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.

Dobber's Pasties - Escanaba, MI - 7/4/09

Pasties....drive through the Upper Peninsula and you'll see tons of signs that look a little something like this:



We tried a couple different places, but Dobbers was the best by far, located in Escanaba, MI.




A pasty is basically a savory turnover - you frequently see them in beef, chicken, or vegetable (the vegetable seem to have chicken broth, so they are probably not vegetarian friendly). Basically you get diced potatoes, meat, maybe some carrots - it's hearty, perfect for a cold winter night, but as you may guess it's not exactly subtle, delicate faire. Most places offer ketchup, though I did see some steak sauce at one place which I think would work nicely.

Morsels - Traverse City, MI - 7/3/09

Here's their site - located right downtown in Traverse City.

They look like schmancified Hostess Mini Muffins, but brother, they ain't Hostess Mini Muffins.



Among others, featured here are: Tall on Taste (raspberry shortbread), Redhead (carrot cake), Devil's in the Details (devil's food cake with chocolate cream), Something to Wine About (flourless chocolate cake), Brownie Excite-Mint (chocolate/mint - my personal favorite).

A dozen go for around nine bucks and though they are small, they're dense (yet, paradoxically light) enough that you'll probably be set, for a while at least, with four or five. Let's pretend you have a seven hour drive in front of you, you'll probably want to stock up on a few dozen. We didn't. We should've.

This is yet another place we stumbled upon on our first visit and knew we had to return. These two bite pastries pack a lot of punch.

The Cook's House - Traverse City, MI - 7/2/09

The site for this tiny restaurant can be found here. They might take walk-ins, but I think I counted 18 seats - don't risk it, get a reservation.

Hypothetically, I would've brought an L. Mawby Blanc de Noir and a Two Lads Cab Franc to go with this tasting menu. Hypothetically, if I did, they would've gone great. Hypothetically.

You can pick from appetizers/entrees like a typical restaurant or you can do a five course tasting menu for $45 or a seven course tasting menu for $55.

I am a fan of the tasting menu. I think the tasting menu is the best way to eat - if a restaurant has one, I do it. If I can't afford it, I wait until I can. It is the way to go.

I've done many tasting menus in Chicago plus a couple in other Midwest cities and this is the cheapest - $55 - for what was served. In terms of the dollar/deliciousness ratio, this one wins.

I admit, I like my molecular gastronomy and I like my foams which this has neither of. This is classic preparations with high quality ingredients. To compare to Chicago establishments, The Cook's House can most closely be compared to the food of Charlie Trotter's with the atmosphere of Schwa - only the chef's don't seem to hate you and getting a reservation is easy.

Our seat was right against a cooler which divided the kitchen from the dining room - the back and front panels were glass so we got to watch the chef work, but didn't get a chance to chat.

Seven courses....here we go

White Bean and Red Wine Soup (not pictured)
Unless you have a really goofy looking bowl or you do some creative garnish, soup can't be plated interestingly, so I didn't take a photo...I should've, but I hadn't planned on taking photos until course #2. This was one of those soups where it seemed there couldn't be more than a handful of ingredients but they were clearly better quality than most places and prepared perfectly.


Risotto with Racelette Cheese, Fennel and Reduced Sherry Wine

I admit, I don't care much for risottos, but this one worked nicely. Subtlety abound - the only risotto I ever went nuts over was explosive, so this is probably a more traditional preparation. Fran dug it a lot.



Sautéed Gnocchi with Asparagus, Warm Arugula, and Wild Shiitake Mushrooms

I've never had gnocchi like this. Light, soft little pillows - I've had good gnocchi and perhaps I've had gnocchi I liked more than this, but this really took the pillowy airy softness to a new level.



Rabbit Braised in Late Harvest Wine, Dried Plums, and Sauerkraut


Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. When rabbit is on a menu, one of us orders it, among the best preparations we've had.


Salad of argula, rose petals, walnuts

I love rose water and rose essence in Indian desserts and that sorta thing, but I've never actually had rose petals - they did not disappoint. This was, I suppose, more of a palate cleanser than anything else, but it was tasty.


