc Reserve - Big charcoal notes on the nose. Chocolate, cherry, with a nice punch of acid, some anise, and even a brandy like thing going on. Nice!

Melange - A slight alcohol burn with vaguely grapey notes, but then BAM - a burst of cherry explodes on the finish with a dash of cinnamon. Very nice.


There you have it. Peninsula Cellars makes some damn fine reds and if service is a priority, they nailed it, so good on you PC in the TC.

Next time - and there will be a next time I reckon - I'll give their whites a spin.

Brys Estate - Traverse City, MI - 7/1/09

Brys Estate website can be found here.

Brys lets you try six wines for five bones and with that you get a coupon for $3 off a bottle, some oyster crackers, and a square of a "reduced fat cheese product."


The notes:

2008 Pinot Grigio - Apples and pears on the palate, little nose.

2008 Pinot Blanc - Dryer and simpler than the PG with no nose.

2007 Pinot Noir Rose - A decent, typical rose with some funky woody/earthy notes - so right on.

2008 Gewurz - Dry and fruity with stone fruit notes.

2007 Dry Riesling - Not what I'd call dry, miscellaneous stone fruit and decent acid.

2007 Off Dry Riesling - Pink apple dominate this rather flabby wine.

2006 Signature Red - A soft and light bodied offering which I took few notes on.

2006 Merlot - Very light in body, soft, cherry, light tannins, I'd almost guess this was a Pinot Noir.

2007 Riesling/Pinot Gris - Sweet and gulpable but another flabby one.

2008 Pinot Noir/Riesling - Not unlike a damn good White Zin - in fact, if White Zin was like this I don't think it would have such a bad reputation.

2007 Later Harvest Riesling - Perhaps the best this place has, nice balance of sugar and acid.



The problem with situations like this - especially as someone who works in the service industry - is crappy customers can ruin my good time, because I know the pain of dealing with jerks. We were surrounded by pompous fools who harshed our mellows. This is no fault of the winery, but we worked this room more quickly than we normally would to get away.

One guy even kept bashing their wine saying "oh, (that other) winery up the road makes this wine far better."

(The worst part is I agreed with two of his assessments, but I'd never say something like that, because it's ultimately irrelevant - no matter what wine you drink, someone probably makes a better one, but really now, who does that? Talk your shit on the Internet, dude.)

That being said, nothing jumped out at us, but as you can see - nothing was "bad" either. Different strokes for different folks.

Two Lads Winery - Traverse City, MI - 7/1/09

Two Lads is the northern most winery on the Old Mission Peninsula.

The tasting room deal changes, but for now the first sample is free and then for eight bones you get three more pours and a small food plate with some smoked gouda and two baked goods from Morsels - a cheddar/olive savory morsel, and a sweet chocolate/black pepper. When the new reds are released, this will change a bit.

When we got home from our first Traverse City visit, Two Lads was easily our favorite in the area, after our second visit to the area, even after finding some other good places, I gotta say it still us.

This time around we met the owners and got a tour which was very informative. We don't often do tours - in fact, it's been a few years since we've done one because they're frequently uninteresting or led by people who only know a script. When talking to the winemakers directly, so much information is available that it's at times overwhelming.

If either Chris or Cornel are working the tasting room, it's very much in your interests to chat them up.

The winery itself is somewhat different than many in Traverse City - it's modern, it's sleek, and it's dare I say, serious, all while totally lacking pretension. It can be an intimidating place to the new wine drinker perhaps, but it also can be the most informative if you allow it to be.

More wines are forthcoming from the Two Lads, including a sparkler, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cab Franc Reserve. We were able to try the last three in progress and all were excellent.

No wine notes from the tasting room, but here's write ups of the Rose, Riesling, and Cab Franc (a revisit is coming soon on the Cab Franc, we've had two bottles since and both were noticeably better).

There you have it - our warmest recommendation overall in terms of wine, tasting menu, and venue. The sort of place to get excited about - well worth your time.

Chateau Grand Traverse – Traverse City 7/1/09

Check out their site here.

(Please note: I am really bad at taking photos, and I distinctly recall thinking: "meh, there are photos on the blog already" - guess what, there aren't of this place. Their site has some though).