Cheese plate (not pictured)
I don't know why I didn't take a picture of this...weird. Four cheeses with a honeycomb and some fruit. If memory serves there was a cheddar, a brie, a chevre, and I don't know - I dig cheese, but my knowledge is limited.


Strawberry Shortbread

Just how it looks. Nice presentation, good ingredients - a dessert that could go horribly wrong if they used crappy products, but it all worked out.


We haven't eaten everywhere in Traverse City, but we've been to a good chunk of the "nice" places - this was easily the best meal we've had. At $55 a head, it was also the best bargain. As much as I like Stella or think some other places have potential, if you're going to TC and you want a special meal, look no further.

Don's Drive In - Traverse City, MI - 7/2/09

It seems silly to take photos of a burger, but hey - this is a wine and food blog. No website for this place, but here's the address: 2030 N US Highway 31 N, Traverse City, MI 49686

The burger was alright....I mean, it's better than any fast food, but it basically just struck me a diner burger.



The cherry shake, on the other hand, is the reason I took photos:



I suppose anything related to cherries (except wine, no offense folks) in this area is going to be solid, but I was a big fan of this shake.

This is an indoor sit down place and they offer car service as well. I will never understand the allure of car service, but maybe if I drove a 65 Chevy (primered flames I'd trade it for powdered goods).

We arrived at 11 am and were the first ones in, by the time we left about twenty minutes later there was a line - crazy. For a cheap meal of the burger persuasion, this certainly works.

Trattoria Stella - Traverse City, MI - 7/1/09

Check out Stella's website here - if you want to eat here, I'm gonna recommend calling ahead and getting a reservation.

We had planned on dining elsewhere, but we had little choice after I found myself tearing off my shirt yelling STELLA!!!!!


Here's a seafood special appetizer feature mussels, clams, and shrimp in a tomato cream sauce.

So, look, I like Stella...but I don't care much for seafood. I try to get it as an appetizer from time to time to try things out, but I learned an important lesson from this dish - I hate mussels.




The schmancy pulled pork sandwiches were the opposite of undelicious.




Fran's beef tenderloin rocked the house.




My veal kicked my face in, but honestly the pasta did little for me.




Stella is definitely one our favorite spots in Traverse City. It's not cheap - four courses without drinks or tip hit $91, but I'd say it's worth it, and easily on par with some of the three star Italian places in Chicago.

Bad Dog Deli - Traverse City, MI - 7/1/09

Check 'em out at here. The Bad Dog Deli is located out on route 37 on the road to many wineries on the Old Mission Peninsula.



How can one get excited about a sandwich, you ask? How can a deli be among the first places in the area about which I said "we need to go back there"?

It's quite simple.

Sourdough, roast beef, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, green pepper, cole slaw, cream mustard, horseradish.


Just thinking about this - a simple sandwich but with good quality ingredients - is making me hungry.

Big Boy - South Haven, MI - 7/1/09

Yep, a chain, but one we don't have in Illinois. The dirt can be found here.



I hate eggs. Can't stand them. If eggs are an ingredient for binding, but not flavor, I'm fine, but even a slight taste of eggs makes me want to vomit. Big Boy is, as far as I know, the only restaurant that has a savory breakfast that's not egg based - the stuffed potato pancake. I would open a Big Boy in this area if I had the business sense, just so I could get one of these without having to drive two hours.

Anyway, here we are - the stuffed potato pancake with chopped onions and filled with sausage and bacon. Groingrabbingly good.

2006 Histoire Mendocino Cabernet Sauvignon

The guy at the shop described this one as being awesome. We'll see. The pricetag is around eleven big ones.

A bit of candy apple with a bit of mint on the nose.

An interesting combo here - candy apple and mint show themselves as do clove, cigar, bright red strawberry - almost in a Twizzler kind of way - all with some green olive.

On the second night we consumed this bottle, the nose disappeared and the fruit on the palate blew off, but what's left are some very nice cigar, cedar, and spice notes.

A slightly mentholly finish with a vaguely bacon-like thing going on back on the finish.

There's nothing to bip about here at all. For the price, this is well worth a shot especially for those perhaps used to fruitier Cabs who want to expand a bit. While I wouldn't call it awesome, it's a reasonable bottle and worth snagging.

Wine: 7
Value: Yep

2005 Beaulieu Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

This is another one of those "top shelf" wines from the Jewels that "retails" at around $25, but you'd be foolish to pay more than $16 since it's always on sale. BV make a few lines including a cheaper line, then this, and then pricey stuff you probably haven't come across unless you shop at bigger wine shops. Let's dig in.

Nice cigar box on the nose.

A bit of tart cherry, cedar, tobacco, vanilla, and some blueberry as well. This is nice and tasty, but for a Cab, I'm finding it, just a bit too light in body - it's tasty, but in terms of body, this almost has a Pinot Noir thing going on. I'm not knocking it, but I just want a tad more oomph.

Lingering acid with some tart cherry and earthy notes on the finish.

A solid offering on par with - though perhaps slightly below - the Mondavi Napa Cab we had a while back. For fifteen bucks or so, this is damn good - not as complex and some pricier options, but for the price this is a great value.

Wine: 8
Value: Yeppers

2005 Fox Valley Winery Cabernet Sauvignon

In my visit review of this winery I declared this as one of the two best red wines made in Illinois (that we've had). I am consuming this from a three liter box that runs at just about $40.

The nose and palate on this one is strange at first pour, but it blows off after a bit of time and doesn't seem to be present in the following glasses (some lingering gas I assume).

Cherry and vanilla on the nose. After letting a glass sit for a while, cinnamon and brown spice show up.

A very nice balance of cherry, vanilla, and cedar. Very nice tannic structure that would suggest if you just grab a regular bottle it would cellar fairly well. A fair amount of spice comes through as well - clove, cinnamon - making everything really blend together well.

The finish has more cherry and vanilla.

I avoided posting this until we worked through a good chunk of the box because I feared I may be being a bit too generous since it's an Illinois wine, but after giving it a lot of thought and consuming it over a few days, I think I'm being more than fair. In fact, if you go by the box pricing, this is among the best valued Cabs out there, from anywhere.

There is a slight issue with boxed red wine in general during the summer months - I don't know about you, but I don't keep our home at cellar temperature. I think the best way to handle this is keep the box in the fridge and pour a carafe or decanter an hour or two before you're going to drink it. Mildly inconvenient, but basically worth the hassle.

A word of warning though - many estimates on how long box wine keep after opening range from four to six weeks. Right around four weeks, I found all the fruit has blown off this one and has left it basically a spicy and oaky mess, perhaps okay for cooking, but not beyond that. By all means, buy it - but drink it within three weeks.

Wine: 8
Value: Absolutely

2007 Two Lads Chardonnay

Alright, we are fans of Two Lads, but how will they do with a grape we do not like? This is not currently available from the winery, but can probably be found in an array of restaurants or shops. I assume later this year or perhaps early next, it will be back in a new vintage for around $20 a pop.

The nose here just reminds me of pineapple and butter.

The palate here isn't half bad, mainly because it's a bit lighter than one normally sees in an oaked Chard. Pineapple, vanilla, some slightly unripe melon of the musk variety all with a bit of the peachy/fuzzy navel thing. Oak, white wine, and our palates don't mix, but this isn't a bad offering - mainly because the oak is fairly light (it was aged in large 630 gallon oak vats, not smaller 60 gallon oak barrels). Still...I can't help but think "man, I'd rather be drinking something else."

The finish brings out some of the oak with some of the typically Chardonnay qualities coming to the front, including that butter and cream.

A respectable wine, more than respectable in fact, but not enough to win us over....if you dig whites, you cannot go wrong with this winery's PG and Riesling. If you're a Chardonnay nut, I can't see this not being up there, but for us? This one gets a pass.

Wine: 6.5
Value: Pass

2006 Kim Crawford Pinot Noir

This is $16 normally, but there was an 'end of bin' sale going on and I snagged it for $8.50.

Dirt and raspberry on the nose.