This was the first place we hit up in Traverse City because we had time to kill and because - and I apologize for the slightly backhanded praise - but they sell this incredible mustard:



They don't make it, but they sell it, and man, is it worth it - seriously. I have never felt even an inkling of what I'd describe as "passion" for a condiment before, but this mustard is...well, if you smear it on a penguin, I'm taking a bite out of him, even if he's frozen through and through. Put it on a crocodile along the river Nile, I'll tell you I will take a bite and then I'll surely smile.

I digress.

CGT lets you taste six wines for free and the winery seems to lean heavily on whites - their site features eight Rieslings. Here's the notes:


2007 Ship of Fools - fairly dry, apricot notes with orange or maybe grapefruit zest, all with a nice hint of spice.

2008 Pinot Grigio Festival Time - Cantaloupe/melon nose. A typical PG, fruity, balanced, with miscellaneous Italian melon notes dominating.

2007 Gamay Noir Limited - I nearly flipped over how much I dug the 2006, so I was dismayed to find that I found this to be a less than stellar offerng, mostly dominated by cherry and strawberry with enough of the dreaded banana coming through to really bum me out. Not terrible, but not up to expectations.

2006 Pinot Noir - Candied cherry on the nose with cherry and cola coming through on the palate - light in body and an easy drinking wine to be sure.

2006 Gamay Reserve - Black pepper, cherry, cola, sassafras - many of the qualities I loved about the regular 2006 Gamay - I guess I just prefer this vintage. Full bottle review will be coming eventually.

2006 Edelzwicker - A sweeter white - honey dew nose, with a nice balance of fruit - pear, peach, apple - and a touch of spice.


So there you have it - go for the mustard, stay for the wine.

Lake Michigan Circle Tour 7/1 - 7/4/09

We just got in from the Lake Michigan Circle Tour and, boy, are my arms tired.

(I'm being told that joke doesn't work in this context.)

Anyway, Fran and I decided a fun little trip would be to do the Lake Michigan Circle Tour, stopping occasionally to take in the scenery and hit up some wineries along the way along with some goofy spots which we haven't visited before.

I guess I expected most of the roads to be like driving on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, but the only stretch of road really like that was up in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Most of the time we may have been close to the lake, but there was no view. Fine by me - many stretches were in forested areas with hills which is a big enough change to be interesting - but if you want all lakefront driving, you may find it disappointing.

The 1000 mile or so trip does take roughly 20 hours, so audiobooks are a must - our play list included: The Bro Code by Barney Stinson (annoying), Why We Suck by Denis Leary (the best read audiobook ever - it sounded like Leary was just ranting off the top of his head), Born Standing Up by Steve Martin (fantastic), a few Ricky Gervais Guides to Life (dangerously funny to listen to while driving), plus an unsuccessful attempt to get through God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens (you thought I mumble? Listen to this guy).

Anyway -

We visited thirteen wineries on the trip, three of which were revisits from our last visit. I'll be putting my notes up slowly but surely over the coming days.

When visiting wineries, we tend to be our typical socially awkward selves - I take notes, but no mention of this blog is mentioned (unless noted).

I don't mention the blog for two main reasons:

1) I don't want special treatment - especially on a first visit. I'd hate to be treated very well by someone who tends to be a total prick because they're afraid of bad press.

2) I'm too emotionally fragile to risk hearing things like: "Oh, you write that crappy blog?" or "Oh, you think you're so big, Mr. Blogger, well get the hell out of my winery, you prick!" Seriously - I fear such things. I have getaway music cued on my car stereo just in case such an incident occurs.

The notes I take are scribbled in a book using a shorthand and writing style only legible to me. I remember feeling guilty when I jotted down "flabby" about a wine and the person working clearly saw (no doubt thinking "look who's talking") so I've created a shorthand that works well.

Many of these tastings are based on a shot glass worth of wine and frequently served in terrible stemware - so of course the notes aren't perfect, but based on the circumstances, I think we do alright.

This was our second trip to Traverse City, and I'm betting that this will be an annual pilgrimage for us. It's true there is a disproportionate number of lame, sweet Rieslings (with exceptions mind you) and there's also an odd push of cherry wine. That being said, there is little that is outright bad, and many places are pretty damn solid.

I do find it interesting that the newer places all seem to be operating at a higher level than the old standbys - will TC, as a whole, win over the wine snob today? I'm not sure....but many of the new guys (2 Lads, Circa, and 45 North) are kicking some serious ass.