A strange mix of old and new world - lots of earthy, dirty, funky notes - but then almost a Twizzler like quality...ultra ripe raspberry and dark red, borderline candied, cherries. I like both styles (the former more than the latter), but the mix is throwing me off.

Some earthy, funky, and bell pepper things are coming through on the finish.

I understand and respect this wine as I feel it's very well made, especially at this pricepoint. It just does not work for me, though.

Wine: 6
Value: Nah

2007 Red Bicyclette French Rose

Eight bones, grocery store, what the heck?

Very light strawberry and a slight bit of grape on the nose.

I'm going to be blunt – I had low expectations on this one. I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. It has a very slight touch of sugar, but by no means sweet. A bit of tart strawberry and slight raspberry with a mild bit of tannin and acid to balance it out.

If you want a rose and are in a bind, this is the way to go. I'll probably be snagging more for things like Ravinia.

Wine: 6.5
Value: Yep

2005 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

This is about $20 and has a reputation for being a solid bottle. I've been sitting on this for a while and decided to pop it open.

The nose is big, but it's mostly just cigar box.

A well balanced wine, with a number of things working together nicely - great tannic structure, with oak, cedar, cherry, with brown and dried green spice. Some mint seems to come through, I want to say I'm getting some eucalyptus as well, maybe some sage. This is the sort of wine that one can tell is good now, but would probably be better two years from now. I hope to find a few more bottles to put away.

Cedar notes on the finish.

My notes are short here, but that's not a bad thing. This is a fine offering, loads going on, flat out delicious, and an outstanding value. This is a great bottle to snag for yourself and sit on for a while, or to give as a gift. It tastes like something a bit pricier than a twenty dollar bottle.

Wine: 8.5
Value: Yep

2008 Two Lads Rose

We really liked the 2007 of this, so why not snag a 2008? I forget the exact price, but it's in the late teens or $20 flat.

I'm getting a bit of peach blossom on the nose.

Beautiful. Rather large in body – with the dominate fruit being cranberry along with some great peachy notes with a dash of strawberry. Something here is reminding me of hibiscus tea. With the punch of acid, dash of sugar, slight bit of tea, and outstanding fruit, this is among the best we've had.

More of that hibiscus quality on the finish plus more cranberry – if there's a cranberry hisbiscus tea on the market, I need to try it as I'd bet it's somewhat like this.

I can't recommend this highly enough as a great summer wine. I suppose there are two "types" of roses that we dig, the pure and traditional, bone dry ones you often see from France, and these somewhat more fruitforward and more - dare I say - complex wines. The sort of wine you can bring to a picnic but it almost seems like a shame unless you're bringing decent stemware.

Wine: 9
Value: Yes

2007 Oroya Sushi Wine

So this wine was apparently developed to be paired with sushi. The power of suggestion is strong with me, so I grabbed a bottle and a pack of sushi at the local Japanese mall. This is a blend of airen,

A slightly floral nose.

Somewhat like a Sauvignon Blanc - somewhat grassy, a bit of grapefruit, orange blossom, all with just a very small bit of sweetness that gives it a nice balance.

An orange herbal tea sorta thing on the finish.

I acknowledge this is a bit of a gimmick and there are plenty of fine white wines for sushi - from Rieslings to Pinot Grigios to Sauv Blancs and so on - but this worked very well with my sampler pack of raw fish and for $13, there's nothing to argue with.

Wine: 7
Value: Sure

N/V Lavender Crest Miche Sepi

We visited this winery about six months ago and I figured it was time to crack this bottle open, which runs around fifteen bones. This is a red blend that includes an interesting hybrid varietal marechal foch.

A bit of fruit, but mostly green, earthy sort of notes – forest floor, if you will

This is actually far better than I remember it being. Raspberry, cherry, really nice tannic structure, with great acid – dare I say this is unique, but not necessarily like many Illinois wines.

Some dried – green and brown – spices linger on the finish.

Since this is not a blind taste test and mental bias is a factor, I admit I may be going slightly easy on this one. For a $15 red wine from Illinois, however, this is one of the better ones we've had and I'll definitely give it a go.

Wine: 6.5
Value: Yep